Chapter 3

"Chloe, you’re here! Sit down, hurry."

Zachary’s Aunt Clara grabbed my hand and looked me up and down.

"Why have you lost so much weight? You look terrible. Is Zachary not feeding you?"

She said it with a laugh.

Not a concerned laugh, but a mocking one.

Inside the private dining room, the whole family was already seated around the table.

Kelly sat right beside Zachary’s mother.

That seat had been mine for three years.

Seeing me, Kelly jumped up immediately.

"Chloe! Let me grab you a chair."

She dragged a flimsy folding chair over to the corner of the table, placing it farthest from Zachary and closest to the kitchen door.

"The AC doesn't blow directly here. You're fragile, Chloe, so you'll be comfortable here."

Zachary’s mother watched her with a proud nod.

I sat down without a word.

Mrs. Sterling raised her wine glass and cleared her throat. "We’re all here for a happy occasion today, and I want to introduce someone properly. Kelly has been staying with us for a while now. Such a sweet, sensible girl. She cooks, bakes, cleans, does everything—"

She took Kelly’s hand, presenting her to the gathered relatives.

"I’m telling you, she's more attentive than my own daughter."

Aunt Clara chimed in. "Honestly, if Zachary had married Kelly back then—"

Halfway through, Clara caught my eye and swallowed her chuckle.

She didn't need to finish.

Everyone at the table understood.

Kelly stood up to raise a toast to Mrs. Sterling. "Happy sixtieth birthday! I promise to take good care of you from now on."

"Good girl, such a good girl." Mrs. Sterling’s eyes shone with touched tears.

Polite applause rippled through the room.

Not a single soul looked at me.

I lowered my head and chewed a forkful of vegetables.

I couldn't taste anything; prolonged dialysis had severely dulled my taste buds.

In the past, whenever we attended family dinners, Zachary would fix my sauces and pick out ingredients I couldn't stomach.

Tonight, sitting to his mother's right, he didn't spare me a single glance.

A few rounds of drinks later, Zachary spoke up.

Not to me.

To the entire table.

"You might have heard about recent developments at home. Chloe and I are going through some adjustments. But this is between the two of us, so please don't gossip."

Aunt Clara gave an exaggerated nod. "I knew it! I could tell things were off between you two—"

Mrs. Sterling cut her off with a cold scoff.

That single scoff spoke volumes. Every pair of eyes turned toward me, drenched in judgment.

Across the table, Kelly lowered her head, looking suitably distressed while twisting her napkin.

My fingertips began to turn ice-cold.

Not from emotion—literally freezing, the backs of my hands and knuckles swelling rapidly.

A telltale sign of renal failure. I knew my body too well: swelling first, then nausea, then total darkness.

"Chloe?"

Kelly noticed first. She sprang up and half-knelt beside me, gripping my shoulders with a voice dripping with loud, theatrical concern.

Loud enough for the entire room to hear.

"Chloe, are you okay? Don't scare me like this—"

I tried to say I was fine.

Blackness engulfed my vision. I couldn't even grip the edge of the chair.

As I collapsed toward the floor, the last thing I saw was Zachary, still seated, swirling the wine in his glass.

He didn't even stand up.

When I regained consciousness, I was inside a rocking vehicle.

The sharp scent of rubbing alcohol filled my nostrils.

An ambulance.

A hand rested on my arm—Kelly.

She had her head turned, whispering into her phone, assuming I was still unconscious.

"...Don't worry, Zach, I'm going with her. Stay with your mom, I've got this covered."

She hung up.

Two seconds of absolute quiet.

Then, her fingers slid into my coat pocket.

My keys, along with the twice-folded critical condition notice—her fingertips brushed through them one by one.

I struggled to swat her hand away, but my limbs were dead weight, as if my bones had been hollowed out.

Her lips leaned down right against my ear.

Her voice was a soft, mocking whisper, like soothing a dying dog.

"Chloe, just rest easy. Everything that used to be yours... I’ll take real good care of it for you."