Chapter 1

"Your condition is getting worse. If we don't move forward with the bone marrow transplant soon, you may not make it another month."The doctor stood by my bed, his expression serious. "We still haven't found a suitable donor."I swallowed the bitterness rising in my chest and kept quiet. There was a match, but my fiancée Moira Stevens couldn't bear to put the donor through it. She had filed to handle the procedure herself two weeks ago, then kept delaying it.Seeing me fall silent, the doctor softened his tone. "You're only 25. The success rate for this surgery is very high. Try not to worry too much. You don't seem to have family with you right now. You should let them know. This can't be put off any longer."I nodded numbly, clutching my file, and went home.The moment I pushed the door open, I saw my parents sitting on either side of Doug Daniel, their adopted son. Moira stood behind him, gently working his shoulders.Something in my chest tightened for some reason.Th

Chapter 2

I went to a medical donation center to register as a body donor.The staff member frowned as she looked at me. "Body donation requires consent from your immediate family. Without that, we can't proceed."Immediate family.If my parents and Moira found out, how would they react?A small part of me still hoped they might care. Maybe they would stop me or tell me not to do it.My hand trembled around my phone. The staff member gently reminded me twice.I clenched my jaw and called my mom.It rang for nearly half a minute before someone picked up.But it wasn't her. It was Doug.The moment he heard my hoarse voice, he let out a cold laugh. "Are you playing the victim again? Have you forgotten what happened yesterday?"His tone pulled me straight back to last night.Dad had just announced he was transferring all his shares in Daniel Enterprise to Doug when my symptoms hit. I couldn't breathe, and blood seeped from my nose and mouth.I dragged myself out of the living room, barel

Chapter 3

On the day of the bone marrow transplant, Moira was the lead surgeon, but she never moved to harvest Doug's marrow.I had expected it, but my chest still tightened anyway.Right before we were wheeled into the operating room, Doug had leaned in close and whispered tauntingly, "Wanna make a bet? I bet she won't take my marrow for you."He sounded so sure of himself.I forced a faint smile.A part of me still hoped Moira wouldn't let me down. We met in college and spent five years together.As I lay on the operating table, however, she didn't look at me once. Her eyes stayed on Doug the whole time, filled with concern.She lifted the scalpel, then hesitated. When the anesthesiologist was about to sedate Doug, he suddenly started crying."Moira… I don't know how long this body will hold up after the surgery. While I'm still okay, there's something I want to say."She reached for his hand right away, her expression soft.Doug's voice shook. "I've never been as lucky as Jay. I did

Chapter 4

Moira stumbled back a step, then another, her thin frame unsteady. She stared at me, her voice shaking. "Th-this is… No. It just looks like him. That's all."The students around her exchanged confused looks, but her eyes stayed locked on my face.Her hands trembled as she turned my body over. When she didn't see the tattoo of her initials on my left shoulder, she let out a quiet breath.Once she steadied herself, she went back to work.She opened my body with practiced precision, her tone calm and professional as she lectured. "Based on the condition of the organs and the abnormal cell growth, the patient had leukemia. Here you can see the heart, the lungs, the liver…"She moved through the procedure smoothly, as if nothing were wrong.She didn't know that the day I saw the photo of her kissing Doug, I had already gone and had that tattoo removed.When the class ended, she dropped into a chair, drained.She stared at my open body, lost in thought, when her phone rang sharpl

Chapter 5

After dinner, Doug offered to drive Moira home.In the past, she had stayed over more than once, partly out of guilt toward him.Tonight, however, her thoughts kept drifting back to the anatomy lab.Almost without thinking, she pulled up our message thread. The last messages were from half a month ago.She had believed Doug back then. She thought I was only with her to use her, to use her to get back into my wealthy family.So she had typed coldly, [Jay, you're too focused on status. I don't think we can go back to how things were. You insulted Doug. Come back and apologize to him.]I never replied. I didn't bother explaining anymore.Now, she stared at those two lines, then quickly typed another. [Where are you?]Doug kept glancing at her from the driver's seat, something dark settling in his eyes.I knew why he stayed close to her. He had his eye on her family and their medical legacy.I drifted in the back seat as he drove all the way to the coast.Moira looked at him, co

Chapter 6

I watched my parents and Moira collapse to the ground, their cries tearing through the air.My ashes had already been mixed with others from the lab. There was nothing left for them to take.The three of them were helped back to the villa by security. That was when they finally started remembering me.They opened the anonymous emails I had scheduled and sent them.All three of them went still, then furious.There were over 100 screenshots of messages. Along with the photo of Moira and Doug kissing, there were months of Doug's insults and threats.[So what if you're the real son? Mom, Dad, and Moira never take your side. All I have to do is say a few words, and you lose everything.[You're dying anyway, right? You think I'd actually give you my marrow? I was just putting on a show! Otherwise, how would I get the shares?[You're useless. If I were you, I'd have ended it already.[You're disgusting. No wonder nobody wanted you.]-They stared at the messages, faces shifting fro