Chapter 4

I looked into her icy eyes, my heart aching with sharp, stinging pain.

I used every ounce of strength to force out a few words from my throat, “Scarlett Sterling, you’ll regret this.”

“Regret?” She laughed, as if I’d spoken something utterly ridiculous. “The biggest regret of my life, Scarlett Sterling, was marrying you!”

With that, she mercilessly shoved me away.

I staggered back a few steps, hitting the wall. A sharp, piercing pain shot through my heart.

I clutched my chest in agony, cold sweat breaking out.

Julian Thorne spoke up from the side, feigning concern.

“Scarlett, don’t be like this…”

“It’s all my fault. I’ll figure out my illness on my own, even if it means dying…”

Scarlett immediately turned, pulling him into a comforting embrace, her face filled with tenderness.

“Julian! Don’t talk nonsense! I’ll never let anything happen to you!”

She soothed the man in her arms, then looked back at me, her eyes filled with murderous intent.

“Asher Hayes, I’m asking you one last time.”

“The donation agreement. Are you signing it, or not?”

I looked at the sweet scene playing out before me and felt an overwhelming sense of irony.

My wife was forcing me to die for another man, even willing to destroy my family in the process.

I heard myself say calmly, “I’ll sign.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Scarlett’s face, then a cold smirk.

“See? Isn’t that better?”

She snapped her fingers at her assistant behind her.

“Bring the agreement.”

I picked up the pen, but my hand trembled violently.

What I was signing away was my life.

I threw the signed agreement along with the pen onto the table in front of her.

“The money?”

Scarlett picked up the agreement, nodding in satisfaction, and pulled out her phone to make a call.

Less than a minute later, the funds for my father’s surgery were transferred.

I didn’t spare her another glance, turning to leave.

“Stop.”

Her icy voice came from behind me.

I halted, my back ramrod straight, but I didn’t turn around.

“The surgery is scheduled for next Wednesday.”

“These next few days, you’d better behave yourself. Don’t try any more tricks.”

I paused, said nothing, and went straight to the doctor’s office.

The doctor held my medical record, his brows furrowed in a deep knot.

“Young man, you have a severe congenital heart condition, and it’s showing signs of failure. I’ve told you this many times.”

“In your condition, forget donating a kidney, even a bad cold needs careful attention!”

“If you go through with this surgery, you’ll lose your life!”

Before he could finish, the door to the office burst open from the outside.

Julian Thorne walked in, dressed in a hospital gown. His face was pale, but a faint smile played on his lips.

Dr. Miller’s face instantly turned white when he saw him.

“Mr. Thorne…”

Julian Thorne glanced at the medical record in Dr. Miller’s hand, his eyes chilling.

“Dr. Miller, Scarlett asked me to check if everything is ready for tomorrow’s surgery.”

Dr. Miller gripped the medical record, his palms sweating profusely.

“Mr. Thorne, Mr. Hayes’s condition… he really isn’t suitable for surgery! The risks are too high!”

Julian Thorne’s smile vanished.

He came closer to me, lowering his voice, saying each word distinctly:

“Asher Hayes, stop with your pathetic little tricks.”

“Hiring a doctor to put on an act? Do you really think Scarlett will fall for it?”

“I’m telling you, it’s useless. Tomorrow, you will donate that kidney, whether you want to or not!”

I looked up at him, my gaze cold. “Julian Thorne, aren’t you afraid of karma?”

He scoffed. “Karma? My karma is that Scarlett loves me enough to do anything for me.”

“And your karma, Asher, is to be trampled under her foot, nothing but a walking organ donor for me!”

He suddenly leaned close to my ear. “Oh, right, I forgot to tell you a secret.”

“Three years ago, I didn’t just disappear without a trace.”

“Scarlett was afraid the Sterling family’s bankruptcy would drag me down. She cried and begged me to leave, personally sending me onto that plane.”

“She said that once she bounced back, the first thing she’d do was marry me.”

“If your father hadn’t forced that marriage on her with Hayes Inc. as leverage, I would be standing by her side right now, wearing the Sterling family ring.”

“So, Asher Hayes, *you* are the thief. You stole the life that should have been mine.”

My mind exploded into a buzzing static.

My perceived salvation was nothing but a transactional demand.