Chapter 3

As she spoke, Mrs. Hayes swung the consultation room door open, and our eyes met.

The moment she saw me, she rolled her eyes.

“So, you’ve been eavesdropping? You have no shame!

“But since you heard everything, I won’t bother repeating myself.

“You won’t be donating blood to Nicole anymore. The wedding is off, too. From this moment on, you and Nicole are finished.”

I did not look at Mrs. Hayes. My eyes stayed fixed on Nicole. “Is that what you want too?”

She avoided my gaze, looking visibly uncomfortable. After a long silence, she finally answered with a single word: “Yes.”

I dug my fingernails into my palm just to keep my expression from falling apart.

Ten years of sacrifice, and ten years of draining my body dry. In the end, this was how they repaid me.

How ironic.

Suppressing the bitterness rising in my chest, I forced a smile. “All right. Then this is goodbye.”

I turned around and walked away.

If they truly believed a stranger would willingly donate blood to Nicole as frequently as she needed for the rest of her life, there was nothing left for me to say.

When my parents found out Nicole had called off the engagement, they were furious and wanted to march straight to the Hayes’ place to demand an explanation.

I stopped them. “Mom, Dad, I'm okay.”

Even if I was not, it was already over.

Before this latest blood donation, our wedding preparations had already begun.

Nicole had organized a gathering with her closest friends to choose her bridesmaids.

I was tied up with a major project at work, so I did not go.

That night, I received a call from Nicole while she was drunk.

She must have dialed me by accident, because she never realized the call had connected. Instead, she continued venting to her friends.

“I'm so sick of Evan! He’s used my illness to keep me tied to him for ten whole years! Ten years! Anyone else would have already gotten tired of that! And he’s gotten worse-looking every single year. His face is so pale it looks sickly, and his body’s even worse. He’s nothing but bones.

“The thought of it makes me sick. I can’t even say anything, though. I have to comfort him and tell him I know it’s because he’s been donating blood for me. Come on! Other people donate blood too, but they look nothing like him. He’s just become more and more sloppy.

“He used to be good enough for me. Now, I don’t even want to look at him. If I didn’t need his blood, I’d never force myself to marry him.”

It felt as though the blood in my veins had frozen solid when I heard those words.

I had not just sacrificed my health to keep donating blood for Nicole. I had sacrificed my career, too.

I never had the energy to fully dedicate myself to work nowadays. I always had to be available whenever Nicole needed a transfusion, so I turned down every business trip.

As a result, every promotion passed me by, as did every raise.

My declining health even prompted HR to privately speak with me several times, warning that if I did not recover soon, the company probably would not renew my contract.

My supervisor, Miss Warren, tried to persuade me as well.

“Evan, when you first joined the company, you were the one I had the highest hopes for. But now, everyone who started with you has either earned promotions and raises or moved to other companies as managers. You’re the only one who’s still an entry-level employee because your health keeps you from taking on important projects.

“You’re still young, but you can’t keep treating your body like this! Take care of yourself. Otherwise, I won’t be able to protect you if there’s another round of layoffs.”

There was nothing I could say.

All I could do was promise Miss Warren that I would take better care of myself.

For everyone else, recovering their health might have been simple. For me, it was nearly impossible.

As long as I kept donating blood to Nicole, it did not matter how much pork liver I forced down or how many bowls of bitter herbal medicine I drank until my face turned pale.

My body would never truly recover.

I was exhausted, but Mrs. Hayes was not about to give me even a moment to catch my breath.