Chapter 3

Out of nowhere, an adrenaline surge hit me. I gripped the doorframe with all my might.

"Let go of me, Shawn! If you touch me again, I'm screaming for security and calling the police!"

Shawn glared at me through gritted teeth.

"Oh, so you've grown a spine now, Lana?"

I wrenched myself free from his grip and tried to slam the door, but his palm shoved it wide open.

"Have you forgotten who paid to fix the only access road into your hometown?" he sneered.

My breath hitched. I never imagined he would use that against me.

Three months ago, Shawn had visited my parents' town with me.

The crumbling, rutted dirt roads had made him terribly carsick.

Back then, he had held my hand, saying his heart ached for my parents and the kids who grew up isolated in that neglected place.

He promised on the spot that his family's trust would fund the road repairs.

I hesitated. Looking at him now, I couldn't see the man I once loved, and I didn't dare gamble on his conscience.

I thought of my parents, and the neighbors who had worked so hard to give me a future.

My fingers slipped from the door. Shawn pushed his way in.

I stood frozen as he pulled me into his arms.

"Lana, I promise you," he whispered gently into my hair. "As soon as you do the donor screening, we'll get married. Your parents will be thrilled."

Like a lifeless doll, I let him drag me to the lab for a blood draw.

The doctor took one look at my paper-white face and suggested waiting a couple of days, but Shawn shut him down immediately.

I extended my arm and forced a dull smile.

"It's fine, Doctor. Just draw the blood."

I stumbled on my way out. Shawn reached out to steady me, but I flinched away.

"Lana, why do you look so awful?"

Luna, who had been lingering outside the door, stepped forward with fake concern written all over her face.

I gave her a blank glance and walked past without a word.

Tears immediately welled up in her eyes. She turned to Shawn, looking heartbroken.

"Shawn, it's all my fault. I'm a burden to you. I'm tearing you and Lana apart..."

Seeing her cry, Shawn's expression softened into tender worry as he comforted her.

When he looked back up at me, his eyes blazed with fury.

"Lana, when did you become so heartless?" he barked. "Luna is fighting for her life! Can't you show an ounce of empathy? Stop right there—"

"Lana, please don't be mad at Shawn! It's all me, it's all my fault..."

Luna rushed toward me, grabbing my wrist. Her sharp nails dug viciously into my palm.

Wincing in pain, I yanked my hand back.

I knew for a fact I barely used any strength—I didn't have any left in me.

Yet Luna fell backward onto the floor, skinning her knee and palm.

Shawn scooped her up, shielding her behind him as if I were a rabid animal.

"Lana! I agreed to fix your hometown's road, and I even agreed to—and you're still not satisfied?!"

I looked at the two of them locked in an embrace.

He didn't even dare say the word "marry" in front of her, terrified of upsetting her fragile feelings.

If he loved her this much, why did he ever bother making promises to me?