Far Apart, Safe at Last

During a snow-mountain expedition, an avalanche buried me alive. By the time they dug me out, the cold had already drained every last trace of warmth and life from my body.

Julian Crowe dug through the snow with his bare hands for ten straight hours. His fingers were torn and bleeding by the time he finally pulled me out. Then he chartered a private jet and rushed me to the most elite private hospital for emergency treatment.

Inside the thermal recovery chamber, a faint thread of consciousness returned to me. Through the haze, I heard Julian arguing with the doctor.

"Weren't we supposed to amputate just to save her life? Why are you draining all of her hematopoietic stem cells too?"

"Mr. Crowe, you're personally destroying her last chance of survival!"

Julian's voice, usually so controlled, carried a chilling cruelty.

"Letting her live safely and comfortably until today is already the greatest mercy I've ever shown her. The only woman who will grow old with me is Serena Vale. And the only thing that can save Serena is her life. She owes Serena that much, and now it's time to repay it."

So the promise to live and die together had only been my own foolish fantasy.

Julian had married me, Stella Hart, for one reason only. To turn me into a walking blood bank for his precious mistress.

If that was the truth, then I would give them exactly what they wanted.

......

"You're awake? Then hurry up and sign this agreement."

Julian tossed a stack of documents straight onto my face.

With great effort, my eyes slowly shifted toward the papers.

The document was titled "Voluntary Lifetime Hematopoietic Stem Cell and Organ Donation Agreement."

Under the recipient section, two clear words were written-Serena Vale.

My lips trembled as I tried to speak.

"Why..."

A flash of disgust crossed Julian's eyes as he cut me off without mercy.

"There is no why. Serena's leukemia has gotten worse. In the entire donor registry, only your stem cells match hers. I dug your life out of that avalanche. Using it now to save Serena is only fair."

I stared at him, my heart suddenly clenching so hard it became difficult to breathe.

"But I'm your wife! We swore on that mountain peak that we would stay together through life and death!"

Julian let out a cold laugh, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

"Wife? Stella, are you taking this fantasy a little too seriously? If your blood type hadn't been a perfect match for Serena's, do you really think I would have married someone as ordinary as you? Every bit of kindness I've shown you these past three years was just to maintain the stem cells in your body. And now it's time for you to repay the favor."

Every word sliced into my heart like a slow execution.

So the expensive tonics he forced me to drink every day were meant to enrich my blood.

The strict schedule he imposed on me, never allowing me to stay up late, was to keep my stem cells healthy and active.

Even the mountain expedition had been part of the plan. The doctors had said high altitude could stimulate bone marrow activity.

What I had believed was boundless devotion had actually been a carefully planned captivity.

My hand trembled as I lifted it, trying to tear the agreement apart.

Julian grabbed my wrist, squeezing so hard it felt like my bones might shatter.

"Don't push your luck. You're signing it whether you want to or not. The doctors have already taken half of your stem cells. Serena's rejection reaction is severe. We need the second extraction tomorrow."

Pain shot through me and I gasped, staring at him in despair.

"If you take more... I'll die."

Julian released my wrist without expression and calmly wiped his fingers with a wet tissue.

As if touching me had been something disgusting.

"The doctors already said you won't die. At worst you'll spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair. Compared to what Serena has suffered, this is nothing."

The hospital room door slowly opened.

Serena sat in a wheelchair as a nurse pushed her inside.

She wore an oversized hospital gown. Her face looked ashen, yet the smugness in her eyes was impossible to hide.

"Julian, please don't force Stella." Serena's voice sounded soft and fragile, deliberately weak. "I'm sure Stella doesn't mean to refuse saving me. After all, who would willingly become a cripple? We grew up together. You've always treated me like your own sister. It's only natural Stella would feel jealous. If it really comes to that... then maybe I should just die and give you back to Stella."

As she spoke, large tears rolled down her cheeks.

Julian's expression changed instantly. He strode over and pulled Serena into his arms.

"Serena, don't say that! As long as I'm here, I won't let you die."

He turned back and glared at me viciously.

"Stella, look at how considerate Serena is. Then look at that selfish, vicious expression on your face! Even if you have to bite your finger open, you're putting your fingerprint on that agreement today."

Watching them embrace, nausea churned violently in my stomach.

Resting in Julian's arms, Serena looked at me over his shoulder.

A provocative smile slowly spread across her lips.

Then she slowly raised her hand and pulled a heart-shaped ruby bracelet from beneath her collar.

It was a delicate heart-shaped ruby bracelet, its surface gleaming with a rich, flawless luster.

That was mine.

It was the only thing my mother had left me before she died.

When the avalanche struck, I had clutched it tightly in my palm, praying my mother would protect Julian and me and let us survive.

So how had it ended up hanging around Serena's neck?

I struggled violently to sit up, the tubes attached to my body rattling and tugging painfully.

"Give it back! Give me my bracelet!"

I roared like a crazed animal and lunged forward, reaching for the bracelet.

Julian immediately pulled Serena behind him and kicked the side of my hospital bed with brutal force.

The metal frame shook violently, and I was thrown back onto the bed.

The freshly stitched wound split open instantly, blood spreading across the white hospital gown.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" Julian shouted, staring at me like I was some irrational lunatic. "It's just a worthless trinket. Serena liking it should be your honor. She just had surgery and needs something to calm her nerves. This piece happens to do the job."

Pain curled my body into itself, cold sweat soaking through my hair.

"That was... my mother's..."

The words forced their way out between clenched teeth.

Serena hid behind Julian and tugged gently at his sleeve, looking pitiful.

"Julian, I'm sorry. I didn't know it belonged to Stella's mother. I saw it lying in the snow and thought it didn't belong to anyone. If Stella is that unwilling to part with it, I'll just give it back."

She pretended to remove it, her fingers trembling deliberately as if she couldn't even undo the clasp.

Julian immediately grabbed her hand.

"Don't give it back." He turned toward me, his voice dripping with contempt. "Your mother was just some countryside woman. What valuable thing could she possibly leave behind? Something like this is wasted on you anyway. If Serena wears it, that's doing your mother a favor."

I bit my lip so hard the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

This was the man I had loved for three years.

Not only did he intend to drain my blood, he also wanted to crush the last shred of my dignity.

"Julian, you're a monster." I stared straight into his eyes. I didn't cry. I simply said it, cold and clear.

Julian's face darkened instantly.

He strode forward and grabbed my throat.

The suffocating pressure hit instantly, forcing my head back as I met his furious gaze.

"Stella, who do you think you are? Without me you'd still be stuck in that miserable little apartment, scraping by on nothing. I gave you luxury, status, the title of Mrs. Crowe. So what if I took one piece of jewelry from you?"

The pressure of his grip kept tightening, and my vision slowly blurred.

Serena gasped dramatically from the side.

"Julian, let go! Stella can't breathe! What if she dies? What about my illness?"

Those words instantly snapped Julian back to his senses.

He released me abruptly and tossed me back onto the bed like a discarded rag.

I broke into violent coughing.

I coughed uncontrollably, dragging in desperate breaths of air.

Julian took out a handkerchief, wiped his hands with visible disgust, then tossed it onto my face.

"Stay alive. Tomorrow we continue the extraction. Don't even think about trying anything. As long as you're alive, you will save Serena."

He pushed Serena's wheelchair toward the door without looking back.

Just before leaving, Serena suddenly looked back.

She mouthed silently to me, "You can't beat me."

The hospital door slammed shut.

Lying in a pool of my own blood, I stared at the harsh ceiling light and suddenly started laughing.

I laughed until tears ran down my face.

It was all so absurd.

I would have given my life for him, yet to him I was nothing more than a walking blood bank.

A burst of hurried footsteps echoed outside the door.

Several nurses in sterile suits pushed a large medical machine into the room.

The head nurse looked at me without the slightest expression.

"Miss Hart, Mr. Crowe has given his orders."

"To ensure the purity of tomorrow's stem cell extraction, we need to perform a bone marrow puncture tonight as preparation."

The head nurse's cold voice echoed through the empty hospital room.

My blood seemed to run cold as I stared at the thick puncture needle, more than ten centimeters long.

"I just had surgery. My body can't handle this! You're trying to kill me!"

I desperately shrank toward the corner of the bed, trying to avoid the hands reaching for me.

The head nurse remained unmoved and signaled to the two male orderlies beside her.

They immediately pinned my shoulders and legs down from both sides.

"Miss Hart, please cooperate. Mr. Crowe made it clear that if we didn't use some force, you wouldn't cooperate."

I struggled in sheer desperation.

"Call Julian here! I want to see him!"

The head nurse let out a cold laugh as she picked up the thick needle.

"Mr. Crowe is busy helping Miss Vale try on her birthday dress for next month. He doesn't have time for you. Oh, and Mr. Crowe specifically instructed us that in order not to affect the stem cells' activity, this puncture will be done without anesthesia."

My mind exploded in shock.

No anesthesia?

They were going to drive that needle straight into my pelvic bone?

"Has he lost his mind?" I screamed hysterically.

The head nurse didn't give me a chance to resist and lifted my hospital gown.

Cold disinfectant was spread across my lower back.

The next second, a searing pain shot straight through my bone marrow.

I screamed in agony.

My body jerked violently like a fish thrown onto dry land.

The orderlies held me down firmly, not letting me move even an inch.

The pain felt like someone was dragging a dull saw back and forth across my bones.

My nails dug into the bedsheet until they snapped, blood staining the fabric.

"Hold her tighter. If she moves and the needle breaks inside, we'll have a real problem." The head nurse gave orders coldly, her hands never pausing.

Pain darkened my vision as cold sweat and tears soaked my face.

Julian...

How could his heart be so cruel?

For Serena's sake, he wouldn't even allow me anesthesia.

I had no idea how long the torture lasted.

By the time the needle was finally pulled out, I had already blacked out from the pain.

When I woke again, the surroundings had changed.

The air was thick with the sour smell of mold mixed with disinfectant.

The soft hospital bed was gone. I was lying on a hard military cot.

Above me hung a dim bulb that flickered weakly.

This was the hospital's basement storage room.

I turned my neck with difficulty and saw piles of discarded medical equipment nearby.

The sound of high heels echoed outside the door.

The door opened, and Serena walked in wearing a tailored suit.

She covered her nose in disgust and nudged my cot with her foot.

"Well, well. The once-proud Mrs. Crowe is now lying here like a piece of trash. How pathetic."

I looked at her coldly and said nothing.

Serena looked down at me from above, her eyes gleaming with vicious satisfaction.

"Don't look at me like that. The VIP room is full, and there's nowhere to put all my supplements. Julian said you're basically useless now anyway. It doesn't matter where you sleep, so they moved you down here."

As she spoke, she pulled a delicate invitation card from her bag and tossed it onto my face.

"My birthday banquet is next week. Julian said that to celebrate my new life, he'll announce our engagement at the party."

I stared at the bright red invitation, my heart turning cold and empty.

"So you came here just to show off?"

Serena covered her mouth and giggled softly.

"Of course not. Julian ordered that you must attend next week's party. After all, without your blood, how could I stand beside him looking so radiant?"

She suddenly leaned down, her lips close to my ear.

The sound of leather shoes stepping across the concrete floor echoed outside the door.