Chapter 1

The night before our engagement party, my fiancé shoved a bone marrow donor consent form in front of me.

"Mia, Chloe is dying. You have to save her!"

I gripped the pen, my fingers trembling uncontrollably.

Last night, while going through the vintage camera my late mother left me, it suddenly whirred and spat out a photo.

On the back, a line of blood-red text had materialized:

[Tomorrow, during the bone marrow harvest, Mia Thorne dies from complications. Her heartbroken fiancé, Julian Hayes, tearfully bids her farewell and announces his wedding to Chloe Bennett three months later.]

I looked up and asked, "What if I die on that table?"

Julian frowned with open irritation. "Why do you have to be so dramatic over a routine donation?"

"Don't you love me? If you love me, just sign it!"

"Otherwise, consider tomorrow's party canceled, and don't ever bother showing your face to me again!"

A chill crept down my spine. Slowly, I snapped the pen in half.

I pulled out my phone and texted the man I had avoided for seven years:

Adrian Sterling, do you still want me?

There was no immediate reply.

"What is wrong with you?!"

Julian glared at the broken pen in my hand, his voice sharp and cold.

"Chloe doesn't have time. The doctors said you're a perfect match. That's a one-in-a-million chance!"

"Mia, I know you hate me..."

Chloe sat in a wheelchair wrapped in a soft white cashmere blanket, her face pale as a ghost.

She looked so frail and spoke so softly, like a delicate white flower ready to crumble at the slightest touch.

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

"If there were any other way, I would never beg you like this..."

She sounded utterly pitiful.

Julian instantly took her hand, his eyes softening with deep concern. "None of this is your fault."

Watching their intertwined fingers, my heart turned to ice.

Seven years ago, when my mother died in a car crash, Julian brought me into the Hayes estate.

He had placed a piece of milk candy in my palm and smiled warmly. "Don't be scared, Mia. I'll always protect you."

I trusted him blindly, handing over my mother's design patents and proxy rights for her shares.

With those assets, Hayes Corporation skyrocketed, expanding into an empire.

Chloe was Julian's first love. They had broken up when she went abroad for school.

Later, Julian and I ended up together.

Dating, planning our future, preparing for marriage.

Everything seemed perfect. I genuinely thought we would spend the rest of our lives together.

Until last month, when Chloe returned.

She was gravely ill, in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant, searching everywhere for a match.

I never imagined that match would be me.

And last night, my mother's old camera spat out that terrifying photo.

In the picture, I was lying in a cold morgue, lifeless and gray.

Julian stood before my body, showing no grief—only sheer relief.

Chloe, dressed in an elegant black dress, wept softly against his chest.

Behind the photo was that line of blood-red text:

[Tomorrow, during the bone marrow harvest, Mia Thorne dies from complications. Her heartbroken fiancé, Julian Hayes, tearfully bids her farewell and announces his wedding to Chloe Bennett three months later.]

I didn't know why that vintage camera printed that photo. Maybe it was my mother's spirit warning me from heaven.

Between Julian and my mother, I chose to believe my mother.

I picked up the consent form and tore it to pieces, page by page.

Julian shot up from his seat.

"Mia Thorne!"

Chloe flinched, shrinking back into her wheelchair.

"Julian, please don't yell at her..."

The more she defended me, the colder Julian's face became. "Mia, when did you become so selfish?"

He stepped around the coffee table and grabbed my wrist in a vice grip, his face thunderous. "Sign it!"

His grip was brutal.

I winced in pain.

Chloe rolled her chair forward, her voice quivering.

"Julian, stop forcing her... Even if I die, I don't want Mia to hate you!"

Julian's eyes rimmed red.

"You are not going to die."

He looked at me as if I were nothing more than a stubborn, unreasonable burden.

"Mia, tomorrow is our engagement party. Sign this now. We'll schedule the procedure right after the party. We'll tell everyone you caught the flu and need a few days of bed rest. Nobody will ever know."

My stomach turned. He already had the entire cover story prepared.

I clenched my jaw. "Julian, what if I don't survive the operation?"

He frowned. "It's just bone marrow. People don't die from that."

"Are you sure?"

He instantly averted his eyes.

In that second, everything became crystal clear.

He knew there were risks. He probably even knew the risks were fatal. But he still wanted me to sign.

Because he couldn't bear to let Chloe die.

As for me? Whether I lived or died didn't matter to him at all.

Every ounce of love I had for him evaporated. I yanked my arm from his grip and turned toward the stairs.

Julian assumed I was giving in, and his tone softened slightly.

"Go calm down. I'll have the doctor come over first thing in the morning."