Chapter 1

The moment I died, my soul drifted free, hovering above my broken body. My abdomen was left gaping open, and my body was down to a single kidney. Beside me lay the lifeless form of my unborn child—a scene too tragic for words.

Soon, a white sheet covered me, pulling a shroud over my story. My cold and silent body was wheeled out of the operating room.

As I floated through the hospital halls, I found him. Caleb Horton stood outside another surgery suite, his face etched with a desperate worry I'd never seen before. He didn’t glance my way, not even once.

What was I expecting? His concern was for someone else.

Just then, the operating theatre doors swung open, and Caleb shot forward.

"Doctor, how is Emily Denver?" he asked, his voice shaking.

The doctor’s face broke into a relieved smile. "The kidney transplant was a complete success. Once the anesthesia wears off, you’ll be able to see her."

Caleb’s entire frame sagged in relief, his eyes filling with emotion.

Inside the recovery room, Emily lay pale and fragile. Seeing her like this, Caleb’s eyes reddened, and he grabbed her hand tightly, his voice trembling.

"Emily, you’ve been through so much," he whispered.

She weakly lifted her hand, brushing his cheek with her fingers. After a brief pause, she murmured, "Caleb, you shouldn’t be here. You should be with Grace... I feel so guilty for her."

Her tears slipped silently down her cheeks.

However, Caleb cut her off sharply. "Why are you still thinking about her? If it weren’t for that heartless woman, your surgery wouldn’t have been delayed for so long. She’s the reason you’ve suffered so much."

His words, dripping with resentment, struck like a blade.

As my soul still lingered nearby, I felt a sharp, ghostly ache.

'Grace Trevor. That’s me. I’m the heartless woman he’s talking about.'

They say your life flashes before your eyes when you die, but all I could see was Caleb’s bloodshot eyes as he gripped my wrist, dragging me to that operating theatre.

"Grace," he had said, his voice a twisted blend of pleading and menace, "I swear, if you save Emily, we’ll finally be happy. If not, should Emily die, I’ll follow her."

He had framed it as a plea, but I knew it for what it was—a threat.

After my parents passed, I had nothing. They left me with a crumbling company and crushing debt. It was Caleb’s family that pulled me from the edge of financial ruin, paying off every cent.

From that moment on, my life felt like it belonged to him.

I knew Caleb would never actually kill himself, but even the hint of it was enough to break my resolve.

With that, looking into the eyes of the man I had loved for ten years, I gave in. I agreed to terminate our child and give my kidney to Emily, clinging to the hope that maybe, just maybe, we could have a future together.

Tragically, complications arose—blood loss, chaos, and desperate, unanswered calls to my next of kin. In my haze, I thought I heard a few sighs, as if even the doctors had resigned themselves to my fate.

Now, my body lay in a cold, metal drawer, while Caleb remained by Emily’s side, never once looking back.