Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Just as a passing car nearly clipped me, a boutique employee dashed out and pulled me back to safety.

She looked at me with deep concern.

I shook my head, completely unable to utter a single word.

I changed out of the bridal gown, planning to head back to pack my belongings and leave this world behind.

However, a sleek black sedan abruptly screeched to a halt right in front of the shop.

Holden's personal assistant stepped out with two bodyguards and shoved me into the back seat without explanation.

"Miss Walsh, Mr. Cross ordered us to bring you to the hospital immediately."

"Ordered?"

I glanced at the bodyguard pinning me down and curled my lips into a bitter smirk.

"This is kidnapping."

The assistant's tone remained utterly devoid of warmth.

"Miss Walsh, remember your place as Miss Linwood's substitute. Being able to donate blood to save her life is your privilege."

"You know very well how you managed to stay by his side all these years."

His words pierced my chest like an icicle, and though I parted my lips, I had no strength left to argue.

I had spent ninety-nine lifetimes trying to save Holden Cross.

If I hadn't copied Chloe Linwood in every possible way, I would have never gotten close enough to stop him from being destroyed by her in the end.

The car soon pulled up to Holden's private hospital, and the guards escorted me directly to the emergency wing.

I spotted Holden sitting right outside the operating room, pacing with restless anxiety.

The moment he saw me, he gestured for the medical staff to take me away.

Looking at his tall, heartless silhouette, my chest tightened so violently that breathing became agony.

"Holden, I have severe anemia and a clotting disorder…"

He knew that better than anyone.

On the night we first crossed the line, he had been rough and relentless, coming to his senses only when he saw the blood staining the sheets beneath me.

Back then, I had forced a gentle smile through the pain.

"As long as you're happy, nothing else matters to me."

After learning about my clotting disorder, he had never been rough with me again, even ordering the housekeeper to cook nourishing meals daily to build up my health.

Yet now, he turned around and looked at me as if I were nothing more than a disposable tool.

"It doesn't matter."

A nurse approached to prep me for the transfusion, her voice trembling slightly.

"Please lie down here and roll up your sleeve."

I didn't move, so the bodyguard shoved me onto the examination bed.

The cold alcohol wipe grazed my skin, sending a violent shiver down my spine.

As the needle pierced my vein, I flinched from the sharp sting.

Then, a familiar warm touch wrapped around my arm.