Chapter 6

“What are you whining about? Don’t you know Serena just had surgery and can’t handle being startled?!”

Aubrey could only silently endure his accusations. For some reason, her incision was hurting excruciatingly.

She was gasping for breath, and she turned to Julian. “Please, call a doctor for me!”

Serena, at that moment, said, “Let’s switch rooms. I want a private room.”

Julian’s attention was entirely focused on Serena. He’d completely forgotten what Aubrey had said.

“Understood! I’ll arrange it right away!”

Julian carried Serena away, leaving Aubrey alone in the room.

Later, a nurse doing rounds discovered Aubrey had fainted.

Acute kidney failure. After the doctors’ efforts, she barely survived.

A week later, Serena and Julian reappeared in her hospital room. Looking at Aubrey’s pale face,

Serena said, “The doctor told me the technology is mature now. Bone marrow donation has no risks at all.”

“Aubrey, even if you want to get Julian’s attention, you don’t need to fake it so badly.”

With that, she stepped forward and pinched Aubrey’s face hard, until it turned red.

She turned to Julian and said, “See how pale her face is? It’s all makeup.”

Aubrey’s body hadn’t fully recovered. Hearing Serena’s words, she coughed fiercely.

Julian frowned. “Aubrey, you’re really disappointing me more and more!”

“The doctor said you need another surgery. Get ready.”

Aubrey looked up, her eyes filled with despair. “What did you say?”

“What, you put on such a good act, and now you can’t handle donating a second time?”

“Do you know Serena gets a headache if she feels even a slight draft? It’s because you kept delaying the donation, and it left her with lingering issues!”

Tears silently streamed down Aubrey’s face. She had barely returned from the brink of death, and now he wanted to push her back in again.

“I won’t donate,” Aubrey gritted out.

Julian frowned. “What did you say?”

Aubrey repeated, “I won’t donate. I’d rather die than sacrifice my life for her.”

Julian was about to say something when a nurse suddenly entered. “Aubrey, one dialysis session, and then you’ll recover with medication!”

Dialysis?

Julian frowned, about to ask what was going on.

Serena, beside him, immediately grabbed his arm. “Julian, I suddenly feel so dizzy. Did I not get enough rest?”

Julian, hearing Serena hadn’t rested well, quickly supported her, his face filled with concern. “Let’s go rest now.”

As for Aubrey, Julian didn’t ask another word.

The nurse helped Aubrey out of bed. “Was that your family just now? Why didn’t you ask him to accompany you for dialysis?”

Aubrey’s face was numb. “Not family. I can do it alone.”

She received treatment at the hospital for half a month.

During that time, she had no one to talk to, only watching TV to pass the time.

The news lately was all about Julian and Serena.

At a new product launch, Serena was dressed elegantly, sitting beside Julian.

She greeted everyone like the lady of the Davies household.

At a charity gala, reporters asked Julian about their relationship, and he generously admitted they were a couple.

He gave Serena all the security she needed, and even the media's headlines for the three of them were: “The unloved one is the mistress.”

Julian’s doting on Serena was known to all: hot air balloon confessions, starting a company for her, gifting her luxury cars and mansions.

Seeing these scenes, people couldn’t help but remember that Julian’s pursuit of Aubrey hadn’t been nearly as grand.

Everyone was saying Serena was Julian’s true love.

Aubrey felt no emotion from seeing these things anymore.

All she wanted now was to take what belonged to her and leave with her brother.

As far away as possible.

When she was well enough to be discharged, her first priority was to find Liam.

She hadn’t been around for so long; she wondered how her brother was doing.

As she pushed open the door, she saw a group of men in black ransacking the room, throwing things everywhere.

They were even trying to rip Liam’s oxygen tube out.

Aubrey saw this and rushed forward, using all her strength to push the burly guard to the ground.

“What are you doing?! Who told you to touch him?!”

Serena, arms crossed, walked out from a short distance away, looking at the unconscious man on the bed. “What’s the point of keeping a living corpse here?”

“It’s just a waste of resources!”

The term “living corpse” pierced Aubrey’s heart. She broke free from the guard and screamed at Serena, “My brother will wake up! He will!”

“He’s not a living corpse!”

Serena, seeing her frantic state, raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused.

She gestured to the guards. “What are you waiting for? Get him out of here!”

With that, the guards moved towards Liam. As their hands were about to touch him,

Aubrey lunged forward and bit one of them on the arm, biting so hard she nearly tore off a chunk of flesh.

The guard shrieked and recoiled, looking at the crazed Aubrey, daring not to approach.

He turned to Serena, embarrassed. “No, she’s too wild! We can’t get near her!”

Serena cursed, “You useless fools!”

With that, she kicked Liam’s hospital bed.

Liam tumbled to the floor with a loud thud.

His head hit the ground and began to bleed profusely.

Liam was Aubrey’s breaking point.

After their parents died, Liam knew she was too proud to beg for food.

But dishwashing jobs couldn’t support both of them.

In the dead of winter, ten-year-old Liam, who should have been a child pampered in his parents’ arms, instead crouched in the snow, begging.

When he returned, his face was chapped and bleeding from the bitter cold, yet he smiled and said they had warmth for the winter.

From that day on, she swore she would never let him suffer any harm, but she hadn’t been able to prevent any of it.

Aubrey rushed forward, desperate to press down on Liam’s bleeding wound, her eyes blurred with tears.

Looking at the motionless Liam, she felt an overwhelming sense of injustice, and her tears flowed uncontrollably.