But then, I quickly realized that Isabella and I hadn't even gotten our marriage certificate, so there was no talk of divorce at all.

"Well, we have no relationship anymore," I continued.

"Noah, Herman and I are just siblings. Stop being unreasonable."

Herman was the adopted son of the Johnson family, and since they were like siblings, my jealousy turned into a disruption of their sibling relationship. To outsiders, it appeared as though I was just being unreasonable.

But what did love have to do with being like siblings?

My patience had reached its limit, so I walked away from Isabella.

But before I took a few steps, Herman's screams came from behind.

"Bella, I have a nosebleed. Hurry up! I need a blood transfusion!"

Herman had hemophilia. At that moment, he was holding his nose, and blood was seeping through the gaps in his fingers.

Besides, he had the rarest type of blood, and only I could donate to him.

I paused for a moment, subconsciously thinking of running away, but before I could take a few steps, Isabella stopped me.

"Noah, give Herman a blood transfusion!"

Impossible!

My grandmother, who had been my only family since childhood, had just died of a heart attack from the distress she caused. There was absolutely no way I could donate blood to Herman.

I tried to run away, holding the urn, but several bodyguards surrounded me from all directions.

"Isabella, let me go! My grandmother has been killed by you. It's impossible for me to give him a blood transfusion!"

But Isabella just sneered, took a few steps closer, raised her hand, and smashed the urn in my hand to the ground.

"Where did you learn this new trick? How could you use your most beloved family member as leverage to manipulate me? Noah, you are truly heartless and insane."

My mind went blank, and I couldn't hear what she said at all.

"Grandma..."

My grandmother was killed because of them, and now even her ashes had been shattered by them.

I sat on the ground in despair. My face was pale, and I was unable to make a single sound from the sheer collapse.

When she saw me in that state, Isabella's eyes flashed with sympathy. Just as she was about to take a few steps forward, Herman collapsed behind her.

The pain in her eyes disappeared in an instant and turned into deep fear.

"What are you still standing there for? Take both of them to the hospital for a blood transfusion immediately!"

The bodyguards pulled me up from the ground. I struggled desperately, humbly begging, "I can't do anymore blood transfusion! Isabella, my body has reached its limit. If I donate blood again, I'll die!"

I was not lying. Years of blood transfusions I had completely strained my body. The doctor warned me that if I had donated any more blood, I would run the risk of hemorrhagic shock.

Isabella turned to me abruptly and asked, "What did you say?"

However, at that moment, Herman was gasping for breath on the ground, making a "hiss" sound of near death. Isabella made a judgment almost instantly.

"Noah, to avoid donating blood to Herman, you really make up any lie."

I was struck by lightning.

In her mind, I had apparently reached the point where I could use my grandmother's death and my safety to lie.

How utterly insane must I be...

But at this moment, I could no longer focus on anger or dissatisfaction. Before Grandma died, she held my hand and told me to live a long and prosperous life. I was the only one she had left in this world.

Tears blurred my vision, and I knelt almost humbly to beg Isabella.

"Isabella, please let me go this time. You can have as much blood as you want after I recover. But not now. I will die. I will really die!"

Yet, she just stood there, her eyes briefly showing a flash of reluctance, followed by a chilling indifference.

The needle was inserted into my vein, and the sedative quickly took effect. I reached out and desperately clung to the blurred figure in front of me, pleading with all my strength, "Please, let me go..."

My eyes closed weakly, and I fell into a huge darkness.

But it wasn't long before I went into hypovolemic shock from the blood loss and was hurriedly pushed out and taken to the hospital.

"Patient's condition is critical. A hidden genetic disorder has been discovered. We must..."

The doctor hesitated.

Isabella snapped impatiently, "Must what? Stop stammering!"

"Sterilize the patient."

The room was filled with silence.

Isabella sneered, "The Johnson family has donated a fortune to this hospital. If you can't handle it, get out!"

The doctor wiped the sweat from his forehead and said briefly in a trembling voice, "Without sterilization, we cannot proceed with the blood transfusion."

Isabella's fingers slightly curled, her eyes reflecting a complex mix of emotions. After a few seconds, she spoke in a hoarse voice, "Perform the sterilization procedure on him."

The operating light came on.

When I opened my eyes again, the room was empty.

I was in a coma for a day and a night.

The red, swollen needle marks on the back of my hand indicated that the blood transfusion had lasted at least two hours.

I felt pain in my lower body.

As if I sensed something, I pulled a nurse over to ask.

"Sir, you just had the sterilization procedure. Please try not to get too agitated. The wound might start bleeding."

I felt as if I was struck by lightning, and I was so angry that I spat out a mouthful of blood.

I curled up on the hospital bed, feeling hopeless.

But before I had time to grieve, Isabella's assistant, Zack, came with an urn in his hand.

He looked at me with pity in his eyes, saying, "This is your grandmother's urn. All the ashes have been put in it. Mr. Wilson, please take a look."

My dull eyes regained clarity, and I held the urn as if it were a treasure.

Zack hesitated for a long time and stammered, "Ms. Johnson decided on the sterilization for your health. As for the ashes, she wasn't aware of that before. You're still very important to her."

I wanted to laugh, but my cracked lips were so painful that even the slightest pull was unbearable.

"So what? She didn't let go of either the ashes or me."

Zack moved his lips but didn't say anything in the end. He just gave me a business card for a cemetery, saying that the plot had already been purchased and the burial could proceed directly.

I didn't want to go, but I didn't have the money to buy a grave for my grandmother.

I dragged my exhausted body to the cemetery, carrying Grandma's urn and burying it with my hands.

At the cemetery, just as I was about to leave after sitting there for a while, I saw Isabella and Herman again.

"Zack said that this cemetery was reserved by Noah. It would be bad if we just occupied it."

Isabella didn't answer, as she had already seen me.

"Noah..."

I didn't respond, but instead, I turned and walked in the opposite direction.

But Isabella came up a few steps and grabbed me.

"Why are you hiding from me?"

I shook her hand off fiercely and walked forward with a cold face.

I was afraid I might lose control at Grandma's gravesite and even make the grave mistake of committing murder.

Isabella pressed her lips, looking confused and impatient.

I knew she was angry. I was too familiar with her. Whenever Isabella had that expression before, I would be so afraid that I'd take all the blame upon myself and be humbly obedient.

I used to love her.

But now, it was gone.

Her emotions had nothing to do with me anymore.

"Get out of my way." I insisted on leaving with a cold face.

Isabella finally showed a hint of panic. She had a strong feeling that after I left this time, I would never come back.

She tried to make small talk.

"We haven't been in touch for so many days. How is your grandma?"

I looked at her in disbelief.

All these days, if she had just listened to even one thing I said or made a call to the hospital to confirm, she wouldn't have been saying something so foolish and ridiculous.

But she didn't. As usual, she did whatever she wanted, carelessly and comfortably shifting all the blame onto me.

I looked at her with a sneer.

"Grandma? Over there."

I pointed at the cemetery and looked at her sarcastically.

Isabella's brows were tightly furrowed, her hands clenched but soon relaxing as she found her footing.

"Impossible. Noah, are you trying to deceive me again?"

I closed my eyes and laughed at myself.

Isabella was obsessively arrogant. She would instinctively ignore any answer she didn't want to hear. As the richest person, how could she possibly be wrong?

I wanted to show her the death certificate and the cemetery registration.

But my body was so weak that simply standing had exhausted all my strength.

My head was spinning. After countless blood transfusions over the past five years, my body was reduced to a mere skeleton holding up my skin, with all the blood, flesh, and vitality drained away.

I squatted down and sat on the ground slowly.

Chest pain, fatigue, and cold sweats were all typical sequelae of blood transfusion.

After the sterilization and immediate blood transfusion, with no time to rest, I hurried to bury my grandmother's ashes. The suppressed emotions and exhausted body were stressing my heart, causing it to beat abnormally fast. For a few seconds, I felt like I was on the brink of death.

Isabella looked at me for a long time, and her mouth parted a few times, but she didn't ask any questions.

Leaning against the tombstone, the gentle breeze on my face brought a fleeting memory of my first encounter with Isabella.

She was the richest woman dressed in a well-tailored suit and surrounded by people, while I was an ordinary college student busy with graduation and job hunting.

The difference between us was like the gap between heaven and earth. If it weren't for Herman's illness, we would have never crossed paths.

Yet, Isabella said she liked me. I wasn't naive and didn't believe that such clichéd stories would happen to someone like me.

She specifically invited me to join the company, brought me gifts, prepared costly homemade lunches, broadened my horizons, and even reprimanded partners who made humiliating comments about me at the dinner table.

I inevitably fell more deeply. At that time, I wondered what someone like Isabella could gain from an ordinary person like me. Could it be that she even wanted my life?

Yes, she wanted my blood and my life. She smashed my grandmother's ashes and personally gave the order to have me sterilized.

Since becoming Herman's blood donor, I developed a severe case of drowsiness. Sometimes, I would sleep for an entire day, waking up feeling disoriented and confused.

I fell asleep again, and when I woke up, I witnessed a scene that sent a chill all over my body.

My grandmother's grave had been dug up, and workers were putting the urn in Herman's hand into the pit and filling it with soil while my grandmother's urn was casually discarded to the side.