Chapter 1

1.

I was born with a curse―my blood can cure any illness.

In my last life, after I healed the paralyzed legs of Preston Sterling, the heir to the Sterling fortune, I learned of their family’s vow: whoever cured him would become his wife.

Preston was forced to marry me.

And Serena, the woman who claimed she climbed frozen cliffs for a mythical orchid to save him, was so devastated by the news that she reportedly fell from a mountain and was lost.

A year later, Preston found Serena’s perfectly preserved body in the ice.

He went mad, trying to force me to drain all my blood to save her.

"If you hadn't interfered, Serena would have come back and healed my legs! We were supposed to be together! You killed her!"

"Willow, you said your blood could cure anything, right? Then bring Serena back to life!"

I cried and begged him, trying to make him see reason.

"Serena has been dead for a year. My blood can heal the sick, but it can't raise the dead."

I pleaded, but he just watched coldly as my life drained away.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day the Sterling family first invited me to diagnose him.

I looked at the sullen Preston Sterling, sitting in his wheelchair.

"Mr. Sterling, your legs are completely shot. No one can save them. You should prepare for amputation."

...

Hearing my words, Preston slowly lifted his head, his gray-blue eyes glaring at me with fury.

"Useless bitch! Get out of my house!"

I raised an eyebrow and turned to his anxious mother, Victoria, standing beside me.

"Mrs. Sterling, if even the Evans family's medical team says there's no hope, then there's truly no hope. You're still young. You should start thinking about grooming a new heir."

The moment I finished, Preston’s whiskey glass flew straight at my head.

I dodged to the side.

It shattered against the wall with a sharp crack.

A startled Victoria rushed to apologize.

"Miss Evans, I am so sorry. I apologize on Preston’s behalf. He’s just... not himself because of his condition."

I waved it off dismissively, straightening my dress.

"I understand. It’s perfectly normal to become a twisted monster when you go from a healthy man to a useless cripple in a wheelchair."

As Preston began to tremble with rage, I turned and walked out the door, my heels clicking on the floor.

Victoria followed me out, pleading with me in a low voice on the porch.

"Willow, is there really nothing that can be done? I heard the Evans family has certain... private treatments. If you can cure Preston, the Sterling Corporation will give you anything you desire."

It wasn't that he couldn't be cured. It was that I refused to cure him.

In my last life, Preston blamed me for Serena’s death, convinced that the orchid she was searching for was the only thing that could have fixed his legs.

If he had an ounce of common sense, he would have known that orchids don't grow on frozen mountains; it was just a marketing gimmick to sell them for a higher price.

Serena spent thirty thousand dollars just to buy the location of that orchid from a dealer.

And that flower did nothing but make a decent cup of tea.

When Preston found out my blood was the real cure, he turned me into a human blood bank to resurrect the woman he loved.

Only on my deathbed did I overhear the Sterling's butler talking. Serena didn't fall off a cliff picking a flower.

She was trying to seduce a Hollywood producer after realizing she couldn't marry Preston. The producer's wife found out, and during their fight, Serena was pushed off the cliff.

This time, I would not get involved in their twisted drama.

I hoped that without me in the way, the two lovers could finally be together.

"Mrs. Sterling, I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do for his legs."

Preston wheeled himself out onto the porch, his deep voice thick with anger.

"Mom, Serena is already on her way to the mountain. When she brings back that orchid, my legs will be cured."

He stared at me, his eyes full of contempt. "The Sterlings don't need Miss Evans worrying about our affairs."