Chapter 2

Scarlett and I had been married for three years, a well-known commercial marriage arranged for business.

I loved her with a desperation that crushed my own dignity, but her heart always belonged to a pure, shining image of her true love — Julian Thorne.

Three years ago, the Sterling Group was on the verge of bankruptcy. Julian Thorne left the country without a word, vanishing into thin air.

It was my father who stepped in, offering a marriage alliance as a condition to save the Sterling family. Scarlett hated me for it, to the core of her being.

She believed I used dirty tricks to break her and Julian Thorne apart, stealing his rightful place as husband to the Sterling heiress.

So for the past three years, all I received from her was coldness and disgust.

She never came back to our marital home. On the rare occasions she did, it was after a night of heavy drinking, and she’d mistake me for someone else, murmuring Julian’s name.

I felt like a pathetic thief, clinging to crumbs of warmth that weren’t meant for me.

Until three months ago, when Julian Thorne returned.

And I, the usurper who had stolen his place, was expected to disappear.

The moment Julian Thorne returned, Scarlett asked me for a divorce. I refused.

I fantasized that three years of living together, day in and day out, would have melted even a stone heart.

But I forgot, Scarlett’s heart wasn’t stone; it was an iceberg.

My persistence, to her, was nothing but an irrational entanglement.

She started staying out all night, using emotional warfare to push me away and force my hand.

Then, Julian Thorne was diagnosed with late-stage kidney failure. It was the final straw that broke the back of our marriage.

When the doctor spoke those words, Scarlett felt her entire world crumble.

She spent her days and nights, unkempt and exhausted, by Julian’s bedside. The tender affection she’d always been so stingy with me, she showered entirely upon him.

She pulled every string, used every connection and resource she had, all to find a suitable kidney donor for Julian.

And then, fate played its cruelest joke.

The person who was the perfect match? It was me.

The atmosphere in the living room was so oppressive, it was suffocating.

Scarlett sat across from me, her beautiful face etched with exhaustion and internal struggle.

This was the first time she’d come home since Julian had fallen ill.

Her voice was hoarse. “Asher Hayes, we need to talk.”

I lowered my eyes, silently waiting for her to continue.

“You already know about Julian’s illness. The doctor said your kidney is a perfect match for his.”

My heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, making it impossible to breathe.

I looked up at her, asking each word distinctly, “So?”

Scarlett’s eyes flickered, avoiding my gaze.

“I… I hope you’ll consider donating one of your kidneys to Julian.”

She said it so matter-of-factly, as if she were just asking to borrow a pen.

I suddenly laughed, a raw, shaking laugh that rattled my chest.

“Scarlett Sterling, are you serious?”

My laughter irritated her. She knitted her brows and glared at me fiercely.

“What are you laughing at?!”

She slammed her fist down on the glass coffee table, the crash echoing through the silent room.

“I asked you, what are you laughing at?!” she roared, like a furious lioness.

I suppressed the sharp pain in my chest and met her murderous gaze.

“I’m laughing at you. I’m laughing at what gives you the right? What gives you the right to trade my life for his?”

“What right?!” She scoffed, as if I’d said something utterly ridiculous. She sprang to her feet, her tall figure instantly casting a shadow over me.

“The right is that everything you possess right now, Asher Hayes, was handed to you by me, Scarlett Sterling!”

“You’ve stolen Julian’s rightful place for three whole years!”

“Now, asking you to give him a kidney, isn’t that only right?!”

I stubbornly lifted my chin, retorting, word by defiant word.

“What if… I just don’t donate?”