He Wanted My Bone Marrow. I Took His Whole Life.

When Ryan Sterling pursued me, he knelt outside my house for an entire night.

The heavy rain drenched him, and the next day, he was rushed to the hospital with a raging fever of 104 degrees, still calling my name.

Everyone in our elite circle told me, Olivia Hayes, youll never find another man who loves you this much.

Until he returned from volunteering in a disaster zone, bringing with him a timid female volunteer.

The girl cried, claiming that Ryan had contracted a rare blood disease in the disaster zone, and only a bone marrow match from his spouse could save his life.

Ryan grasped my hand, his eyes red as he pleaded, "Ellie, save me."

I didnt say anything, just smiled at him.

Hed had a full physical last month. His physique was better than a professional athlete's; he didnt even have mild anemia.

I took the consent form and signed it right in front of him.

The wild joy in his eyes hadn't even fully faded when I slowly added,

"Ryan Sterling, you'd better pray you actually survive with my bone marrow."

"Otherwise, I'll show you what it means to wish you were dead."

**Chapter 1**

In the living room, a humidifier puffed white mist.

Ryan sat on the sofa, clutching the bone marrow consent form.

His shirt cuffs were still stained with mud from the disaster zone, his face pale, looking as if he might collapse at any moment.

Only his gaze towards me held a plea that was impossible to refuse.

"Ellie, the doctor said this disease makes you wish you were dead when it flares up. The pain is unbearable..."

He pulled up his sleeve, and indeed, his arm was covered in crisscrossing dark purple marks, a truly shocking sight.

Sitting next to him was Chloe Davis, the volunteer hed brought back from the disaster zone.

Chloe wore a simple, plain dress with a small white flower clipped in her hair. Tears welled in her eyes as she called out to me with a choked voice.

"Ms. Hayes, Ryan contracted this illness saving people in the disaster zone. Even though I've studied medicine, this disease is too dangerous; only a spouse's bone marrow match can save him. If you don't agree, Ryan... he might not make it through the month!"

With that, she made to kneel before me.

Ryan, quick-witted, grabbed her arm, his voice a pained growl.

"Chloe! What are you doing! If anything happened to you, what would be the point of me living!"

The words had barely left his lips when Ryan seemed to realize he'd let something slip. He snapped his head up to look at me, his eyes darting away.

"Ellie, I didn't mean it like that... Chloe has been taking care of me all this time, I just see her as a sister. You're the only one in my heart."

I sat on the single armchair opposite them, looking down at this 'tragic' pair of lovers.

Bone marrow match?

I had congenital anemia, and my family had spent a fortune to finally bring some color back to my cheeks.

Taking my bone marrow would cost me my life. Didn't Ryan know that? He knew better than anyone.

I played with the Cartier bracelet on my wrist, making it clink softly.

"If she's just a sister, why all the hugging?" My voice was calm, betraying no emotion.

Ryan's hand recoiled as if burned, instantly letting go of Chloe.

Chloe stumbled, falling onto the carpet, looking delicate and boneless. But a flicker of venom flashed in her eyes.

"Ellie, believe me. I'm really dying." Ryan slid off the sofa, trying to grab my hand.

I subtly shifted, avoiding his touch.

"Leave the consent form. I'm tired."

Ryan froze, looking at me in disbelief. "Ellie, you won't save me?"

"I said, leave it." I looked at him coldly.

Ryan gritted his teeth, placed the consent form on the coffee table, and gave me a deep look. "Then get some rest, I'll come back tomorrow."

Late at night.

I stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the crabapple tree Ryan had personally planted for me in the yard.

Years ago, to pursue me, he knelt in a downpour all night, falling into a coma from a high fever and being sent to the ICU.

He pleaded with my father on his knees, his forehead practically raw from bowing, just asking my father to let him be with me.

He said, "Sir, I'll be Ellie's bodyguard my entire life. I'll never leave her, not even in death."

Back then, I believed him.

"Ms. Hayes." Liam, my assistant, quietly pushed open the study door and placed a stack of documents on the desk.

"Did you find out?"

Liam opened the file. "Yes. The marks on Ryan's arm aren't from an illness; they were drawn on with a chemical agent called 'Uracil Toxin.' The situation in the disaster zone was also brought under control long ago. For the past two weeks, he and Chloe have actually been staying at a nearby resort."

**Chapter 2**

I took the documents, flipping through them page by page.

"And what else?"

Liam lowered his voice. "Chloe isn't a volunteer. She and Ryan were college classmates and his first love. They were together before he even met you."

I scoffed, tossing the documents onto the table.

"A fine 'first love,' a fine 'bone marrow match'."

It wasn't my bone marrow they wanted.

They wanted me to gradually weaken on the operating table from blood loss and complications, eventually dying "legitimately" from a post-operative infection.

That way, Ryan could, as the grieving fianc, smoothly inherit everything from the Hayes family,

and then marry his first love.

"Ms. Hayes, should I send someone tonight to..." Liam's hand rested on his phone screen, his gaze as cold as a knife.

"No." I turned around, my eyes utterly freezing.

"Taking action now would be too easy for him. Since he likes to act, I'll play a good show with him."

"I want him to watch everything he owns turn to dust, little by little. I want him to kneel on the ground, unable to live, unable to die."

The next morning, I had Ryan called to the study.

When he arrived, his face was even paler than yesterday, his steps faltering. He had to lean on the doorframe to stand steady.

"Ellie..." he called my name weakly.

I sat behind the desk, a document laid out before me, my face equally pale.

"Ryan, I thought all night yesterday. We've been together so many years, how could I watch you die?"

Ryan suddenly looked up, his eyes exploding with wild joy, which he then tried desperately to suppress.

"Ellie, you agreed? But your health..."

I gave a bitter smile. "My health isn't great to begin with. If I can use this life to let you live, it's worth it. It's just that Chloe said bone marrow transplants have high risks; a slight mishap could cause an accident."

"No, it won't!" Ryan urgently rounded the desk. "Chloe studied medicine, she'll make sure you're safe!"

"Is that so?" I looked at him steadily. "You trust her that much?"

Ryan's eyes flickered, and he quickly explained.

"She was a top student at medical school, of course I trust her. Ellie, I just want to live so badly, I want to stay with you."

I lowered my eyelids, hiding the mockery in my eyes.

"Alright. In that case, go call her. I'll sign."

Ryan trembled with excitement, turning to run out, almost tripping on the threshold.

Less than twenty minutes later, he rushed back with Chloe.

Chloe carried a medical kit, unable to hide the smile on her lips.

"Ms. Hayes, your generosity is truly great. I thank you on Ryan's behalf."

I looked at her, speaking calmly. "Chloe, how exactly does this bone marrow transplant work?"

Chloe opened the medical kit, pulled out a surgical consent form, her eyes glinting.

"It only requires a small procedure in the operating room, just to extract a small amount of bone marrow.

Ms. Hayes, rest assured, you won't feel anything after the general anesthesia."

"Wait a moment."

I raised a hand, and Liam walked in from outside, holding two cups. One of water, one of milk.

"Chloe, since you're a medical professional, you wouldn't mind tasting this milk for me, would you?

My nutritionist just sent it. I'm afraid I might be lactose intolerant, so could you try it?"

Chloe's face changed, and she instinctively looked at Ryan.

Ryan was also stunned. "Ellie, what do you mean?"

I looked at them with a half-smile. "What? Chloe, you don't even dare to drink a cup of milk? Could it be that there's something in it?"

Chloe forced herself to be calm. "Ms. Hayes, you're joking. I'll drink it."

She picked up the milk cup, closed her eyes, and drank it all in one gulp.

However, as soon as the milk went down, her face instantly turned deathly pale. She clutched her stomach and writhed on the floor in agony.

"Ah! It hurts so much! Ryan, help me!"