Chapter 1
On the day of my wedding, one text from Lily was all it took for my fiancé, Kyle, to call everything off and walk away.
My parents went out looking for him. On the way, they got into a car crash. My dad died on the spot. My mom was rushed to the hospital, barely hanging on.
When I was drowning in panic and hopelessness, Kyle’s uncle, Jude, was the one who stepped in.
He got my mom into the best hospital. He pulled every string he had, brought in top surgeons, the kind people wait months to see.
And still, my mom didn’t make it. She bled out on the operating table.
After the funeral, Jude stayed behind after everyone else left.
He found me standing there alone, hollowed out. He wrapped his arms around my shaking shoulders like he was trying to hold me together, and he said, voice thick with guilt, that he would give me a home.
That same day, I overheard him talking to his friend David.
“Don, you already drained Lynn’s mom dry. You’re really going to take the baby’s cord blood too and give it to Lily?”
Jude’s voice came from inside the room, steady, cold.
“I got Lynn pregnant for one reason,” he said. “So I can take the cord blood and keep it as backup for Lily.”
“Lily’s blood type is rare,” he went on. “And Lynn and her mother just happen to match. I don’t have a choice. I have to do this.”
“For Lily, you set up that car accident. You killed Lynn’s dad. Then you drained her mom until she died.”
“But Lily wasn’t even hurt. Why would you go that far?”
There was a long silence.
“Because if something happens, it’s already too late. I won’t let Lily suffer even a little. I need to be prepared for anything.”
“As for Lynn, I’ll make it up to her later.”
I froze in place.
Inside, they kept talking.
“Lily doesn’t like me, so I married Lynn. That way Lily can marry the man she really wants.”
“Jude, you’ve been taking Lynn’s blood for years under the excuse of looking out for her health, storing it away. She’s been sick because of it. And now you want her pregnant and this could go wrong. She could die. The baby could die too.”
Jude didn’t answer right away.
“I’ll get her the best OB-GYNs. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
David pushed again, softer but stubborn.
“And if this keeps going, what if something happens to the baby?”
Jude didn’t hesitate.
“Then so be it. Lily’s life is what matters. Everything else, everything, including that baby, is a price we can pay.”
“And Lynn… once it’s done, I’ll take care of it. Right now, nothing matters more than Lily being safe.”
My whole body started shaking. I clamped a hand over my mouth and stumbled away before I made a sound.
So that was the truth.
The wedding. The crash. The hospital. The funeral. The arms around my shoulders.
Every single thing was a fraud.
I’d lost my parents and believed Jude was the only person who’d saved me.
Turns out he wasn’t my salvation at all. He was the trap.
Just yesterday, I’d found out I was pregnant. I’d told him this good news.
He’d lifted me off the ground and spun me around, laughing like he couldn’t contain his happiness.
Now I understood why. He wasn’t happy because we were having a baby. He was happy because my baby’s cord blood meant Lily would have one more layer of protection.
My mom who might’ve been saved had been turned into a sacrifice for Lily. And I… I’d married him without ever knowing what I was signing up for. Years of blood draws. Weakness I couldn’t explain.
A life slowly drained out of me, bottle by bottle, all so I could be Lily’s portable blood bank.
