Chapter 5

Zeke burst into the hospital room and grabbed Calvin by the throat. "Why are you doing this to me? Give me my money back!"

But the thief was quick. He slipped out of the room in a flash.

All hope drained out of Zeke. He was just about to chase after the thief when Calvin clamped down hard on his wrist. "You must be really desperate for cash, huh, Zeke? How about this—I'll give you money, but you've gotta beg me on your knees."

"In your dreams!" Zeke barked.

The next second, Calvin pulled out a photo. "These are your grandma's ashes and her memorial photo. I already had someone pick them up from the chapel. You've been busting your ass making money just so you can bury her properly, right?"

Zeke's breath caught. "What did you do with my grandma's ashes?"

"Beg me. Get on your knees and beg me with everything you've got, and I'll tell you."

Zeke swallowed his pride and knelt. He didn't care what he had to endure as long as he could lay Margaret to rest. He prostrated himself before Calvin, slamming his forehead into the floor over and over, each thud louder than the last.

Calvin just watched, all smug and satisfied. He didn't tell Zeke to stop.

Zeke's forehead was red and swollen by the time he choked out, "Can you tell me now?"

Calvin curled his lips. He snatched up a fruit knife, dragged it hard across his own wrist, and then shoved the handle into Zeke's hand. He let out a shout, then cried, "Zeke, what are you doing? Ruth, save me!"

Before Zeke could even react, a powerful force slammed into him. Ruth burst into the room and drove a vicious kick into his side.

Calvin played it up. "Ruth, I just wanted to apologize to Zeke, but he got jealous because you're so good to me. He said he was gonna kill me…"

Hate burned in Ruth's eyes as she glared at Zeke. "Have you lost your mind, Zeke? You wanted to kill Cal?"

"My grandma's dead, Ruth! He stole her ashes and her memorial photo, and he slashed his own wrist with this knife!" Zeke had no way to prove his account and bitterly regretted not recording the exchange on his phone.

Ruth snapped, "I didn't think you'd stoop so low. You'd even lie about your own grandmother being dead just because of this jealous game you're playing? Aren't you afraid of karma?"

She ignored him after that, pressing down on Calvin's bleeding wrist as she rushed him out.

Zeke crumpled to the floor, his chest aching like it was full of needles.

No. He couldn't just let this slide. He had to get Margaret's ashes back.

Calvin had already admitted he'd taken them. Zeke just had to call the cops. They would definitely find the ashes after an investigation.

He pulled out his phone and started to dial when someone kicked the hospital room door open from the outside.

Ruth stormed back in, her eyes bloodshot. She grabbed his wrist in a vice grip and dragged him out. "The blood bank is low on type AB. You're gonna donate blood for Calvin. Now!"

Zeke struggled with everything he had. "Let me go, Ruth! I'm not giving him my blood!"

He was weak. Whatever strength he had couldn't match hers. She soon had him pinned to the chair in the blood collection room.

"Forced blood donation is illegal! Let me go!" Zeke shouted.

On top of that, he'd just sold 13 ounces of blood. He couldn't afford to lose any more, or he'd die!

His voice cracked with panic. "Ruth, I'm begging you. I already had 13 ounces drawn earlier. I really can't donate again!"

But no matter how he struggled or pleaded, Ruth just had her bodyguards hold him down in a death grip. Her eyes glinted with a hard, cold resolve.

"Stop with all this jealousy, Zeke. Every time you see me treat Cal a little better, you throw a fit. This time, you're donating whether you like it or not."

Zeke's heart felt as if it were being ripped apart. His lips twisted into a bitter, broken smile.

Jealousy. Again with that.

He hadn't felt a smidgeon of jealousy ever since he'd seen her true colors—only the crushing pain of having given his heart to the wrong person.

"Is that really what you think of me, Ruth? You don't believe me at all, do you?" he asked.

Ruth answered without hesitation, her tone almost coaxing. "Zeke, just be good. Give Cal your blood and stop hurting people just because you're jealous."

Zeke watched with wide, unblinking eyes as the thick needle slid into his arm and bag after bag of his blood was drawn. It felt like his very soul was being drained.

He had no idea how much time passed before they finally finished.

Ruth rushed off clutching the bags of blood, while his vision went dark at the edges and his consciousness started to blur.

As his body slid from the chair to the floor, he murmured, soft as a whisper, "Ruth, you're gonna regret this…"