Chapter 3

A wave of nausea rose in my chest as I stared at the syringe smeared with different people's blood.

I coldly rejected, "I'm not doing it."

Neil said, "I know you don't like me, Sam, but Cherry is still your girlfriend. At a time like this, wouldn't it look bad on you if you don't donate some blood?"

His words instantly stoked the others' anger.

"That's right! We've all donated, so why do you get a pass? A selfish man like you doesn't deserve to be Cherry's boyfriend!"

"Samuel, are you going to do this willingly, or do you want us to make you?"

My classmates started closing in on me, the syringe in one of their hands.

When Cherry looked at me, her gaze was full of warning. "You've already disappointed me enough today, Samuel. If you donate your blood, I'll give you one more chance, and we won't break up. But if you keep being this selfish, then you're not worthy of my love!"

At her domineering speech, I nearly laughed out of sheer anger.

Cherry must have forgotten that she was nothing more than an underprivileged student my family had been sponsoring.

If I hadn't paid for her education, she'd still be stuck herding cattle in some remote mountain village.

Cherry had been so moved that she promised she'd protect me forever.

But after Neil showed up, she grew colder toward me, turning to shower him with attention instead.

Time and again, she humiliated me for his sake, forcing me to swallow my pride. For him, she even strangled me to death with her own hands.

I didn't know what made me fall for a woman who was beautiful on the outside but rotten on the inside.

I figured we could just break up if that was what Cherry wanted.

I looked at her coldly. "We're done, Cherry."

The color drained from Cherry's face when she heard my words. She never imagined that someone who loved her so much would be the one initiating the breakup.

At that, I turned to open the hospital ward door. Just as I was about to leave, she grabbed my wrist tightly.

Cherry glared at me and spat, "Don't think I don't know you're just playing hard to get. Everyone else has already done it, so you have to do it too!"

At that, my classmates all swarmed me and pinned me down. They started pushing the overly used syringe closer and closer to my vein.

Cherry stood off the side, looking indifferent. "If you keep disobeying me like this, don't expect me to ever forgive you."

Watching the needle draw nearer, I thrashed around and resisted with everything I had.

I was drenched in cold sweat, wondering if I'd end up dying a horrible death again even after being reborn.

I kicked hard at the emergency alarm in desperation.

Finally, security rushed in just as the needle was about to pierce my vein.

My classmates no longer dared to force it any further with so many people watching. They could only glare at me, their eyes full of disgust.

Only then did I finally breathe a sigh of relief.

I had gotten so close to getting killed by this bunch of idiots.

A flash of unwilling resentment crossed Neil's eyes before he picked up the blood bag and handed it to Cherry.

Her gaze expressed how moved she was by his action. The affectionate way they gazed at each other was sickening.

Once that virus-tainted plasma was infused into Cherry's body, she excitedly pulled Neil into her arms and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

The classmates around them started cheering and egging them on.

"Cherry and Neil are totally made for each other!"

"That's right! Neil is way better than that selfish guy, Samuel. Just look at the difference in character."

"It's a good thing you dumped that scumbag, Cherry. You really hit the jackpot now that you've got Neil."

Neil smiled sweetly while surrounded by the crowd.

Cherry raised her brows and said smugly, "It's a good thing I got rid of that ungrateful idiot Samuel. Otherwise, how would I ever have a boyfriend as good as Neil? I'm going to win today's championship and dedicate it to him!"

Watching their picture-perfect scene, I curled my lips into a cold smile before looking away.

Cherry should go ahead and laugh while she still could. This high wouldn't last, and the crash would be ugly.