Chapter 1

My doctor boyfriend found a matching kidney donor for my transplant—his foster sister.

While everyone celebrated the miracle, I turned on my livestream and looked straight into the camera:

"Everyone, look closely. The people in this room are trying to murder me and steal my family fortune."

The second the words left my mouth, my boyfriend and his so-called "charity-case" donor turned ghost-white.

My boyfriend lunged forward to snatch my phone, but I backed away before he could touch me.

"Stay away from me, or I'm pressing charges for assault."

Julian Hayes's face twisted into an ugly grimace.

"Natalie, what kind of scene are you making? Chloe volunteered to give you her kidney out of the goodness of her heart. Why are you acting so ungrateful?"

Chloe Miller's eyes welled with tears, her voice trembling.

"Natalie, why are you calling the police on us..."

I kept my distance and watched their pathetic performance.

My heart was dead silent. All I felt was an urge to laugh.

In my previous life, this was the exact routine they used to swindle my family's fortune and leave me to die.

This time, neither of them was walking away.

In my past life, Julian brought his foster sister to my hospital room under the exact same pretense.

My parents were so moved by her supposed sacrifice that they decided to officially take her in as their goddaughter to make it up to her.

Yet, on the scheduled surgery date, she never showed up.

Julian came to my bedside with a remorseful face:

"I'm so sorry, Natalie. Chloe's health is fragile right now. Her vitals don't meet surgical criteria, so the doctors need to stabilize her first."

Then came the second delay. The third...

Every single time, he had a new excuse ready for her.

By the ninth delay, my body had deteriorated to the point of complete organ failure.

Desperate, I dragged myself out of bed to find them, only to walk in on the two of them rolling around in bed together.

When I confronted them in tears, Julian shoved me to the ground with pure disgust in his eyes:

"Your bad luck is your own fault! How can you be so selfish as to demand Chloe sacrifice her body for you?!"

My head smashed against the floor, and my vision went black.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day Julian first brought Chloe into my room.

I stood a safe distance away from them, my voice flat and icy:

"I refuse the kidney, and I have nothing to say to either of you."

Just then, my parents walked in from the hallway and immediately snapped at me:

"What is all this commotion? Why are you calling the police?"

Julian seized the distraction, grabbed my phone, and shut down the livestream.

"Richard, Eleanor, Natalie must look down on where I come from. That's why she's saying these things."

"Even though my kidney is a perfect ten-out-of-ten match, if Natalie doesn't want it, I'll just leave."

Tears streamed down Chloe's cheeks as she spoke.

"I just don't understand why she called the cops on me. I only wanted to help..."

Julian chimed in, his hand clamping around my wrist like a vice:

"It was just a misunderstanding. Natalie has been moody and throwing tantrums lately."

His grip was punishing, warning me to shut my mouth. I tried to pull away, but couldn't.

A chill settled deep in my bones. To everyone else, I was just being unreasonable.

My mother's eyes softened as she took Chloe's hand, comforting her gently:

"Good girl, don't cry. Natalie is just causing trouble."

"Eleanor, I don't want her kidney," I interrupted, cutting through their touching reunion.

My mother's expression soured, but Julian jumped in to smooth things over:

"Eleanor, don't mind her. Natalie's probably just jealous."

Julian smiled, pulling me into his chest and ruffling my hair the way he had done thousands of times before.

I tried to pull away, but he held me tighter.

I caught the familiar, clean scent of his cologne. Once, it made me feel safe. Now, it made me want to vomit.

"Chloe is a college student I've been sponsoring. Today is our very first time meeting in person."

"Natalie, stop acting out," he whispered, looking down at me with a gaze so gentle it felt like poison.

"A match this perfect is impossible to find again if you let it slip away."

For a fraction of a second, I almost fooled myself into thinking my past life was just a nightmare.

He looked like the same devoted boyfriend who had always protected me.

The very next second, the phantom pain of end-stage renal failure flared up from deep inside my bones.

We were childhood sweethearts, the envy of everyone around us.

From high school uniforms to white lab coats, he had held my hand, promising we would get married the second I got better.

How wonderful it sounded.

Yet, nine times.

Nine agonizing times, he held out hope only to smash it to pieces in front of me.

Right up until I was left to rot in that freezing hospital room, he still lectured me to be "understanding."

I was done living in a fairy tale.

My parents were already sitting on the sofa with Chloe, calling her their sweet girl.

I heard my mother say:

"Finding someone as kind as Chloe with a perfect match is a blessing from God."

"Our Natalie is finally going to live."

Not a single person asked what I wanted.

In their eyes, all that mattered was this fragile lifeline that could snap at any moment.

I slipped my hand out of Julian's grasp, walked quietly toward the bathroom, and shut the door behind me.

Leaning against the cold surface, I let out a ragged breath.

In this life, my parents wouldn't believe me because they were too desperate for hope.

Julian wouldn't care because his heart had never belonged to me in the first place.

I refused to bet my life on a ticking time bomb who could pull out at any moment.

And I certainly wasn't going to bet it on a childhood sweetheart who had already betrayed me.

In this life, my survival belonged entirely to me.

I pulled out my backup phone, dialed a number, and spoke with eerie calm:

"I need a favor."