Chapter 1

Loan sharks hunted me down, and my boyfriend went a million dollars in debt just to save me.

The debt collectors gave us an ultimatum: either I give up one of my kidneys, or they would harvest every single one of his organs until the debt was paid in full.

Watching him sob and scream at me to run, I signed the consent form.

Afterward, he held me tight.

With bloodshot eyes, he swore he would cherish me for the rest of his life.

We got our marriage certificate.

He took up shifts as a DoorDash driver, and we lived a poor but peaceful life.

Even though I could never dance ballet again, I was content.

Until that day. The surgical scar ached, so I came home two hours early.

As I reached the front door, I heard his female best friend's voice, dripping with gratitude.

"Vincent, thank you. If you hadn't taken Selena's kidney for me, I would've died."

Vincent's voice carried a tenderness I had never heard before.

"Chloe, as long as you're healthy, that's all that matters to me."

I froze at the door.

"Vincent, I'm completely cured now. You're a billionaire CEO. You don't have to keep pretending to be broke and playing house with Selena anymore."

After a beat of silence, his voice turned resolute.

"No! I have to stay by her side. What if your body rejects the kidney and you need another one?"

A bone-chilling cold pierced right through me.

To him, I was never a lover. I was merely Chloe's walking organ donor.

He forgot one thing, though. This donor was alive. And I could run.

Through the crack in the door, I saw everything.

Chloe wrapped her arms around Vincent's. Her eyes were red, her face twisted with mock grievance.

"But we're the ones legally married. I hate seeing you tangled up with her."

Vincent chuckled and stroked her hair.

"Her marriage certificate is fake. The one I signed with you is the real one. What are you so afraid of?"

A dizzying wave of absurdity slammed into me.

Three months ago, after my kidney was taken, I was so weak I could barely walk.

Vincent carried me into bed with tears in his eyes.

"Just rest at home, baby. I have a connection at the clerk's office. I can register our marriage myself."

He went out alone that evening and came back with two official-looking marriage certificates.

I thought he genuinely loved me. I thought he truly cared.

Turns out, our entire marriage was a forged piece of paper.

Chloe sighed and buried herself into his chest.

She spoke like a martyr.

"Fine! But you have to promise me you won't let her get pregnant. If she does, I'll run her down with my car again."

"Alright, alright. Whatever you say."

Vincent didn't argue. He just smiled and agreed.

It felt like a sledgehammer smashed into my skull. I stumbled, barely keeping my balance.

A month ago, I excitedly told Vincent we were expecting a baby.

He had swept me up into his arms, cheering.

"This is amazing! Selena, thank you! I'll take care of you and our baby forever!"

As an orphan, I thought I was finally getting a real family of my own.

The very next day, as I walked home from work, Chloe's car slammed straight into me. Blood pooled all over the pavement.

By the time I reached the emergency room, my baby was gone.

Vincent had forced Chloe onto her knees before my hospital bed, demanding she apologize.

I was too numb with hatred to say a single word.

Vincent hugged me tight, tears shimmering in his eyes.

"Selena, it was an accident. For my sake, let it go, please?"

"We can have another baby. As many as you want. I'll be with you."

I dropped the charges.

And only today did I learn the truth.

She had planned the crash all along.

And Vincent, the father of my lost child, had permitted it to happen.

Chloe placed Vincent's hand onto her flat stomach, a triumphant smile on her face.

"Our baby is already a month along. I can't have him sharing his inheritance with some illegitimate bastard."

I clutched my chest, my nails digging into my palms.

The realization hit me like a slap.

While I was drowning in the agony of my miscarriage, Vincent and Chloe were celebrating their first child.

I couldn't hear what else they were saying.

My mind went completely blank.

Looking at the two of them wrapped in each other's arms, I pulled out my phone.

I accepted the professor offer from the Paris National Ballet Conservatory.

Three months ago, after losing a kidney to clear Vincent's fake debt, I had turned them down with regret.

Even after learning I could no longer dance, the conservatory still insisted on hiring me.

They told me my artistic vision and technique were what mattered most.

Yet, looking at Vincent holding our fake marriage certificate, I rejected them.

Now, I knew.

Vincent stayed with me not out of love, but because Chloe might need my other kidney.

In that case, I would fly across the ocean, to a place where he would never find me.