Chapter 2 The Expression

'That look again,' Evan thought. Every time the heiresses scolded him, Zeke would always show him that sneer.

He kept framing Evan just to make the heiresses hate him and punish him. At first, he thought Zeke was just trying to get him kicked out, but now he realized Zeke wanted to kill him.

He tried to explain it to the heiresses, but it was hopeless. They did not believe him. They loved Zeke, so everything he did was right. They had no love for Evan, so everything he did was wrong.

When Zeke stood back up, a dragon-shaped pendant fell from him. That got everyone's attention. Evan, however, breathed heavily. "That's the engagement gift I gave Hazel! Why do you have it?"

That was his only and most valuable possession. It was already hanging around his neck when he was taken in that night. He gave it to Hazel when they got engaged.

Zeke went and picked up the pendant, and he gave Evan a look of mockery. "Sorry, Evan. I had no idea this was yours. I saw Hazel wearing it, and I thought it was nice, so I wanted to play with it. She gave it to me right away."

That pierced Evan's heart, and he looked at Hazel. She gave an important item to another man without even blinking, and she did not even look guilty about it.

There was only indifference.

That told Evan that his most important thing was nothing to Hazel. He bit his lip so hard that he tasted metal. It was tragic. Now, he knew the heiresses had given all their love and tenderness to another man. To be exact, they gave it to the man they'd always wanted to.

He was just a replacement.

All the years he spent with them were nothing compared to a single request from Zeke.

Evan wanted to give his blood one last time now. Then, he would owe Hazel no more.

"Well, since you’re the owner, you should take it back."

Zeke handed the pendant over to Evan, but just when he was going to take it back, Zeke pulled his hand back. Then, in a voice only they could hear, he said, "I know what you're planning, Evan."

Evan trembled.

"There's a diary in the locked drawer in your room. It's your blood donation records. You want to leave after the hundredth donation, don't you?"

Zeke sneered.

Evan went paler than ever, and his breathing was turning ragged.

"I can't let that happen. What would I do if you left? So, I tore out the pages until only a few were left. I erased most of the hospital's records too."

Zeke's voice was barely a whisper, but a deep chill swept across Evan's body. He clenched his fists. "Aren't you worried they might find out?"

"They won't. All they care about is me, not you. Because of my departure, you had them for three years. You should be happy with that. Giving your blood to me is the only thing you can do to thank me."

He sneered again. "One more thing. I'm not as weak as I look. The fainting episodes? I faked them, all so they would make you give your blood to me. You'll never escape me!"

That was the last straw. Evan grabbed Zeke by the collar. His eyes were red, and he roared, "Why did you do that? Why are you doing this to me?"

Before he could do anything more, the horrified heiresses pulled them away.

"Stop!"

"Are you mad, Evan?"

"What is wrong with you? All he did was play with the pendant! And that sets you off? He had no idea what the pendant meant! I never said it was yours!"

The heiresses were glaring at Evan.

Anya roared, "Know your place, Evan! Just because you're Hazel's husband doesn't mean you can do whatever you want! You think you're an adopted son? Well, you're nothing but a lapdog! You'd have died without Zeke! We'd never have spent 150 million to save you if you didn't have his face!"

Everyone was furious, but Zeke was standing behind the ladies, looking at Evan coldly. Evan stopped shouting, and he quieted down.

Then, he grinned and nodded. "Yes, I'd have died without you. Let's just cut all ties from now on. And we're getting a divorce, Ms. Solberg."

That froze everyone for a moment.

A trace of shock flashed through Roxanne and Anya's eyes. They could not believe what they were hearing.

"Wait, Evan…" Anya wanted to say something, but Hazel interjected coldly, "Fine."

The look in her eyes turned freezing cold. There was no hint of warmth or love left.

That only made Evan's grin broader and sadder.

"But not now," said Hazel. "There's a month of grace period after. I'll sign the papers if you still want to cut off ties with us after that."

'Grace period, huh?' Evan thought. 'You think that lie will work on me? First, you told me you'd do it after 100 donations, and now you want to wait for the grace period to count down?'

Even now, the heiresses never expected him to leave. They thought he was just being emotional, but he would show them he was not.

Evan grabbed the pendant from Zeke and left. He joined the Solbergs, bringing nothing but the pendant, and he would leave with nothing but that same pendant.

As he watched Evan leave, Zeke's lips curled into a bloodthirsty smile. He thought, 'You're getting no freedom unless you're dead! You're my blood bank!'

Evan came to the blood transfusion room right after that. The nurse looked at him, shocked. "You again? No! You've given too much blood a few days ago! You can't do it again, or you will really die! Ms. Solberg told us—"

"This is the last time," insisted Evan in a voice quiet enough that only he could hear. There were 99 needle marks on his arms. The next one would make 100—the last time.

Though Zeke had deleted the records, Evan's conscience was still clear. The needle eventually pierced his skin, and crimson blood flowed through the tube. The pain made Evan shiver, and he did not realize it.

Evan felt life force moving out of his body. However, he did not feel the pain. Instead, he put on a smile of relief. Veins throbbed on his arms, and he shivered worse.

He thought, 'Hazel, Roxanne, Anya, this is the hundredth donation. I’m gone. Evan Solberg is no more.'

…

Before he left, Evan told the nurse, "Keep this a secret. It's an anonymous donation."

He just wanted to repay his debt. Whether the heiresses knew or not was not his problem.

The nurse looked at him with pity. "Fine, but you should leave the city. Another donation would kill you!"

Evan left the hospital, too weak to even walk properly. His face was the color of a tombstone, and the world around him was a swimming, blurry mess.

A sudden downpour hit the asphalt, and it drenched Evan. The cold almost felt like it went around his body and stabbed his soul instead.

His mind started replaying memories of his life with the heiresses. Sweet, bitter, sad, and despairing, but in the end, they were all taken by the void.

Yet Evan smiled, content and happy. At that exact moment, he knew he was no longer a replacement. One thought echoed in his mind, 'Hazel, Roxanne, Anya, my debt is repaid!'

With that weight off his shoulders, he dragged his battered body ahead. But his consciousness was starting to fade. He was crossing the road, yet he had no idea at all.

A car was zooming down the road uncontrollably, and Evan was in its path.

Not even a regular adult could move away in time, let alone a guy who'd been ruined by impossible standards of blood donation.

A loud bang exploded in the rain, and Evan was thrown a hundred feet away like a ragdoll.

At the same time, a glimmer of dark golden light swam out of his pendant and went right into his body.

Unspeakable agony hit every cell of Evan's body, and he fainted. A moment before darkness took his mind, he saw a lithe silhouette coming to him. She was a gorgeous woman in a white dress, and she looked panicked.