I had always been the invisible one in my family. Yet, Lucia had always been both Dad's and my stepmother's little princess growing up.

Even though I'd made my presence at home as tiny as possible, Lucia still disliked me and did all that she could to take everything away from me.

She took Dad from me. She took my room from me. She even took away the dresses and jewelry Mom had left for me after she passed.

The only thing she couldn't take away from me was Dario.

For the past 15 years, Dario had always stood by my side, ignoring Lucia and all of her attempts to grab his attention.

Dario was the person whom I loved. He was also the first and only person Lucia had ever fallen in love with.

I knew Lucia too well. She would never agree to donate her kidney to me. She would only continuously postpone the transplant until the day I finally died.

Her goal was only to snatch Dario away from me anyway.

My face had gone so pale that Dr. Romano got concerned and asked, "Do you want to go for a checkup? You don't look too good."

I shook my head robotically. Suddenly, I said, "Stop all the medication, Dr. Romano. I won't go through with the treatments anymore."

Dr. Romano was shocked. He protested at once and said, "Do you know what's going to happen if we stop the treatment now?

"Your heartbeat will turn irregular within a day, you'll experience breathing difficulties within three days, your whole body will get bloated, and your internal organs will get infected by bacteria…"

"How much longer would I have to live?" I asked, interrupting him with the only question I needed the answer to.

Dr. Romano hesitated for a while. Then, he said, "With your condition right now, I think you might only hold out for another week without medication. There's also a chance that your heart might stop beating at any time."

At that, he tried advising me against my wishes again, saying, "Ms. Rossi, you've already found yourself a suitable donor. You only have to wait for another week to have a brand-new body again. There's no need for you to stop your medication now!"

"It's okay. Please just do as I say," I replied determinedly.

Seeing that I was so insistent about it, Dr. Romano didn't have any other choice. Still, he told me before leaving, "You just need to wait another week until the day of the transplant. You'll have a bigger chance of survival after that."

"There's no chance of survival," I said with a bitter smile on my face.

I would never get the kidney. Not next week, not ever. Even if I were to continue with all my medication, I couldn't possibly hold out until the day I finally got it.

Just as I'd finished speaking, however, a familiar voice suddenly rang out behind me, "Who has no chance of survival?"

I turned around and saw Dario's panicked eyes looking at me. I just replied calmly, "A sick friend of mine. She didn't manage to wait for a suitable kidney and passed away this afternoon."

A split second later, I found myself tightly held in Dario's shaky arms. He was trembling all over as he said, "Don't worry, Lena. This will never happen to you! I've already found a suitable donor for you. You'll be fine! I promise!"

I quietly allowed myself to be held in his arms and said nothing in reply. I didn't even question him for lying to me.

Because I knew that none of it mattered anymore. I was already counting down to my last breath from the moment Dario chose to believe Lucia instead of me.

A long while later, Dario finally calmed down. Then, a conflicted look appeared on his face as if he'd just thought of something.

"Lena, I won't be able to come and visit you at the hospital for the next few days."

I said nothing. I knew he would soon say that to me, and I'd expected it. I still couldn't forget the scene from earlier when he'd promised Lucia to bring her to Velnise.

"It's work-related. I need to leave Notoroville for that… But I'll still text you every day! I'll come home immediately if you suddenly feel uncomfortable or anything!"

Dario was probably worried I would start overthinking things and kept stressing to me that he had no choice but to leave for this trip even if he didn't want to.

I looked up at him and decided not to expose his lies. I just said in a gentle voice, "It's okay. Just go. Your work is more important."

Then, I lowered my head and let my tears silently slide down my face.

If this was my fate, then I could only calmly accept my demise.

It had only been three days since Dario left, and my heart had already stopped beating twice. Each time, the doctors managed to pull me back to life.

Dr. Romano was frantic. "Ms. Rossi, your renal tubules have completely failed. If this persists, you'll lose your life before you know it. I really highly recommend that you restart your medication again."

I shook my head and took two more painkillers.

"I'm fine. Please just keep my situation a secret from the others. I don't want Dario to find out."

Just as I was done speaking, my phone suddenly buzzed with a notification. It was a text message from Lucia.

"Look, my dear Ellie. Guess who I'm with right now?"

She'd also sent at least a dozen photos of her and Dario being close and intimate on vacation. The photos showed them riding on the gondola, taking pottery classes, hugging on the streets, looking at each other lovingly while under the willow trees…

Every photo was in 4K resolution, and I could clearly see the tender, loving eyes Dario had for Lucia in each and every one of them. It simply couldn't be ignored.

The last thing she sent was a video. I tapped into it and suddenly felt my breath hitch.

Lucia was wearing a beautiful wedding gown, and Dario was wearing an equally stunning suit as they stood in the Church of Saint Marco, with a priest standing between them and reading the scripture.

"Do you, Mr. Dario Ajello, take Ms. Lucia Rossi to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Dario lowered his head. I could see Lucia's shy figure reflecting in his gray eyes.

"I do," his low, magnetic voice sounded in my ears.

My phone dropped to the floor, the last scene stopping where they kissed.

I held a hand to my chest and curled up in pain in a fetal position.

My phone screen lit up again with another text message from Lucia.

"Dear Ellie, did you really think that my kidney actually matched with yours? Haha! I lied! Just be good and die without my kidney!"

…

I lay quietly in the hospital's operating room, already half-unconscious.

Dr. Romano kept checking his watch anxiously. "We've agreed to proceed with the transplant today! Why isn't the donor here yet?"

"Oh, no! The patient's health is deteriorating too fast! We must start the transplant now!"

While slipping out of consciousness, I still heard Dr. Romano calling Dario.

"Mr. Ajello? Today's the date for the kidney transplant. Is the donor not arriving yet? We're still waiting for her to begin the operation…"

"Lucia—"

Dario's voice suddenly turned blurry, and Lucia's voice could be heard on the other end of the line.

"Dario, I'm feeling dizzy. Come here and feed me some grapes…"

After some static, Dario's voice came through on the other line again, "Dr. Romano, Lucia just fainted from low blood sugar. She can't come for the operation today. Elena should still be doing fine, so tell her to wait for another day. I will bring Lucia over tomorrow for sure."

He hung up before Dr. Romano could get a word in.

"But Mr. Ajello, Ms. Rossi can't hold on any longer. She can't wait till tomorrow… Hello?"

The ECG monitor kept beeping louder and more frequent as if signaling that the end of my life was near. Dr. Romano couldn't wait to call Dario again and quickly instructed the staff to perform emergency resuscitation on me.

"Quick! Bring the defibrillator! The patient's blood pressure is dropping too much!"

The rest of the noise felt like a blur, as though I was listening to everything happening underwater. I couldn't hear much, not even the warning beeps on the machine or the doctors and nurses shouting and scrambling to save my life.

I could feel my life force slowly leaving me.

Memories flooded my mind, finally stopping on a bright, sunny day, when Dario held my hand and promised me forever.

"Lena, we've been together for 15 years. I will remain loyal to you for the rest of my life and never let you down!"

In the end, Dario and I still could never end up together. I had to leave the world first.

A single tear trickled down from the corner of my eye, sliding all the way down my cheek and onto the pristine operating table.

The erratic lines on the ECG monitor screen suddenly turned straight as a piercing siren went off in the operating theater.