My husband forces me to donate my remaining kidney to his true love. He wants to save her from death by uremia.

I try to tell him that I have kidney failure—I'll die if I donate my kidney. However, he roars, "Stop playing your jealous games when Shawna is so gravely ill! Don't you have a heart?"

Under his forcefulness, I'm taken to the hospital to get my kidney removed. Ultimately, I die in a corner of the hospital.

I lay on an icy operating table and waited in despair for death to take me. Meanwhile, my husband, Arthur Rothe, waited outside Shawna Green's operating theater.

I had tubes plugged into my body, and the beeping of the instruments around me made me feel like bells were chiming. They were telling me it was time to leave.

As my ECG turned into a straight line, news of Shawna's surgery being a success came from the other operating theater. The light outside the operating theater went off, and my eyes shut forever.

To my surprise, I appeared by Arthur's side in the form of a soul. Perhaps it was because I'd been left with overwhelming resentment when I died.

I watched as he held Shawna in his arms, his eyes red with agitation now that she'd escaped death. My heart sank at the sight.

I wanted to ask him whether he'd worried about me for even a second when Shawna and I had been wheeled into different operating theaters at the same time, but I supposed the answer was no.

After all, he'd taken me to court over her illness. He'd hired the best lawyer in the industry to sue me, and I'd lost the case.

I'd been in so much pain when getting my kidney removed that cold sweat had drenched my back. I'd called Arthur and pleaded, "I'm sorry, honey! Please don't take my kidney—it really hurts, and I feel like I'm going to die!"

I'd never adopted such a soft stance with Arthur before and thought there was a chance he would let me off the hook if I were to admit defeat and take the blame for things I'd never done. We'd been together for five years, and I thought that would've meant something.

However, he'd merely laughed cruelly over the phone. "Admitting your mistakes is what is expected of you, and saving Shawna's life is your punishment. Don't even think about getting away with this, and don't think you don't have to apologize to her since you're giving her your kidney.

"Think about all the things you've done to hurt her over the years. I'll get even with you for that once she's better! Even if you want to die, you'll have to wait until after you've apologized!"

I'd tried to deny my involvement in the things he thought I'd done, but I was out of strength.

Arthur didn't seem to think his rant was enough to vent his anger. He snarled, "You disgust me!"

He'd hung up after that, and my heart had plummeted into an abyss. My love for him went with it.

He claimed I disgusted him, but he'd been different when he'd married me. At the time, he'd lovingly told me he would love me for life. He'd also said I was his first choice, his only exception, and the only person he was partial to. However, he'd forgotten all about me once Shawna had come into the picture.

Now that I was dead, I watched as Arthur gently stroked Shawna's face. It was as if she was a precious treasure.

"Thank God you're alive… Thank God." He was choked up, and his bloodshot eyes told me he'd spent the night awake out of worry for her. Did it ever occur to him that I would be dead as he worried about her?

Shawna cracked a weak smile. "I'm sorry for making you worry, Art. Where's Leona? Is she mad at me? I'll apologize to her right now."

She struggled to prop herself up—anyone who wasn't blind could see that she was faking it, though. But of course, Arthur couldn't see it.

Sure enough, he gently pushed her back onto the bed and caressed her head affectionately. "Silly you. Leona is the one who should apologize—what have you done wrong? You'll keep getting bullied if you're always so kind."

A nurse couldn't help teasing them when she saw how they were acting. "You two are such a loving couple."

She turned to Shawna. "Your husband waited in the corridor throughout the night during your surgery. He didn't step away even once."

Shawna blushed shyly. Arthur stiffened for a split second but didn't correct the misunderstanding.

Just then, the nurse sighed and said, "The patient who was in the operating theater beside yours wasn't as lucky as you, though. She was alone when she was brought here, and none of her family members have come to collect her body. She's such a poor thing."

After a brief silence, Arthur also sighed. "That really is pitiful."

My gaze dimmed, and I smiled self-deprecatingly. Shawna was all he could see and think about. How could he possibly remember my existence?

The conversation stopped there. Arthur and the nurse wheeled Shawna to her ward together. As they passed by the operating theater where my body was, he faltered and glanced inside.

My body was still on the operating table. However, my feet faced the door, so no one could see my face. Still, if Arthur were to take a closer look, he would see the scar on my ankle. I'd gotten it when saving him in the past.

After Arthur and Shawna disappeared into a hospital ward, Ian White ran into the hospital. He and Arthur missed each other.

Ian held my hand tightly. Tears streamed down his face when his fingers brushed against my cold forehead as he tried to caress my hair.

His voice shook as he said, "Think about how good things would've been if you'd married me back then, you idiot. You wouldn't have ended up with no one bothering about you, even after your death!"

My nose prickled when I saw how windswept he looked. It seemed he'd just returned from out of town. He'd actually left this city after I'd married Arthur.

At the time, he'd given me two reasons for his departure. Firstly, he claimed Arthur couldn't stand him. Secondly, he said we would both be better off if he left because he didn't want to cause me unnecessary trouble.

I was an orphan, and the White family had adopted me when I was seven. Ian was my adoptive brother. Initially, he hadn't liked me, but he'd become much nicer to me as time had passed.

I'd later cut ties with my adoptive parents due to my marriage with Arthur. The reason was simple—they wanted me to marry into a wealthier family. I knew they hadn't adopted me because of their affection for me. All they wanted was someone who could be a pawn and help them form an alliance through marriage.

Compared to Arthur, there was no way I could marry Ian. At least, my adoptive parents would never allow it.

Ian took my body away. As he was leaving, Arthur came out of Shawna's hospital ward to get her some food. She'd asked him to get her some pastries from a bakery a distance away. He hadn't even hesitated upon hearing her request.

I'd asked Arthur to get me food once, too. All I'd wanted was something light from the convenience store downstairs; I'd asked him to get it for me on his way home, but he'd been too lazy to make a detour.

Ian and Arthur ran into each other. Ian held my body, which was covered by a white sheet. Their gazes met, and they recognized each other.

"Get out of my way." Ian wasn't in the mood to be polite. It was to be expected—how could he be polite to someone who'd killed me?

Arthur gave him a complex look before stepping aside. He wanted to show his respect for the dead, after all. However, his gaze landed on my ankle as Ian turned to leave.

"Hold it!" Something seemed to occur to him. "Who… who is this?"

My breathing hitched. I was afraid Ian would tell him about my death, but I was even more afraid he wouldn't. I looked forward to seeing Arthur's reaction once he learned I was dead.

Ian only spoke after a brief silence. "My wife."

I was taken aback, and so was Arthur. He knew about my family situation, including Ian's feelings for me.

"When did you get married?" he blurted. Then, he looked surprised that he'd asked that.

Ian sneered and retorted, "I don't think that's any of your business, Mr. Rothe."

Arthur choked. Then, he clapped back mockingly. "You claimed to like Leona, but I guess your feelings only went so far."

Ian had already started walking away. He stopped and turned back to glance at Arthur. He said, "Well, I'm definitely lacking when compared to you. You've done much more to her than I ever did."

The mockery in his tone was so evident that I doubted Arthur would miss out. As I floated after Ian, I turned back to look at Arthur. I felt like I didn't love him as much as I used to anymore.

Arthur picked Shawna up from the hospital when she was discharged a month later.

Ian had been the only one by my side after my death, but things were different for Shawna. Her hospital ward was crammed full of friends and family. They were all excited when Arthur arrived.

"When are you going to marry Shawna, Mr. Rothe? She must be happy to see how much you treasure her," someone said.

Shawna lowered her head shyly and said, "Don't say that. Art is already married, and I don't want Leona to get the wrong idea. I don't want to be a homewrecker, either. She'll make things hard for me again if she hears about this."

One of her friends mocked, "I don't see what's so great about her when all she does is vie for attention out of jealousy. You're the one Arthur loves, not her. That makes her the third party in this relationship! All she's done so far is harm you! I would've divorced her ages ago if the choice was up to me!"

I found those words laughable. So, it turned out I was the one interfering with Arthur and Shawna's relationship. This was what Shawna did each time, though. She would use her words to make Arthur think I was at fault.

But what hurt me the most was Arthur's attitude. He didn't say anything as he packed Shawna's things. There were so many people in the hospital ward, but none of them bothered helping—all so he could do it.

I thought about what my life had been like after I'd married Arthur. He'd claimed he would always love me, but I'd always been the one doing the housework and suffering grievances. I'd thought he would keep me safe from storms, but in hindsight, he'd been the cause of all my trouble.

"Shawna's been single all these years because of you, Mr. Rothe. You can't let her down." One of Shawna's friends kept talking, and she pushed Arthur to Shawna in an attempt to matchmake them.

I watched them bitterly. It turned out this was how they spoke of me when I wasn't around. It seemed I was an unforgivable sinner in their eyes. Since Arthur hadn't said anything, I assumed he agreed with them.

Arthur took Shawna back to his bachelor pad. It was a place he went to be alone whenever we argued—he'd never taken me there before.

I should've long since known that she was the true exception in his life. He could change all his principles for her.

As he bent over to put her things away, she approached him and hugged him.

My heart clenched at the sight. It hadn't been that long after my death, yet they were being so intimate. The way they acted around each other made it seem like Arthur wasn't a married man.

To my surprise, he stiffened. He seemed to want to avoid her, but she only tightened her grip.

She rested her head against his back and murmured, "Can you give me another chance, Art? I didn't mean to leave you back then. I would never have left after taking your father's money if my mother hadn't been sick."

Oh, so she'd left after taking a lifesaving sum, leading to a bad ending between them. It was such a typical story, yet Arthur had pined after her for so long.

He laughed, but it was hard to read his emotions. "We wouldn't have ended up like this if you'd been honest with me. I could've given you the money my father did, couldn't I?"

Shawna choked. Still, she was intelligent. She knew he despised me, so she dragged me into the fray.

"You hate me, don't you? Is that why you didn't do anything when Leona bullied me? She hired someone to badmouth me at my company and got hooligans to violate me—they almost succeeded, too!

"She even refused to donate her kidney to me despite knowing I needed it to survive. Is that how you want to get revenge on me?"

She was lying! Shawna was lying through her teeth. Everything she said had never happened—I didn't even know where her company was!

Besides, I was nothing but an orphan. How could I have had the influence to make some hooligans do my bidding?

A simple investigation would be enough to expose Shawn's dumb lies, but Arthur believed her. In fact, she'd been spouting nonsense when saying he hadn't done anything to me.

Since learning what he thought was the truth, he'd dragged me out of my workplace with all my colleagues watching. His face had been so twisted with rage that it was almost as if I'd done something horrible.

After that, he'd hired a group of gangsters to humiliate and beat me up. I'd curled up in a corner and trembled with despair as those men had taken improper photos of me.

Arthur had watched the whole thing. Then, he'd waved his phone before me and threatened, "Touch another hair on Shawna's head, and I'll spread these photos and videos online. I'll hold this against you forever."

He'd turned a deaf ear to me when I'd repeatedly insisted that I hadn't done anything. He'd never believed me.

Now, Shawna was dredging up the past, but Arthur didn't say anything about how he'd tormented me because of her lies.

It was ridiculous. I couldn't understand why he'd married me if he didn't love me.