Chapter 1

Chapter 1

On the day Landon Bradley stood on the global tech stage to receive his lifetime achievement award, my life was officially running out of time.

Due to unpaid medical bills for my end-stage renal failure, the hospital had just issued my discharge notice.

On the live broadcast, the host asked Landon to call the one person he wanted to thank the most.

Without a second of hesitation, he dialed my number.

"Maya, do you regret leaving me?"

I gripped the crumpled, astronomical medical bill in my trembling hand. Then, I forced a light, mocking chuckle.

"Landon, look at you now, a billionaire celebrity. Can I beg you to be my sugar daddy?"

On the giant screen, his expression froze into pure ice before he hung up without another word.

"Now," his deep, cold voice echoed through the speakers, "I have no one left to thank."

Little did he know, when he was dying five years ago, I was the one who gave him my kidney.

***

After Landon's interview aired, the name Maya Brooks became the internet's favorite punching bag.

A ruthless gold digger who abandoned her sick boyfriend, versus a brilliant prodigy who rose from the ashes.

It was the kind of revenge fantasy the public loved to tear apart.

Fortunately, I was a nobody, so the online mob hadn't tracked down my physical address just yet.

Still, the comment sections were flooded with brutal insults and death wishes.

"Stop reading that garbage," my attending physician, Dr. Stephen Mercer, said gently as he took the phone from my hand.

He shook his head with genuine concern.

"I'll help you apply for emergency charity care. It's too early to give up, Maya."

I offered him a faint, tired smile. In this entire world, he was probably the only person who still cared whether I lived or died.

"Don't bother, Dr. Mercer. It's pointless."

I steadied my breath, adjusted my jacket, and turned toward the door.

Just as I opened it a crack, a tall, familiar figure walked past the hallway.

Even after five years, I could still spot him in a crowded room instantly.

Panic seized me, and I tried to shut the door before he could notice me. But a patient waiting outside shoved the door wide open.

"Hey! What's taking so long?"

Caught off balance and weakened by chronic pain, my knees gave out, and I crashed onto the cold floor.

The commotion drew everyone's attention, including Landon's.

I leaned against the wall, desperately trying to get back up and run. But a large, callous hand clamped around my wrist like a vice.

"What's the matter, Maya? Have you gotten so desperate that you're tracking my schedule now?"

His breath was slightly ragged from rushing over.

I looked up at him through the strands of hair falling across my face.

He looked radiant, healthy, and full of life. His recovery had gone well.

Five years ago, our tech startup was barely getting off the ground.

Fate dealt us a cruel hand when years of sleepless nights and relentless stress triggered severe kidney failure in him.

The dialysis and medication costs were an impossible mountain for us back then. Investors pulled out the moment they heard about his failing health.

To keep him alive, I ran our company by day and worked three exhausting part-time jobs by night.

Yet, life doesn't reward you just because you fight with everything you have.

We couldn't find a matching kidney donor on the national registry, and no miracle came.

On a freezing winter night, right as the first snowflakes began to fall, the hospital issued Landon's critical condition notice.

Stephen Mercer was his doctor back then too. He looked at me, completely drained and hollow, barely able to hand me the paperwork.

"Is there really no other way?" I pleaded, dropping to my knees and clutching his white coat.

"A compatible match is nearly impossible on short notice, and living donors are rare. Miss Brooks, I'm so sorry..."

"Can I get tested? Please, test me."

Stephen told me later that he only agreed to the screening to give me some fleeting comfort in my despair.

Neither of us expected that my kidney would be a perfect match for Landon.