Chapter 2

I gave the ceiling a thumbs-up.

"And the pain transfer's locked in, right?"

"Locked in. Starting now, one hundred percent of the pain from any physical harm you take goes straight to Bianca. Her body won't show a single mark. She'll just feel it."

Beautiful.

I tucked the black card into my pocket and went looking for the kitchen. A house this size had to have a fridge worth raiding.

So what if I was an angst heroine? A girl still had to eat.

Bright and early the next morning, I was hauled off to the hospital.

Sebastian had my wrist in a grip hard enough to crack bone. Not that it hurt me. That was Bianca's problem now.

"Take 600 ml. Bianca can't wait."

The doctor frowned. "Mr. Rhodes, that's more than a standard pint. Taking that much at once could seriously hurt your wife."

"Take it." I cut him off and held out my arm like a good girl.

Seriously, just take it already. I'd spotted a pizza place across the street on the way in, and I'd been thinking about it ever since.

When the needle went into my vein, I didn't even feel a mosquito bite. My arm might as well have belonged to someone else.

The System really knew its stuff.

Through the window, I could see straight into the VIP room next door.

Bianca was lying in bed with a grape between her teeth, lazily scrolling on her phone.

The moment my blood started flowing down the tube—

"AHHHHH!"

A blood-curdling scream exploded from her room.

On my side, the nurse asked softly, "Mrs. Rhodes, are you feeling okay?"

I was busy deciding whether to start with the wings or the mozzarella sticks. I shook my head. "I'm fine..."

Next door was already chaos. Bianca's shrieks came straight through the wall.

"My hand! My wrist!"

"My bones are breaking! It hurts!"

"Something's stabbing my arm! It hurts so bad!"

Doctors and nurses rushed in for a frantic round of tests.

"Miss Carrington, there's no injury on your wrist, and the joint moves normally."

"But it HURTS! It's killing me! Did I tear a tendon? Is it nerve damage? Look again!"

The doctor chose his words very carefully. "Miss Carrington, sudden pain in the wrist with no clear cause can sometimes come from overuse. A muscle cramp. Have you been doing any... repetitive hand activity lately?"

The room went quiet for two full seconds.

I almost laughed out loud. Repetitive hand activity. Doc, you are a master of tact.

Bianca clearly caught his meaning too. Her face went red, then white. "What are you implying? It just started hurting out of nowhere!"

Right after she said it, her whole body swayed.

"I'm dizzy... so dizzy... the ceiling's spinning... Doctor, am I going to pass out?"

The doctor checked the monitor. "Your blood pressure and heart rate are normal. You do have some anemia symptoms, but Mrs. Rhodes is giving blood for you as we speak. Just hang on a little longer."

"But I'm really going to faint!"

Her voice shook with real panic. Every fainting spell before this had been an act. This one was the real deal.

"Am I pale? Are my lips turning blue? Look at me!"

The doctor glanced at her. "You're a little pale, Miss Carrington, but you really are fine."

"Get Sebastian! Get Sebastian in here right now! I need to see him!"

Bravo.

From the next room over, I gave her a silent round of applause.

Before long, a doctor came to brief Sebastian, and he walked out with a dark look on his face.

I gave my nurse a look that said there was drama next door. She knew it wasn't exactly professional, but neither of us could resist good gossip. She grabbed my IV pole and wheeled me over.

I was still hooked up, blood pouring into the bag. It looked a little ridiculous.

But who cared?

The moment I walked in, I saw Bianca propped against the headboard. Her face was bone-white and her lips had no color left in them, like someone had just pulled her out of a sack of flour.

"Sebastian... I feel awful... I'm freezing... everything's going black..."

For once, she didn't have to act fragile.

Sebastian hurried to her bedside, sat down, and took her hand. "Bianca, it's okay. The doctor's right here."

"Is the blood... is it ready?"

Bianca looked at me. More precisely, at the nearly full bag on my IV pole. Something greedy flashed in her eyes before she went right back to looking weak and pitiful.

"Daisy... thank you... but I'm so dizzy..."

"Almost done," Sebastian murmured. He reached up and stroked her cheek, so gently.

Once.

Twice.

Then he froze and looked down at his fingertips.