I once believed Ronald would be my salvation.

My parents always told me we were poor, and I believed them. But now, I realized that my sister and I are actually heiresses to the renowned Fall Corporation.

"Alice, be a good girl. All the family's money has gone to your sister’s treatment and education. We don’t have any extra, so you have to work hard and help pay for her medical bills."

My sister, Beatrice, was born fair-skinned and beautiful, with an extraordinary talent for music. The family adored her, treating her like a precious jewel. They gave her the only chance to attend college, sending her to the prestigious Bartin College of Music overseas, paying for her expensive education.

Meanwhile, I gave up on pursuing university, even though I scored top marks on my high school exams. I didn’t apply to any colleges. Instead, I graduated and went straight to work—washing dishes and delivering food. And every few months, I had to donate blood to Beatrice.

Now I realized, all those lies were just to make me willingly become her personal blood bank.

From childhood, I was always the forgotten one.

My parents left me in a small apartment to fend for myself.

“Your sister isn’t well—can’t you be more considerate of her?”

“Alice, you need to be obedient. Your mom and I are already exhausted from managing Beatrice’s illness.”

When Beatrice caused trouble, I was the one scolded for not taking care of her properly. When I excelled academically, they would accuse me of being unrealistic. But whenever Beatrice won a piano competition, the whole family would rush to praise her.

"Our Beatrice is so amazing! Not only is she beautiful, but she’s talented. Who knows who will be worthy of our family’s shining star?"

No matter what I did, as long as Beatrice was around, I was always in the wrong—a fool in comparison to the swan.

Growing up in such a stifling environment, I became insecure and overly sensitive.

It wasn’t until high school that I met Ronald. We were classmates.

During that time, without my parents’ protection, I was bullied and humiliated, cornered in an alley where they even tried to take indecent photos of me.

It was Ronald who rescued me, defending me in front of everyone, shielding me with his own body as he took the blows meant for me.

Everyone else mocked me and hated me. But he was different.

After we started dating, people called me names. They accused me of being promiscuous, saying I had slept with lowlifes and was now trying to seduce the rich boy, Ronald.

But I naively thought they were just joking around, completely unaware of Ronald’s true background.

“To be honest, from the beginning, it was Beatrice I liked.”

Ronald looked at me with disgust.

“When she went abroad, you were the next best thing. You reminded me a little of her, so I settled for you.”

I closed my eyes. “So, you never loved me. All this time, I was just a stand-in.”

Ronald frowned. “And what about you, Alice? You only stuck around because you were tired of being poor. You saw my wealth and thought you could marry into a wealthy family and become some rich lady. You’re no better.”

I looked at him quietly, my gaze filled with contempt, and let out a bitter laugh.

“Ronald, you once promised you’d protect me for life. You said if I didn’t have an umbrella, you’d shield me with your body. You told me anyone in the world could betray me, but not you. Never you.”

A cold pain stabbed at my heart.

When I reminded him of that promise, he froze for a moment, but his expression quickly turned scornful.

“You? Do you really think you deserve that?”

As he spoke, the anesthesia pump had already started working, leaving me with no strength to fight back.

This private hospital was owned by the Fall Corporation. There was no escape. Tears of despair rolled down my face.

He sneered. “Drop the act. Someone as selfish and vain as you wouldn’t hesitate to make a small sacrifice like giving a bit of your blood for your own benefit.”

Ronald reached out to adjust my oxygen mask but then noticed the earrings I was wearing.

They were the first piece of jewelry he ever gave me. I still remember the day he took me to a small shop just off campus to get my ears pierced. I was nervous, but he reassured me, saying, “Once you have your ears pierced, no one will see you as the quiet girl they can push around anymore.”

Afterward, he had picked a simple pair of plastic studs—two little crystal charms. He told me they were for my safety, to protect me. “These will keep you safe, Alice. So, you can stay by my side forever.”

I treasured them ever since and wore them every day.

Ronald’s expression softened slightly as his voice lowered.

“If you save Beatrice this time, I might actually care for you.”

I shook my head gently. “Ronald, after I die, scatter my ashes into the sea.”

He scoffed, letting go of me. “With modern medicine, it’s not that easy to die. Stop pretending to be pitiful.”

Then he turned and walked away, heading straight for Beatrice.

I watched his back as he walked away, my lips parted slightly, whispering, “Goodbye, Ronald.”

Just then, an unfamiliar doctor walked in with my parents.

“This time, it’s no small amount. Has the blood donation consent form been signed?”

My parents glanced at me, then nodded. “It’s signed, doctor. Beatrice’s surgery can start. Please take good care of her.”

Seeing how easily they signed the consent form, I murmured softly, “Mom, Dad, I will always love you.”

It was something I used to say to them when I was little.

I remember a time when things were different. There was a period when my parents, possibly after some business failure, seemed defeated for a long time. Little me would place my soft hands on their faces and gently comfort them, and they’d find the strength to carry on.

“With me here, our Beatrice will get better. Everything will get better.”

I repeated those words now, as I was being wheeled into the operating room, in a bitter, almost pleading tone.

For a brief moment, my mother seemed moved, but my father pulled her back and said with disdain, “We don’t need your love. We gave you life, and as long as you can save your sister, that’ll be the greatest relief for us.”

I forced a smile and thought, “Well, then, I’m giving this life back to you now.”

The cold, sterile smell of disinfectant surrounded me as I entered the operating room, and my vision blurred. I couldn’t tell if it was from tears or something else.

A thick needle pierced into the veins of my arm, already worn from countless pricks, and the blood flowed upward, being drained away.

In the room next door, Beatrice’s abortion was underway.

My blood was leaving me, drop by drop, the warm, bright red liquid filling bag after bag, being carried to the other side of the wall.

Suddenly, a frantic voice rang out, causing a commotion.

“Something’s wrong, the patient is hemorrhaging!”

Beatrice’s surgery wasn’t going well. She was hemorrhaging, and since I was the only one with RH-negative blood, they kept drawing more and more from me.

I lost track of how much blood they took. My face turned as pale as a sheet of paper, until, finally, I heard a relieved cheer from the other operating room.

I knew then—Beatrice was saved.

Everyone rushed off to check on her, completely forgetting about me and leaving me alone in the operating room.

No one noticed the strange beeping of my heart monitor, the rapid fluctuations, and then the flatline.

My world went utterly silent as my soul floated above, watching the scene unfold from above. For the first time, I felt nothing—no pain, no fear, just a cold detachment from the life I had just left behind.

I saw my own lifeless face, drained of all color, lying weak and motionless on the cold surgical table.

Ronald was nearly ecstatic when he heard Beatrice’s surgery was a success, hurrying to her side as she was wheeled out.

And there I was, left behind, forgotten by everyone.

But to my surprise, the first person to burst through the door wasn’t my family. It was Shawn, the very one who had always drawn my blood.

He was drenched in sweat, clearly having rushed to get here. When he saw the pool of blood around the table, he froze, horrified.

His eyes flicked to the flatline on the monitor, panic flooding his face.

Grabbing the defibrillator, he ran toward me.

“Alice, wake up! Don’t you dare die on me!”