Chapter 1No money for dialysis. I was dying on the hospital steps—when I heard a familiar voice.
"Don't worry. If we match, I'll give you my kidney."
I spun around. The whole world changed. Only a young girl was crying into her phone.
That was... ME at 20?!
I immediately grabbed her.
"DON'T GIVE HIM YOUR KIDNEY!"
She jerked away. Pissed. "Who the hell are you? Back off."
I held on tighter, my voice shaking.
"Kieran's LYING. That kidney is for his mistress—not him!"
"He'll marry you out of guilt, then sleep with you at night, fuck HER by day."
"Three pregnancies. Three forced abortions."
"Even destroyed Dad's company and KILLED him!"
Ten years ago, I thought sacrificing a kidney was proof of love.
This time, I'm stopping myself.
Keep the kidney. Destroy the assholes.
...
She shoved me off hard.
"Are you insane? I'm saving my boyfriend—none of your damn business! What do you even know?"
I looked down. My lips wouldn't stop trembling.
"I'm you. Ten years from now."
"Kieran's only dating you to save Ophelia. She's the one who needs the kidney."
She looked me up and down.
Then smirked.
"Ten years from now? Lady, you look sixty."
"YAt least lie smarter. Even if Ophelia needs a kidney, why would Kieran chase ME?"
"I haven't even gotten tested yet. How would they know I'm a match?"
She turned to leave, but I grabbed her again with everything I had.
"Last school physical—they took everyone's reports and analyzed them!"
"If you don't believe me, go check..."
My vision suddenly blurred.
The old building in front of me turned back into the brand-new hospital.
My hand was empty.
"No! Wait! I wasn't finished!"
I broke down sobbing.
A girl passing by carefully handed me a tissue.
"Ma'am, are you okay?"
Ma'am.
I looked up. The steel column reflected my face.
Gray hair. Sallow skin. Wrinkles everywhere.
I looked like a sick old woman.
But I was only thirty.
I waved her off and shuffled toward the bus stop.
I wanted to call a cab, but I only had two bucks in my account.
Not even enough for the base fare.
I got off at the entrance to a luxury complex.
A new security guard reached out to stop me. The other one quickly pulled him back.
"Ms. Ashford, welcome home."
Behind me, the older guard whispered.
"She's an owner. Remember that."
The new guard looked shocked.
"She's dressed in rags and lives in a mansion?"
I froze mid-step.
Pain shot through my abdomen. Sweat poured down my face.
When I finally made it inside, I collapsed on the soft couch.
Everything in the house felt completely out of place.
Or rather, I was the one who no longer belonged here.
The door slammed open with a bang. Kieran's annoyed voice followed.
"Did you just call me?"
"I told you not to call unless it's important. Ophelia's pissed!"
I almost laughed.
I'm his wife, and I have to worry about his mistress's feelings.
The pain came back.
I swallowed the words on my tongue.
Pride, dignity—maybe I used to have those.
But when you're dying, none of that matters.
"Kieran, I'm out of money."
"I need dialysis. Can you transfer me some?"
Kieran looked irritated.
"Money, money, money! That's all you talk about!"
"I already married you to pay off my guilt, and you're still bleeding me dry? I'm NOT your personal ATM!"
"You've spent enough money over the years to buy ten kidneys!"
Chapter 2
I braced myself against the couch and stood up, meeting Kieran's eyes.
"Then why didn't you just buy one back then? Why didn't Ophelia buy one? Why target me?"
Kieran smirked.
"Are you kidding? You think matching is that easy?"
"Besides, you gave it willingly."
I finally lost it.
"I gave it willingly to YOU. Not to Ophelia."
"Ophelia's the woman I love. Giving it to her IS giving it to me!"
Another wave of pain ripped through me.
I doubled over. Sweat and tears dripped onto the floor.
"Kieran, if I hadn't donated that kidney, I wouldn't need dialysis now."
"Paying for my treatment is the least you owe me."
Kieran laughed. Cold.
"Owe you? Don't forget, your family went bankrupt. If I wasn't supporting you, you'd be homeless."
"Paying for your treatment is a favor. Not an obligation."
With that, he turned and walked into his study.
The vase in the living room wobbled as the door slammed shut.
I pulled out my phone and stopped the recording.
A few messages came in.
From Attorney Torres—Dad's most trusted lawyer before he died.
[My investigator got something.]
I opened the photos.
Kieran and Ophelia were cuddled up together.
I sent him the recording I just made.
[I got something too. If any of this is useful?]
The next morning, I went back to the hospital.
I leaned against a pillar, staring at the entrance without blinking.
I don't know how long I waited before the world around me shifted again.
Twenty-year-old me appeared.
Her ponytail hung low instead of high and bouncy.
Her eyes were red and swollen. The moment she saw me, she rushed over.
"I didn't get tested yesterday. I followed Kieran instead."
"I saw him go into Ophelia's room. I heard them talking."
"You weren't lying."
"But who are you really?"
I smiled weakly.
"I told you. I'm you, ten years from now."
She still looked confused.
I pulled down my collar, revealing the flower-shaped birthmark on my chest.
She stepped back.
"You're only thirty now? Why do you look so old?"
"I donated a kidney. Now the other one's failing."
"Kieran destroyed Dad's company. I can't afford treatment."
"And after we got married, he kept screwing with Ophelia. It broke me down."
"Married?" Her eyes lit up.
"You mean Kieran married me?"
"Because I donated my kidney, he felt guilty and married me?"
I nodded.
"Yes, but—"
She cut me off.
"Then I'll do it!"
"As long as he marries me, who cares if the kidney goes to Ophelia?"
I grabbed her arm.
"Do you know what your life will be like after marriage?"
"Kieran doesn't give a damn about you. He's with Ophelia every single day!"
The girl tilted her head. "Doesn't he come home?"
I nodded.
"He only comes home because he's afraid his competitors will find out he's cheating. It'll hurt his business."
"He'll take all his anger out on you. When you get pregnant, he'll drag you to get abortions!"
The girl looked at me and smiled.
"You're so dumb. Just don't tell him you're pregnant. Have the baby in secret. Then you can use the kid to keep him."
"If he's willing to come home, there's plenty of chances to make him fall for you."
"When I had a cold, he even wiped my nose with his hand."
"That can't all be fake, right?"
"Sounds like YOU'RE the one who can't keep a man."
Chapter 3
I shook her hard.
"Wake up! Kieran's only nice to you so you'll give him your kidney!"
The girl blinked.
"I know. I'm doing it willingly."
"He's the hottest guy in school. When I marry him, everyone will be jealous."
"I'll learn from your mistakes. I'll win him back from Ophelia."
I pulled out my phone with shaking hands.
There was a recording Attorney Torres sent me.
It had been recorded when Kieran was drunk.
"If it wasn't to save Ophelia, I wouldn't have looked at Brielle twice."
"Every time I sweet-talk her, I go home and throw up for three days."
"At least I got her family's company out of it. Good enough compensation."
The girl's expression finally turned serious.
"He got the company?"
"What about Dad?"
Sadness filled my eyes.
"He died. Three months after you donated."
"Kieran bribed all our suppliers. They all canceled their contracts and cut off our shipments at once."
"Dad couldn't take it. The stress killed him."
"Brielle, do you want to kill Dad all over again?"
"Dad'll be gone in three months. Can you live with that?"
She bit her lip. Her voice came out muffled.
"He's really that heartless? Everything he felt for me was fake?"
I stared firmly into her eyes.
She suddenly looked up, as if she'd made up her mind.
"I have to save Dad. I can't let him die!"
"But can I actually do it?"
I nodded. Hard.
"Break up with Kieran and make sure Dad finds new suppliers."
"I believe you can."
Everything started to blur. Again.
I raised my voice, forcing the words out as quickly as I could.
"Kieran has already started bribing our clients! You have to move fast!"
I dragged myself home through the pain and immediately texted Attorney Torres.
[When can we file?]
[Can I expose him first? His company's about to go public.]
He replied: [Don't do anything. Don't tip him off.]
[The evidence isn't strong enough yet.]
I closed my eyes.
The first few years of marriage, I was just as stupid as twenty-year-old me.
Back then, I knew Kieran tricked me into giving up my kidney.
I knew he was still with Ophelia, too.
But I put up with it.
I thought, if he married me, it meant he felt guilty.
So I could make him love me.
But all he did was use me. Rough. Brutal.
And I was naive enough to think that if he was willing to touch me, at least it meant he was attracted to me.
Until one night, he came home drunk.
I saw his chat with Ophelia.
[Touching her makes me sick, but getting her pregnant over and over just to drag her to abortions? That feels good.]
[Three abortions in six months. At this rate, she'll be joining her dead daddy soon.]
Ophelia sent back a laughing emoji.
[You're savage. Double kill coming right up.]
[She's so stupid. Her dad died because of you and she still handed over the company to you.]
