I laughed, the taste of it bitter on my tongue.
【I can't have this baby.】
The woman blinked, caught off guard.
【I'm dying.】
Her eyes went red. After a long moment, she let go of my hand.
She watched the pregnancy test curl into ash and asked in a choked voice：【Does your husband know?】
I looked toward the distance, where Lewis was wrapping his arm around Lydia and sliding into a Cullinan. I smiled. ：【He probably doesn't want to.】
The woman understood immediately.
She let out a sigh：【Another poor soul with a hard life.】
【Sweetheart, come next year I'll burn paper offerings for you.】
Back in Harbor City, I went straight to the hospital.
In the ICU, my sister still hadn't been cleared from critical condition.
Dr. Warren clutched the papers in his hand and asked：【Stella, please reconsider.】
【Your sister's illness requires a massive bone-marrow transplant.】
【If you give her yours, you won't survive.】
【Why don't we try reaching out to Mr. Harding again? The Harding family has connections everywhere. They might be able to locate a matching donor……】
I shook my head gently.
【No more looking.】
【He's been busy lately. He doesn't have time for my problems.】
【Besides, finding a match takes time, and Tessa can't wait.】
The truth was, it wasn't as though I'd never asked Lewis.
He'd decided I was lying, using my sister's illness as an excuse to force him to come home.
I remembered it clearly. That day, he'd been about to take Lydia out on his yacht.
I chased after the boat, sobbing, begging him.
All I got was his disgust. He had his people throw me off the yacht.
I stood in the freezing water, calling his name over and over.
All he gave me in return was a kiss with Lydia, slow and deliberate, like a taunt.
Tears blurred the memory and sharpened the one thing I already knew: no one was going to save my sister but me.
I picked up the pen, ready to sign the bone-marrow donation consent form, when Dr. Warren's phone rang.
He held the screen up to me, his face lit with sudden hope：【Stella, wait!】
【Mr. Harding's calling.】
【He must have heard that your sister's condition has gotten worse.】
Before I could stop him, Dr. Warren had already answered.
【Mr. Harding, you're calling about Tessa's condition, aren't you……】
He didn't finish. A grumble cut through from the other end.
【It's the crack of dawn. Are you even awake yet?】
【Why would I be calling about Tessa Matthews?】
【She's been a wreck for years, half-dead as it is. What's there to ask about?】
Dr. Warren shot me a panicked glance and instinctively covered the receiver with his hand.
But I'd already heard every word.
【I just wanted to ask you something. I slept with a woman last night, and she felt a little nauseous this morning. Any chance she's pregnant?】
The Harding family was the hospital's majority shareholder. Dr. Warren had no choice but to answer Lewis's questions.
He turned away and lowered his voice：【Mr. Harding, it's only been one night. Even if she did conceive, the symptoms wouldn't show that fast.】
【Don't let someone pin this on you.】
Dr. Warren didn't know about Lewis and Lydia.
Like most people on the outside, he believed Lewis was desperately in love with me.
When my family went bankrupt and my parents jumped off a building because they couldn't take the pressure, every dollar of debt landed on my shoulders and Tessa's.
Lewis paid off everything. He defied enormous pressure to get engaged to me and became my rock without a second thought.
When Tessa fell ill out of nowhere, he was there day and night, comforting me, telling me not to worry, that he'd handle it.
Back then, he really was good to me.
He told me I was the girl he'd fallen for when he first learned what love was, and that he'd treat me well for the rest of his life.
Then one night at a business dinner he walked into the casino, met Lydia, and changed completely.
He started throwing obscene amounts of money around for Lydia at the tables, and because he was obsessed with her body, he stopped coming home at night.
