Chapter 4

By the time I rushed to the hospital, Damian had sent a text:

[Julianna, Chloe has been emotionally unstable lately. I only asked you to apologize to calm her down.]

[The engagement party is tomorrow. I noticed your dress didn't fit properly, so I had the designer adjust the measurements. Come over now and try it on.]

Before I could reply, a doctor hurried over.

"Sign the consent forms immediately! Your grandmother needs emergency resuscitation!"

Clutching my phone, my heart clenched in terror.

"Doctor! What happened to her...?!"

Nurses dashed past me pushing a gurney. Grandma lay unconscious, her breathing faint.

"End-stage dilated cardiomyopathy. Her heart is failing rapidly."

"We need a matching donor heart for transplantation immediately, otherwise..."

The doctor checked his watch.

"She has twenty-four hours at most."

My mind went blank. With trembling hands, I dialed Damian’s number.

Dozens of calls went unanswered until someone finally picked up.

It was Chloe’s voice.

"Julianna, Damian went to get me some warm water. If it's nothing important, I'm hanging up."

I screamed through sobs:

"Chloe Vance! My grandmother needs her donor heart right now! Put... Damian on the phone!"

She chuckled softly:

"Julianna, that old woman has dragged on long enough. When it's time to go, she should just go. Why waste Damian’s money keeping a corpse alive...?"

"Shut up! Put Damian on the phone! DAMIAN!"

The call was abruptly terminated.

I dialed back frantically.

"The number you have dialed is currently switched off."

I slumped outside the operating room, my hands shaking uncontrollably as I signed the critical condition notice.

Across town, Damian walked into the room carrying a cup of warm water.

He glanced at Chloe on the sofa:

"Has Julianna arrived yet?"

Chloe’s eyes flickered, then she hooked her arm around his, smiling sweetly:

"Julianna just called. She said she knows she was wrong and will show up on time for the engagement tomorrow."

"Really?" Damian raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"Of course," Chloe purred, snuggling closer. "I turned your phone off for you. Last time she cried, you caved immediately, and it only made her more demanding. Let her stew for one night so she finally learns to behave."

Damian hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded.

The next day, the engagement party went on as planned.

I stood outside the ICU, staring blankly at the wildly fluctuating monitor.

"The donor heart that was reserved... was suddenly canceled. We don't know why."

"I'm afraid the patient won't make it through today."

Trembling, I pulled out my phone and dialed his number again and again.

Still switched off.

The doctors pressed defibrillator paddles to Grandma’s frail chest. Her tiny body jolted upward, then fell limp.

Suddenly, my legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the cold hospital tiles.

A searing, tearing agony ripped through my lower abdomen.

Warm, thick fluid slowly trickled down the inside of my thighs.

Darkness swallowed my vision, pulling me into an endless abyss.

Meanwhile, headlines clearing Chloe flooded the internet:

[Shocking Truth: Julianna Vance Was the Real Homewrecker All Along! Damian and Chloe Were Childhood Sweethearts!]

[What a joke! Her mother claimed to be driven to suicide by a mistress, yet her own daughter is stealing someone's fiancé!]

At the grand venue, Damian stood in a tailored tuxedo, anxiously waiting for his bride.

The grand hall was packed with guests. The cathedral doors slowly swung open.

Watching the bride in the diamond gown take slow steps toward him, Damian’s face softened with profound relief and love.

He stepped forward and lifted the veil.

It was Chloe.

The smile vanished from his face instantly.

He surged forward, his eyes wide with fury:

"Why the hell is my bride you?!"

Before anyone could breathe, Secretary Carter stumbled through the doors, his face deathly pale:

"Mr. Pierce! Urgent call from the hospital! Miss Julianna Vance..."