Chapter 2

I clutched the diagnosis, standing at the villa door. The words "Artificial Heart Failure" on the paper burned my eyes.

The doctor’s words still echoed in my ears: "Seven days at most. Be prepared."

I took a deep breath and pushed open the door. The laughter in the living room abruptly ceased.

Julian sat on the leather sofa, swirling a glass of red wine with his long fingers. Around him sat four or five young women—my cousin Chloe, my other cousin Mia, my best friend Harper, and my colleague Scarlett.

They were all dressed in silk slips, their faces etched with fawning smiles.

"You're back?" Julian looked up, a cruel curve playing on his thin lips. "Perfect. The game just started."

My nails dug into my palms.

For the past few months, Julian had pursued every close female friend and relative I had, just to watch me break.

Now, they had all fallen hopelessly in love with him.

"One minute, starting now." Julian set down his wine glass, his voice chilling. "Whoever makes her cry first gets to be my permanent partner."

The women's eyes lit up, and they lunged at me, scrambling to be first.

Chloe rushed forward, raising her hand and slapping me hard across the face.

Through the stinging pain, I suddenly remembered last year's birthday, when she’d presented me with a handmade cake, her eyes sparkling as she said, "Big sister, I hope you're always happy."

As the second slap landed, blood oozed from the corner of my mouth, dripping onto the bracelet I’d given her—a graduation gift I’d scrimped and saved three months to buy.

"Fifteen slaps already, why isn't she crying?" Chloe gasped, looking back.

Julian narrowed his eyes, like he was enjoying a good show. "Next."

The moment he spoke, Mia grabbed my long hair, brutally dragging me into the kitchen.

My scalp screamed with pain, yet at that instant, I remembered my college days. Mia was being bullied on campus, and I took an overnight train to defend her.

Now, this sister I had fought so hard to protect was pressing my face into scalding chili water.

The fiery liquid burned my eyes. I convulsed with pain, clutching the edge of the counter until my nails split and bled.

"Boring." Julian glanced at his watch. "Next."

Harper pulled out a sewing needle, stabbing it, one by one, into my fingertips.

The excruciating pain from my fingertips made my vision swim. In a daze, I saw myself in my sophomore year of college, when Harper got her heart broken and drank until she had stomach bleeding. I stayed by her bedside for three days and three nights.

"Time's up." Julian's voice was sharp as a knife. "Last chance."

When the last woman, Scarlett, ran downstairs clutching a cardboard box, my heart nearly stopped.

It was the box I kept hidden under my bed, filled with my parents' belongings!

"No!!!" I finally found my voice.

But it was too late.

Scarlett smiled and threw the photo frame to the ground, glass fragments scattering everywhere.

My father’s watch was crushed, my mother’s comb snapped in two.

When my mother’s favorite silk scarf was torn to shreds, my tears finally hit the ground.

"I win!" Scarlett excitedly ran to Julian. "Julian, from now on, you'll only have me by your side."

But Julian just laughed, cruelly pinching her chin. "How naive. Anyone associated with Evelyn disgusts me. How could I ever want any of you?"

He pressed the call button without mercy. "Throw them all out."

The bodyguards roughly dragged away the screaming women. I knelt amidst the wreckage, my trembling fingertips gently tracing the shattered fragments of my parents’ mementos. I picked up half of a faded family photo, where my mother's warm smile still lingered.

"Julian," I cradled the mementos, my cries tearing through me, "Someone like you, who can't love anyone, shouldn't have tormented anyone in the first place!"

"Who says I can't love anyone?"

Julian sneered. Just as he finished speaking, the front door was pushed open.

A woman in a white dress walked in, dragging a suitcase. "Julian, I've brought my luggage. Which room am I staying in?"

Julian’s expression instantly softened. He reached out, pulled Celeste into his arms, and intimately kissed the top of her head. "With me, of course."

He wrapped an arm around her slender waist, turning to me, his eyes once again freezing cold. "Allow me to introduce Celeste, my fiancée."

"Remember that car accident three years ago? I was critically injured. Celeste saved me, donating her heart so I could continue my revenge against the Su family."

"You said I couldn't love, didn't you?" Julian pulled Celeste even closer, his eyes fixed on me. "Now, I'll show you exactly how I love someone!"

At his words, my entire body trembled.

Shock, fury, pain, despair… countless emotions surged like a tidal wave, threatening to drown me.

I bit down hard on my lip, not stopping until I tasted blood. Then, I snapped awake.

And I laughed.

I laughed until my body shook, laughed until I coughed up blood, laughed until tears streamed down my face and splattered on the floor.

How ironic.

I gave him my heart, yet he cherished someone else’s as a treasure.

When I signed the donation agreement back then, the doctor repeatedly assured me donor information would be confidential.

I never imagined it would lead to him mistaking someone else for his savior today.

But I wouldn't explain.

Explain what? Explain that it’s my heart beating in his chest? Explain that because of him, I have only seven days left to live?

Two lives from my family, two from his. The blood feud and deep-seated hatred between us had long severed all possibilities.

***截断点***