Chapter 1

A dull ache lived in my bones now.

It wasn't just the spot where they took the marrow from my hip.

It was everywhere, a deep throb that whispered something was wrong, terribly wrong.

This Texas Hill Country Airbnb, all polished wood and wide windows, felt like a pretty prison.

Ethan said it was for my recovery, quiet and private.

He said we couldn't afford a clinic.

Not after Cole Holdings almost went under.

Not after I agreed to save it.

I gave a piece of myself, my very marrow, for Ethan, for his family's company, for their future.

And for Brooke Hayes.

Brooke, our old university acquaintance, supposedly dying.

I was her only match.

That' s what Ethan told me. That' s what Chloe, my best friend, his sister, confirmed with tears in her eyes.

My sacrifice was the key, they said.

Brooke' s secret rich relative would bail out Cole Holdings, but only if Brooke lived.

Only if I gave my marrow.

So I did. For love. For loyalty. For the future I thought we' d have.

Now, lying on this too-soft bed, a tiny, cold thought started to grow: maybe moving on from that belief was the only way to stop this ache.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. Mom.

"Ava, honey! How are you feeling?" Sarah' s voice was warm, full of New Orleans sunshine.

"I heard from Chloe you were so brave. Saving Ethan' s whole family business! And that poor girl, Brooke. You' re a hero, baby."

I swallowed. "I'm okay, Mom. Just tired."

"Of course, you are. You rest up. Ethan must be taking such good care of you. He' s a good man, Ava. You two deserve all the happiness."

I couldn't tell her about the cold knot in my stomach.

"Yeah, Mom. He's... here."

A lie. He wasn't here right now. He was "handling things" in Austin.

"Good. Well, I won't keep you. Call me anytime. David and I are so proud."

"Thanks, Mom. Love you."

I hung up, the word "hero" feeling like a stone in my gut.

A little later, Ethan' s expensive car crunched on the gravel driveway.

He walked in, all smiles and concern, smelling faintly of his usual cologne and something else, something like stress.

"Hey, beautiful. How' s my brave girl?"

He kissed my forehead, his lips cool.

He set a small bouquet of wildflowers on the nightstand, probably picked from the side of the road.

"Brought you these. Place needed some color."

He sat on the edge of the bed, took my hand. His felt warm, but his eyes were... busy.

"Everything okay in Austin?" I asked.

"Getting there. Just a few more fires to put out. But thanks to you, the main blaze is handled." He squeezed my hand. "You saved us, Ava."

His voice was smooth, practiced.

The way he said it, the way he looked away too quickly, it all felt... off.

Like a scene he' d rehearsed.

My trust, usually so easy with him, felt thin, stretched.

As he bustled around, making tea, talking about unimportant things, my mind drifted back.

Back to that terrible week.

It started with Ethan, his face pale, lines of worry etched around his eyes.

He sat me down in our Austin apartment, the one with the view of the city lights.

"Ava," he' d said, his voice heavy. "Cole Holdings... we' re in serious trouble."

He explained it then, a hostile takeover, an aggressive corporate raider.

Words I didn' t fully understand, but the fear in his voice was clear.

"We could lose everything. Decades of my family' s work. Gone."

Chloe was there too, her eyes red from crying.

She held my hand, her grip tight. "It' s bad, Ava. Really bad."

Then, almost as an afterthought, Ethan mentioned Brooke Hayes.

"You remember Brooke? From UT?"

I nodded. Of course, I remembered Brooke. The rival cellist, always a shadow of envy.

"She' s... she' s really sick," Ethan said, his gaze fixed on the floor. "A rare blood disorder. Doctors say she doesn' t have long without a bone marrow transplant."

Chloe sniffled. "It' s awful. We just found out."

The next part came out in a rush, Ethan pacing, Chloe watching me with wide, pleading eyes.

"Here' s the thing, Ava. It' s... complicated," Ethan began. "Brooke has this relative, incredibly wealthy, but very private. They' ve offered to help Cole Holdings. A complete bailout. But there' s a condition."

He paused, looking at me intently. "The benefactor will only step in if Brooke gets the transplant and survives. They adore her. And... Ava... they did the testing. You' re a perfect match. The only one they' ve found."

My head spun. His company. Brooke' s life. Me.

"So, if I do it... the company is saved?"

"Yes," Ethan said, his voice thick with emotion. "You wouldn' t just be saving Brooke. You' d be saving my family, our future. Everything."

Chloe' s words were soft, almost a whisper. "You' d be saving all of us, Ava."

Saving them. It felt huge, a heavy weight of responsibility.

How could I say no?

To Ethan, the man I loved, the man I was going to marry.

To Chloe, my best friend since freshman year.

The risk, the pain of the donation, seemed small compared to what they stood to lose.

"I'll do it," I said.

The relief on their faces was immense. Ethan pulled me into a tight hug, burying his face in my hair.

"Thank you, Ava. God, thank you. I knew I could count on you."

Chloe was crying openly now, hugging me too. "You' re the best, Ava. The absolute best."

Their gratitude felt like a warm blanket then.

Now, in this silent Airbnb, it felt like the first threads of a carefully woven net.