All Chapters of When Fairness Isn't So Fair After All: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

When Joanna Reynolds went into labor, the pain hit me so hard that I bit my fingernails to the quick. Every contraction, every tear, every stitch she endured after giving birth was transferred to me through the specialized chip.The torture lasted a full six hours. By the time it was over, my clothes were drenched in sweat, and my bloody fingers had smeared horrifying dark red streaks across the hospital floor. Patients passing through the hallway stared at me with morbid curiosity. They pointed at me, whispering to one another."She's not even the one giving birth. Why's she screaming like that? Is she out of her mind?"Maybe she has some kind of psychotic break. I saw something about this in the news before. Apparently, some women who can't have children lose it and start acting crazy outside delivery rooms…"Not long after, Chase Russell's voice drifted through the crack in the door. "How are you feeling? It doesn't hurt at all, does it?""Chase, the chip you developed

Chase had promised that I would be the person he cherished most in the entire world, and that he would spend the rest of his life protecting and treasuring me. And for a while, he really did keep that promise. With his talent and determination, he developed a revolutionary neural-interface chip the year he graduated from college. It could manipulate and regulate a person's senses and emotions at will. By pairing two people through the chip, it could even synchronize their sensations and emotions—or transfer one's physical pain to the other. Chase told me that was exactly why he had created it. He wanted to take all my pain and negative emotions away from me, swearing he'd protect me for the rest of his life. If he ever broke that promise, the chip would punish him. But ironically, the very chip created to carry his promise would eventually become the source of my deepest despair and suffering. I wiped my face and slowly made my way downstairs to the storage room. I carried

At the wedding, Chase kept glancing at the clock on the wall. The speeches were nearly over, yet the seat reserved for me remained empty. "Mr. Russell," the emcee called cautiously. "Perhaps we should—""Five more minutes!" Chase snapped through clenched teeth, barely managing to hide his anger. By then, the guests had started whispering among themselves. "Didn't they say Mr. Russell's ex-girlfriend was coming to give the newlyweds her blessing? It's getting late, and there's still no sign of her. Looks like he hasn't managed to sort things out with her after all.""I heard they didn't exactly end things on good terms. He got another woman pregnant. Who could blame her for refusing to show up and give them her blessing?"With no other choice, Chase forced himself to signal for the ceremony to continue, his face dark with anger. For the rest of the ceremony, his eyes kept drifting toward the entrance. But even after the reception ended, I never appeared. …"Renee, how

The dead tone of the disconnected call echoed in his ear as Chase gripped his phone, his hand trembling slightly. He sat motionless on the couch, Mr. Walsh's cutting remark replaying over and over in his mind. Outside, dusk slowly settled over the city. As Chase stared at the empty living room, a realization suddenly dawned on him. This time, I might really never come back. He slowly picked up the ring, the metal cold and painfully real beneath his fingertips. He remembered proposing to me on the beach seven years ago, and how happy I'd looked as I slipped the ring onto my finger. Now, it was the only thing I'd left behind. "How did it come to this?" Chase murmured. "Renee… did I really break your heart?"…"Mr. Russell, are you sure you want to go through with this?" the researcher asked, looking concerned. "The empathic link will transmit everything the other person feels, including—""Enough," Chase cut him off coldly. "Start now. I need to know exactly what Renee w

Chase's jaw went slack as he stared at the woman in disbelief. Was this really the same Joanna he remembered—the sweet, innocent woman who had once seemed so delicate and pure?She crossed one leg over the other, a cigarette dangling between her fingers. "Come on, you guys can't tell I've had a kid, can you?" she asked smugly, showing off to the men around her. "Of course not!" one of the men immediately flattered her. "With that figure and that face, I'd believe you were 20."Joanna's ego was thoroughly stroked, and she giggled. "After all, I didn't suffer at all," she said. "I barely felt a thing from pregnancy through childbirth. I was in better shape than most women even after having a baby.""Damn, you really are something," another man chimed in, eager to flatter her. "I heard you used to get pretty wild with a bunch of guys from different countries."Good thing the baby came out looking like a local, though. Otherwise, how could you have gotten Chase to raise someone