I Didn’t Die From My Disease, I Died From Neglect
Lily · Completed · 5.6k Words
Introduction
At first, my parents were terrified. They watched me closely, rushed me to the hospital over every bruise, every nosebleed. I was the fragile one—the child who needed saving.
Then years passed.
They got used to it.
They got tired.
By the time my twin sister was graduating and my family was finally breathing again, I was about to turn eighteen.
And that night, while everyone believed I’d be fine like always, I bled to death.
Chapter 1
The doctors said I wouldn't live to see fifteen.
Von Willebrand disease—the name was too long for me to remember fully. I only held onto what it meant: my blood had forgotten how to clot, and any tiny cut could kill me.
The day I was diagnosed at ten, I could hear Mom sobbing through the clinic door.
After that, I became the "fragile girl." My world shrank to clotting factor injections, medical bills, and the exhaustion that settled deeper in my parents' eyes each day.
But here I am, almost eighteen—just three days until Lina and I turn eighteen.
We're twins, though in the mirror she stands half a head taller, her cheeks flushed with color, her eyes bright like mine used to be before the diagnosis.
"Ella, you're really not coming?" Lina stood in my doorway wearing her graduation gown.
Today was her high school graduation ceremony. She was the valedictorian, scheduled to give a speech.
And me? I hadn't set foot in a classroom since my diagnosis. I used to be an honor student too, used to dream about standing on stages and making a difference. Now I just watched from bed as she lived the life I should have had.
"My knee's killing me." I pressed my right knee. "I can't stand for long."
Mom rushed in, car keys clutched in her fist. "Lina, we're going to be late!"
She saw my hand on my knee and her voice caught. "It's acting up again? Today of all days?"
"Mom, I don't think I can make it..."
"Eight years." She cut me off, her voice shaking. "Every single important day for Lina, you get sick. Every single one."
"I'm really hurting..."
"Really?" Mom suddenly grabbed the medication box from the coffee table—next week's clotting factor, three thousand dollars a box. "For this, I quit my job to take care of you full-time! For this, we sold everything we could!"
The box trembled in her hands.
"Just today," she stared at me, "let Lina have her graduation. Let your mother catch her breath. Please?"
I opened my mouth but no words came out.
The box slipped from her grasp.
The glass vial shattered with a crisp sound. Fragments scattered everywhere, and one shard grazed my ankle—barely a scratch that wouldn't need a Band-Aid for anyone else.
But my blood doesn't clot.
Droplets welled up. One, two, then a thin line.
The air went still.
"I'll get gauze!" Lina spun toward the bathroom.
"Stop!" Mom's voice was ice cold. "Let her handle it herself."
She grabbed her keys and Lina's wrist. "We're leaving."
"But Ella..."
"Now!"
The door slammed shut.
I stood alone, watching blood trail down to my foot and drip onto the light wood floor—the same floor Mom mopped every day.
I crouched down, trying to wipe it with my sleeve. The blood just smeared, spreading into a larger stain.
Cold crept through my body, starting from my toes. I knew this feeling too well.
I stumbled toward the bathroom—my sanctuary, where I soaked in warm baths during every bleeding episode.
Sinking into the bathtub, the warm water temporarily chased away the chill.
I reached for my phone and tried Dad first. He'd taken the whole day off for the graduation.
The phone rang and rang. No answer.
I called Mom. When she picked up, I heard a marching band and cheering crowds in the background.
"Now please welcome our valedictorian, Lina Carter!" Thunderous applause.
"Ella?" Mom's voice was hushed. "What is it?"
"Mom, I'm bleeding..."
Two seconds of silence.
"What are you trying to pull now?" Her voice turned hard. "Lina's about to give her speech! Are you doing this on purpose?"
"I'm not making this up, it's real..."
"Enough! Handle it yourself like always—get gauze and deal with it. You'll be fine!"
The line went dead.
I held the phone, listening to the bathroom's echo. The bathwater grew redder, my body colder.
Mom's knitted cardigan hung on the tub's edge. I pulled it over my face, breathing in the lavender scent.
When I was twelve and hospitalized after breaking my arm, she wore this same cardigan while holding my hand through the night.
The water gradually cooled.
The bleeding slowed—not because the wound was healing, but because I was running out of blood.
Consciousness started slipping away. I thought: Maybe this is better.
Dad and Mom wouldn't fight about medical bills until dawn anymore.
Lina wouldn't have to write "My sister is seriously ill, so I'm choosing an in-state school" on every college application.
And I wouldn't have to fake optimism anymore, wouldn't have to bite my pillow through midnight pain attacks, staying silent.
With my last bit of strength, I pulled the shower curtain across—the waterproof one with sunflowers that Mom had chosen because she said sunflowers represented vitality.
I left a small gap in the curtain.
If they came looking for me, maybe they'd see me.
If...
The water turned completely cold. I was so cold.
Last Chapters
You Might Like 😍
The MC Hacker’s Stolen Princess
She did not come to find out her father had promised her to another man.
As the only daughter of Shane “Rook” Rourke, president of the Lost Coast Renegades MC, Taryn has always known club business comes first. But when Rook signs a treaty with the dangerous president of Iron Mesa, he crosses a line even she never imagined.
Safe passage through Arizona territory comes with a price.
Her.
Kellan Stroud is thirty, powerful, ruthless, and already waiting at Sturgis to meet the woman he expects to marry.
Taryn wants no part of him, no part of the agreement, and definitely no part of a future chosen for her by two men who think a signature is enough to decide where she belongs.
Then she meets Bobby Fuentes.
At twenty, Bobby is one of the youngest fully patched members of the Sons of Doom MC. He is quiet until he has something to say, dangerous when he needs to be, and smart enough to get into places no one else can. Hacking is what he does best.
Until Taryn gives him a new problem to solve.
One reckless connection at Sturgis becomes something neither of them can ignore, and when Bobby realizes exactly what Rook has promised away, walking away stops being an option.
But stealing another president’s future wife is not a misunderstanding.
It is an insult.
A betrayal.
And in the MC world, it can mean war.
Taryn refuses to be anyone’s property.
Bobby has never been good at following rules.
And Kellan Stroud does not forgive what he believes belongs to him.
The road out of Sturgis may cost them everything first.
FROZEN HEART BURNING SOUL
Then the festival comes to her town, and with it comes Ryder Callahan a rough, loud, motorcycle-riding wildfire fighter who looks at her like she is not a monster. Like she is just a girl. A girl he really wants to know.
But Bella is hiding more than her powers. Someone dangerous is coming for her. And the closer she lets Ryder get, the more she puts him in danger.
He says he is not afraid of fire. She says she is not afraid of ice. Maybe together, they can survive the storm that is coming for them both if she does not freeze him out first.
My Alpha's Fake Luna
Those were the last words my Alpha whispered before he severed our bond.
I believed our marriage was over.
I was wrong.
For two years, I thought Alpha Michael never loved me.
Every misunderstanding pushed us farther apart.
Every silence broke another piece of my heart.
While another woman slowly took my place.
But everything changed after the death of the Grand Alpha.
My mate began watching me.
Protecting me.
Holding me whenever I fell.
Looking at me like he was terrified of losing me.
If he hated me...
Why did he keep risking everything for me?
And why did everyone panic the moment I finally chose another future?
Falling for My Boyfriend's Uncle
My boyfriend skipped our anniversary for her—the girl who called me a whore.
He left me walking home in the dark. When my apartment caught fire, he ignored my calls.
But his uncle showed up.
The one with the scarred knuckles and the cop badge. The one who looked at me like he wanted to burn the world down for me—or maybe burn me down instead.
Now, we live under the same roof. Three people. One bed too close.
Every time my boyfriend touches me, I flinch. Every time his uncle looks at me, I burn.
He's dangerous. He's forbidden. He's everything I shouldn't want.
Is he saving me... or does he just want to own me?
Some fires don't just burn. They consume.
Chosen By The Lycan King
My Husband's Secretary Wore My Dress
Those words shattered Vivian's heart.
For three years, she endured her husband's coldness and his secretary's endless provocations.
She never knew that the woman he trusted most had stolen her identity.
Or that the man she loved had secretly loved her all along.
When the truth finally came out, it was already too late.
Vivian had divorced him.
She had disappeared with his unborn child.
And she had no intention of coming back.
Five years later, the former ballerina returned as the sole heiress of a powerful family.
Standing beside her was a little girl with eyes identical to Caden Lux's.
The billionaire who once ignored her had gone mad.
He blocked her in the dressing room, knelt before her, and even accepted the possibility that another man had taken his place.
Because losing his pride was nothing.
Losing Vivian had nearly killed him.
But after everything he had done…
Could she ever forgive the man who chose another woman over his own wife?
The First Female Alpha
The man I was meant to marry—the rising Alpha, the pride of the Pack—thrusting into another girl like I didn't exist.
But I didn't cry. I didn't scream. I didn't even flinch.
Because the pain had carved me hollow long before he ever touched her.
He thinks I'm weak. That I'll stand by his side in two days, smile for the ceremony, and hand him my loyalty with the Alpha title.
But he's wrong.
I'm not the broken little Luna they think I am. I'm the storm they never saw coming.
The Pack worships him, but only I know the truth buried beneath his perfect lies. So I'll take everything he wants most—the throne, the title, the crown he was born to wear—and win it out from under him, in front of everyone who ever called me unworthy.
Screw the Pack. Screw the respect. Screw being tame.
I'm fury dressed in skin, madness wearing heels, and heartbreak turned into a goddamn weapon.
They wanted a loyal Luna??
Instead...
They created a monster.
And when the throne is finally mine...
The Pack won't remember the name of the Alpha who betrayed me.
They'll remember the woman who took his crown...
and became the First Female Alpha.
The Spy Who Left
"I still can't believe she actually did it. Aria Hart, filing for divorce. Who saw that coming?"
"How long do we think it'll take before she comes crawling back?" Another voice joins the conversation.
"Three days," Victoria declares. "Five at most. She has no money, no skills, no family. Where's she going to go?"
When Aria Chen divorced billionaire Leon Hart, New York's elite sneered, betting she'd crawl back within days. She never did.
Three years later, the world is rocked when Dr. Aria Vale, CEO of a revolutionary cybersecurity empire, steps into the spotlight. The mysterious genius who built a billion-dollar company from nothing is none other than Leon's discarded wife, the woman everyone thought was just a pretty ornament.
Now, every powerful man wants the queen Leon threw away a renowned scientist seeking partnership, a financial titan proposing an empire, and an actor offering devotion. Each sees the brilliance Leon ignored.
Then Leon discovers the truth: Aria's sacrifices, her secret double life, and the daughter she's been raising without him. For the first time, the man who once took her for granted must fight for her love. But can he compete with men who valued her from the beginning?
A story of love, betrayal, and power where the king must kneel before the queen who never needed saving.
My Perverse: You're mine, you son of a bitch
Vincenzo Valentini is a man who sees the world as a business counter and human beings as merchandise.
The owner of an empire built upon corpses and submission, he is the reflection of pure perversity.
When fate places Andrew Thompson, the son of his greatest rival, into his hands, the plan was simple: use him, break him, and discard him like a toy that has lost its appeal.
What Vincenzo did not expect was that, beneath the youthful skin and the appearance of innocence, Andrew hid the same abyss as he did.
Vincenzo never wanted redemption. He never wanted someone to save him from his own darkness. He was seeking a mirror. And in Andrew, he found the partner who, upon seeing his blood-stained hands, does not recoil in terror, but trembles with desire.
In this perverse game, the "little toy" proves to be the perfect executioner. The mafia leader found someone who not only accepts his cruel side but cultivates it, feeding the monster Vincenzo has always been.
Where there should have been fear, lust emerged. Where there should have been hatred, a perverse loyalty was born. Andrew Thompson is the dark reflection of Vincenzo, the soldier the underworld did not see coming, and the man who proved that, for some, paradise only makes sense if it is in the middle of chaos.
Vincenzo opened the doors to his empire, but Andrew was the only one capable of invading his heart.
They are not heroes. They are hell on earth.
The millionaire's ugly secretary
Will Demetrio be able to conquer his ugly secretary? Will Eva be able to forgive Demetrio after this bet?
Fated to the Lycan
Ashlyn Ambrosia, the daughter of Khalid Ambrosia is a weak hybrid vampire that doesn't act like one. Unable to draw blood from a living soul and unable to kill. She's been mocked for this by her own family too. Her world comes crashing down when she's taken away by her Clutch most hated adversary.....
Lucifer Saunron is a ruthless lycan male alpha of the Nightwing pack known for his bravery, skills in war and an unquenchable taste for women. In the long feud between the lycans and the vampires and the battle that ensued, to his greatest displeasure he's fated to the daughter of the Vampire king.
He takes her in as his mistress opposing what the moon goddess proposes.....
With a life that is filled with secrets and mysteries that Ashlyn would discover, would she be able to withstand his hell as he battles with his inner demon despite his cruelty?
Luna On The Run- I stole The Alpha's Sons
But Axton is more than just a rival, he's her fated mate. And he's been searching for her not for love, but for revenge and a chance to destroy her father's pack. The next morning, Elena rejects him, walking away before he can trap her in his ruthless schemes.
But Axton does not take rejection lightly, and his retaliation is brutal: a leaked video, a ruined reputation, and a family that turns their backs on her drive her to flee the city in disgrace.
But when Elena disappears, she takes something Alpha Axton never planned to lose - his sons. Now, he'll stop at nothing to get them back. He wants his heirs, he wants his mate, and Elena will learn that no one runs from the Alpha.
