The reassurances.
“They lied to me.”
“They protected you,” Chloe said.
“No,” I snapped. “They lied.”
Silence.
Then I asked the question I didn’t want to ask.
“How long?”
Neither of them answered immediately.
That told me everything.
“How long do I have?” I repeated.
Chloe’s voice broke completely.
“We don’t know.”
That was worse.
Much worse.
“Months?” I pressed.
“Maybe.”
“Years?”
“Possibly.”
“But it’s coming back.”
“Yes.”
I laughed again.
Short.
Empty.
“So this whole thing… this sacrifice… this marriage…”
I looked at her.
“It just bought time?”
She nodded.
“Time for what?” I asked.
She didn’t answer.
My father did.
“For the next phase.”
Something in his tone changed.
More serious.
More calculated.
I turned to him slowly.
“What next phase?”
He hesitated.
For the first time… he looked uncertain.
“Arthur,” Chloe said sharply. “Don’t.”
But it was too late.
I saw it.
That flicker of truth behind his eyes.
“There’s another option,” he said.
The room went still.
“What kind of option?” I asked.
He exhaled.
“One that requires… a different kind of sacrifice.”
My chest tightened.
“What are you talking about?”
He didn’t answer directly.
Instead, he looked at Chloe.
Then at me.
“You think she gave up everything for you already?” he said quietly.
A chill crawled up my spine.
“What does that mean?”
He stepped closer.
Lowered his voice.
“She hasn’t told you the whole truth.”
Chloe’s face went pale.
“Stop,” she whispered.
But I was already looking at her.
“What is he talking about?”
Her lips parted.
No words came out.
“Chloe.”
Tears spilled again.
And this time…
There was something else in her eyes.
Not just pain.
Not just regret.
Fear.
Deep, suffocating fear.
“I didn’t want you to know this part,” she said.
My heart pounded.
“What part?”
She shook her head.
“I thought… maybe we could get through this without—”
“Without what?”
Silence.
Then my father said it.
Quietly.
Coldly.
“She’s not just your donor.”
Everything inside me froze.
“What?”
Chloe closed her eyes.
And whispered—
“I’m also the reason you got sick in the first place.”
The world shattered.
