"Well, say something. You were so smug over the phone earlier."

Noticing my silence, Zachary's grip on my wrist tightened further. I gasped in pain, which caused his brows to twitch.

"Hey… isn't that Zachary Lake? The guy from TV?"

"It really looks like him. Wait, is that woman with him Shannon Morrison, that shameless one?"

The commotion drew the attention of the surrounding crowd, and they soon spotted and recognized Zachary. In my panic, I let down my hair to cover my face and struggled to pull free from his grasp.

However, that only seemed to enrage him further.

In the struggle, my bag slipped from my shoulder, crashing to the floor. My stack of medical records spilled out from within.

He bent down, picked up a piece of paper, and scanned the page. Then, his lips curled into a cold, bitter smile.

"Renal failure?" he sneered. "Shannon, do you have no shame? You left me back then because of my illness, and now you're faking one to get me back?"

I bit down hard on my lip. The sting grounded me as I silently prayed for this cruel scene to be over.

"It's fine," I told myself in my head. "You chose this path, didn't you? Just hold on a little longer. Just a little more."

I repeated those words in my head like a chant, bracing myself, only for him to drag me straight into the center of the waiting room.

He yanked my hair back, exposing my face for those in the room to take pictures or videos as they pleased. A sharp pain split across my lips, and the taste of blood filled my mouth.

Still, I held back the tears stinging my eyes. I wouldn't give them that. At the very least, I wanted to keep the last shred of my dignity.

"Zachary? What are you doing?"

A woman stepped into the center of the chaos. I looked up and instantly recognized her: Mildred Jameson, Zachary's current rumored girlfriend and rising star in the entertainment industry.

She was smart—one glance around, and she seemed to understand what was going on.

"You said you were coming with me to the doctor. What? So, you disappeared for a little drama of your own?"

"Ms. Jameson, that's Shannon Morrison—the one who tried to seduce your boyfriend for money!"

The crowd cackled with delight. Mockery filled the air, sharp and ugly. Somewhere in the crowd, someone lobbed an empty soda can that smacked against the side of my head.

The shock hit me like a slap. Even my breathing became uneven.

Zachary stood close, close enough for me to see the flicker of hesitation in his eyes. Maybe he finally noticed how unwell I looked.

"You…"

Pain surged within me again, blacking out the edges of my vision. I waved him off, signaling him to leave me alone.

"Zachary, perhaps you should take her to the hospital. Kidney disease isn't exactly easy to fake. It's unlikely that she's acting."

"Oh, she knows exactly how painful this disease is," Zachary replied.

Just like that, with a few well-placed words, Mildred wiped away what little sympathy he might have had. Zachary scoffed and pulled out a check, thrusting it into her hand like it was done out of spite.

"Millie, your stomach's been acting up, right? Here's 200 thousand for you to get some supplements."

Then, he turned to me and flung a hospital bill right into my face.

"See this, Shannon? The money you dreamed of—I can throw it around like nothing now. Do you regret leaving me over it?"

I dug my nails into my palm, forcing myself upright. The sharp bite of pain was the only thing keeping my rational side in check.

"Mr. Lake, you sure are wealthy. Would you mind lending me some money?"

"Unbelievable."

He stared at me, lips twitching in irritation. When I refused to beg, refused to crumble, he turned away with a sneer and walked off with Mildred.

I watched them go, their backs receding into the crowd. I let out a bitter smile. Then, steadying myself against the wall, I stood up.

In the wake of whispers and accusations, I walked away alone, heading in the opposite direction.

Inside Zachary's body was one of my kidneys, but he didn't know that. Dr. Shaw once suggested telling him, especially after I began to suffer complications from the surgery.

"Why not just tell him? He has everything now. If nothing else, you could save your own life."

"Dr. Shaw, his father died saving me." With a sigh, I finally told him the truth behind the tangled mess that bound Zachary and me together.

His mother had passed away early. Zachary was raised by his father, who was a firefighter. He was kind, strong, and full of honor.

When I was 14, my home caught fire. My parents threw themselves over me, shielding me from the flames.

Zachary's father came charging in through the inferno and pulled me out. However, he never made it back out himself.

I owed Zachary a life. So, when we found out I was a matching donor, I signed the donation form without hesitation.

He was just like his father, who was a man of dignity and honor. If I had told him the truth, he would never have accepted my kidney.

Hence, I chose the ugliest excuse I could think of and broke up with him. I told him I'd found a wealthy man who was willing to be my sugar daddy, someone who would give me the life of luxury I'd always dreamed of.

"No… Shan, you're not that kind of person."

"I am exactly that kind of person!" To hide the pain twisting my face, I turned away from him. On the windowsill, a sunflower had withered. I wasn't even sure when it had died.

"Zachary, people change. I'm tired of your weak body. I'm tired of our endless grind. When you got that critical diagnosis the other month, I realized I can't keep living in fear of losing you."

"I can live with the breakup, but how could you… for money…" he said in a hoarse voice.

"Why not?" I snapped. "Wasn't all that effort, all those sleepless nights—wasn't it all for a shot at a better life?

"Well, I made it. Overnight. You should be happy for me." My voice was already shaking by the time I got to the end of the sentence.

I continued, "This is it, Zachary. Goodbye. Let's never see each other again."

The bus arrival announcement pulled me out of my brooding.

I returned to my shared apartment. It was a small room with terrible insulation—too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. Even using a high-powered electric cooker would cause a power outage.

Still, my roommate was kind. She knew I was sick and looked out for me as best as she could.

"Shannon, that woman on TV… that wasn't you, right?"

I nodded and gave Wendy Smith a faint smile. "Yeah, that was me. The gold-digger everyone's talking about. You should probably—"

"What are you saying? You're the one who took me in after my dad kicked me out. You fed and clothed me. You're the reason I got back on my feet!

"There's no way you're that kind of person. This has to be a misunderstanding!"

Her words blurred the edges of my vision. To be honest, I hadn't cried much since leaving Zachary.

With a body like mine, just staying alive already took everything I had. I just didn't have the spare energy left for tears.

But now, for some reason, the injustice stung more than I expected. Before I could let more than a few tears fall, my phone rang.

It was the manager from my part-time job. Because my face and identity were exposed, the store decided to let me go, and I lost my only source of income.

I slumped into a chair, closed my eyes, and let the silence settle in. The darkness inside me was slow and suffocating, slowly eating away at my soul.

"Shannon, don't worry," Wendy said, clutching my hand tightly. "My boss at my workplace is pretty nice. I'll talk to him for you."

"Okay. Thank you."

I nodded and looked out of the window, letting my eyes rest on the cloudless, brilliant blue sky. It was such a beautiful day.

The job Wendy introduced me to was working as a staff member in a small restaurant. The owner was a woman with big, permed curls. She loved wearing clothes that were popular decades ago. On top of that, she always wore exaggerated earrings.

She didn't tell me her real name. Instead, she told me to call her Ms. Rose. Looking at her, I felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, which made me relax a little.

"You… don't mind my…" I asked cautiously.

"You're just a dishwasher. What's there to mind? Go get your things ready. You'll start tomorrow. Oh, and if you take leave, your attendance bonus will be deducted," she said.

With a job, I finally had a way to pay for my painkillers. By then, I wasn't particularly afraid of death anymore. It was just that the pain each time was really unbearable.

Zachary hadn't contacted me again, but he frequently appeared on social media with Mildred. Everyone said they were a perfect match.

Meanwhile, a few unscrupulous media outlets dug up my gaunt photos and placed them next to theirs, and the netizens mocked me for not knowing my place.

Whenever Ms. Rose saw that kind of news, she would click her tongue and then quietly add some extra meat to my staff meal.

Sometimes, I would also comfort myself, thinking, "See, even if life is a puddle of mud, there are still good people."

Thinking that way, the days ahead didn't seem so unbearable. As the final exams approached, Wendy couldn't juggle her part-time job and her studies anymore.

Ms. Rose didn't want to hire anyone new, so I started helping out in the storefront, delivering dishes.

Luckily, because of the mask and cap, no one could recognize me—none except Zachary. I didn't expect to run into him again.

Maybe it really was fate. Otherwise, among so many restaurants, why would he pick this one?

"Shannon, you're just everywhere, aren't you?"

"Right back at you, Mr. Lake," I replied calmly. He frowned, his eyes flickering with complicated emotions.

I tugged my mask up and was about to slip back into the kitchen.

"You said you got yourself a sugar daddy. How did you end up like this?"

"Things change. The guy went bankrupt, so I ended up like this. Mr. Lake, please enjoy your meal with Ms. Jameson. I'll—"

Before I could finish, Zachary had already walked up to me. He ripped off my mask and grabbed me by the chin as he examined my face.

"No wonder. You're all skin and bones. You look just like a skeleton."

An eerie tension spread in the room.

Mildred coughed awkwardly, and that seemed to have pulled Zachary back to his senses. He let go of my chin and shoved my face away forcefully. The force of his shove made me stagger and fall to the ground.

"Go, bring me a few bottles of red wine."

Perhaps worried that I'd refuse, as he passed me, he nudged my hand roughly with the tip of his shoe.

"Consider this my way of boosting your business, Ms. Morrison."

It was dinner time, and the restaurant was getting busier. I knew very well what kind of trouble it would cause if they made a scene here.

I didn't care about myself, but Ms. Rose was innocent. I didn't want to cause her any trouble. A few expensive bottles of wine were lined up neatly on the table.

Zachary sat across from me. He snorted coldly and said, "Drink."

"What?"

"I said, drink them all."

Dr. Shaw's instructions echoed in my mind. Given my current health, drinking so much wine was no different from suicide.

Upon seeing me hesitate, Zachary lost his patience. He threw a glass at me. It shattered against the wall behind me. Glass shards flew, and one of them ended up cutting my cheek.

"As long as you drink all of it, I'll consider it even between us. Otherwise, I'll make sure all your friends know what kind of person you really are."

"You investigated me!"

At that moment, I finally realized that today's meeting wasn't a coincidence. It was a trap he and Mildred had set up to humiliate me.

Wendy and Ms. Rose were just ordinary folks. Meanwhile, I already had half my foot in the grave.

Zachary was consumed by hatred. If I didn't comply, there was no telling what he might do next.

"Then record a video. As long as I finish drinking, we're even, and you swear you won't touch any of my friends."

"Fine."

Zachary recorded the video.

I picked up a wine glass. The wine wasn't strong. It was cool and sweet as it slid down my throat. In fact, it felt a little comforting.

Zachary sat across from me, tapping the table with his fingers, looking irritated.

Mildred watched me with a faint smile full of hostility.

By the third bottle, my body started reacting violently. A stabbing pain spread from my waist and abdomen, making my whole body tremble. Cold sweat drenched my forehead.

Maybe I looked too terrible because Zachary finally spoke.

"Enough. Stop drinking."

"But we made a deal. I finish this, and we're even."

The drunkenness and pain ate away at my body, but I stubbornly forced the wine down my throat. Maybe dying like this wouldn't be so bad.

There would be no more searing pain, endless medical bills, misunderstandings, public humiliation, or having to see the hatred in the eyes of someone I once loved.

I knew this was the path I had chosen, and I had no right to complain. But sometimes, I still couldn't help but feel a deep, unbearable sorrow.

Even someone like Wendy, a friend of just three years, could stand by me and trust me. Why couldn't the man who had stood beside me through years of hardship just move on and stop tormenting me?

I didn't blame him for hating me. But when he pressed on, trying to strip away my last bit of dignity in front of everyone—I couldn't help but feel heartbroken.

"You really want to cut ties with me that badly?" Zachary grabbed my wrist tightly, his eyes bloodshot with emotions he himself probably couldn't name.

I opened my mouth, wanting to speak, but the pain made it impossible. My abdomen felt like it was burning from within. A metallic taste surged up my throat.

"You're coughing up blood? What's going on? Shannon, what are you pulling now?"

Through the haze, I saw the door to the private room swing open. Then, Ms. Rose appeared. She rushed over, yanked me away from Zachary, and then—without hesitation—slapped him hard across the face.

"You're insane! She only has one kidney, and you made her drink alcohol? Zachary, you're committing murder!"

"One kidney? What are you talking about?"

Zachary was stunned. Triggered by his response, Ms. Rose gave him an eye roll. However, the movements of her fingers dialing the emergency hotline slowed down.

"That's because she gave her kidney to you five years ago."