The Substitute Wife's Sweet Escape

shielding her with his own body as debris rained down around them. He wa

ing sense of duty, the ghost of the role I had played for three years, ma

ke a caged tiger, his hair disheveled, his face pale with fear. I sat

a lot of blood. She has a rare blood type, AB negative.

h his hair, his eyes wild

re type. The ch

iverse played it

id, my voice cutting th

a piece of information he'd never bothered to learn, a de

the doctor asked

ure,"

elevant. I followed the nurse into a small room, rolled up my sleeve, and watched as

at in the room for a while, sipping the juice a

nreadable. The confusion in his eyes had deepened into something more complex

rough, forced. He cleared his throat. "Wh

narrative. "I didn't want you to be sad," I said softly. "And...

. The ultimate act of

s grandfather's beating, the woman who silently served his mistress, the woman who

uestion, a question I saw forming in

smiling. "The transfusion was a success.

an rushed into Chloe's room

ded to see me. She looked pale against the whit

. "You think this makes us even? You think b

o win anything,

lace." She looked past me, to where Donovan stood in the doorway. "Donovan, darling. I feel so cold. That storm... it reminds me of

ed, cruel test from a

uest. But I saw him hesitate. He looked at Chloe's pleading face, then at m

h under a gray, unforgiving sky. The waves crashed agai

he said, hi

e air from my lungs. It was brutally cold, a cold that seeped into my bones. I

ister Isabella pushing my face into the water of a lake because I had a toy she

ced. Always the one who had to be pu

ds. As I lay gasping on the sand, shivering violently, I

." He paused. "What was that dream you had

erish state after his grandfather's beating. A s

der, his face a mask of suspicion. "What did y