After five years of being married, David Smith had always seemed to love me to bits.

But there was this one huge thing missing in our marriage that felt like a gaping hole.

We didn't have a kid, you know, that little bundle of joy that's supposed to be the proof of our love.

Ever since I had that miscarriage two years back, I just couldn't get pregnant again.

David finally managed to score an appointment with one of the top doctors in the country for me. We were on our way to the hospital, all hopeful, when out of the blue, we got into a car crash.

David, his eyes all red with what I thought was worry, rushed me into the operating room.

I was kind of in and out of it, but I heard him talking to the doctor.

"Just cut out her kidney and get it into Jane's kid, pronto! Coco can't hold on much longer. And when she wakes up, tell her we had to do the surgery 'cause of some abdominal bleeding," he barked.

The doctor, looking at my blood - covered body, looked real uncomfortable. "Mr. Smith, your wife's a gymnast. If we take out one of her kidneys, she won't be able to do gymnastics no more."

"Besides, your wife's a person. How can we just..."

David cut him off, ice - cold. "Don't give me that crap. Just do what I said!"

"Ella White can live with one kidney, but if Coco kicks the bucket, Jane's gonna lose it."

They shot the anesthetic into me, and I started to fade.

I wanted to say something, but I didn't even have the energy to open my mouth.

And I knew for a fact that Jane didn't have a kid. She just had this dog named Coco.

When I came to, I was lying in the hospital bed. David was over by the window, yapping on the phone.

"Make sure the car crash looks like a total accident. No matter who noses around, it's gotta be an accident. Keep an eye on Jane and Coco for me. I'm swamped here."

His words were so clear, it was like a punch in the gut.

I just stared up at that white ceiling, and the tears started rolling down my face.

So, turns out, David was the one who set up this whole car accident.

David Smith, having just wrapped up his phone call and spun around, turned as jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof the second he caught sight of me with my eyes wide open.

"Ella, you feelin' okay anywhere? Does it sting? What's with the tears?"

All these questions that seemed so caring made me half - believe I'd just had a crazy, bad dream.

But then there was that scar on my waist from the kidney removal, still throbbing away.

I clung to that last little bit of hope. "Coco, that Jane's dog, right?"

David Smith didn't give it a second thought.

"Yeah, Jane's had Coco for three years now. She dotes on that dog like it's her own kid. Coco had a kidney transplant just yesterday and is still over at the pet hospital."

As soon as I heard "kidney transplant", it was like my heart plummeted right down to the bottom of a black hole.

All those memories from our five - year marriage started flashing through my mind like a movie on fast - forward.

Everyone was always going on about how David Smith was the kind of husband you'd only find once in a blue moon.

Just yesterday, he'd given me a sweet little kiss on the forehead and told me not to stress so much about having a baby.

For five whole years, he'd been the only one standing up to all that family pressure.

Even after I had that miscarriage two years back and my body just couldn't seem to get pregnant again, he'd stuck with me, treating me just like he did when we first got together.

I felt so lousy that I couldn't give him a kid. I'd finally caught a break when that top - notch doc came to Northtown. But he'd gone and blown it all to smithereens, all for a dog.

He'd even had my kidney yanked out and given it to Jane's mutt.

He knew darn well that without a kidney, my gymnastics career was toast.

David Smith, he figured the tears in my eyes were from the pain of the surgery.

He wiped the wetness from my eyes, looking all sad.

"I'm real sorry. I shoulda kept you safe."

I pulled away from his touch, and that tiny move jostled my wound.

All of a sudden, it felt like someone had stabbed me with a hot poker, and the pain shot right through me.

In an instant, my face turned deathly pale.

"Ella, what's wrong? Are you not feeling well? I'll go get the doctor!"

I called out to stop him, my voice quivering as I spoke.

"No, I just want to take a nap."

David Smith double - checked that I was okay before finally relaxing his furrowed brows.

"Alright, then you get some sleep."

He carefully tucked the blanket around me before turning to leave. After the ward door closed, I took out my phone and dialed a number. "You previously mentioned asking me to be a coach at the secret training base. I agree."

"Really? Once you enter the secret training base, you won't be able to contact the outside world. Does David Smith agree to you going?"

I tried my best to hold back the overwhelming emotions that were churning inside me like huge waves.

"I don't need his consent. I'll divorce him. As soon as the divorce is finalized, I'll go straight to the base."

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I signed myself out of the hospital.

As I was riding home in a cab, I caught sight of David Smith stepping out of the pet hospital, his arm slung casually around Jane.

There, in Jane's arms, was that blasted dog that now had my kidney. She was petting the mutt in her arms all lovey - dovey, her voice dripping with relief.

"Thank God Coco's alright. If anything bad had happened to my little furball, I seriously don't know what I'd do with myself."

David Smith gave her a soft look, running his fingers through Jane's hair.

"With a mom as doting as you, there was no way Coco wasn't gonna pull through."

Jane's mouth curled up into a smile.

"David, you're a lifesaver for getting Ella White to fork over her kidney for Coco. You gave my baby a second chance at life. From now on, you're Coco's daddy."

David Smith spoke in a doting tone,

"Jane, never say thank you to me. No matter what I have to give, it's all worth it as long as you're happy. I'll love Coco together with you."

I couldn't help but clench my hands tightly. The pain as my nails dug into my flesh made me come to my senses a bit.

He traded my kidney for the chance to be the 'father' of a dog, and he seemed more than willing.

But did he ever stop to ask if I was okay with it?

I really wanted to rush over and ask David Smith what on earth he took me for.

However, before I could take more than a couple of steps, David Smith already protected Jane and the dog in her arms and got into the car.

I stood there rooted to the spot.

The spring breeze was warm, yet it only made my heart feel icy cold. What kind of person had I been sharing a bed with all these years?

I dragged my broken body back home.

On the table, the spare phone that David Smith had left behind was dinging.

When I opened it, there were all messages from Jim.

[David Smith, have you lost your mind? Two years ago, because Jane was feeling down after having a miscarriage, you wanted to help her get over it. So you put abortifacient in Ella White's soup. You made Ella White lose her child, and she had massive bleeding, which damaged her uterus. She can never have children for the rest of her life.]

[Now you've even given her kidney to Jane's dog. Are you even human?]

[You're treating her like this. One day, you'll surely regret it!]

My hand holding the phone couldn't stop trembling, and the words in front of my eyes made the blood in my body turn cold.

I didn't know if David Smith would regret it, but I was certain that I did. The man I had loved for so many years turned out to be a devil.

Two years ago, I unexpectedly lost my five - month - old baby. It was a fully formed male fetus.

I had blamed myself countless times for not protecting the baby in my belly well enough.

It turned out that it was David Smith who had personally caused the death of that child.

Jane had lost her child, so she wanted me to suffer the same pain as her.

The really messed - up thing was, he even kept from me the fact that I'd never be able to have kids again.

When I thought about all those pills I'd swallowed down, all in the hope of getting knocked up, I felt like the world's biggest idiot.

In David Smith's eyes, the way I was practically going crazy trying to have a baby for him must've been a real hoot, right?

He'd managed to keep this huge secret from me for a solid two years. He had me getting my hopes up over and over again, only to let me down every single time.

It was pitch - black outside when David Smith finally tracked me down. The second he laid eyes on me, he let out a huge sigh of relief.

When he saw how pale I was, like all the color had drained right out of my face, he rushed over and yanked me into his arms.