The Family Sacrifice

Chapter 1

Sabrina's POV

My parents have always loved my cousin Yvonne more than me. I had to give her everything growing up.

I thought my fiancé Gilbert would be different, but I was wrong. After meeting Yvonne, he kept pressuring me to give way to her too, just like this time when he's forcing me to give her my kidney. He even threatened to break off our engagement just to make me give in.

Today I finally stopped fighting. I'm giving her everything, all of it.

...

I found out about the cancer today.

"Ms. Collins, I'm very sorry." The doctor's face stayed carefully blank while he said it. "Your stomach cancer is stage four. Without treatment, you have approximately three months to live."

Three months.

I sat there staring at the test results in my hands, watching the words blur together on the page.

"We can start chemotherapy immediately if you'd like to discuss—"

"I need some time to think about it," I told him.

I drove to Gilbert's apartment in complete silence, my mind felt weirdly empty.

Gilbert was waiting in the living room when I walked in. He stood up the second he saw me.

"Sabrina, have you made up your mind?" His voice sounded tired, almost irritated. "If you don't agree to donate your kidney to Yvonne, I'm not signing the marriage registration form."

He held the form up so I could see it. The signature lines sat empty.

I looked the engagement ring on my finger that suddenly felt way too heavy.

"Okay," I said calmly.. "I'll do it."

Gilbert's eyes went wide. "What did you just say?"

"I'll donate my kidney to her."

He just stared at me for a second, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Then his whole face broke into this huge smile.

"Are you serious? You actually mean it?"

He grabbed a pen off the coffee table and signed his name fast, like he was afraid I'd change my mind. Then he shoved the form across the table toward me.

"Sign it right now. Come on, before you back out."

His phone started ringing. He looked at the screen and his smile got even bigger.

"I have to take this." He walked out to the balcony and slid the glass door shut behind him. Through the window I watched him looking so excited.

"She agreed!" His voice carried through the glass loud. "Sabrina finally said yes! She'll donate her kidney!"

I looked down at the form on the table at the empty line next to "Wife's Name," picked up the pen, and wrote a name in that space, but the name I wrote wasn't mine, it was Yvonne Wells.

I stared at what I'd written and felt this bitter smile pull at my mouth.

She can have this too.

...

Two weeks ago, Yvonne was rushed to the hospital.

Kidney failure. The doctors said it came on suddenly, unexpectedly. She'd been sick ever since the car accident twenty years ago. Always weak, always fragile, always needing something from somebody.

"She needs a kidney transplant," the doctor had told us in that sterile hospital corridor. "Without it, she won't survive."

They tested everyone in the family.

I was the only match.

"Sabrina," Yvonne had said from her hospital bed, looking small and pale against the white sheets. "You're the only one who can save me."

I'd been feeling weak myself lately. Tired all the time, stomach pains that wouldn't go away.

"I need some time to think about it," I'd said. "I haven't been feeling well either. Let me get checked out first, then we can—"

"Think about it?" My father's voice had turned cold. "Your cousin is dying and you need to think about it?"

Gilbert had grabbed my arm. "What's there to think about? She needs you now."

"I just want to make sure I'm healthy enough for the surgery," I'd tried to explain. "If something's wrong with me, I might not be a suitable donor—"

"Nothing is wrong with you," my mother had cut me off. "You're just making excuses. You've always been selfish, Sabrina. Always thinking about yourself first."

"If you refuse to help your own cousin," my father said, his face hard, "we're leaving everything to Yvonne. You won't get a single dollar when we die."

Gilbert's grip on my arm tightened. "And we're done. I'll call off the engagement."

I'd wanted to tell them about the symptoms, about how something felt really wrong. But their angry faces stopped me.

"I just need to get my checkup first," I'd said quietly. "Then I'll give you my answer."

They'd let me go, but barely.

I went to the doctor the next day.

That's when I found out about the cancer.

...

Gilbert drove us straight to the hospital after I signed. He could barely sit still in the driver's seat.

"They're going to be so happy when they hear," he kept saying over and over.

My parents were sitting by Yvonne's bedside when we walked into the room. Yvonne was propped up against the pillows, an IV drip attached to her arm, looking pale and delicate as always.

"Sabrina agreed!" Gilbert announced the second we stepped through the door. "She's going to do it! She'll donate her kidney to Yvonne!"

My mother actually gasped. My father stood up from his chair with this big smile spreading across his face.

"Sabrina," my mother said, looking at me like she was proud for the first time in years. "You've finally grown up. You're finally thinking about your family instead of just yourself."

I didn't say anything back to her.

My father walked over and stood right in front of me. "Yvonne's parents died because of you. Her health got destroyed because of you. Everything you're doing now is just paying back what you owe her."

The words should've hurt. They didn't anymore.

"But you're still our daughter," my mother added quickly, "After Yvonne gets better, we'll leave most of the estate to you. To make up for this sacrifice. We'll make sure Yvonne has enough money to be comfortable, but you'll get the majority."

I glanced over at Yvonne. Just for a second, I saw anger flash across her face. Then it disappeared and she went back to looking sweet and grateful.

I shook my head slowly.

"I don't want your money," I said, swallowed the bitterness inside me.

Everyone in the room stopped and stared at me.

"I don't need any of it anymore."