mother, Carol Hayes, lay pale against the wh

. "Acute myeloid leukemia. She needs

d never met, also needed a transplant. And

also a match for

the window, his back to me. His

ate to Sophia's

cold knot in my stomach. "W

Sophia's other family members will be tested for C

s life depended on Sophia's goodwill,

an! Mom needs it now

nger. "This is the arrangement. Sophia's family has

ecently brought into our lives, as if her famil

ed, the fight draining out of

elia, was always a business alliance. You know that.

berate, cruel strike.

ng to my mouth. "How can you

adable, hard. "There's nothing more to sa

h the rhythmic beep of Mom's heart monit

his wasn't the Ethan I knew. Or, the Ethan

cond life. I h

was a merger, a cold transaction. I'd flaunted my love

he very end, how much Ethan had

blic betrayals, with a quiet

overpriced art I praised just because Liam said he li

ed to make, even though he was a CEO who'd never stepped into a kitchen. He'd le

by a bitter family rivalry, used me to dest

d to dismantle his empire, piece by piece, publicl

ced his life's work, his

es headquarters, his grandfather's pride, I saw Liam's t

pills. I to

He didn't scream

that confrontation were somethi

fire. His last wish, a desperate whisper I somehow heard across

Back at the star

love, had soared. This time, I would cherish him.

rn – I knew it, I felt it – was surprised by my warmt

, a misunderstood conversation. Sophia twisted it, ma

he hope in his eyes died, repla

is broken way of dealing with th

ged heart, my genuine love, wer

marrow.

It was a lie. A cruel, protective lie

t lessen the pain. It

reaming down my face. My resolve to love him, to

ng the armrest so tightly my knuckl

. Em

't been pregnant. This w

before Ethan's turn, I'd found o

f our sec

t. I wanted to wait

barbecue

ering at the Cole es

the hot grill, a shriek tearing the air.

, she'd maneuvered, and my hand ha

as instant

ed over. Not t

tiny red mark was already fad

ke chips of ice. He grabbed my unin

owards the stil

ing, for my ears only, "you need a more permane

ed, forgotten by him.

cradling my burned one, spe

words about the bone marrow, about never lovin

the specific type of transplant needed

Unl

s "test." Unless his statement "I never loved

hought pierced th

eborn. I

come with a wish for my love,

past life's betrayal, a

oom seemed to deepen,