YOUR BODY FITS ON MINE

Consciousness returned in painful, jagged shards. The last thing I remembered was the blinding glare of headlights, Ethan's sharp, sudden turn of the wheel, and the sickening crunch of metal.

Then, nothing.

Until now.

A faint, rhythmic beeping. The sharp, sterile smell of antiseptic.

My head throbbed.

A bright light glared above me.

Panic, cold and swift, tightened my chest.

This wasn't right.

Then I heard voices.

Muffled at first, then clearer.

Ethan's voice, sharp with impatience.

And another, deeper, calmer, but strained.

"Ethan, this is insane. It's a Class A felony. She was in a car crash you orchestrated. She's in a coma, she can't consent!"

That was Ben Carter's voice.

Dr. Ben Carter. Ethan's old friend from Yale. A surgeon.

My blood ran cold.

"Consent?" Ethan scoffed, his voice dripping with a chilling pragmatism I knew too well. "I have her medical power of attorney. I am her fiancé. As far as this hospital is concerned, I speak for her. And I am telling you, this is what she would have wanted."

"She's my girlfriend, Ben. Practically my wife."

"To give a kidney to the woman who tormented her? After a car crash you caused? Ethan, you're asking me to commit murder on the operating table. They'll take my license. I'll go to prison for life."

"And what about that malpractice suit in residency, Ben? The one that just... disappeared? The one I made go away? Chloe needs this kidney. Ava is a perfect match. You owe me this. Consider your debt paid."

A choked sound from Ben. The silence that followed was more damning than any agreement.

Chloe.

Of course.

Chloe Vahn, the beautiful, hollow woman who had always held a piece of Ethan's soul, the piece I could never reach. Chloe, who had abandoned him when he was broken after that Aspen skiing accident, only to reappear when he was powerful again.

"A small price?" Ben's voice was incredulous, laced with a fury I'd rarely heard from him. "Her kidney, Ethan? After everything she's done for you?"

"She put her entire career on hold."

"She used experimental treatments on herself to get you walking again when Chloe wouldn't even answer your calls!"

Ethan's reply was flat, devoid of emotion. "Chloe was scared. She's delicate."

"Ava is strong."

"Besides, I'll marry Ava. She's always wanted that. Consider it compensation."

"Chloe needs this more. Her life is at stake."

Delicate? Chloe, whose recklessness had led her to this point, acute renal failure.

Strong? Was that my reward for years of unwavering devotion? For the miscarriage I still mourned, the one I blamed on my own stress, never suspecting the "herbal supplements" Ethan had encouraged me to take, supplements Chloe had provided?

Tears pricked my eyes, hot and furious.

Betrayal, so profound it stole my breath, flooded through me.

My body felt like lead.

I tried to move, to scream, but only a faint groan escaped my lips.

Darkness swirled again, pulling me under.

I felt a pressure, a tugging sensation on my side.

Then, a searing line of fire.

The scalpel.

My mind reeled. Ten years. A decade of love, of sacrifice. Pouring my intellect, my biotech research-research that had once promised a brilliant future for me-into his recovery, into his company, Reed Innovate. Building him back up, piece by piece.

For this.

To be carved up like an animal, a resource to be plundered for the woman he truly desired.

The darkness swirled again, beckoning.

This time, I welcomed it.

The physical agony was a dull echo of the torment ripping through my soul.

My kidney. My love. My life, sacrificed on the altar of his obsession.

When I next surfaced, the bright overhead light was gone. I was in a different room. A hospital room, sterile and cold. A dull ache throbbed in my side. My throat was raw.

The door opened, and Ethan walked in, his expression carefully arranged into one of concern. He sat by the bed, took my hand. His felt clammy.