My CEO boyfriend, Elias Thatcher, had always admired strength, yet he willingly supported a useless intern.

Because he loved me more than life itself, or so I thought.

When a routine physical revealed that the intern, Zoey Redwood, and I shared the same rare blood type. So, he decided to keep her around as my emergency backup. She became a living blood bank, just in case something ever happened to me.

He cooked for her, took her on trips, made handmade gifts, and doted on her at every turn. He said he was doing it for my sake, building up good karma for me.

Then, I got into a car accident.

Rather than letting the intern donate blood to save me, my boyfriend had blood brought in from miles away.

His explanation was gentle, almost tender.

She had a cold. He was afraid something in her blood might be passed on to me.

The very next day, Zoey was diagnosed with kidney failure.

That was when he drugged me and had me wheeled into an operating room, forcing me to donate a kidney.

His voice was warm as he explained, "Zoey is your last resort. She has to stay healthy so she can save your life in a real emergency. I can't use her up over every little illness or injury. Having you donate a kidney to her is for your future, too.

"I don't want you overthinking things. Once the surgery is over, I'll marry you."

What he didn't know was that I already had mid-stage leukemia. His decision to make me donate that kidney had caused my cancer to spread.

I was dying. So, I would never get the chance to marry him.

The Gift He Never Meant for Me

"Ms. Starling, your leukemia was originally in the mid-stage, but the stress from the kidney donation surgery accelerated the spread of the cancer cells. Even if we consider the best-case scenario, you likely have only 10 days left. It's important that you keep your spirits up..."

I didn't hear another word after that.

I absentmindedly picked at a hangnail until blood ran down my finger, but I barely felt it.

After the car accident, I was diagnosed with leukemia. I never got the chance to tell Elias before he showed up with test results proving his intern, Zoey, was suffering from kidney failure and demanded that I donate one of mine.

I refused.

He didn't pressure me.

Instead, he told me he'd bought me a house near the office so I wouldn't have to make the commute and risk getting into another accident.

It wasn't until they wheeled me into the operating room that I realized the papers he'd had me sign weren't property transfer documents.

They were organ donation consent forms.

The doctor noticed me tearing at my finger and opened his mouth, probably to stop me. Then something seemed to occur to him. He just shook his head, sighed, and walked out.

A second later, Elias' concerned voice sounded from the doorway. "Doctor, how's Celia?"

The doctor looked uncomfortable, like he wanted to say something but thought better of it.

I turned and answered flatly, "I'm fine."

Elias' beautiful eyes curved into a smile. "See? I told you. I take good care of you. Losing one kidney isn't going to affect you at all."

He didn't say a word about tricking me into signing the donation papers. As far as he was concerned, that was already behind us.

I clenched my fist, trying to hide my bleeding finger.

Behind him, Zoey walked in carrying a mountain of gifts.

Elias hurried over to help her and set everything on my bed.

She looked at me with practiced sincerity. "I'm so sorry, Celia. I had no idea Elias would trick you into donating your kidney. These are all gifts he gave me. Pick whatever you want. Think of it as my apology."

There was a hand-knit scarf, a sweater, a million-dollar piece of jewelry, a luxury car worth millions, and even the deed to a villa.

This wasn't an apology. It was a victory lap.

After all, Elias had never given me anything like this. He always said we'd been together too long to bother with grand gestures.

The old me would've fought her head-on. Now, I only said, "No, thanks."

Elias caught my wrist. "Cece, look how kind Zoey is. She genuinely wants to be your friend. Don't embarrass her."

His tone was gentle, but his grip was not.

I knew better than anyone that he couldn't stand the thought of Zoey being even slightly unhappy.

I had no choice but to point at the scarf.

Last winter, Elias had stabbed all ten fingers just to teach himself to knit that thing.

I'd assumed that he was making me an anniversary gift. I'd even saved up to buy a coat that would match it.

The Last Thing I Needed

It wasn't until I saw him wrap the scarf around Zoey's neck with his own hands that I realized how foolish I'd been.

Maybe it was because I was dying and still unwilling to let go, but seeing that scarf again stirred something fierce in me. For one irrational moment, I wanted it desperately.

The second Elias saw me point at it, his expression changed. "No. The scarf keeps her warm, and Zoey's fragile. Besides, I made that myself. She'd never be able to part with it. Pick something else."

Maybe some pathetic part of me still wanted proof that Elias cared about, so I held my ground. "That's the one I want."

Instead, he snapped. "Celia, Zoey could save your life someday. You donated a kidney to her. Isn't that enough? You never used to care about material things, so why are you so determined to steal something she loves?"

A bitter laugh escaped me.

He really wasn't even trying to hide his favoritism.

…

A year ago, during Zoey's pre-employment physical, Elias discovered that she shared my rare blood type.

That was when he started treating her differently.

He promoted her and raised her salary at the drop of a hat. He even handed her credit for projects I'd completed, turning her into the office darling.

In private, he washed her clothes, cooked for her, made sure she never missed a meal, and showed up the second she called.

If I voiced the slightest complaint, he accused me of being petty. He'd say Zoey was my future savior and that I owed her my life. Somehow, I ended up carrying that crushing moral debt.

Considering how shamelessly he was showering her with affection, the fact that I'd still been hoping he genuinely loved me was almost laughable.

Now that I was staring death in the face, I could finally see what was in Elias' heart.

All those nights I'd spent lying awake, hurt and unable to let things go, suddenly felt meaningless.

"Just kidding," I said with a short laugh. "Why would I steal something she loves?"

I chose to let it go. And with it, my love for Elias.

Zoey immediately put on her wounded act.

"Celia, I know you're rich and already have everything money can buy. My things probably seem cheap to you. You're right. I'm just your blood bag, after all. I shouldn't have dreamed of being friends with you."

Elias looked at her like she'd been stabbed. "It's okay, Zoey. There's an auction today. I'll take you and buy you something better."

Then, he turned to the bodyguards and ordered them to pack up everything on my bed, clearly terrified I might actually take something.

At the door, He suddenly stopped, as if remembering something. He shut the window, draped my coat over my shoulders, and softened his voice.

"Cece, I'm not taking you because I don't want you getting tired. You know I love you most. Tell me what you like, and I'll bid on it for you. Consider it a wedding gift, okay?"

Then, he left with Zoey at his side.

…

Through the window, I watched them downstairs.

Inside the car, Elias leaned over to fasten Zoey's seat belt. Zoey pointed at the framed photo of Elias and me sitting in the front passenger seat.

The next second, our picture was tossed out the window.

The rear tire crushed it as the car rolled forward.

So, this was how he loved me, or what he thought love was.

'Elias, I don't have much time left. And I don't want to marry you anymore.'

I drew the curtains shut and went to find the doctor. "I want to be discharged."

"Ms. Starling, according to regulations, I have no right to stop you. Still, if you refuse treatment, I'm afraid—"

I curved my lips into something that wasn't a smile. "Doctor, I only have one request. Prescribe me ten days' worth of pain medication."

If I only had ten days left, I wouldn't be spending them in a hospital. Ever since my parents died there, hospitals had filled me with a fear I could never shake.

I had just stepped outside when Elias called. "Why did you check out?"

"It's getting too stuffy there," I said. "I was getting tired of lying there."

Replaced While Still Alive

"No—" Elias started, about to argue.

Then, Zoey's voice drifted through the phone, so close she sounded like she was pressed right against him. "Elias, these matching rings are so pretty..."

"Done. I'd burn the whole auction house down if I had to. They're yours." Then, his tone changed when he spoke to me. "Celia, you're an adult. Take care of yourself."

The warmth vanished from his voice, replaced with casual indifference. He brushed me off with a couple of perfunctory words and hung up.

Before Zoey came along, things had been different.

There had been a time after I landed in the hospital with stomach bleeding from too many business dinners, the doctor warned Elias that my rare blood type made any complication dangerous.

He didn't sleep for days. He cried and begged me not to leave him. After that, he barely left my side. If I got so much as a paper cut, he'd panic.

Now I had lost a kidney, and all I got was an absent-minded dismissal.

Although I had chosen to let things go, that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips, and I blocked his number.

The first thing I did that day was hire a deep-cleaning crew to strip the house of everything that belonged to me.

The handmade couple figurines. Twenty thousand photos from seven years together. Even the villa keys. I burned it all to ash with my own hands.

…

The next day, I hired a mortuary service and made arrangements for after my death, specifically what they should do to my corpse.

On the third day, I dragged my friends from one party to the next.

When I lost a dare and ended up linking arms to drink with a ridiculously handsome guy, one of my friends went pale.

"If your man sees this, he'll kill me."

Under the flashing lights and pounding music, I smiled without a trace of hesitation. "I don't care."

That night, Elias finally snapped.

He sent me a grainy photo of me and the guy drinking together in the dim club lighting. 'Celia, get home and get on your knees to explain yourself.'

On the fourth day, I finally went home. I didn't do it because I was afraid of him. I returned because my delivery had arrived.

The housekeeper, Mary, opened the door and lowered her voice. "Ms. Starling, please, don't argue with Mr. Thatcher. Just admit you were wrong, and this will blow over."

I walked inside and immediately saw Elias sitting on the couch, comforting a sobbing Zoey.

Zoey was wearing pajamas. There, clutched in her hands, was a pale pink outfit I'd bought for my own funeral.

The matching women's ring on her finger caught the light.

I was still trying to make sense of it when she saw me and started crying harder.

"Celia, I know you look down on me and don't want me living here, but did you really have to curse me by sending me funeral clothes?"

So, she already moved into my house when I wasn't around. I didn't even know that.

Elias frowned. "Celia, I never expected this from you. You act generous to my face, but behind my back, you're this petty? You stormed out, went partying, acted like a lunatic, and I didn't even fight with you over it. I only let Zoey stay here so I could take care of her, and yet you—"

I took the funeral clothes straight out of Zoey's hands. "Who said they were for her?"

I unfolded them and slipped them on. "They're for me."

I even turned toward the floor-length mirror and checked the fit.

It was perfect.

I used to be terrified of dying. I was terrified that if I left Elias, he wouldn't survive it.

But when death was actually standing at my door, I realized how I'd dramatically overestimated my own importance.

Elias' expression darkened. He shot to his feet and reached for the buttons of the funeral outfit. "Celia, have you lost your mind? Take that off right now!"

I stepped aside, avoiding him.

His expression hardened. "If you do something wrong, you own it. Stop dodging the issue and apologize to Zoey."

Before I could say anything, he unclenched his fist, let out a sigh, and pulled out several documents.

"You checked yourself out of the hospital just to throw a tantrum and go have fun. Zoey, on the other hand, got discharged and came straight back to work. She's been pulling overtime for days because she actually cares about the company."

He held the papers out toward me.

"She says she's grateful you donated your kidney and wants to help lighten your burden. Hand over your vice president position to Zoey. It'll make things easier when she takes over your responsibilities."