Trading My Kidney, The Fake Marriage2 / 3

Chapter 2

"Janelle, are you okay? I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I was supposed to be with you that day. If I hadn't left early, you wouldn't have lost a kidney."

As she spoke, her hand grazed over my surgical wound. There was an ugly, fresh scar that had not yet healed.

"It's not your fault, Josie. It was those ruthless kidnappers."

Brody couldn't bear to see his precious girl feel guilty, so he quickly patted her shoulder to comfort her.

Following his movement, Josie pressed her fingers hard against my incision. The agonizing pain made me instinctively swat her hand away.

With a crisp slap, the back of Josie's hand turned bright red.

Tears instantly welled in her eyes, and she looked at me with a shattered expression.

That single glance wiped away all of Brody's guilt toward me.

The sudden pain had torn at my stitches, leaving me gasping for air.

Before I could even process it, Brody grabbed my waist and shoved his hand hard against my wound.

"Janelle Cross, your kidnapping had nothing to do with Josie! She washed her face with tears every day because she was worried sick about you. Yet the moment you wake up, you bully her? You lost a kidney, not your damn brain! What the hell is wrong with you?"

He looked at me with pure disgust. Josie bit her pale lip, her body swaying as if she were about to faint.

"Brody, please don't blame Janelle. I know she's in a bad mood and hurting. As long as it makes her feel better, she can treat me however she wants."

Josie's fake generosity was the final spark that ignited Brody's hatred for me.

He grabbed her hand and stormed out, leaving me severely wounded and abandoned in the hospital room.

A whole day passed, and no one brought me any food. I lay there with a parched throat, staring at the ceiling for hours.

Having realized that Brody had discarded me, the hospital staff treated me like trash. Aside from a few gossiping nurses peeking through the door, not a single doctor stepped foot inside.

Even the nurse who came to change my dressings was unnecessarily rough.

She grumbled, "I don't know what bad luck I have to be stuck serving a woman like you. Everyone knows Mr. Sullivan's true love is Miss Hart. Caring for you is basically stepping on Miss Hart's toes."

"And honestly, you got kidnapped, so why did you bother coming back? Don't you know you're in the way? You're basically crippled now, so why didn't you just die?"

I didn't reply, only letting out suppressed groans of pain.

Her temper flared, and her movements grew even more violent.

Unable to bear the torture, I pleaded weakly.

"I'm sorry, nurse. Please, be gentle. If possible, could you help me hire a private caregiver? I will pay you handsomely for it."

The nurse clearly had deep resentment toward me. Lying helpless in bed, I didn't want to argue; I just wanted peace and proper care.

"Are you serious?"

Hearing the word payment, the nurse's hands softened immediately, a greedy gleam flashing in her eyes.

"Yes, I'm serious."

As I nodded, the nurse cleared her throat.

"You don't need an outside caregiver. I can take care of you myself. But let's make one thing clear: it costs thirty thousand dollars a month."

That was far beyond the normal rate for a private nurse. I froze, completely shocked by her shameless greed.

"What? You don't want to pay?"