Chapter 1: The Blood He Gave Away

Callum Merrick took the life-saving blood I had stored for seven years. He gave it to another woman's daughter without asking me.

Our friends tried their best to talk him out of it.

"What about Maren?"

"She has a rare chimerism blood type. She's at high risk for transfusions for the rest of her life. If something goes wrong and she has no backup blood, she'll die."

Callum stayed silent for a long time. Finally, he murmured.

"Poppy is Brielle Sawyer's daughter. She's just a little girl. She needs this blood more than Maren does."

Someone couldn't bear to let it go.

"But Maren is five months pregnant. You know the risks of having no backup blood better than anyone. If she hemorrhages, you'll lose both her and the baby!"

Callum didn't hesitate.

"Then we'll just hold off on having a kid. Maren always listens to me anyway."

I looked down at the prenatal checkup report in my hands. A sudden wave of dizziness hit me.

Callum was the one who was terrified something might happen to me. He was the one who practically begged me to store my blood.

Now, for Brielle's daughter, Callum was the one who stole that same life-saving blood behind my back.

The words "Twin pregnancy, viable" on the report stared back at me. A silent, cruel joke.

I turned around.

Walked to the front desk.

Booked a termination of pregnancy.

I would give Callum exactly what he wanted.

I wouldn't have the baby.

And I wouldn't have him, either.

***

When I booked the procedure, the nurse's tone was grave.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"With your rare blood type and chronic anemia, this procedure carries significant risks. Does... does Dr. Merrick know about this?"

I nodded.

"Yes. I'm sure."

It didn't matter if Callum knew or not.

The moment he took the blood I'd saved for seven years, a sword was already hanging over my head.

Right before the anesthesia, Callum called.

"Mare, a colleague said they saw you at the hospital. Did you come to have lunch with me?"

I could hear the hospital intercom in the background. And the gentle, coaxing voice of a woman.

Before I could answer, he kept going.

"I can't join you for lunch today. Poppy isn't doing too well right now. Brielle is trying to calm her down, so I need to stay here."

I sat in the empty waiting area. I stared at the termination of pregnancy consent form in front of me.

"Why exactly is she not doing well?" I asked.

"What?" He clearly hadn't expected me to say something like that.

My voice was dead calm.

"I said, Callum, after draining the life-saving blood I spent seven years saving, what right does she have to not be doing well?"

Dead silence on the other end of the line.

After a long time, I heard footsteps. Then, Callum lowered his voice.

"You know?"

He took a deep breath.

"Maren, Poppy is like you. She has two sets of blood-forming cells. Right now, your blood is the only match. She's just a little girl. I couldn't just let her die."

"Is that so?"

He must have caught the edge in my voice. His tone softened.

"Don't overcomplicate this. Even if she wasn't Brielle's kid, I'd still save her."

He sounded so damn righteous. Like he completely forgot about the vials of blood drawn from my veins, tube by tube, over the course of seven long years.

"And what about me?" I asked.

Callum stayed quiet for two seconds. He sounded exhausted.

"Maren, you're perfectly healthy right now."

"So?"

"So don't make a scene, okay?" he said.

"Make a scene?"

I breathed the words.

"Callum, I paid the storage fees for that blood," I reminded him. "It was just being kept at the hospital. It wasn't a free donation. Without my consent, no one had the right to touch it."

Callum's voice suddenly spiked.

"Well, the blood has been used. I can't exactly suck it back out. What do you want to do, report me?"

After a brief silence, he let out a heavy sigh.