My Wife Forced Me to Die for Her First Love Scarlett Sterling’s first love, Julian Thorne, was in kidney failure and desperately needed a transplant. She went absolutely frantic searching for a match, and in a twisted turn of fate, she found me. That day, Scarlett, always so haughty and untouchable, dropped to her knees for the first time, her eyes red-rimmed with desperation as she pleaded with me. “Asher, please, I beg you, save Julian. Just say you’ll donate, and I’ll give you anything you want.” Back then, I loved her. I loved her so much I would have died for her. So, without a moment’s hesitation, I nodded and agreed. But later, she threw a divorce agreement and a kidney donation consent form coldly onto the table in front of me. “Sign it. Everything you have now, I gave you. Donating a kidney? Just think of it as paying your dues.” I looked at her cold, determined face and suddenly, a bitter laugh escaped me. I calmly asked her, “Scarlett, if I died, would you be sad?” She scoffed, as if I’d told the biggest joke she’d ever heard. “Asher Hayes, cut your pity games. They don’t work on me.” She had no idea. This time, I wasn’t playing a game. I was genuinely, truly dying.
Scarlett and I had been married for three years, a well-known commercial marriage arranged for business. I loved her with a desperation that crushed my own dignity, but her heart always belonged to a pure, shining image of her true love — Julian Thorne. Three years ago, the Sterling Group was on the verge of bankruptcy. Julian Thorne left the country without a word, vanishing into thin air. It was my father who stepped in, offering a marriage alliance as a condition to save the Sterling family. Scarlett hated me for it, to the core of her being. She believed I used dirty tricks to break her and Julian Thorne apart, stealing his rightful place as husband to the Sterling heiress. So for the past three years, all I received from her was coldness and disgust. She never came back to our marital home. On the rare occasions she did, it was after a night of heavy drinking, and she’d mistake me for someone else, murmuring Julian’s name. I felt like a pathetic thief, clinging to crumbs of warmth that weren’t meant for me. Until three months ago, when Julian Thorne returned. And I, the usurper who had stolen his place, was expected to disappear. The moment Julian Thorne returned, Scarlett asked me for a divorce. I refused. I fantasized that three years of living together, day in and day out, would have melted even a stone heart. But I forgot, Scarlett’s heart wasn’t stone; it was an iceberg. My persistence, to her, was nothing but an irrational entanglement. She started staying out all night, using emotional warfare to push me away and force my hand. Then, Julian Thorne was diagnosed with late-stage kidney failure. It was the final straw that broke the back of our marriage. When the doctor spoke those words, Scarlett felt her entire world crumble. She spent her days and nights, unkempt and exhausted, by Julian’s bedside. The tender affection she’d always been so stingy with me, she showered entirely upon him. She pulled every string, used every connection and resource she had, all to find a suitable kidney donor for Julian. And then, fate played its cruelest joke. The person who was the perfect match? It was me. The atmosphere in the living room was so oppressive, it was suffocating. Scarlett sat across from me, her beautiful face etched with exhaustion and internal struggle. This was the first time she’d come home since Julian had fallen ill. Her voice was hoarse. “Asher Hayes, we need to talk.” I lowered my eyes, silently waiting for her to continue. “You already know about Julian’s illness. The doctor said your kidney is a perfect match for his.” My heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, making it impossible to breathe. I looked up at her, asking each word distinctly, “So?” Scarlett’s eyes flickered, avoiding my gaze. “I… I hope you’ll consider donating one of your kidneys to Julian.” She said it so matter-of-factly, as if she were just asking to borrow a pen. I suddenly laughed, a raw, shaking laugh that rattled my chest. “Scarlett Sterling, are you serious?” My laughter irritated her. She knitted her brows and glared at me fiercely. “What are you laughing at?!” She slammed her fist down on the glass coffee table, the crash echoing through the silent room. “I asked you, what are you laughing at?!” she roared, like a furious lioness. I suppressed the sharp pain in my chest and met her murderous gaze. “I’m laughing at you. I’m laughing at what gives you the right? What gives you the right to trade my life for his?” “What right?!” She scoffed, as if I’d said something utterly ridiculous. She sprang to her feet, her tall figure instantly casting a shadow over me. “The right is that everything you possess right now, Asher Hayes, was handed to you by me, Scarlett Sterling!” “You’ve stolen Julian’s rightful place for three whole years!” “Now, asking you to give him a kidney, isn’t that only right?!” I stubbornly lifted my chin, retorting, word by defiant word. “What if… I just don’t donate?”
“You wouldn’t dare!” She grabbed my jaw, her grip so strong I thought my bones would shatter. “Asher Hayes, I’m not asking, I’m telling you!” “If you dare say no, tomorrow I’ll bankrupt your father’s company!” “Believe me, I can make Hayes Inc. disappear from this world within twenty-four hours!” Just then, Scarlett’s assistant burst in, drenched in sweat. “Ms. Sterling! It’s terrible!” The assistant’s voice trembled, a cry catching in his throat. “Mr. Thorne… Mr. Thorne, he… he slit his wrists!” The hand gripping my jaw instantly released me. Scarlett’s face turned ashen. “Julian!” She spun around, like a madwoman, roughly shoving me out of her way. I stumbled, my lower back hitting the sharp corner of the coffee table with a jolt. A sharp intake of breath escaped me, hot with pain. She rushed out like a whirlwind, never once looking back at me. The vast living room was left with only me. I curled up on the sofa, feeling as if all the strength had been drained from my body. My stomach churned, and I ran into the bathroom, throwing up until my vision blurred. Lately, my health had been rapidly declining. I was always sleepy, fatigued, and felt inexplicably nauseous. A bad feeling gnawed at me. The next day, I went to the hospital. When I saw “heart failure” on the diagnostic report, my mind went blank. Suddenly, I felt incredibly weary, and so utterly pathetic. Even then, I was still wondering. Would this, finally, make her show me a shred of pity? With a faint glimmer of hope, I dialed Scarlett’s number. The phone rang for a long time, so long I thought no one would answer. Then, Julian Thorne’s weak, yet subtly provocative voice came through. “Hello? Mr. Hayes? Scarlett’s busy taking care of me right now, she can’t come to the phone.” “If you have something to say, you can tell me, and I’ll pass it on.” My heart instantly plummeted to rock bottom. I hung up the phone and tore the diagnostic report into tiny pieces. After that, to force me into submission, Scarlett froze my cards and pulled all collaborations with my family’s company. My father was so furious, his heart condition flared up, sending him to the emergency room. When I rushed to the hospital, my mother was sitting on a bench outside the ER, her face awash with tears. She grabbed my hand. “Asher, please, go beg Scarlett! Your father… he’s not doing well!” “The doctor said he needs surgery immediately, and it costs a million! All our company funds are frozen, we don’t have that much cash right now!” My mother’s desperate sobs pierced my nerves. If it weren’t for me, things wouldn’t have come to this. I had no choice but to go find Scarlett. She was sitting by Julian Thorne’s bed, carefully spoon-feeding him porridge. That gentle, attentive look was something I had never seen from her in the three years of our marriage. Julian Thorne saw me, a smirk of triumph playing on his lips, before he quickly adopted a weak, pathetic expression. “Scarlett, Mr. Hayes is here.” Scarlett turned, her brows immediately furrowing when she saw me. “What are you doing here?” Her tone was filled with impatience and disgust. I clenched my fists, my nails digging deeply into my palms. “My father… he’s in the hospital. He needs a million for surgery.” “Can you… can you lend it to me? I’ll definitely pay you back later.” Scarlett scoffed, then stood up and walked over to me. “Lend? Asher Hayes, what makes you think I’d lend you anything?” She raised a hand and pinched my chin, forcing me to meet her gaze. “You want the money? Fine.” “Sign that donation agreement, and forget a million, I’ll give you ten million.” “Otherwise, you can prepare to bury your father.”
I looked into her icy eyes, my heart aching with sharp, stinging pain. I used every ounce of strength to force out a few words from my throat, “Scarlett Sterling, you’ll regret this.” “Regret?” She laughed, as if I’d spoken something utterly ridiculous. “The biggest regret of my life, Scarlett Sterling, was marrying you!” With that, she mercilessly shoved me away. I staggered back a few steps, hitting the wall. A sharp, piercing pain shot through my heart. I clutched my chest in agony, cold sweat breaking out. Julian Thorne spoke up from the side, feigning concern. “Scarlett, don’t be like this…” “It’s all my fault. I’ll figure out my illness on my own, even if it means dying…” Scarlett immediately turned, pulling him into a comforting embrace, her face filled with tenderness. “Julian! Don’t talk nonsense! I’ll never let anything happen to you!” She soothed the man in her arms, then looked back at me, her eyes filled with murderous intent. “Asher Hayes, I’m asking you one last time.” “The donation agreement. Are you signing it, or not?” I looked at the sweet scene playing out before me and felt an overwhelming sense of irony. My wife was forcing me to die for another man, even willing to destroy my family in the process. I heard myself say calmly, “I’ll sign.” A flicker of surprise crossed Scarlett’s face, then a cold smirk. “See? Isn’t that better?” She snapped her fingers at her assistant behind her. “Bring the agreement.” I picked up the pen, but my hand trembled violently. What I was signing away was my life. I threw the signed agreement along with the pen onto the table in front of her. “The money?” Scarlett picked up the agreement, nodding in satisfaction, and pulled out her phone to make a call. Less than a minute later, the funds for my father’s surgery were transferred. I didn’t spare her another glance, turning to leave. “Stop.” Her icy voice came from behind me. I halted, my back ramrod straight, but I didn’t turn around. “The surgery is scheduled for next Wednesday.” “These next few days, you’d better behave yourself. Don’t try any more tricks.” I paused, said nothing, and went straight to the doctor’s office. The doctor held my medical record, his brows furrowed in a deep knot. “Young man, you have a severe congenital heart condition, and it’s showing signs of failure. I’ve told you this many times.” “In your condition, forget donating a kidney, even a bad cold needs careful attention!” “If you go through with this surgery, you’ll lose your life!” Before he could finish, the door to the office burst open from the outside. Julian Thorne walked in, dressed in a hospital gown. His face was pale, but a faint smile played on his lips. Dr. Miller’s face instantly turned white when he saw him. “Mr. Thorne…” Julian Thorne glanced at the medical record in Dr. Miller’s hand, his eyes chilling. “Dr. Miller, Scarlett asked me to check if everything is ready for tomorrow’s surgery.” Dr. Miller gripped the medical record, his palms sweating profusely. “Mr. Thorne, Mr. Hayes’s condition… he really isn’t suitable for surgery! The risks are too high!” Julian Thorne’s smile vanished. He came closer to me, lowering his voice, saying each word distinctly: “Asher Hayes, stop with your pathetic little tricks.” “Hiring a doctor to put on an act? Do you really think Scarlett will fall for it?” “I’m telling you, it’s useless. Tomorrow, you will donate that kidney, whether you want to or not!” I looked up at him, my gaze cold. “Julian Thorne, aren’t you afraid of karma?” He scoffed. “Karma? My karma is that Scarlett loves me enough to do anything for me.” “And your karma, Asher, is to be trampled under her foot, nothing but a walking organ donor for me!” He suddenly leaned close to my ear. “Oh, right, I forgot to tell you a secret.” “Three years ago, I didn’t just disappear without a trace.” “Scarlett was afraid the Sterling family’s bankruptcy would drag me down. She cried and begged me to leave, personally sending me onto that plane.” “She said that once she bounced back, the first thing she’d do was marry me.” “If your father hadn’t forced that marriage on her with Hayes Inc. as leverage, I would be standing by her side right now, wearing the Sterling family ring.” “So, Asher Hayes, *you* are the thief. You stole the life that should have been mine.” My mind exploded into a buzzing static. My perceived salvation was nothing but a transactional demand.
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