chapter 2

Early the next morning.

Before I was even awake, the bedroom door was shoved open violently.

Ethan's mother, Lisa, stormed in with two bodyguards, her presence aggressive and imposing.

"Sophia, how dare you lock the door!"

She ripped the covers off me, her gaze sharp and ruthless.

"You think hiding in your room means you don't have to go to the hospital?"

Startled awake, I instinctively protected my abdomen, which was still throbbing with a dull pain.

"Lisa, this is my room," I said, my voice hoarse.

"Your room?"

Lisa sneered, her face full of contempt.

"Sophia, have you forgotten? This villa, this entire household, belongs to the Martens!"

"Everything you eat and wear is given to you by the Martens family!"

"And now, when it's time for you to contribute something to the family, you hesitate and make excuses?"

Her words echoed exactly what Ethan had said the night before.

It was as if I were a dog raised by the Martens family, expected to unconditionally offer up everything I had when needed.

"Lily suffered so much for Ethan."

"Now she's sick, and as Ethan's wife, you must save her."

"It's just one kidney! It won't kill you!"

Lisa spoke with an air of absolute righteousness.

I looked at her and suddenly felt an urge to laugh. It was all so absurd.

"But I am your son's wife. I am the lady of the Martens household. What do you even take me for?"

"You?" Lisa looked me up and down, the disdain in her eyes unconcealed. "A barren hen, and you think you can compare to Lily?"

"If you weren't occupying the position of Mrs. Martens, Lily would have married into this family long ago."

"She wouldn't have to suffer like this now."

A barren hen.

Those three words felt like three red-hot steel needles, brutally piercing my heart.

In three years of marriage, I had never gotten pregnant.

I went for a check-up. The doctor said that with my severe depression, just staying alive was a struggle; having a child was impossible.

So I had been taking medication to help my body recover. It took two years for my condition to improve slightly.

Ethan knew. Lisa knew.

Yet they placed all the blame squarely on me.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging deep into my palms. "I am not going to the hospital," I said, enunciating each word clearly.

"I will not give my kidney to anyone."

Lisa's face instantly turned livid with rage.

"How dare you defy me!" she shouted angrily, shooting a glance at the bodyguards behind her.

"Even if we have to tie her up, take her to the hospital today!"

The two bodyguards immediately stepped forward, grabbing my arms, one on each side. Their grip was strong; I couldn't break free.

"Let me go!" I struggled desperately, but it was useless.

Lisa walked up to me with a cold laugh and took a check from her purse.

She slapped it across my face with a sharp smack.

"Five million."

"Donate the kidney, and this money is yours."

"Then, take the money and get out of the Martens family. You won't bear the Martens name anymore."

The check fluttered lightly to the ground.

It felt like it was mocking how cheap my three-year marriage had been.

So, they had planned it all along. Once I donated the kidney, they would kick me out.

To make room for Lily.

What a perfect plan.

I looked at the check on the floor and suddenly started laughing.

I laughed until tears streamed down my face.

I broke free from the bodyguards' grip, bent down, picked up the check, and then, under Lisa's stunned gaze, tore it into tiny pieces.

"You want me to save her?" I lifted my head, meeting her furious gaze, and spoke slowly, word by word.

"In your dreams."

Lisa's face turned purple with fury.

"You... you ungrateful wretch!"

She raised her hand, about to slap me.

Just then, a cold voice came from the doorway.

"Enough."

Ethan was standing at the ddoor;I didn't know for how long.

He was wearing a sharp, well-tailored suit, his expression stern and cold.

Lisa's hand froze mid-air.

"Ethan, look at her! She's completely lawless!"

Ethan didn't look at her. His gaze was fixed directly on me, his eyes looking at me as if I were already dead.

"Take her away," he ordered the bodyguards flatly, brooking no refusal from me.

I looked at him, searching for even a hint of softness in his eyes.

There was none. Absolutely nothing.

Only a deep, bottomless, icy abyss.

The two bodyguards hauled me out, dragging me from the room. As I passed him, I stopped.

"Ethan," I called his name softly. "If I died, would you feel sad?"

He didn't answer.

He didn't even look at me.

He just took a document from his pocket. It was the organ donation consent form.

"Since you didn't want the chance I gave you, don't blame me."

I saw it clearly, right at the end, in the section for the guardian's signature.

Relationship of Guardian: Spouse.

Signed by: Ethan Martens.