I was my father’s illegitimate daughter, my sole purpose in life for two decades was to be a walking bone marrow bank for my half-sister. To make me willingly donate my bone marrow for the last time, my father promised me a fiancé. “Pick one. After the surgery, he’ll take you away, and you’ll never want for anything again.” I chose Julian Hayes, who had always been the kindest to me. He was my sister’s attending physician. But the second before I was wheeled into the operating room, he drained my life-saving blood. I was abandoned in the morgue, that bag of blood transfused into another woman’s body. “Sierra, don’t be afraid. I used that illegitimate girl’s blood to save your life. You are my whole world.” Every minute, my body temperature dropped by one degree. 240 minutes later, my blood congealed, and my soul froze. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day I chose my fiancé. In front of my father, the nine gilded résumés still lay there. This time, I bypassed Julian and picked the man from his stack of business documents – the rumored ruthless and heartless arch-rival. But my father scoffed, “Him? He’s practically on his deathbed.”
The man in the photo was Hunter Thorne, with sharp eyes and a fierce gaze. He was the capital’s newest business magnate, and also the Sterling family’s sworn enemy in business. My father was stunned. “Aurora, what are you playing at? You’ve always liked Dr. Hayes, haven’t you?” I squeezed my hands tightly, the pain keeping me grounded. Julian Hayes, a highly respected and compassionate attending physician, who had always been so caring and gentle towards me. In my past life, that very gentleness was what dragged me to hell. “Him.” My father frowned, his eyes filled with disdain. “Aurora, don’t act like a child. Who is Hunter Thorne? Some unknown nobody who appeared out of nowhere, does he really think he’s good enough to marry into the Sterling family?” He picked up the eight résumés, pulled Julian’s out, and pushed it towards me. “Dr. Hayes comes from a good family, he’s been devoted to your sister, and he’s always been patient with you. He’s the best choice.” Oh yes, so good that he personally drained my blood to save his beloved. I met my father’s impatient gaze. “I choose Hunter Thorne.” My father’s face darkened completely. He slammed the résumés onto the table. “Are you deliberately trying to defy me? Fine, I’ll tell you, forget about it! Hunter Thorne can’t beat me. His company is on the verge of bankruptcy, and he’s practically dying, stuck in some isolated hospice, just waiting to die!” My father’s assistant knocked on the door and entered at just the right moment, whispering a few words in his ear. After listening, my father revealed a cruel sneer. “Did you hear that? He checked into a private hospice last month, suffering from an incurable disease. Even the doctors gave up on him. You want to pick a dying man? Do you want to be a widow right away?” “I’m not choosing anyone.” I abruptly stood up, my heart seizing in my chest. As I walked out of the study, a hand suddenly grabbed my wrist. I turned around. It was Julian Hayes. He was wearing a white lab coat, his eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses as gentle as ever. “Aurora, your sister said she wants to see you.” Behind him stood my ‘good sister,’ Chloe Sterling. She was dressed in a pristine white hospital gown, her face pale, her body so frail it seemed a gust of wind could blow her over. She looked at me timidly, her eyes reddening. “Sister, don’t be mad at Dad…”
Chloe’s tears flowed freely, and she leaned weakly against Julian. “It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for my weak body, you wouldn’t have to suffer so much.” Julian tenderly supported her, his gaze at me tinged with reproach. “Aurora, your sister isn’t well. Can’t you just be more understanding with her?” In the past, I would have softened and apologized immediately. I shook off his hand, my gaze coldly sweeping over both of them. “Something you need?” Chloe bit her lip, walking towards me. “Sister, that heirloom jade pendant Mom left you, I heard it has a soothing, healing effect. Could I borrow it for a few days? You know my illness, I’m always anxious. If I wear it, maybe I can get some good sleep.” That blood-red jade pendant, smooth and warm to the touch, with a subtle crimson glow within – it was my mother’s only keepsake. “No.” I refused coldly. Chloe’s face drained of all color. “Sister, are you still blaming me? Blaming me for taking your blood, your bone marrow…” She choked on her sobs. “But I didn’t want to either… Julian, I… I feel so dizzy…” Her body went limp, and she swayed into Julian’s arms. Julian immediately held her, anxiously checking her condition, then looked up and glared at me. “Aurora! Do you have to provoke your sister like this?! She’s about to undergo surgery! Can’t you be more sensible?” I scoffed. “Sensible? Does that mean I have to give her my life to be ‘sensible’?” I turned and walked away, not bothering to watch their act any longer. Back in my room, I immediately started searching. Dressing table, jewelry box, wardrobe… Nowhere. That blood-red jade pendant was gone. I rushed out of the room and grabbed a maid. “Where’s the jade pendant from my room?” The maid stammered, “Miss Aurora… Miss Chloe said… said you agreed, and she took it to wear for a few days…” All the blood in my body instantly rushed to my head. My ‘good sister,’ indeed. She didn’t even bother to pretend anymore, she just took it. I kicked open Chloe’s bedroom door. She was sitting on the sofa, showing off my blood-red jade pendant to Sierra Maxwell, who had come to visit her. “Sierra, look, this is what my mom left me, isn’t it beautiful? My sister treasures it the most, but the moment I asked, she still obediently gave it to me.”
Sierra touched the jade pendant with an envious expression. “It’s truly beautiful, Chloe. You’re so lucky to have such a loving family.” Chloe was pleased by her words, the smile on her face growing even more smug. “Of course. After all, the entire Sterling family depends on my life.” The moment she finished speaking, she saw me standing at the doorway. The smile on her face instantly froze. Sierra was also startled, quickly standing up and looking at me uneasily. “Give me back my things.” I held out my hand. Chloe snapped back to reality, immediately putting on a tearful expression, clutching the jade pendant tightly to her chest. “Sister, I just… I just wanted to borrow it, to get some of Mom’s good fortune, to bless my surgery…” She cried, looking towards Julian, who had rushed over. “Julian, please, tell my sister, I didn’t mean to take her things…” Julian immediately stood in front of Chloe, frowning at me. “Aurora, it’s just a jade pendant, isn’t it? Do you have to make such a fuss? She’s about to have surgery, can’t you just let her be at peace?” “I’ll say it again,” I stared intensely at the hypocritical face behind him. “Give me back my property.” “You!” Julian was enraged by my attitude. “How can you be so unreasonable!” He reached out to grab my wrist, but I dodged him. In the struggle, Chloe shrieked, “Ah!” and fell backward. The jade pendant she was clutching to her chest flew out of her hand, then hit the marble floor with a loud “CRACK.” It shattered into several pieces. Chloe looked at the fragments on the floor and let out a piercing wail. Julian spun around, saw the broken jade pendant, and violently shoved me away. “Aurora! Are you happy now?!” I stumbled back a few steps, my lower back hitting the doorframe hard. Just then, my father, Robert Sterling, rushed over, drawn by the noise, and saw the mess on the floor. He saw Chloe, who was crying herself almost to unconsciousness, and the broken jade pendant on the floor. Without a word, he raised his hand and gave me a resounding slap across the face. “You unruly brat! Apologize to your sister!” My face burned with pain, my ears ringing. I looked at the three faces before me and suddenly smiled. “Alright.” I bent down, picked up the largest piece of the shattered jade, then walked to Chloe. “I’m sorry.” As I spoke, I suddenly raised my hand.
No one reacted fast enough. Chloe instinctively closed her eyes. But I simply smashed that piece of jade onto the coffee table in front of her. A jarring crash. “I don’t want this anymore.” I looked at her pale face. “Along with the life I owe you, once the surgery is done, we’ll be completely even. From now on, we owe each other nothing.” With that, I turned and left. Back in my room, I locked the door and slid down to the floor, leaning against the doorframe. My phone rang. “Miss Aurora, we’ve found something. Mr. Thorne is indeed publicly claiming to be gravely ill, but he’s not in any public hospice. Our people traced his whereabouts to a private estate on the outskirts of the city that’s not open to the public.” “He’s not sick,” I immediately concluded. “He was poisoned.” Only that could explain why he suddenly became “gravely ill.” Three days later, I used the excuse of visiting a secluded spiritual retreat to shake off the Sterling family’s watch, driving alone to that estate. The mountain road was winding, the night deeply dark. Just as I was nearing my destination, my car suddenly stalled. Several blinding headlights flared from behind, and a few SUVs surrounded my car. A car door opened, and a group of men in black stepped out. Leading them was, strikingly, Julian Hayes. “Aurora, it’s so late. Where are you going?” He pulled open my car door, holding a syringe in his hand. “Your sister’s condition has suddenly worsened, and she urgently needs a blood transfusion. Come back with me and obediently donate your blood.” I gripped the steering wheel tightly. “I’m not going.” “That’s not up to you.” He sneered, giving a signal to the men behind him. Just as they were about to rush forward, a deep male voice suddenly echoed from the darkness. “She said she’s not going.”
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