In less than twenty-four hours after surgery, every slight movement sent a searing pain through me.

Bella Powell, Teresa's mother, called me. ""Dolores, stop lying in bed! Get back home right now! It is a family dinner to celebrate Teresa's successful surgery this evening. Stop acting like you're dead."

My hand shook as I held the phone. "Mom, I just had surgery…"

"Shut up! Don't call me 'Mom.' Marrying Theo didn't make you one of us. You know your place in this family. Teresa just had a transplant and wants to have the soup you make. If I don't see that soup on the table by six, you can get out of the Powell family!"

The call ended abruptly.

I glanced at Theo. He was sitting nearby and engrossed in his documents.

He had heard everything, but he didn't even bother to look up.

"Theo, I…"

"If Bella wants you back, then go back." Theo turned another page and said in an indifferent tone, "Besides, Teresa wants to see you."

"But I just had surgery…"

"It was a minor procedure. Teresa's transplant was far more serious." He finally looked up at me, and his gaze was icy cold. "Teresa had a hematopoietic stem cell transplant. It was a major surgery. Your discomfort will pass if you just push through."

I looked at him and suddenly felt it was laughable.

In the past, when I had painful menstrual cramps, he had cancelled a meeting where he was discussing million-dollar deals to rush home, made me some warm soup, and warmed my stomach with his hands.

He used to say, "Dolores, you're my precious. I can't stand seeing you suffer even a bit."

It turns out that was only because I hadn't yet needed to sacrifice for Teresa.

When it came to Teresa, I was nothing more than a means to an end, a tool without feelings.

I forced myself out of bed and returned to the Powell villa, still weak from surgery.

The villa was brightly lit, filled with cheer.

I was the only dark cloud.

I tied on an apron and stood in the kitchen.

Recovering from surgery continued intermittently, and cold sweat soaked through the clothes on my back.

While chopping vegetables, waves of pain shot through my abdomen.

Two hours later, I served the steaming soup in the dining room.

The family was gathered around the table happily. They formed a picture of warmth.

As I entered, all laughter abruptly ceased.

Teresa, in silk pajamas, looked healthy. She was not like someone who just had a transplant at all.

She called out sweetly, "Theo, I want some soup."

Theo immediately stood up, took the bowl from my hands, blew on it gently, and brought it to her lips.

Teresa took a sip and suddenly frowned. "It's hot!"

With a flick of her hand, half the bowl of scalding soup spilled onto the back of my hand.

I gasped in pain—my skin burned and turned red.

Before I could react, Bella rushed over.

She grabbed my arm and shook me sharply. "You are careless! Are you trying to scald Ruben to death?"

She inspected Teresa's hand over and over again.

Though there was no visible mark, she shed tears as she felt so sorry for Teresa.

My father, Kevan Powell, frowned and slammed his spoon onto the table. "Can't you do anything right? Go wait outside until you've calmed down and learned some sense!"

I clutched my red, swollen hand and instinctively looked at Theo.

He was my husband.

Even if he no longer loved me, surely he would say something for the sake of the baby we just lost.

But he didn't.

Theo was focused on blowing gently on Teresa's fingers. "Does it hurt? Let me take you to put on some ointment."

As for me?

He didn't spare me even a glance.

I was like invisible trash, despised by all.

The door slammed shut behind me, cutting off the warmth and laughter inside.

Outside, it was snowing heavily.

Snowflakes landed on my shoulders and quickly melted into icy water that seeped into my clothes.

I sank onto the cold ground, my legs trembling from exhaustion and pain.

My heart began to beat erratically and pound against my chest.

Through the large windows, I saw Theo helping Teresa have fish, meticulously deboned.

Teresa smiled blissfully and planted a kiss on his cheek.

What a perfect couple they made!

And what was I?

Was I just a stepping stone in their love story?

Was I a supporting character destined for sacrifice?

A bitter taste rose in my throat.

I pressed a hand to my chest, coughing weakly as tears mixed with melting snow.

In that moment, I felt overwhelming shame—not for who I was, but for how desperately I'd wanted their love.

I was ashamed of having begged for belonging in a family that never saw me as one of their own.

I was ashamed of groveling like a dog, seeking a semblance of family affection.

I realized that I was so pathetic.

I saw them as family, but how did they see me?

My vision blurred with tears. For a moment, I thought I saw my mother's face in the falling snow—gentle, sorrowful, as if urging me to stop suffering in silence.

I woke up in the hospital corridor.

Theo didn't bring me there, but a passing security guard found me fainted in the snow and called an ambulance.

The doctor looked at my test results and shook his head. "Miss Powell, your heart condition is serious. You'll need specialized treatment and ongoing medication—likely costing several hundred thousand dollars."

Five hundred thousand.

I had the money.

Although I didn't hold any real power, I actually worked on the ore projects at the Powell company.

At the beginning of the year, the company distributed year-end bonuses based on performance, and I had a fifty-five-thousand bonus.

I'd earned that bonus through months of grueling work on the ore projects.

Dragging my ailing body, I rushed to Theo's office.

As I pushed open the door, I froze.

Theo was sitting in his chair, playing with a check in his hand.

Across from him sat Teresa, eagerly browsing an auction catalog on her iPad. "Theo, I really like this antique piano, but it's a bit expensive. It costs five hundred thousand."

Theo smiled indulgently and handed her the check. "Buy it. If you like it, no matter the price, we'll get it."

I saw the number on the check clearly.

It was fifty-five thousand.

It was precisely my year-end bonus.

I was overcome with anger as I rushed forward and pressed down on the check. "This is my money!" I stared at Theo with intensity. "This is my year-end bonus! It's the reward for my work on the projects!"

Teresa was startled and shrank back into Theo's arms. "Dolores, why are you so fierce..."

Theo frowned and brushed my hand away. "What do you mean? Your money? The company belongs to the Power family, so naturally, the money does, too. Teresa just had surgery and is in a bad mood. She needs to buy something to cheer up. You're her sister. Do you really want to squabble over this money?"

I stared at him in disbelief. "Squabble over this money? Theo, I need that money for my treatment!"

I pointed to my chest and said in a trembling voice, "The doctor said without proper care, my condition could become life-threatening!

Theo pulled out a file and frowned. "Your last check-up showed only mild arrhythmia. Why are you making it sound so dire? Is this really about the money?"

I looked at the report and felt as if struck by lightning.

The report wasn't mine—or at least, not the full truth. Someone had downplayed my condition long ago.

So Theo never trusted me.

Even when I collapsed from pain, he never believed me.

In his eyes, it was all an act. It was a ploy for sympathy.

"Theo, don't blame her." Teresa feigned innocence, tugging at his sleeve. "Since she wants the money so badly, just give it to her. I won't buy the piano."

"No way," Theo was resolute. "We can't indulge her when she is so greedy."

He took out a black bank card from his wallet and tossed it at me. "Use this. Stop acting like you haven't seen the world. Shame on you."

I picked up the bank card.

It was a supplementary card with a very low limit.

But I had no choice.

I need to survive. I had to buy the medication.

Swallowing my humiliation, I ran to the pharmacy. "Give me two boxes of imported targeted heart medication."

The pharmacist took the bank card and swiped it through the machine.

"Beep—" The red light came on.

The pharmacist handed the bank card back and looked peculiar. "Miss, this bank card is frozen."

I was stunned. "Impossible! This is Theo's bank card!"

Unwilling to give up, I asked him to try again.

It still didn't work.

Just then, my phone buzzed with a message from Theo. "Teresa has her eye on a piece of jewelry, and the limit isn't enough, so I froze your bank card's limit. "If your condition isn't as serious as you claim, basic supplements should suffice."

Staring at those words, a chill spread through my body.

The pharmacist sighed and set the medication aside. "If the payment doesn't go through, I can't release these."

I stood at the pharmacy entrance and watched the bustling street.

In that moment, I understood: to Theo, my well-being meant less than a trinket for Teresa.

The Powell family organized a grand charity gala, ostensibly to celebrate Teresa's "successful transplant," but it actually aimed to bolster their philanthropic image.

As a "family member", I was forced to attend it.

Bella warned me, saying, "Many important figures are here this evening. Behave yourself and don't embarrass the Powell family."

I stood in the corner and felt like an outsider, wearing an outdated dress from last season.

Soon, the auction began.

Teresa held Theo's arm and stood dazzlingly on stage.

"Next, we present our family's highlight item. The host unveiled a red cloth.

A flash of emerald caught my eye.

My eyes were wide open.

It was an emerald ring.

That was the only keepsake my mother had left me!

When I entered the Powell family, Bella told me that she would keep it for me and forcibly took it away from me.

No matter how I pleaded, she refused to give it back to me.

And now, they were going to sell my mother's keepsake?

"The starting bid is one million!"

"I offer one and a half million!"

"Two million!"

Watching the guests bidding fiercely, I couldn't hold back any longer.

That ring was the only thing my mother gave me.

I dashed onto the stage and grabbed the box containing the ring. "This is mine! It's my mother's keepsake! You can't sell it!"

The audience erupted in an uproar.

Security quickly stepped in and gently but firmly guided me off the stage.

Teresa held the microphone, and her eyes reddened instantly. "Dolores, how could you do this? The money from selling your ring is meant for the orphanage children. How could you be so selfish? Are you trying to take even the charity funds?"

The guests began to whisper and point.

"Isn't she the one from the other branch? She doesn't seem to understand family decorum."

"They say she's always been resentful of Teresa. No wonder she'd cause a scene like this."

"What an embarrassment! How did the Powell family raise such an ungrateful wretch?"

The insults washed over me like a relentless tide.

I struggled desperately and shouted, "No! It's mine! It's what my mother left me!"

A pair of polished leather shoes stopped in front of me.

I looked up and saw Theo.

Clinging to him like a lifeline, I pleaded with him, "Theo, help me... It's my mother's keepsake..."

Theo looked at me with nothing but disdain. "Let go," he said coldly.

The security released me.

I thought that he was going to help me.

But to my surprise, he took the box from my hands without a word. "Such a fine treasure is only fitting for Teresa," he said.

He picked up the ring and put it on Teresa's thumb in front of everyone. "Teresa, this is a gift for you."

Teresa was delighted and gasped in delight. "Thank you, Theo! I'll take good care of it."

I watched the emerald gleaming on her hand.

I was consumed by rage.

My heart skipped a beat, and everything went black.

I fainted on the spot.

In the last moment before losing consciousness, I heard Theo's cold voice. "Use some ice water to revive her. I'm tired of these fainting tricks."

I slowly came to in the lounge behind the hall, still dazed and shivering. I gasped for air and coughed violently.

I lay on the floor of the lounge behind the banquet hall, drenched. My hair was plastered to my face. I was utterly disheveled.

Outside, Theo's voice rose in anger, "Why isn't the treatment working? You said this donor match was ideal! Why are Teresa's indicators all declining?"

The doctor replied nervously, "The biological compatibility wasn't as strong as we hoped... and the donor's health during the process may have affected the outcome."

"Bang!" A loud crash was heard.

The lounge door was kicked open.

Theo burst into the room, his eyes blazing. He loomed over me. "This is your fault," he said coldly. "Your emotional state during the procedure compromised everything. When you were pregnant, you were always so gloomy. You seemed to be carrying the world's burdens! You put Teresa's life at risk! Dolores, how could you be so malicious? Did you do it on purpose?"

I was suffocated under his grip, and my face turned purple. My vision blurred.

Yet, watching his frantic rage, I felt an urge to laugh.

He killed my baby and now blamed me for not raising it well?

Could anything be more absurd?

"Haaa... This is karma..."

My laughter completely enraged Theo.

He turned away in disgust. "If the first treatment fails, we'll use another option. Your biology is still the closest match to Teresa's."