Chapter 2

A few minutes later, the bedroom door opened softly. Andrew entered, his face a mask of concern.

"Jen? I heard a crash. Are you okay?"

He saw the blood on the floor and rushed to my side, his eyes wide with feigned alarm. "My God, your foot! What happened?"

He gently lifted my foot, his touch now feeling like a violation. He cleaned the cut with an antiseptic wipe and carefully applied a bandage, his movements practiced and tender. The same tenderness he probably showed Sabrina. The thought made me want to vomit.

"You need to be more careful, sweetheart," he murmured, kissing my forehead. "You're still so fragile."

I just nodded, my throat too tight to speak. I felt like a fly caught in a spider's web, and the spider was now pretending to mend my broken wing.

He sat on the edge of the bed, holding my hand. His expression shifted to one of somber gravity. "Speaking of being fragile... I have something difficult to discuss with you."

I braced myself.

"You know my old college friend, Sabrina Chavez? The one I do some business with?"

I nodded again, a cold dread creeping through me.

"Her body is rejecting the kidney she received. It's... it's a terrible situation. The doctors say she needs regular blood transfusions to stabilize her while they look for another option. She has a very rare blood type." He paused, looking deep into my eyes. "O-negative. Just like you."

The air left my lungs. He couldn't possibly be asking what I thought he was asking.

"She's a family friend, Jen," he continued, his voice smooth and persuasive. "She's a single mother. It would be such a good deed, a true act of charity. It would mean the world to me if you would consider donating blood for her."

He was asking me to be a human blood bag for the woman who now had my kidney inside her. The woman for whom he had destroyed our son.

I wanted to scream, to claw at his face, to expose him for the monster he was. But I looked at his handsome, earnest face and saw the chilling determination behind his eyes. Leo was helpless in his room down the hall. I was weak, a prisoner in my own home. For now, I had to play along.

"Okay, Andrew," I whispered, the words tasting like poison. "I'll do it. For your friend."

His face broke into a relieved smile. "Thank you, my love. I knew I could count on your kind heart."

He leaned in to kiss me, and I had to fight every instinct in my body not to recoil in disgust.