chapter 4

Jimmy frowned slightly, his expression turning grave. He helped me sit down on a chair in the long corridor. "Sophia, you..." His voice was filled with pity. "Why didn't you show this report to a doctor sooner?"

I lowered my head, looking at my feet. "Tell who?" I asked, my voice eerily calm, like stagnant water. "Tell the man who hit me?"

"Tell him that the kidney he wants is no longer any good?"

Jimmy fell silent. He looked at me, his eyes filled with complex emotions—sympathy, regret, and a trace of... anger.

"Your husband... does he know about your condition?"

I shook my head.

"He doesn't know."

"He only knows that his goddess needs a kidney."

"And that I, conveniently, was a match."

Jimmy's fist clenched subtly. "Bastard!" he cursed under his breath.

I looked up at him. "Dr. Clarke, am I... very useless?"

He didn't answer directly. Instead, he took off his white coat and draped it over my shoulders.

"It's cold here. Don't catch a chill."

The coat still held the warmth of his body and a faint scent of disinfectant. For some reason, it brought me a sliver of comfort.

Just then, Ethan rushed out. He saw me sitting with Jimmy and saw another man's coat draped over my shoulders. His face instantly darkened, looking like it could drip water.

"Sophia!"

He strode over, yanking me up from the chair by my arm. The force he used made my wrist ache.

"Who is he?" He stared daggers at Jimmy, his eyes full of hostility. "Are you that desperate to sell yourself? Couldn't even wait to pick up a man here in the hospital?"

His words were vile.

Jimmy stood up. "Sir, please show some respect."

"Ms. Sophia and I simply have a doctor-patient relationship."

"A doctor-patient relationship?" Ethan sneered, his gaze landing back on me. "Sophia, since when are you sick?"

"How would I not know about it?"

"What new game is this? Playing hard to get?"

In his eyes, everything about me was an act. My sickness, my pain—all just tactics to keep him.

I shook off his hand and moved to stand beside Jimmy. "Ethan, this is none of your business."

"My illness, my person, has nothing to do with you anymore."

"We're getting a divorce."

I said the word "divorce" with absolute clarity and finality.

Ethan's pupils constricted violently. He looked at me with disbelief, as if he didn't recognize me.

"Divorce?" It was as if he'd heard the biggest joke. "Sophia, who do you think you are?"

"Without me, you are nothing!"

"You think you can threaten me with divorce? To make me give up on saving Lily?"

"Let me tell you, it's impossible!"

He stepped forward, trying to grab me again.

But Jimmy stopped him. "Mr. Martens." Jimmy's voice was calm and controlled.

"Ms. Sophia's physical condition is not suitable for further agitation."

"Furthermore, she is in no condition to undergo any organ transplant surgery."

Ethan froze mid-motion. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Jimmy.

"What do you mean?"

Jimmy took my inspection report from his pocket and handed it to Ethan.

"See for yourself."

Ethan took the report, confused. As his eyes scanned the page and comprehended the diagnosis, his hand began to tremble uncontrollably. The report fluttered from his shaking hand to the ground.

The words "Mid-Stage Gastric Cancer" were stark and horrifying.

He looked at me, bewildered, his lips moving but no sound coming out. He had been ready to angrily accuse me of faking illness to deceive him, but when he met my gaze, all he saw was a sickly despair.

In that instant, his eyes were filled with shock, confusion, and a trace of... fear.

Watching his devastated state, I felt no sense of satisfaction.

Only endless, desolate sorrow.

I wiped the blood from my lips, leaned against the wall, and slowly straightened up. "Ethan," I said, looking at him calmly. "My kidney is useless, unhealthy. Do you still want it?"

He snapped back to reality, rushing over to grab my shoulders tightly.

"No... This can't be true!"

"You're lying to me! This must be fake!"

He shook my body violently, as if he wanted to shake me apart.

"Sophia, tell me this is a forged report to get out of saving Lily."

"Is it?!"

His strength was frightening.

The shaking sent sharp pains through my stomach, and my vision started to darken.

Cough!

A mouthful of blood gushed from my lips, splattering across his pristine white shirt like desperate red flowers blooming in snow.

Time seemed to stand still.

Ethan froze. He looked down at the bloodstains on his chest, then back up at my deathly pale face and the blood still trickling from the corner of my mouth.

"Sophia... Sophia..." Panic finally seized him. He fumbled, trying to hold me.

But I used the last of my strength to push him away.

My body went limp and collapsed.

In the final moment before my consciousness faded,

I saw Jimmy's frantic, worried face.

and behind him, Ethan's eyes, now filled with utter regret and terror.