End-stage kidney disease had taken its toll, pushing my heart and muscles beyond their limits.

Yet, even more exhausting was how relentless Luke seemed in his efforts to take my plot away.

While I was racking my brain for ways to keep him off it, my former med school classmate, now my doctor, Liam Doyle, called.

He informed me that my test results were looking bleak and insisted I go in to the nephrology unit immediately.

To avoid him showing up at my door, I dragged myself to the hospital, though the last thing I felt like doing was making the trip.

As I sat in the waiting room, I pulled out my phone and texted my feng shui master, asking if there was any foolproof way to guarantee that Luke would be completely out of my next life.

Before I could get a reply, I heard Liam’s urgent voice right above me.

“Amy, we need to go to the ER now…”

Just then, a robotic voice echoed from the intercom: “Patient number 009, Amy Crawford, please wait outside the consultation room.”

Liam shot me a look, his shock evident. “Are you seriously sitting here waiting in line in your condition?”

Disappointed that my feng shui master hadn’t replied yet, I shut off my phone and looked up at Liam with a shrug. “What’s the rush?”

Facing death had numbed me to most things.

End-stage kidney disease didn’t faze me – I wasn’t exactly in a hurry to race against the inevitable.

Grabbing my wrist, Liam half-dragged me into the consultation room. “Doctor, can you take a look at her? She’s in pretty bad shape.”

Of all people, Claire was the patient already sitting in the room.

I caught her telling the doctor, her voice laced with an air of practiced calm, “Doctor, my records should be in the system – just an old condition acting up. No need for tests, just a refill will do...”

“Amy?” Luke’s familiar, angry voice sliced through the room, exactly as I’d expected.

Luke, Claire, and their faithful dog all in one place; even a saint would tremble.

It was painfully clear he hadn’t expected the name on the intercom to actually be mine. His expression darkened, irritation crossing his face.

“So you found out Claire was coming here for a check-up and decided to stage some pity act of your own?” he sneered, his tone drenched in icy scorn.

His gaze flicked down to Liam’s hand still holding my wrist, a spark of irritation and disappointment flickering in his eyes. “You’re still a married woman, Amy.”

“Oh,” I replied blandly, laying on the sarcasm thick. “So you can parade around here with Claire in your arms like it’s nothing, but a doctor takes me in for a check-up, and suddenly it’s a scandal? Really, Luke? That double standard is ridiculous, even for you.”

Caught off-guard, Luke had no comeback, his face tinged with embarrassment as the doctor and waiting patients eyed him warily.

Through gritted teeth, Luke spat out, “Amy, you know exactly how much Claire has sacrificed for me. She’s unwell because of everything she’s done for me. It’s our shared responsibility to take care of her. I’m actually doing you a favor, taking on this burden. Can’t you just be reasonable?”

I couldn’t help it – I burst out laughing.

“Whether Claire actually donated a kidney or not is your issue, not mine. Even if she did, it’s on you, not me. If you’re that concerned, go get her a full-body scan and quit acting like this is some grand romance.”

“You – “

The doctor had had enough and cut Luke off with a curt interruption.

The doctor agreed, saying, “That’s precisely my recommendation. If she truly lost a kidney, a full-body examination is crucial. Medication alone won’t suffice.”

He added pointedly, “If you’re neglecting Amy, don’t worry – there are people who won’t. I’ve never seen someone abandoning their own wife for a mistress when she’s on her deathbed.”

With a frustrated huff, Liam pulled up my medical record on the doctor’s computer. The previously calm doctor straightened, adjusting his reading glasses, rechecking my file multiple times.

His face grew horrified as he finally addressed me: “You’re twenty-five, missing a kidney, with a creatinine level over 1500, in the final stage of kidney failure, no medication, no dialysis – and you just strolled in here like that?”

Um, was it really that bad?

Honestly, I didn’t think so. Aside from my heart racing, occasional dizziness, shortness of breath, and bouts of fatigue, nothing felt particularly urgent.

No major bleeding, no blinding pain…why were they acting so over the top?

In contrast to Liam’s concern and the doctor’s alarm, Luke looked entirely unbothered – more than that, he seemed dismissive and disgusted.

“Seriously? Is this an act? Amy, don’t get so wrapped up in the role.”

He’d rather believe I was orchestrating a scene with the doctor than face reality.

Some of the patients waiting nearby couldn’t help themselves, muttering in distaste.

“This guy looks decent enough, but what a heartless jerk – his wife’s in end-stage kidney failure, and he’s here with another woman.”

“And that woman? She’s got to be faking it too. If she really gave him a kidney, she’d be making sure everyone saw it to prove her so-called sacrifice.”

“Shameless – she’s acting more entitled than his actual wife.”

…

Claire looked completely flustered by the whispers, caught in a spiral of distress. She tried turning on the waterworks, her gaze fixed pleadingly on Luke. “Luke, if Amy had known you needed a kidney first, I’m sure she’d have done it without hesitation. I’m just sorry my worrying for you may have cost her the chance to help.”

With a choked sigh, she added, “Maybe it’s best I come to these appointments alone in the future. I don’t want my presence to hurt your relationship with Amy.”

Playing the role of the wronged woman, Claire’s tears earned her Luke’s immediate sympathy. He turned to the room with a scowl.

“Don’t be fooled by Amy’s performance – she’s an actress through and through. The Golden Globe should give her a Best Actress award just for today.”

He added, “Claire, let’s go. The patients here lack class, and the doctor clearly lacks ethics. We’ll never set foot in this hospital again.”

Liam, fed up, grabbed Luke’s arm to stop him. “Luke, you’ll regret this.”

Luke turned to him, smirking. “I’ve been regretting it for a long time. She tricked me into believing she’d given me her kidney, poisoned my dad against Claire, and you think I’d have married her otherwise?”

Right. He wasn’t the only one with regrets.

I used to be such a hopeless romantic, foolishly believing that love was more important than life itself.

If I could redo it, I would’ve let him rot in that hospital. With a whole, healthy body, I’d be out there living my life, not tied down by this absurd mess.

Watching Luke and Claire act out their own soap opera nearly made me lose my lunch. Just then, my feng shui expert messaged me back: [If you want to break free from him in your next life, there’s a simple way: divorce.]

Perfect.

If I’d known it was that easy, I’d have done it ages ago.

I looked up at Luke and said, “Luke, let’s get divorced.”

He stared at me, momentarily caught off guard. “Amy, if you keep acting like this, how are you going to clean up the ending if you don't die?”