I stared wide-eyed in terror. "I have heart disease... A bone marrow extraction could be fatal for me!"
My heart was already on the brink of failure.
If I underwent a bone marrow puncture, the excruciating pain and loss of blood production would surely end my life!
"You won't die." Theo looked at me coldly. "I'm a doctor. I know what I'm doing. Even if you die, it's because you owe Teresa."
Then he said to his people, "Take her to get blood drawn for matching."
Two bodyguards rushed in and dragged me out.
I struggled desperately, and my nails left bloody marks on the floor. "Theo! I'm a human being, not an animal! I'm your wife! How can you treat me like this?"
Theo stood still and tidied the tie I had disheveled. His eyes were icy. "From the moment you caused Teresa's rejection, you were not worth being my wife. You're nothing but a means to pay for your sins."
No matter how I cried or how I pleaded with him, Theo didn't change his mind. Even though the veins on the back of my hand collapsed and made it impossible to insert a needle, even when the nurse couldn't bear it and said that drawing blood like that could kill me, Theo remained indifferent.
He even personally extracted a tube of blood from my jugular vein.
The syringe was filled with my bright red blood.
That was my life.
After he drew my blood, he took away my phone and locked me back in that dark and damp room.
There was no water or food for me.
In the darkness, I curled up in a corner, trembling.
I used to think that even if the world abandoned me, at least Theo would stand by my side.
Now I understood
that the deepest wound came from him!
The storeroom had no windows. I couldn't distinguish day from night.
Only a sliver of light through the gap in the door reminded me that time was passing.
My medication had long run out.
The symptoms of heart failure began to worsen.
It felt like a heavy stone pressed on my chest. Each breath consumed all my strength.
My lungs made a wheezing sound.
I knelt on the floor and gasped for air.
My nails dug into the gaps between the floorboards, and my fingertips were bloody.
A document was slipped through the door gap.
In the faint light, I could make out the words. It was a "Voluntary Bone Marrow Donation Agreement."
Outside, the sound of high heels striking the floor echoed, crisp and pleasant.
I heard Teresa's voice. "Dolores, don't be stubborn." She laughed coquettishly and said in a smug tone. "As long as you sign it, Theo will let you out. So he still cares about you. He is afraid you'll starve in there."
I shook with rage.
Using every last ounce of strength, I crawled to the door and pounded on it with my fists. "Get out! You're dreaming! I'd rather die than save you, you devil!"
There was a moment of silence outside the door.
Then Teresa's aggrieved voice was heard. "Theo, look, Dolores... She'd rather die than save me..."
Theo's cold voice echoed. "Since she's so stubborn, let her come to her senses. Turn off the heating in the room." When she signs, turn it back on."
It was the season of late spring chill, with freezing cold nights.
When the heating stopped, the room became cold quickly.
Cold was the worst enemy of heart conditions.
In less than half an hour, the severe blood vessel constriction triggered intense angina.
I curled into a ball from the pain, and my teeth bit into my lips.
My consciousness began to blur.
In a daze, I seemed to see my unborn baby.
He was only as large as a palm, covered in blood. He was floating in the air and waving at me. "Mom... Mom, it's so cold... Mom... why did Dad kill me..."
Tears flowed uncontrollably. "Baby... I'm sorry... It's because I am not strong enough..."
I mustered my last bit of strength to grab a vase and smash it against the door. "Help... Help me... Theo... it's hurts..."
The sound outside wasn't footsteps but the servant's mocking laughter. "Why are you shouting?" "Theo says no one will take care of you, even if you scream yourself hoarse if you don't sign it. Do you really think you're Theo's wife? You're nothing but a spare part for harvesting."
Despair engulfed me like a tide.
I knew I was on the brink of death.
But I didn't want to die.
I wasn't attached to this world, but I was unwilling to accept the fate.
Why should I have to suffer like this?
I was born illegitimate, a disgrace, but it wasn't my choice.
Why must I endure the pain of losing my baby?
Why must I endure my husband's betrayal?
Why must I give up my bone marrow, my life, to Teresa, who had taken everything from me?
I couldn't think it through.
Even if I turned into a vengeful ghost, I wouldn't let them off!
