Sorry, Too Late

"Ms. Solberg, stop the transfusion! He's dying!"

"Keep going! Zeke's operation is more important than this! Take his blood!"

An urgent blood transfusion was going on in Silverton Hospital. A trio of unbelievably gorgeous women was standing around, worried.

These women used to be infatuated with Evan Norwood, and one of them was his newly-wed wife, yet they were standing around another man, worried and panicked for him.

He was already shivering from the transfusion, yet they ignored him. The air was freezing cold, yet the biting frigidity in his heart burned deeper.

The three women who mattered to him most were risking his life and taking his blood for another man.

"Hazel, you need to stop this! Evan's going to die! I can still hold on!" The man looked at Evan, worried, but then he started coughing violently.

The women were terrified. They quickly said, "Ignore him, Zeke! Your condition takes priority. We will save you no matter what!"

Evan tilted his head, and he met Zeke Carter's challenging gaze. It was saying, 'See? The women you love the most would rather drain your blood just to save me!'

He was the women's true love, while Evan was just his replacement.

…

It happened on a night three years ago. Evan was framed and crossed a figure of power. His family abandoned him, and he was beaten until he was inches away from death. It was then that Hazel Solberg, Roxanne Leighton, and Anya Golden showed up to save him like the angels they were.

Hazel's parents took Evan as their son, and he took their name.

Evan Norwood became Evan Solberg.

The trio loved him like he was their most prized treasure for the past three years, becoming a topic Silverton loved to talk about.

Evan did not let them down.

He helped the Solbergs with their business. Hazel's parents had high hopes for him, and they gave their daughter's hand in marriage to him.

Roxanne and Anya promised they would stay single for him for good.

Not too long after their wedding, their long-lost Zeke came back, and he said he only had six months left to live. The three heiresses went mad with worry.

It was right then that Evan knew he was just a replacement. He looked just like Zeke—down to sharing the same blood type. That was why the ladies took him in. That was why he became the Solberg couple's adopted son and was going to marry their daughter.

Since then, the heiresses only had eyes for Zeke. All he had to do was make a call, and the ladies would dump Evan at his birthday party just to see him. He could make them force Evan to apologize to him in the most humiliating way possible.

The heiresses begged the doctor to take more of Evan's blood, their eyes red. "Please take more of his blood, doctor! Zeke has to live!"

The excessive blood loss was finally hitting Evan like a sledgehammer. His vision was blurring, and his body was convulsing. The heiresses, however, thought he wanted to run away, so they charged at him and pinned his arms and legs down.

"You're going nowhere until you've given Zeke enough blood!"

Despair grabbed hold of Evan. His convulsions were turning violent, and his eyes were a dark shade of crimson. He wanted to scream, but in her panic, Hazel clutched his throat tight. It almost suffocated him.

800cc.

Then, 1000cc.

Then, 1200cc.

…

More blood was drawn from Evan's body, and eventually, the machines started to blare. "That's nearly half his blood! He's in shock! Stop!"

The doctor called for it to stop right away. All the nurses were staring at Evan in horror. His once perfect face was devoid of any color. He looked less like a human and more like a carved statue.

All the nurses screamed. The heiresses let him go in a hurry. The sight of Evan's bloodless face made their hearts thump.

The doctor announced, "We can start with Mr. Carter's operation!"

The heiresses went straight to Zeke. Without even turning back, Hazel told her assistant, "Take him away and give him the best supplements. Make sure he has enough blood for the next transfusion."

"Yes, Ms. Solberg." Rosa Ximenes, her assistant, nodded quietly, but her heart was shuddering.

The heiresses never took too much blood from Evan, but they did not even stop this time, and all for Zeke. It nearly killed Evan.

…

Evan was unconscious for days.

Finally, he stirred and realized it was Rosa taking care of him. With all his strength, he pushed himself up. "Where's Hazel?"

"She's with Mr. Carter. So are Ms. Leighton and Ms. Golden." A pause later, she said, "Don't get mad at them. Mr. Carter needs a lot of blood for the surgery, and they got carried away, but they got you a lot of supplements—"

"It's alright. I owe them." Evan added coolly, "This is the 99th time."

That stunned Rosa. Then, she asked, "I beg your pardon?"

After Zeke's return, Evan knew he was just a replacement, so he talked about divorce with Hazel. Hazel refused to let it happen. Just to kill that idea, she told Evan that she would give him his freedom if he would give his blood to Zeke 100 times.

Never would she expect the impossible condition she came up with would be fulfilled soon enough. Evan had donated his blood 99 times. One more time, and he would've paid off his debt to the heiresses. He could get his divorce.

Taking a deep breath, he got out of bed and was about to see the ladies, but the door flung open. In came Roxanne and Anya.

Anya grinned, saying, "See? He's fine. You're a worrywart, Hazel."

He smiled bitterly. Every time he fainted from anemia, she would glare at him like he was just faking his condition to get their sympathy.

Ever since Zeke came back, the sweet girl who would not stop following him around was gone…

Roxanne looked at Evan. "If you can get out of bed, you can get me some chocolate eclairs. Zeke is craving for them."

Evan laughed. The best chocolate eclair was half a city away. If he made the journey in this state, he would die before he even got there.

He did get the eclairs before, but he thought Roxanne loved them. She did not. The moment he saw her feeding the eclairs to Zeke, he knew that Zeke was the one who loved eclairs.

Roxanne was celibate. She said Zeke alone was enough for her. The relationship they shared was beyond marriage. It had more freedom and romance. She only revolved around Evan because Zeke left.

Zeke was the object of their love, while Evan was just a replacement. His eyes turned red from both fury and disappointment.

With a smile, he said, "If he wants it that much, you can get the eclairs yourself, Ms. Leighton. This isn’t my problem."

"What?"

And then silence befell the ward. Evan met Roxanne's eyes. There was no relenting or obedience in Evan's gaze, only defiance. She could not believe Evan said no to them.

Even Anya's eyes were wide with disbelief.

He never went against their orders. He would die for them if they wanted him to.

Fury crept up Roxanne's face. "You’re throwing a tantrum over a little blood transfusion? Zeke just woke up, and all he wants is chocolate eclairs! You can't even do that much?"

Evan listened to her quietly. That only added to his disappointment. The heiresses only cared for their beloved Zeke. He could drop dead, and they would not even bat an eye.

"Don't push him, Roxanne." Zeke came in coughing, and Hazel was holding his arm. He put on an act of beating himself up. "I should never have asked for chocolate eclairs first thing after I woke up. He's already given me so much blood. You can't make him get the eclairs."

He made himself look like the victim, as if Evan would be a sinner if he did not get the eclairs for him. Then, he bowed to Evan. "I'm really sorry, Evan."

The heiresses' faces fell. "What are you doing, Zeke? Get up! He only exists to serve you!"

Roxanne and Anya held him up. Earnestly, they said, "He might be the Solbergs' adopted son and Hazel's husband, but the whole point of his existence is to serve you. You can order him around as you like. His feelings do not matter."

Evan said nothing, but he was staring at Zeke. The heiresses' words did not shock him. However, when Zeke bowed down just now, he shot Evan a twisted sneer. That was not the look of a wounded man.