I quietly told myself: Reese, this will be the last time you fall for him.

In the blood collection room, the nurse looked at my pale face and asked with concern, “She doesn’t look well. Are you sure she should donate blood?”

The entire hematology department had already been bought off by him. Refusing wasn’t even an option anymore.

I silently held out my arm.

In my past life, it was here, this exact room, where I had given him a bag of blood, still in shock from my diagnosis.

As the needle pierced my skin, I gritted my teeth.

After three years, my arms were full of needle marks. Some areas had scars that would never go away.

“Reese, just hold on a little longer.”

“When I’m better, we’ll get married.”

Kaden repeated the same sweet promises he had made countless times over the past three years, but his eyes kept drifting toward the door, distracted and distant.

I used to believe he wouldn’t marry me because he didn’t want to burden me with his illness.

To save him, to become his wife, I had been willing to risk everything.

It wasn’t until I died that I realized I had never meant anything to him.

Looking at his handsome profile, all I felt now was how unfamiliar it seemed.

The face I once loved at first sight now felt like nothing but a mask, full of lies and coldness.

After the first bag of blood was drawn, the nurse was about to remove the needle. Just then, his phone rang.

I saw the caller ID flash on the screen, it was Sabrina.

He quickly got up and walked to a corner, lowering his voice.

“I’m getting a transfusion. I’ll be back soon.”

After the call, he came back and said to the nurse, “Please take a bit more.”

The nurse reminded him that 200 milliliters was my safe limit.

He ignored her and pressed down on her hand, stopping her from pulling the needle out, completely unconcerned that I might faint from losing too much blood.

“It’s fine. She’s healthy. Just draw two more bags.”

My vision blurred and a buzzing filled my ears.

In the haze, I saw Kaden wear that same guilt-filled expression.

He gently took my cold hand, his voice soft enough to melt butter.

“Reese, from the very beginning, I never wanted to use your blood. I’d rather die than drag you down…”

What a performance.

Sadly, in my past life, I had fallen for that fake kindness and lost myself completely.

He kept saying he didn’t want to burden me, yet he told the nurse to draw more blood.

He knew I couldn’t bear hearing him talk about dying. He used that, betting I’d give more myself.

“Kaden, I don’t want to give blood. I feel awful…”

It was the first time I had ever said no to him.

A flicker of coldness flashed through his eyes, but it was quickly hidden by tears.

“Reese, this is the last time. If you don’t want to after this, you don’t have to. I’ll just stay sick forever.”

He didn’t feel even a shred of guilt.

Even though my heart had long turned numb from pain, it still tightened painfully for a moment.

“Is it really the last time?”

He looked me in the eye and nodded seriously.

“I promise, it’s the last time.”

But he was lying again. It was never the last time.

In my past life, I had kept my pregnancy a secret and still gave him blood every month, only to face his fury once he found out I was pregnant.

I thought he was mad because I didn’t take care of my health.

But instead, he grabbed me by the neck and shouted, “Reese, how dare you get pregnant? Were you planning to secretly give birth to my child? Someone like you? You’re not worthy!”

At that moment, he didn’t look human. He looked like a monster straight from hell.

Finally, the nurse pulled the needle out. My vision went dark and I collapsed forward.

“Miss Harris!”

Her panicked voice sounded distant, like it was coming from far, far away.

Just before I lost consciousness, the last thing I heard was Kaden’s hurried footsteps as he walked away.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed. Night had already fallen outside the window.

A nurse walked in and handed me a cup of brown sugar water.

“Your fiancé said something came up and he had to leave.”

I gave a bitter smile as I took the cup.

The warm liquid slid down my throat, but it couldn’t reach a heart that had already gone cold.

“He’s not my fiancé.”

The nurse looked like she understood everything and let out a soft sigh.

“It’s good you’ve realized it. If someone really cared about you, how could he let you donate blood right after a miscarriage? And so much of it, too…”

She paused, like she had more to say, but instead helped me into my shoes.

“Go home and get some rest. Your body…”

I knew what she meant.

My body was already falling apart. The cancer cells were spreading silently. And after years of blood loss, today’s miscarriage had pushed me to the edge.

I was like a candle flickering in the wind, about to go out.

I closed my eyes as quiet tears fell.

Then my phone buzzed. A message from Kaden popped up.

[Reese, something came up at the office. I left after the transfusion. Rest at home tonight. Don’t wait up.]

From the nurse’s pitying look, I already knew that at that moment, Kaden was with Sabrina.

And I had been so foolish. Just one sentence, “You give blood for me and I’ll build an empire for you,” was enough to make me believe every lie he told.

I never once thought to check in on him at work.

Before leaving, on some strange impulse, I went to the hematology department.

Through the glass window of the door, I saw his tall figure.

He was feeding Sabrina at her bedside, carefully and gently, looking at her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

That same tenderness he used to fake with me, he was now showing her. But this time, it was real.

“Kaden, she has liver cancer. Maybe it’s best she stops donating blood. What if something happens to her?”

“Don’t worry. She’s strong.”

“Even with liver cancer, she can last another year or so.”

His voice was cold, like he wasn’t talking about a person at all.

“But her blood might not be enough anymore. No problem, she has a ten-year-old brother. Same rare blood type.”

He laughed, then kissed Sabrina on the lips.

My knees gave out and I nearly collapsed.

So, he had known all along I had liver cancer.

And now, he was planning to use my little brother too.

My nails dug into my palm, but I felt nothing.

“But that’s her real brother. Will she agree?”

Kaden let out a cold laugh, his cruel voice was heard, saying, “Reese loves me to death. As long as we don’t tell her the blood is for you, she won’t hesitate to offer her brother’s blood. She’d even give up her life for me.”

That sentence felt like a knife straight to the heart, twisting deeper with every word.

And in my past life, that was exactly what I did. I gave up everything for him, only to have my ashes dumped down a drain.

I covered my mouth and staggered out of the hospital.

On the way home, images of my brother’s death from my past life flooded my mind, his pale face, dry lips and the pool of blood on the cold operating table.

When I opened the door, my little brother ran up to me with a bright smile and threw his arms around me.

“Sis! What took you so long to come back?”

Hearing his sweet voice, my tears spilled out uncontrollably.

In my past life, when he died, those were the same words he cried out. “Sister, save me…”

I tried to hold back my sobs, but my throat tightened. I couldn’t speak.

We had depended on each other since we were little. He was sensitive and could instantly tell something was wrong.

“Did that Kaden bully you again?”

I didn’t want my little brother to worry, so I quickly denied it.

But he crossed his arms and huffed.

“Sis, every time you come back from seeing him, you look so weak!”

“He’s not a good person! Every time he comes to our house, he stares at your arm like a butcher eyeing a pig before slaughter!”

His innocent words hit me hard.

Yes, to Kaden, I was just a body that could give blood. Nothing more.

I wiped away my tears and gently reminded him. “Knox, you’re right. Once I take care of your school withdrawal, we’ll leave this place. Just promise me, no matter what happens, don’t ever go anywhere alone with Kaden. Understand?”

When he heard I was finally leaving Kaden, Knox beamed with joy.

I felt a wave of shame. How had I, an adult, been more blind than a ten-year-old?

After he fell asleep, I quietly listed the old house our parents left us for sale online. I also booked a plane ticket, leaving in three days.

But the next day, just after putting up the listing, I got a call from the hospital.

“Miss Harris, good news! We’ve found a matching liver donor. We can schedule your transplant surgery right away.”

My hand trembled as I held the phone.

In my past life, I had never found a suitable liver before I died.

As soon as I hung up, I changed the date of my flight.

A liver transplant was my only chance to live. I had to take it.

Just as I was packing my things, the doorbell rang.

Through the peephole, I saw Sabrina’s pale but delicate face.

I took a deep breath and opened the door.

She scanned me from head to toe, her eyes stopping on my lower belly.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Kaden’s fiancée. Every drop of blood you gave was actually for me.”

I didn’t understand why she was here now.

But when she saw how calm I was, she knew I already knew the truth.

She sneered, eyes full of coldness.

“Looks like you really love Kaden, enough to go through an abortion after getting pregnant! Too bad. Even if you gave me all your blood, he still wouldn’t look at you. The only one he’s ever loved is me!”

Without waiting for an invitation, she walked into my living room, looking around like everything disgusted her.

“Don’t even think about using blood to get close to Kaden again. He’s mine!”

I used to think she had at least a little kindness, after all, she once told Kaden not to take more blood from me.

Now I saw clearly, these three years, I had been feeding a snake.

“Don’t worry. No one’s fighting you for garbage.”

I swallowed my anger and firmly told her to leave.

Her face twisted with fury. Suddenly, she grabbed my wrist.

“What do you think you are, talking to me like that?!”

Her nails dug deep into my skin, making me gasp in pain.

My little brother, hearing the noise, came out rubbing his eyes.

“Sis, who is it?”

Sabrina looked at him, her lips curling into a strange smile.