MIA’S POV
I picked up my bag and walked toward the cab already waiting outside. But just as I reached it, Robert’s guard burst through the door and hurried toward me, his face hard.
“Mr. Robert wants to see you. Now,” he said firmly.
I looked at him and raised a brow. “Anything else?”
Instead of answering, he grabbed my elbow and yanked me back, throwing my bag to the ground.
“Please, you’re hurting my arm,” I said.
He didn’t care. He just smirked and dragged me back inside, then shoved me into the room.
Robert was standing there with his hands in his pockets, waiting.
He cleared his throat the moment he saw me.
“Sit.”
I glanced behind me. The guard was still there, looking like he was ready to shove me into the seat. I sat down carefully.
“Jasmine has a rare liver condition,” he began.
I frowned. I didn’t understand where this was going. Jasmine’s health had nothing to do with me.
“Is that why you won’t let me leave?”
“Shut up and let me finish, Mia. Since when did you start interrupting me when I speak?” he snapped, his eyes burning with anger.
“Her liver is failing and it’s putting the baby at risk. That’s why you’ll be donating a portion of yours.”
I gasped, nearly choking on my own breath.
“Robert, you can’t be serious. That kind of surgery is dangerous. That’s not something you force on someone.”
“I wasn’t asking for your opinion,” he cut in sharply. “You should be glad to help. Your liver is a match. And don’t forget, this baby is yours too. Don’t be foolish.”
At that moment, the doctor, who had been standing quietly near the door, gave me a concerned look and stepped forward.
“This surgery isn’t simple,” the doctor said carefully. “She’ll need time to recover. There are serious risks. Bleeding, infection, even death. We should look for another donor.”
“There is no one else,” Robert barked. “Jasmine is important. She’s carrying my child. And who is Mia? Who?”
The doctor hesitated, clearly troubled, but said nothing more.
“Exactly,” Robert said coldly. “She’s a nobody. Now do your job and save my Jasmine.”
Without another word, they both walked back into the room.
The doctor gave me a quick, apologetic glance before the nurses approached me with a consent form I wasn’t allowed to read.
I was prepped and wheeled away before I could even process it.
The doctor gave me a quick, apologetic glance before the anesthesia mask covered my nose and mouth. Cold gas filled my lungs. My body went numb, my thoughts blurred. They were about to cut me open, take a part of me I’d never get back. All for Jasmine. For Robert. My chest tightened as everything went dark. It felt like dying.
“Good girl,” Robert said with a smirk. “At least you’re useful for something today.”
“Robert Wood,” I said groggily.
“Yes, that’s my name, wifey,” he replied in a sarcastic tone.
“When this is over, I’m never coming back. You’re letting me go.”
“Keep running and keep being selfish, Mia. The baby is ours. Jasmine is just offering her womb, that’s all. You’re doing this for our child. Always remember that.”
Deep down, I knew once the baby arrived, Robert would cut me off without blinking. My mouth tasted sour, metallic. My head was spinning as I stared at the bandages on my side, the ache in my body a brutal reminder of what they are taking from me.
“Robert…”
Before I could finish, a loud scream echoed from the other room. It was Jasmine. She sounded like she was dying.
Robert rushed out instantly.
“Her body’s rejecting the transplant. Do something!” he shouted.
The doctor followed quickly. “She needs more tissue support. Her liver is shutting down again.”
“Then take more from Mia!” Robert barked.
“We already took the maximum safe amount. Any more could kill her,” the doctor warned, panicking.
“Do it now or we lose Jasmine,” Robert snapped.
The doctor paused, then turned back toward me.
I could barely keep my eyes open. My vision dimmed, my body cold and aching from the operation. I heard footsteps. The sound of metal clinking.
And then… nothing. It felt like death.
***
I woke up to the smell of something strong. Liver and beetroot soup, maybe. A tray sat by my side. I blinked and sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes with my hand. My head was still spinning.
“You looked so dead in your sleep,”
Robert said, setting his phone aside the moment I spoke.
“You lost a lot of strength. The doctor recommended that for you,”
he added, pointing to the tray.
I nodded quietly and reached for the spoon.
My hand shook as I tried to scoop from the bowl, and some of it spilled onto the floor.
“Let me feed you,”
he said, stepping closer.
“No, I can do it,” I replied quickly.
“You should be grateful I even offered. No sane man keeps a wife who can’t give him children. If you can’t bear children, you get divorced. So be thankful I’m still keeping you around.”
Before I could say anything, my phone chimed.
Robert’s eyes narrowed, lingering on it.
“That phone has been doing that ever since you went off,” he said sharply. “I wonder who suddenly cares about you,” he added with a scoff.
I wonder why we have to stay in a marriage where we already hate each other so much.
Just then, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and immediately started smiling, then giggling like a teenager.
“Heyyy, I’ve missed you a lot,” he said, already walking toward the door with a stupid grin on his face.
Almost right after, my phone rang again. I picked it up.
“Hey babe? When are you leaving that hell of a place? Don’t tell me you actually went back…”
