On the day they signed the marriage license, Sarah was dressed to the nines.

She took my hand and led me out of the courthouse.

"Roland, we're husband and wife now."

The warmth in her voice was almost convincing. I pulled my hand free and gave a noncommittal grunt.

A sports car pulled up in front of us. The window rolled down, revealing a familiar face.

Simon Simmons. The man Sarah had been obsessed with for as long as I could remember.

In my last life, she'd been so desperate to please him that she'd thrown my life away without a second thought.

"Sarah, congratulations." Simon stepped out and fixed me with a look dripping with provocation. "So this is Mr. Kaufman? Quite handsome. No wonder you skipped my birthday party for him."

Sarah's shoulders stiffened, the movement barely perceptible.

She turned to Simon, a thread of anxiety woven into her voice. "Simon, what are you doing here?"

Simon pouted and walked over, looping his arm through hers with practiced familiarity. "I came to get a look at your new groom, of course."

"Sarah, my stomach hurts. Will you take me to the hospital?"

Right in front of me, her brand-new husband, without an ounce of shame.

Sarah glanced back at me. "Roland, Simon isn't feeling well. I'm going to take him to the hospital. The driver will bring you home."

The first day after signing the license in my last life had played out exactly the same way. One phone call from Simon, and she was gone. I'd sat alone in the bridal suite all night, waiting like a fool.

Back then, I'd actually believed she was just looking after her little brother.

I nodded at them both. "Sure. Take your time. I'll manage."

Sarah seemed displeased by how calm I was. Her brows knitted and she opened her mouth to say something, but Simon was already pulling her into the car.

Once the sports car disappeared down the road, I took out my phone and called the finance department.

"Has the money come through?"

"Yes, Mr. Kaufman."

The corner of my mouth curved upward.

"Transfer it to the offshore account immediately. Then call the police and report the company for suspected illegal fundraising. File for bankruptcy protection."

Back at the apartment Sarah had set up as our marital home, I swept every matching couple's trinket she'd prepared into the trash. Then I booked the earliest flight out of the country.

I was about to walk out the door when it slammed open.

Sarah charged in, seized me by the throat, and pinned me against the wall.

"Roland, you played me!"

A vein throbbed at her temple. Her eyes were wide, blazing.

"You moved the money? And filed for bankruptcy yourself?"

My head was forced back against the wall. The pressure on my windpipe was suffocating, but I kept my gaze locked on hers.

"That's right."

"Your money, Ms. Delgado. I found it too dirty to keep."

Her grip tightened.

"You're asking to die!"

I forced a smile through the choking.

"Then kill me."

"Kill me, and you'll never see that money again."

Sarah released me.

I slid down the wall and crumpled to the floor, clutching my throat, coughing violently.

She crouched down and gripped my face between her fingers.

"Roland, you think you can run?"

"Your father's ashes are still at the cemetery. Try me. I'll have someone scatter them by tomorrow."

I couldn't stop shaking.

In my last life, she'd used my father's ashes as leverage to force me into donating bone marrow to Simon.

I lunged forward and slapped her across the face as hard as I could.

"Sarah, you're an animal!"

Her head snapped to the side. She ran her tongue along the inside of her struck cheek.

When she turned back to me, her face was a mask of fury.

"Good hit."

"Since you refuse to behave, don't blame me for what comes next."

She stood and made a call.

"Cancel Roland's flight. Freeze every bank account under his name."

"And send someone to the cemetery. Keep watch."

After she hung up, she looked down at me from above.

"Starting today, you don't go anywhere without my permission."

I was placed under complete house arrest. She confiscated my phone and all my documents.

Every day, I was locked inside the villa with nowhere to go.

She went to the office during the day and came home at night to torture me in new and creative ways.

At meals, she had the housekeeper prepare dishes she knew made me sick. At night, she cranked the air conditioning down to its lowest setting and let me freeze.

Eventually, she started bringing Simon home.

They'd hold each other, kiss, touch—right in front of me.

"Sarah, Mr. Kaufman is watching," Simon murmured, nestling against her.

Sarah spared me a passing glance.

"He's just a disobedient toy. Ignore him."

I sat on the couch and watched their little performance. It didn't stir a single ripple inside me.

If anything, I found it laughable.

In my previous life, I'd been kept in the dark, drowning in agony. Now all I felt was disgust.

I stood up to head back to my room.

Simon called out to me.

"Mr. Kaufman, could you pour me a glass of water?"

I didn't bother acknowledging him and kept walking.

Sarah's voice cracked like a whip.

"Stop."

"Simon asked you to pour him water. Are you deaf?"

I paused and turned around.

"You dragged me back to marry you. Was it so I could be your servant?"

Sarah closed the distance in two strides, grabbed a fistful of my hair, and wrenched my head back.

"Husband?" she sneered.

"You think you deserve that title?"

"Roland, I married you for one reason—to make you suffer."

"Your father destroyed Simon's family. Ruined everything he had. That debt falls on you."

I froze.

My father destroyed Simon's family?

That was absurd. My father ran a clean business. He would never have hurt anyone.

"That's bullshit!"

I thrashed against her grip.

Sarah shoved me away.

"Deny it all you want."

"Either way, you'll spend the rest of your life paying for it."

She turned to Simon, her voice softening instantly.

"Simon, how would you like to punish him?"

Simon stared at me.

"Sarah, I've been getting dizzy a lot lately. The doctor says I'm anemic."

"Why don't we have Mr. Kaufman donate some blood?"

Sarah agreed without hesitation.

"Done."

She called in a private doctor. Several people pinned me down on the table and drew a full eight hundred milliliters of blood.

My vision went black. Cold seeped through every inch of my body. I collapsed on the floor, too weak to even lift a finger.

Sarah looked down at me. There wasn't a shred of pity in her eyes.

"This is just the beginning."

"Roland, everything you owe Simon—I'm going to take it back from you. Piece by piece."

For days after the blood draw, my fever refused to break.

Sarah wouldn't allow a doctor. She only had the housekeeper force bitter herbal concoctions down my throat each day.

I was too weak to get out of bed.

Simon, on the other hand, made a habit of coming to my room to gloat.

"Roland, you really are pathetic right now."

He traced a finger along my cheek.

"Sarah doesn't love you. She never did. Every time she touches you, it makes her skin crawl."

"Your wedding night? She actually..."

He paused on purpose, covering his mouth as a giggle slipped out.

"She actually hired a streetwalker to keep you company."

"Too bad you ran off before you got to enjoy it."

I opened my eyes and fixed them on him.

Even though I already knew the truth, hearing it spoken aloud still turned my stomach.

I forced myself upright and slapped him across the face.

"Get out!"

Simon yelped and tumbled to the floor.

Footsteps sounded outside the door. Sarah rushed in.

The moment she saw Simon on the ground, the color drained from her face. She dropped to her knees beside him.

"Simon, are you okay?"

Simon clutched his cheek, tears streaming down.

"Sarah, I just felt sorry for Mr. Kaufman. I only came to check on him."

"But he hit me..."

Sarah whipped her head around and glared at me.

"Roland, you have a death wish!"

She stormed over and slapped me hard across the face.

I had no strength left. The blow knocked me flat onto the bed, blood trickling from the corner of my mouth.

All I could hear was a high-pitched ringing in my ears.

"Touch him again, and I'll end you!"

I wiped the blood from my lips and looked up at her with a grin.

"Why don't you just kill me now?"

Sarah seized my chin in a vice grip.

"Kill you? That would be too easy."

"Simon's kidneys are failing. Lucky for us, you're a perfect match."

"Next month. Surgery."

My mind went blank. She was going to cut a kidney out of me while I was still alive.

"I won't do it!"

"This is a crime!"

Sarah's lip curled with contempt.

"In this house, I am the law."

After that, I was kept under constant watch.

Every day they forced needles into my veins—nutrient injections, vitamin drips—all to keep my organs in peak condition.

I tried to escape, but the villa was surrounded by bodyguards. I couldn't even get past the front gate.

Despair swallowed me whole.

Then one day, a maid forgot to lock my door.

I slipped out, crept downstairs, and grabbed the landline. My fingers shook as I dialed 911.

"Hello—I need help. I'm being held against my will. They're going to harvest my organs—"

The line went dead. Someone had ripped the cord from the wall.

Sarah stood behind me, her face like stone.

"Roland. You never learn."

She grabbed a fistful of my hair and dragged me all the way back to the room, hurling me onto the bed.

"Since you're so desperate to run, we'll do the surgery today."

She called in the bodyguards. They strapped me to a gurney.

The surgical light blazed overhead, so bright I couldn't keep my eyes open.

I thrashed against the restraints until the straps carved bloody lines into my wrists.

"Sarah Delgado, you'll rot in hell for this!"

"Let me go!"

Sarah stood beside the operating table, her expression blank.

"Roland. This is what you owe Simon."

She had just turned to leave when a violent pain tore through my abdomen.

"It hurts..."

"God, it hurts..."

The doctor rushed over to examine me. The color drained from his face.

"Ms. Delgado—his chronic condition has flared up!"

"His body is in critical condition. If we proceed with the kidney extraction now, he will die on this table!"

Sarah stopped mid-step.

She turned slowly and fixed her eyes on me.

"What did you just say?"

The doctor's voice trembled.

"He... his condition is extremely dangerous."

The pain was blinding. I was barely conscious, but my fingers still clung to the sheets with everything I had.

"Sarah..."

"Please... save me..."

Sarah's expression shifted, unreadable, wavering between something cold and something I couldn't name.

Then a nurse wheeled Simon in.

His face was ashen, his voice a pitiful whine.

"Sarah, I feel so awful..."

"The doctor said my kidneys are already shutting down. If I don't get the surgery soon, I won't make it through the night..."

In my last life, she hadn't spared me a glance when I was on the brink of death. Now, with my life hanging by a thread once more—

She walked toward Simon.

Sarah's voice was ice.

"He's just a stray we picked up. If he dies, he dies."

"Prep the kidney transplant immediately. Save Simon first."

My whole body shook. She wouldn't even spare my life.

"Sarah Delgado! You'll pay for this!"

The words ripped from my throat, tears and cold sweat streaming down my face.

BOOM—