A Wife, A Placeholder, A Lie

o, lay on the hospital bed, his small chest struggling for every breath. His face was pale, his l

ho of his struggle. He was everything to me. My miracle. After the accident that took my parents and my abili

r voice tight with stress. "The blood bank is running low.

nor, but rare. My blood type was A-positive. Liam's was B-positive.

ow me whole, a voice cut throu

tood in the doorway, her beautiful face etched with concern, her hand alr

could only watch, my heart hammering with a gratitude so immense it felt like pain. Chloe, our angel, was saving my son's

hloe's timely donation had been critical. The news of her heroic act spread quickly. Liam, a prominent figure i

our darkest hour, she was a beacon of light. Our family will be forever in her debt." The story was on every lo

ought her a cup of warm tea, my hands still trembling slightly. "Chl

lly, Amelia. We're friends. Of

pped back into the small, private bathroom connected to her room to give them a moment, leaving the door sl

ifferent now. The warmth was gone,

m," Liam's voice was low, intimate. "

roze on t

ad to make sure he ate the crushed nuts in that cookie. It was a mess, Liam,"

al filled my lungs, but now it felt like poison. I pressed my ear against the

th me. "But it worked, didn't it? Now everyone sees you as a hero. The perfect, car

"I'm tired of watching her play mother to my s

from my lungs. My entire reality, the beautiful, happy

le, my sweet Leo, was just a prop in a long, cruel play. I was nothing more than a stepping stone on their path to a life I was