The youngest daughter of the wealthy Andrews Family was killed by my sister’s car. My mother and my fiancé both forced me to take the blame.
“Melody is delicate and can’t endure hardship, but you were just brought back from the mountain village. You’ll definitely be able to endure it. Can’t you just do it?” said my mother.
“Didn’t you pester me to marry you? As long as you go to jail for Melody, I’ll agree to anything,” chimed my fiancé.
With a broken heart, I was taken away by the Andrews Family. Five years of torture in prison and a kidney. Those were the price for my sacrifice.
I had completely repaid my mother’s debt of gratitude for giving me life. But on the day I was released from prison, my mother knelt down again and begged me to donate a kidney for my sister.
“Melody has a terminal illness. How can you, as her sister, stand by and watch her die?”
My fiancé also issued an ultimatum: if I didn’t agree, I would be forcibly taken away.
In despair, I called Dominic, the eldest son of the Andrews Family.
“Didn’t you say you hated me and wanted to torture me forever? Come and take me away. I’m willing to spend my whole life repaying the debt I owe your sister…”
Dominic didn’t refuse. He merely said, “Address.”
After I finished speaking, he coldly hung up the phone. I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Dominic and I had known each other since we were first brought back to Asterum.
Now I could only turn to him for help. I touched the ugly scar on my abdomen, feeling a mixture of emotions.
While I was in prison, the Andrews Family had already taken one of my kidneys. I only had one left. If I gave it to Melody, I’d be dead.
I had no money and nowhere else to go. There was no way I could resist the Conner Family or my fiancé’s family.
So, even though I knew Dominic only hated me now, I must first seek refuge with him, seeking a glimmer of hope.
At this moment, my mother knocked on my door. Her eyes were red and puffy. “Kendall, have you thought about it? I know you’re angry and jealous of Melody’s comfortable life since childhood, but she’s your sister, after all. Now she’s lying on the operating table, her condition getting worse by the day. Can you really bear to ignore her?”
I frowned and interrupted her coldly, “Enough! Asterum is so big, am I the only one who’s a successful match with her?! Besides, if you love her so much, why don’t you donate your kidney? Why wait until I’m released from prison?”
Hearing this, my mother flew into a rage. She raised her hand and slapped me hard. “You uneducated bastard! I’m your mother. How dare you talk to me like that? I came here with good intentions to advise you and you’re so ungrateful. Whether you like it or not, Raymond will send someone to take you away tonight. Just wait at home!”
My face instantly swelled up and the pain spread to my heart. I gave a wry smile. “You’re right, I’m uneducated. After all, when I was six, you remarried, leaving me alone in the mountain village and taking care of Melody. Of course, I became a neglected bastard.”
My biological father was killed by a wild beast while hunting. Upon hearing the news of his death, my mother cried for three days and three nights.
Ultimately, she decided to secretly remarry Jackson, a wealthy businessman from Asterum, holding two-year-old Melody.
I was the one left behind. I finally made it to twenty and she brought me to Asterum to live. I thought I’d finally find the family love I so desperately longed for.
But I never expected that the purpose of my existence would be to be Melody’s blood bag. My thoughts returned to my senses and I shoved my guilty-looking mother out.
I turned, slammed the door shut and locked it. She didn’t know that from the moment I was sent to prison, I had completely figured it out. I no longer wanted family affection or warmth. I just wanted to live well.
Ten minutes later, Dominic arrived at the Conner Family’s door. He sent me a message: [Come down.]
I stared at the man leaning against the Rolls-Royce for a few seconds. I took a deep breath, gathered all my belongings and jumped out the window.
Just as I was about to fall, Dominic stepped forward and caught me. The cool scent of cigar smoke enveloped me. For a moment, I felt as if I were back in the day, before his sister’s accident, when we were still friends.
Back then, Dominic always brought me comfort in his own way. He didn’t mind my background or family circumstances and became my close friend. But then he frowned and coldly pushed me away.
“You jumped out of the fourth-floor window? Are you trying to kill yourself? Didn’t you say you’d spend your whole life atoning for my sister’s sins? Then remember, from now on, your life or death will be decided by me.”
I was instantly pulled out of my delusion with a cold sweat.
Without another word, I lowered my head and followed him into the car. The silence in the car was suffocating.
Dominic suddenly spoke, his voice as cold as ice. “From now on, you will be the Andrews Family’s nanny, a servant. You will serve me for the rest of your life to atone for your sins.”
A sharp bitterness welled up in my nose. I silently vowed to save money and leave once I had enough. My mother was unreliable and the Andrews Family was even less reliable.
Only by leaving the country could I completely escape everything. After arriving at the Andrews Family’s house, Dominic pointed toward the backyard. “You’ll live in the utility room. Clean up and we’ll be there.”
I said yes and turned to leave when I suddenly heard the sound of something heavy falling behind me. I turned around and saw Dominic collapsed to the ground.
I rushed over to help him. He leaned against my chest, gasping weakly. “The heart pills are in my pocket…”
I hurriedly dug out the medicine bottle, poured out two pills and then brought him some warm water to feed him. It took a long time for him to recover.
The disgust in his eyes returned. He pushed me away, saying, “Don’t think helping me will change anything. I’ll never forget my sister’s death. If I could go back in time, I’d rather have you vanish from Asterum forever.”
My eyes darkened and my throat tightened. When they brought people to forcibly remove my kidney, I explained over and over again that I wasn’t the murderer of his sister. But none of them believed me.
In the end, I knew it was pointless to explain, so I stood up silently without saying anything, turning around and heading for the backyard utility room.
Pushing the door open, a musty smell hit me. In the corner, jumbled items lay scattered, with only a shabby little bed. I sighed, found a cloth and slowly wiped the bed.
Just as I finished cleaning up, my phone rang. It was Mom. “Where the hell have you been? Get back here now! Otherwise, when we find you, you’ll be in big trouble, a hundred times worse off than you are now!”
Raymond chimed in, “How can you be so selfish? Don’t you know Melody won’t last much longer?”
Listening to these words, the last vestiges of hope in my heart vanished. “I told you long ago I’d never give her a kidney. Also, we’ve severed our relationship. From today on, I have nothing to do with you.”
With that, I hung up and blacklisted their numbers. Just as I put down my phone, Dominic’s voice rang from the doorway. “There’s a drinking party coming up soon. Come with me and take the drinks for me.”
I froze for a moment, then quickly shook my head. “I can’t drink too much. I can’t hold my liquor.”
He said nothing and just stared coldly at me. The pressure in that look was overwhelming. I swallowed the words that were on the tip of my tongue and could only nod in agreement.
At the party, people kept toasting Dominic. I could only pick up my glass and take the drinks for him.
My stomach started to churn. Finally, I couldn’t stand still and held onto the table, wanting to vomit.
On seeing this, Dominic frowned and said impatiently, “Go to the bathroom and clean up. Don’t embarrass me here.”
I ran to the bathroom like I was escaping, vomiting for a long time before I recovered. When I returned, the party had already ended.
Dominic was leaning back on the sofa, reeking of alcohol. I didn’t dare ask any more questions, so I just followed him into the car.
The driver suddenly exclaimed, “Mr. Andrews, have you been drinking? You’re severely allergic to alcohol, haven’t you? You almost had an accident last time!”
Dominic closed his eyes and said weakly, “It’s okay, I won’t die.”
I sat in the back seat, feeling a mixture of emotions. Seeing him in pain, I felt bad.
Back at the Andrews Family’s house, I sneaked into the kitchen, found some rice and slowly cooked a small bowl of porridge.
When I knocked on his door, carrying the porridge, Dominic’s face remained grim. He saw the porridge in my hand and wanted to scold me for meddling.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, a knot in his stomach twisted. He could only shut his mouth coldly.
I placed the porridge on the bedside table and whispered, “Drinking some porridge will make you feel better.”
He remained silent for a few seconds. But then he picked up the porridge and slowly drank it.
After he finished drinking, I was about to clear the bowl and leave when he suddenly said, “You don’t have to live in the utility room anymore. Move into the nanny’s room tomorrow.”
I froze in my tracks and looked back at him. He had already closed his eyes. “Don’t overthink it. It’s just that the utility room isn’t convenient for me to use you.”
I said nothing, curling my lips in self-mockery. That was right, how could someone like him be so soft-hearted towards me so easily?
The next morning, I carried my luggage to the nanny’s room. As soon as I finished packing, Dominic arrived. “Clean the entire Andrews Family’s residence today. We have guests coming tonight, so don’t make any mistakes.”
A bad feeling suddenly washed over me. I picked up a rag and began wiping the first-floor living room.
The Andrews Family’s residence was enormous, with countless ornaments, each one precious. I wiped with extreme caution, fearing even the slightest mistake.
But the more I feared something, the more likely it would happen. While cleaning the second-floor study, the stool under my feet suddenly shook. Then, the vase beside me fell to the ground and shattered.
“Who told you to touch that?” Dominic quickly rushed over.
Looking at the shards on the floor, he raised his hand and slapped me hard. “This is my sister’s favorite vase!”
He stared at me, his eyes filled with cold hatred. “Kneel on the broken pieces for half an hour and admit your mistake. Only when it hurts enough will you learn your lesson and stop being so careless in the future.”
My face instantly turned pale and my whole body trembled. But I knew I had no room to refuse.
I gritted my teeth and slowly knelt down. The sharp porcelain shards instantly pierced the skin of my knee.
Blood oozed from the broken pieces, staining the floor red. A complex emotion flashed across Dominic’s eyes.
But the next moment, his expression returned to indifference and he turned away. “This is the price you should pay.”
The wound on my knee was getting more and more painful and I was bleeding profusely. I could barely hold on and I had to cling to the table leg to keep from falling.
After half an hour, I struggled to stand, holding onto the wall. Dominic frowned at the sight of the blood on my knee.
He pulled a check for 1,400 dollars from his wallet and tossed it in front of me. “Go to the hospital and get it treated. Don’t bring bad luck to my house.”
I bent down to pick up the check and returned to the nanny’s room. Then I wiped the blood off my leg with warm water and applied iodine to the wound.
I couldn’t bear to spend these 1,400 dollars. It would bring me one step closer to my goal of studying abroad.
That evening, Dominic’s guests arrived. There were a few of his wealthy friends. When they saw me, they were surprised.
“Dominic, don’t you never allow other women in your house? What’s going on?”
Dominic sat in the middle of the sofa and said calmly, “This is my nanny. She’s the one who killed my sister.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the faces of the others changed instantly. Their eyes were filled with hostility.
One of them spoke first, his tone frivolous. “So it’s you? Since you’re here to atone, you should act like one. Kneel down and bark like a dog. 1,400 dollars for each sound. How about that?”
I dug my nails into my palm. Only then did I realize that Dominic had sent them here specifically to humiliate me.
I could only slowly kneel down, letting out a tight cry. Their laughter echoed from the living room.
Another one continued, “Screaming isn’t enough. How about having her slap herself? 1,400 dollars for each sound, ten times.”
I raised my hand and slapped myself hard. My cheek instantly swelled. One, two… until the tenth. My face was numb and the corners of my mouth were bruised and bleeding.
Still unsatisfied, they pointed to the glass fish tank in the corner. “Go in there and hold your breath for three minutes and we’ll persuade Dominic to let you go. How about that?”
A faint glimmer of hope ignited in my heart. Even though I knew it might be fake, I wanted to try.
I walked over to the fish tank. But as soon as I jumped in, they slammed the lid shut. The water instantly covered my head.
I struggled in the water, desperately slapping the sides of the tank. I tried to call Dominic for help. But all I got was their laughter.
Slowly, my consciousness began to fade. Just as I was about to faint, Dominic finally spoke, his tone nonchalant. “That’s enough! I haven’t had enough fun yet. Don’t let her get killed.”
His friend then reluctantly opened the lid. Dominic reached out and pulled me out of the tank.
I was soaking wet, my vision went black and I passed out completely. When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in the hospital. The room was quiet. Dominic wasn’t there.
Standing by the bed was the person I least wanted to see, Raymond. He looked at me with disgust and sarcastically said, “It’s a good thing I installed the location on your phone; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to find you. Kendall, I never thought you’d hook up with Dominic. Have you forgotten you’re my fiancée?”
I looked at him, a chill running down my spine. When I was brought to Asterum, Raymond was the only one who treated me well. He’d bring me candy and listen to me.
But ever since we got engaged, Melody had always acted pitiful in front of him, accusing me of bullying her. Over time, Raymond began to dislike me and became increasingly cold towards me.
“I’m no longer a member of the Conner Family,” I said, my voice hoarse and cold. “Of course, the engagement doesn’t count. But you’re stalking me, aren’t you afraid I’ll call the police?”
Raymond sneered, “What’s the point of calling the police? I didn’t come to you to waste time on such nonsense. Come back with me now and get Melody a kidney.”
He was about to grab my hand. But he saw the dense wounds covering my body. He was stunned for a moment. “I just asked you to give Melody a kidney transplant. You really don’t want to? Why do you have to go to Dominic and suffer like this?”
As if he had figured something out, his face darkened. “Deep down, you just don’t want Melody to get better, right?”
I looked at him, suddenly finding it ridiculous. “I only have one kidney left. If I donate it, I’ll die.”
But Raymond didn’t believe it. He grabbed my wrist with such force that it hurt. “Stop pretending to be pathetic. Come with me now!” Then he forcibly dragged me out of the ward.
Back at the other hospital, I saw my mother holding Melody. Melody leaned in her arms, a smug smile on her face.
“Mom, Raymond really brought Kendall back. The surgery can begin. When I’m better, you’ll keep all your promises!”
My mother nodded quickly, her eyes red. “My dear daughter, there’s hope! The kidney transplant must be done now. There can’t be a moment’s delay.”
Everyone gathered around Melody, asking about her well-being. They were happy that she could have the surgery. But no one asked if it hurt or if I was okay.
Raymond wheeled me toward the ambulance at the door. My face was ashen and I didn’t even have the energy to resist.
“Is this necessary?”
Raymond walked beside me, frowning. “It’s just a minor surgery. When you get out, I’ll marry you and won’t let you suffer anymore.”
I looked at him, my heart aching. He didn’t know that I had long since given up on him. I even hoped that this surgery would bring me complete relief.
The anesthetic injection began to take effect. I closed my eyes, my consciousness gradually fading.
I thought that if I died like this, perhaps it would be a relief. In my next life, I didn’t want to meet any of these people again…
That night, Dominic called his assistant, “Where’s that woman, Kendall? I asked you to pick her up, but she hasn’t come back yet.”
For some reason, he felt a wave of panic today. It was as if something most important was slipping away from him.
The next second, the assistant’s trembling voice rang out. “Mr. Andrews, Miss Conner was forcibly taken away for a kidney transplant. She’s no longer with us…”
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