My heart sank suddenly, and a strong sense of foreboding gripped me.

"Let me see what you signed..." She flipped through the documents with feigned nonchalance. "Oh, this is a voluntary divorce agreement, stating that you voluntarily leave with nothing and give up all marital property."

"And this one..." She held up another sheet of paper, which clearly read "Voluntary Organ Donation Consent Form." "It's an agreement that if you 'accidentally' pass away, all your organs, especially your precious heart with your rare, rare blood type, will be donated to...me free of charge."

My mind went blank. Divorce? Organ donation? To Vanessa?!

"You...you lied to me!" I stood up abruptly, swaying slightly from weakness and anger.

"So what if I lied to you?" Vanessa relished the shock and despair on my face, as if watching a captivating drama.

"Clara, do you think Liam is still keeping you around? Isn't it because of your unique blood type and your heart, which can be replaced in case something goes wrong during my childbirth? Now that we have this document, your value has truly been exhausted. When you 'accidentally' die, your heart will continue to beat in my body, and your husband and children... oh no, my husband and children, will live happily together. Think about it, isn't that perfect?"

A bone-chilling cold instantly spread from the soles of my feet to my entire body.

It turns out that from the very beginning, Liam kept me around not because of any old feelings, but because he treated me as a living blood bank and a... spare organ container!

seven years of dedication and seven years of forbearance, only to be rewarded with such a meticulously planned and outrageous ending!

"You beast!" I practically spat out those two words through clenched teeth, my whole body trembling uncontrollably.

“Say whatever you want.” Vanessa carefully put the documents away, her posture elegant. “Now, keep my promise.” She clapped her hands.

The bodyguard brought in the younger sister, who looked even smaller and more frightened.

Another bodyguard was carrying a small pet carrier, inside which Tuan Tuan lay motionless, its fate unknown.

“You’re getting the person and the dog back,” Vanessa said with a smile. “Whether they live or die is up to fate. After all, you’ve signed the papers and are no longer of any value to us. The Foster family doesn’t keep idle people or dogs.”

After she finished speaking, she turned and left with the air of a victor.

I stumbled over and rushed over, first hugging my trembling sister tightly, then opening the pet carrier with trembling hands.

Tuantuan was breathing weakly; it was still alive! But its breath was so weak that it seemed it might stop at any moment.

I was overwhelmed by a wave of anger, humiliation, and lingering fear.

It wasn't because she was left with nothing, but because of that organ donation agreement!

They not only want me to leave with nothing, they want my life! Paving the way for Vanessa!

I must leave here immediately!

I held the airline crate tightly in one hand and my sister firmly in the other, using all my strength to support myself as I walked out of this hellhole step by step.

My vision began to blur, and I heard my younger sister's tearful cries: "Sister! Sister, what's wrong?"

I struggled toward the gate of the Foster family villa, but the pain from having too much blood drawn, along with the immense mental shock, overwhelmed me like a tsunami, instantly consuming my last vestiges of consciousness.

Before I was completely plunged into darkness, I only had time to hold my sister's hand and the airline box in my arms tighter before I fell straight forward.

...

When I regained consciousness, the first thing I smelled was disinfectant.

I suddenly opened my eyes, and what came into view was an unfamiliar, pure white ceiling.

I was lying in the hospital bed with an IV drip in the back of my hand.

"Tuantuan! Sister!" I struggled to sit up, but a dull pain came from my chest.

"Don't move, you're still very weak," a gentle but unfamiliar female voice said.

I then noticed a young girl in a nurse's uniform standing by the bed. She gently pressed my shoulder and said, "You fainted because of low blood sugar and emotional distress. Your sister is fine and is resting in the next room. The doctor examined her; she was just a little frightened and malnourished."

“Then my dog…” My heart clenched.

"You mean that little dog?" The nurse's face showed a hint of sympathy. "The vet just came by and gave it emergency treatment. Its condition... isn't good. It has internal bleeding and fractures, but its vital signs are stable for now. It needs further observation and treatment."

Hearing that Tuantuan was still alive, my tense nerves relaxed a little, and a huge sense of exhaustion swept over me.

"Who brought us here?" I asked in a hoarse voice, hoping for the answer.

"A lady who was passing by used your phone to call an ambulance. Your emergency contact... is a Mr. Foster, and the hospital has already notified him."

The gentleman surnamed Foster... is Liam.

My heart sank.

It's not Gregory.

He couldn't pick me up. Where is he now?

Did he know I fainted and was taken to the hospital?

Or...did we encounter some trouble?

Just as my thoughts were in disarray, the ward door was violently pushed open.

Liam walked in with a gloomy expression. He glanced at my pale face and the IV drip on the back of my hand, his brows furrowed, his tone revealing undisguised annoyance and impatience: "Clara, how long are you going to keep this up? You think I'd believe such a clumsy trick as faking illness and fainting? I've said it before, as long as you listen to me, you'll still be Mrs. Foster. What are you arguing about with a secretary?"

His gaze was still filled with disgust and coldness as he looked at me, seemingly completely unaware that Vanessa had made me sign the divorce papers and the organ donation agreement.

It seems Vanessa is keeping it from him.

Looking at him, I suddenly felt incredibly ironic.

This man, my husband in name only, the one I've loved for seven years, now appears to me like a clueless, self-righteous clown.

I've wanted to divorce him for a long time. That divorce agreement, in which I would leave with nothing, was, for me, a relief.

What I care about is that organ donation agreement that wanted to kill me!

"I'm not making a scene." I lowered my eyelashes, concealing all the emotions in my eyes, my voice weak but calm, "I'm just... too tired."

My submissiveness and weakness seemed to please him, or rather, made him feel that I was still under his control.

He snorted coldly, "Since you're not dead, hurry up and get well. Vanessa needs someone to take care of her during her pregnancy, so don't even think about slacking off. As for your sister and that dog..."

He paused, his tone carrying a condescending warning: "I can allow them to stay in the hospital temporarily. But Clara, you'd better remember, don't test my patience again."

After he finished speaking, as if he felt it was dirty to stay even a second longer, he turned around and left the ward.

...

Not long after, Liam brought a bowl of porridge into the ward and pretended to feed me: "Are you hungry? Have some porridge."

I frowned, my voice still a little hoarse: "I can do it myself."

I took the bowl of porridge and took a sip. The porridge was cold, and it contained lotus seeds—I'm allergic to lotus seeds; ever since I was a child, eating lotus seeds has made my whole body itchy.

Liam knew perfectly well that this was the case, but he still brought me this bowl of porridge.

I suddenly remembered that when I used to make porridge for Liam, I would always remember that he didn't like scallions, so I would warm the porridge until it was no longer too hot to eat before serving it to him.

He never cared about my preferences.

Seeing that I was quiet, Liam suddenly asked, "Is anything bothering you?"

I looked up and replied, seemingly out of the blue, "Could you please give me my phone?"

Perhaps my tone was too distant, because Liam paused for a moment before taking out his phone and handing it to me.

There were over a dozen missed calls on the screen, all from Gregory. Liam saw them and frowned: "Who called?"

He never asked me these things before; he didn't even know my phone password.

A hint of annoyance flashed across my eyes, and I said indifferently, "You don't know him."

Liam's face darkened. He unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, leaned down to look at me, and said in a threatening tone, "Clara, how long are you going to keep throwing your tantrums? You think you can take advantage of me?"

In the past, when Liam was angry, I would apologize immediately and try my best to make him happy.

But now, I simply pointed to his vibrating phone in his pocket and said expressionlessly, "Vanessa is looking for you."

Liam's expression softened instantly. He took out his phone, glanced at the screen, immediately stood up, avoided me, and quickly walked into the hallway to answer the call.

He spoke very softly, and I could vaguely hear things like "Vanessa, don't worry" and "I'll be right back."

My phone rang as soon as the man left.

It was Gregory calling.

I answered the phone, and before I could even speak, Gregory's anxious voice came through: "Clara, what's wrong? Didn't you say you were leaving yesterday? Why didn't you contact me? Are you having second thoughts?"

"I have no regrets, it's just that something unexpected happened..." My voice choked up a little.

"An accident? What happened to you? Are you injured?" Gregory's voice became more urgent. "No, I have to go back to the country myself..."

"Don't come back." I interrupted him, lowering my eyes and pursing my lips. "Give me a few more days, and I will definitely leave here and come find you."

"Who are you going to find? You want to leave me? Who gave you permission to leave me?" Liam overheard the last sentence when he returned to the ward.

I turned my head and said, "It's nothing, I just went on a trip to relax."

After hanging up the phone, he gave Liam a perfunctory reply.

Liam: "Are you going to visit your cousin? It'll be good for you to relax."

I looked at the sky outside the window, a warm feeling welled up in my heart, and casually hummed in agreement.

Gregory is my neighbor's older brother, and he's always protected me since I was little.

When the Shen family fell on hard times, he was the only one willing to help me.

When I was wronged by the Foster family, he was the only one who would listen to my complaints.

He was the only light in my dark life.

Liam was momentarily dazed.

That was a smile he hadn't seen in a long time—not a fawning one, not one of resentment, but a genuine sense of ease.

He inexplicably felt a tightness in his chest, as if something was blocking it.

But he had just promised Vanessa that he would go back and massage her lower abdomen, so he didn't have time to ask. He just picked up the documents and said without turning his head, "Clara, I have something to do at the company. I'll come back tomorrow."

But he didn't come tomorrow. He didn't come the day after tomorrow either. And he still didn't come the day after that.

I kept receiving videos of him and Vanessa from mutual friends. In the videos, he took Vanessa to parties and peeled shrimp for her by hand, something he had never done for me; he took Vanessa to the beach and took beach wedding photos for her, forgetting that I had always been looking forward to a beach wedding; he even posted a nine-grid photo collage on his WeChat Moments, all of which were photos of Vanessa, with the caption "My girl," forgetting that he had once said it was childish and boring.

The day I was discharged from the hospital, Liam posted another message on WeChat Moments.

In the photo, under the dazzling aurora, he holds Vanessa's face and kisses her passionately, looking incredibly sweet.

I looked at the photo and laughed until tears streamed down my face. My finger hovered over the screen for a long time before I posted a comment: "Wishing you both a baby soon and a long and happy life together."

Ten minutes later, Liam called. I looked at the name flashing on the screen and rejected the call without hesitation.

Half an hour later, after I finished the discharge procedures by myself and walked out of the hospital, I saw Liam and Vanessa at the entrance of the obstetrics and gynecology department.

Vanessa nestled in Liam's arms, a shy smile on her face. A nurse nearby said to Vanessa with envy, "Mrs. Xie, your husband really dotes on you. He comes to stay with you every night while you're in the hospital. Last time you said you wanted to eat the porridge from that old-established restaurant in the west of the city, he actually drove across half the city in the pouring rain to buy it for you. He's so considerate!"

Hearing this, the other patients around Vanessa all looked at her with envy in their eyes.

I instinctively touched my stomach, which ached slightly from prolonged irregular eating habits. I remembered that rainy night when I had a persistent high fever and was lying in bed too weak to even get up. I struggled to pull out my phone and made a video call to Liam in a hoarse voice, just wanting him to bring me a bowl of hot porridge when he came home.

The moment the call connected, I didn't see Liam, but Vanessa, who was leisurely sipping her porridge. She held Liam's phone, pointed the camera at the takeout bag from my favorite porridge shop on the table, and said with a hint of pride, "Mrs. Xie, are you looking for Liam? He's running my bathwater. Oh, this porridge? Liam specially bought it for me as a late-night snack. Isn't that a coincidence? It's from the very place you wanted to drink it."

A spasm-like pain shot through my stomach, my burning forehead pressed against the cold bedside table, and I couldn't utter a word.

Less than a minute later, Liam called back. He appeared on the screen with a displeased expression, the background filled with the steam of the bathroom. His first words were a scolding: "Clara, what kind of self-inflicted pain are you playing now? If you have a fever, take your medicine and stop bothering me and Vanessa! Want some porridge? Don't you have legs of your own?"

He added, "You're such a useless piece of trash who can't even take care of yourself. Besides playing the victim to gain sympathy, what else can you do? Seeing your sickly appearance makes me want to vomit!"

Those words, like knives, are still stuck in my heart.

I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to leave, but Liam called out to me, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and get in the car and go home!"

I frowned instinctively.

"Wait." Liam frowned and walked over quickly. Vanessa watched his back, a hint of jealousy flashing in her eyes. She tightened her grip on Liam's arm and said in a sweet voice, "Brother Liam, don't be so mean to Clara. She didn't mean it."

Then, she looked at me with a fake smile: "Clara, I'm so grateful to you for giving me a blood transfusion last time. If it weren't for you, I'd still be dizzy right now. Brother Liam, why don't we let Clara come home with us?"

Liam affectionately pinched Vanessa's little nose: "My baby is so kind, whatever you say goes."

I didn't refuse; I did need to go back to get my passport and other documents, which were the only proof that I could leave this place.