If I dared to resist, Lewis would not hesitate to remind me of my past sacrifice—the kidney I had donated to him when he was twenty.
I still remembered the day vividly.
Lewis had been on the brink of death, his kidneys failing, and the entire family had scrambled to find a suitable donor.
Out of everyone, I, who was only a seventeen girl at that moment, had been the only match.
After endless tests and procedures, I was deemed fit to donate, and my parents did not hesitate for a moment.
They signed the consent forms with joy, forcing me to go through the operation without a second thought.
Even after we were married, Lewis exploited my sacrifice. I would never forget the first time he used it as a weapon against me.
It had been during the early days of our marriage, when his mother discovered we were sleeping in separate rooms.
Furious, she confronted Lewis about it, and later that night, he cornered me in his study, his eyes blazing with anger.
“You’d better talk nicely to my parents and fix this mess,” he hissed. “If you dare disobey me, don’t forget—I can still take your last kidney. Remember this, Rose.”
The memory sent a shiver down my spine, but I shook it off, focusing on the task at hand. My baby deserved better, and I would do whatever it took to protect them.
Even if it meant enduring this torment a little longer.
**
After all the dishes were finally prepared, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and stepped back, watching as the maid arranged everything neatly on the dining table.
My legs ached, my head throbbed, and my stomach churned from the nausea that had plagued me throughout the day.
Then I heard them—their laughter echoing down the staircase. Lewis and Ruby descended together, chatting like a happy couple in their own private world.
They entered the dining room, their voices light and carefree, as if they were the owners of the villa and I was nothing more than a hired maid.
When Ruby laid her eyes on the spread of dishes, her face lit up in mock surprise. “Oh my God, Lewis, you really made all the menus I asked for! You’re amazing.”
Lewis beamed at her praise, his hand resting possessively on her waist. “Of course. Seeing how light your body is, I thought I should try harder to make sure you get all the nutrition you need,” he replied smoothly.
Ruby giggled, leaning closer to him. “You know, Lewis, all my fat gathers in my cheeks. So don’t misunderstand when you look at my body.”
Lewis chuckled, gently pinching her cheek. “No wonder you have such adorable, chubby cheeks. I’d love to pinch them every day.”
Their sweet interaction was like a knife twisting in my chest.
For two years, I had hoped to see that side of Lewis—the affectionate, tender man he was capable of being.
But then I realized it was not that he could not be sweet; it was simply that he did not want to be that way with me.
Lewis then pulled out a chair for Ruby, his movements smooth and gentlemanly, like the perfect partner. “Let’s sit and enjoy our dinner,” he said with a smile.
Ruby nodded and sat down gracefully.
Then, her gaze swept across the room, and when she noticed me standing silently near the maid, she called out with a syrupy voice, “Oh, sister, come join us! Sit here beside me.”
She gestured to the chair next to her, her tone exuding fake kindness.
Lewis, who had just taken his seat, glanced at me with indifference. “Sit down already so we can eat,” he muttered lazily, as if my mere presence was a formality he had to endure.
Suppressing a sigh, I walked over and sat beside Ruby. But the food on my plate, which I had painstakingly prepared, did not tempt me in the slightest.
The sight and smell of it made my stomach churn, though I forced myself to keep my nausea at bay.
As we began eating in an awkward silence, Ruby suddenly decided to include me in the conversation.
“Oh, by the way,” she began with a smile, her tone falsely cheerful, “thank you for taking care of Lewis for the past two years, sister.”
She then turned to Lewis, her expression softening. “And you, Lewis, thank you for keeping your promise to wait for me all this time. I always knew your love was genuine, even back then.”
Her words struck me like a thunderclap, but before I could process them, Ruby continued with a playful pout. “I do worry sometimes, you know. I was overthinking that maybe you two might have… you know… had slept together behind my back.”
The room went silent for a moment, save for the clinking of silverware.
Lewis immediately broke the tension, taking Ruby’s hand in his and squeezing it gently.
“It would never happen, Ruby,” he said firmly. “I never even touched your sister for a second. I only love you.”
I stared at him, my lips curling into a bitter smirk. My chest tightened as I struggled to suppress the hurt and anger bubbling inside me.
Never touched me? So, what was that night? Was it just a drunken accident that he chose to ignore because it did not count in his twisted mind?
“I trust you, Lewis. I’ve seen the proof that you two slept separately all this time. That’s why I’m so grateful,” Ruby said, her gaze soft and full of affection as she looked at Lewis.
He mirrored her expression, his face glowing with the kind of love and devotion I had never received from him.
It was too much. My chest tightened, my stomach churned violently, and I could no longer suppress the overwhelming nausea.
Abruptly, I stood, the chair scraping harshly against the floor, the sound reverberating through the tense room.
But before I could escape, Ruby grabbed my wrist, stopping me in my tracks.
“Where are you going?” she asked in a tone laced with syrupy concern. Yet her expression betrayed her—her eyes burned with anger, her lips pressed into a thin, venomous line.
The sharp rise of stomach acid clawed at my throat, and I could not hold it back any longer.
Without warning, I bent over and vomited everything onto the dining table, the bile and remnants of my last meal splattering across the dishes I had spent hours preparing.
A shocked silence fell over the room for a brief moment before Ruby’s piercing scream shattered it.
“How rude!” she shrieked, recoiling in disgust as she pushed her chair back, her face twisted in horror.
