Bone Marrow for the Woman Who Stole My Husbands

My former best friend, Scarlett Vance, whom I hadn't spoken to in ten years, suddenly sent me a friend request on Snapchat.

[I was wrong back then. I shouldn't have stolen Logan from you, and I shouldn't have hidden your Harvard acceptance letter.]

[I was out of my mind. I was just so jealous of you. You had everything, and even the guy I secretly liked was in love with you.]

[I don't know how you're doing now, but I owe you an apology. I'm sorry.]

At the same exact time, a FaceTime call request from my husband, Ethan Carter, popped up.

"Scarlett has leukemia, Nora. She needs a bone marrow transplant, and you're a match. For the sake of our five years of marriage, please help her."

Ethan pleaded with me when he got home.

"I ran the tests. Only your marrow matches hers."

"Scarlett is an orphan, Nora. She doesn't have a family like you do. You're not just going to watch her die, are you?"

I suppressed the storm of emotions swirling inside me and stared at him.

"Why you? Why are you doing this too..."

He gave a faint, gentle smile and casually stroked my hair.

"Because Scarlett is the one I love."

"My sweet, naive girl. I've been cheating on you with her for three years. Did you really not notice?"

I didn't even have time to process his words.

Ethan looked at me with that familiar, doting gaze and tapped my phone screen, accepting Scarlett's friend request on my behalf.

I stared at him in disbelief. I couldn't believe this was the man I had been married to for five years.

"Do you even know what Scarlett did to me in the past?" I demanded, my voice trembling.

He looked down at his phone.

On his screen, a chat bubble from Scarlett lit up. A subconscious smile played on his lips.

"Of course I know."

"But don't worry, you're still my wife."

"You're not losing anything, Nora. Except for my love, you still have everything else."

The glass in my hand shattered on the floor. Ethan walked over, scooped me up effortlessly, and placed me on the sofa.

My vision blurred as tears fell uncontrollably.

"So both of you... both of my husbands... are doing this to me for her?"

He knelt beside the sofa, looking up at me. He gently wiped the tears from my cheeks with his thumb.

"Don't cry. Don't make a big deal out of a little bone marrow. You'll recover after a few months of rest."

I slapped his hand away.

He paused, then stood up, his face darkening with annoyance.

"I'll just be direct with you. Scarlett is pregnant with my baby."

"You know how desperately I've wanted a child."

"Scarlett's condition is critical right now. I need you to save her."

Pregnant?

My hand instinctively went to my lower stomach.

Just this morning, I had sat in the bathroom for an hour, staring at the two pink lines on the pregnancy test.

I had imagined a million ways to tell him.

Would he be happy? Would he pick me up and spin me around?

I had even booked a reservation at his favorite steakhouse for tonight.

But in the end...

Scarlett was pregnant with his child.

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

Scarlett sent another message:

[I'm sorry, Nora. I know nothing I say can make up for it.]

[But I really can't wait anymore. Please, save my baby.]

The glare of the phone screen pierced my eyes.

Her message sat there silently.

Ten years.

I thought this name had completely vanished from my life.

I shouldn't have stolen Logan from you, and I shouldn't have hidden your Harvard acceptance letter.

I stared at those words, my fingertips shaking.

That summer, with my perfect SAT score, I had only applied to Harvard.

But as the summer ended, my acceptance letter never arrived.

By then, only a local state college would take me.

I cried for weeks, thinking I just wasn't good enough, and ended up going to that mediocre college.

My boyfriend at the time, Logan Bennett, went to the same college to comfort me.

We eventually got married. But seven years later, Scarlett got pregnant with his child.

I had a breakdown, got a divorce, and cut Scarlett out of my life completely.

And now, history was repeating itself.

Ethan continued, his voice cold.

"She's never been loved since she was a kid. I'm just doing the right thing. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Nora, you'll help her, right?"

For a second, I wanted to tell him that I was pregnant too.

I wanted to see his reaction.

But his phone screen was still lit up, displaying a lock screen photo of him and Scarlett laughing together.

I finally nodded.

"Okay."

He was stunned for a moment, then smiled and patted my head.

"I knew you'd agree. You've always been so sensible."

Yes, I had always been sensible.

So sensible that I had let Scarlett take Logan, and now, I was letting her take Ethan too.

I thought I would never cross paths with them again.

But fate loved to play sick jokes.

When I went to the clinic to get an abortion.

I ran into Logan and Ethan, both of them accompanying Scarlett for her prenatal checkup.

My brain went completely numb. I instinctively took a step back.

The three of them looked up at the same time and saw me.

Instinctively, both men stepped in front of Scarlett, shielding her behind their backs.

Seeing this, a bitter pang of grief shot through my chest.

Ultimately, it was Scarlett who broke the silence.

"Nora? Long time no see."

She stood up, and Logan immediately reached out to support her waist.

"What are you doing here? Are you feeling sick?" she asked.

I didn't say a word.

She smiled, her eyes drifting from my face down to the medical consent form crumpled in my hand.

"Nora, I've wanted to apologize to you in person for all these years."

Her eyes welled with tears, her voice trembling.

"What happened back then was all my fault. I was too young, too jealous of you. You had a good family, perfect gradesyou were always the chosen one."

She paused, looking down, her eyelashes fluttering.

"Do you know how it feels to watch someone else's happiness from the gutters? I envied you so much. So when you actively tried to be my friend, I didn't know what to feel."

She looked up, her eyes red.

"I felt resentful. Why did you have everything and still get to play the savior to me? So, I wanted to take everything from you."

Ethan frowned, throwing a brief glance at the surgical form in my hand. He took off his coat and draped it over Scarlett's shoulders.

"Don't talk about the past. Your health comes first."

She gently pushed Ethan away and stepped closer, whispering in my ear.

"But things are different now."

"Nora Miller, no matter how perfect you are, you always end up abandoned."

"I'm so sorry, but I've stolen your husband again."

Then she stepped back, her voice laced with tears.

"Nora, I'm so sorry. Please don't blame Ethan. It's all my fault."

I couldn't stand her pathetic act anymore.

Before I realized what I was doing, my hand pushed her shoulder. Scarlett's body toppled backward.

She clutched her stomach.

"It hurts!"

Logan and Ethan immediately shoved me to the floor, rushing toward Scarlett without a backward glance.

I hit the hard floor, a sharp pain shooting through my wrist.

"Scarlett!"

"Call a doctor! Logan, go get a doctor!"

Nurses rushed over with a gurney.

They lifted Scarlett onto it. Ethan held her hand tightly, running alongside the gurney.

Then, his leather shoes stopped right in front of me.

"I warned you."

"Her body can't handle any accidents."

He knelt down and grabbed my wrist. His grip was so tight my bones ached.

"If anything happens to my baby, you'll pay for it."

I looked up into his eyes.

They were filled with absolute hatred.

I couldn't see a single trace of the man who used to love me.

Scarlett miscarried.

Ethan stood against the hospital wall, his hands buried in his hair.

Logan sat on the other side, his eyes bloodshot.

Both of their hearts belonged to Scarlett.

But I didn't need their love anymore.

My wrist was still throbbing, and my palm was scraped raw from the fall.

Neither of them asked if I was okay. They just stared at me.

"Are you happy now?" Ethan hissed.

"She was the one who"

Before I could finish, a sharp slap stung my face.

My ears rang.

My head whipped to the side, the taste of blood filling my mouth. I stared at him in utter disbelief.

Ethan's hand froze in mid-air. It took him a long moment to realize what he had done. He suddenly lunged forward and hugged me tight.

"Nora, I'm sorry."

Just then, Scarlett's door opened, and she stood there watching us.

Ethan pulled away, adjusting his collar as if nothing had happened.

"Nora, go home and wait for me."

"I'll explain everything once I handle things here."

He turned and walked away.

Logan glared at me before following him into the room.

Why did they treat me like this?

Ethan, you used to love me the most.

On the day I divorced Logan, a crowd of people had gathered to watch the drama.

Scarlett had clung to Logan's arm, her belly slightly showing.

"Look at yourself, Nora. Do you really think you're worthy of me?" Logan had sneered.

People were filming us on their phones.

I stood there, wanting to scream that they were wrong.

They were the ones who cheated.

But my throat locked up, and my whole body shook.

Then, a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the crowd.

Ethan stood in front of me, shielding me from Logan and Scarlett.

He wiped my tears, his brow furrowed with pure anger toward them.

"They aren't worth your tears."

"Never cry for them again."

He hated Logan, he hated Scarlett, and he hated anyone who made me cry.

He took off his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders.

It was big enough to wrap around my entire body.

"Come on. I'm taking you home."

I had just miscarried back then too.

It was Logan's baby.

On the day I found out he was cheating, I fell down the stairs.

The baby was gone.

While Logan and Scarlett were making out in front of the hospital, I was signing the surgery consent form alone in my hospital bed.

No one came to pick me up when I was discharged.

I sat on the hospital steps alone, scrolling through my contacts, not knowing who to call.

Finally, I dialed Ethan.

He was my senior in college, but we rarely spoke after graduation.

The phone rang for a long time before he picked up.

"Ethan."

"Can you... can you come pick me up?"

He didn't hesitate.

"Where are you?"

Twenty minutes later, his car pulled up.

When I got in, he looked at me and said, "From now on, if anything happens, call me first."

After that, he pursued me for a year.

He drove me to work every day.

He took me to different restaurants every weekend.

When I worked late, he would park his car downstairs and wait.

"As soon as you walk out, you'll see my headlights," he said. "You'll never feel alone."

"I will be your most loyal partner. I will never let you suffer."

During that time, he was there every single second.

He would call me to soothe my insomnia.

When Logan and Scarlett posted photos of their happily-ever-after on Instagram, Ethan took my phone and blocked them both.

"Don't look at garbage. It hurts your eyes."

So when he knelt on one knee and slid the ring onto my finger, I didn't hesitate.

I thought, maybe God didn't entirely abandon me.

Only now did I realize that our five-year marriage was a complete joke.

On the day Scarlett was discharged, Ethan came home.

He sat across from me, silent for a long time before finally speaking.

"Why did you push her?"

"Did you do it on purpose?"

He stood up, walked over, and looked down at me.

"Nora, you owe me a child. You have to pay me back."

I looked at him, a dull ache spreading through my chest.

"Is this the explanation you promised me?"

"Fine. How do you want me to pay you back?"

He reached out, gently stroking my hair.

"You still have your bone marrow."

"Save Scarlett first. Once you recover..."

"You can have my baby."

Whenever I was sad, he would stroke my hair like this.

Now, as he did the exact same gesture, a wave of intense nausea washed over me.

"Ethan, Scarlett ruined my life!"

He cut me off.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that I love her."

He paused, a faint smile actually appearing on his lips.

"Do you think it was a coincidence that I showed up to rescue you five years ago?"

I froze.

"It wasn't a coincidence."

"I've always loved Scarlett. Since college."

"But she only had eyes for Logan."

He knelt down, leveling his gaze with mine.

"Do you know how long I waited?"

"I waited until she was with Logan. I waited until they wrecked your marriage. I waited until she finally came to me."

"Every single day of our five years together, I was thinking of her."

He paused, as if reminiscing about something beautiful.

"You thought I was saving you."

"I was just biding my time."

I bit my lip so hard it bled, but my tears kept falling.

He stood up.

"I've already arranged the bone marrow transplant with the hospital."

He walked to the door to change his shoes.

"By the way."

"Don't think about running. And don't think about suing me."

"You know what I'm capable of."

Sitting in the darkness, I finally dialed a number.

"Robert."

"Draft a divorce agreement for me."

The next day, Ethan took me to the hospital.

He made me check in early for pre-op testing.

He packed my hospital bag with practiced ease.

But he said he wouldn't stay with me because he had to look after Scarlett.

"She's terrified of pain. She needs someone by her side before her procedure."

My phone buzzed. A message from Scarlett.

[Nora, thank you for donating your marrow to me.]

[I'll take good care of Ethan for you.]

[Consider it my way of paying you back.]

[To be honest, I don't really envy you anymore. After all, everything you ever owned now belongs to me.]

[Oh, I saw your surgical slip the other day. You're pregnant, aren't you? What a pity. You won't be able to keep this baby.]

I deleted the message.

The next day, right after the bone marrow donation, I went straight to the operating room for my abortion.

By the time the nurses found me, I was hemorrhaging.

Emergency resuscitation.

Blood transfusions.

The rapid, frantic beeping of the heart monitor filled the room.

Ethan was waiting outside Scarlett's transplant room when his phone rang.

It was a nurse.

She told him his wife was in critical condition from a massive hemorrhage.

But he just hung up, assuming it was nothing serious.

When Scarlett was wheeled out of the operating room, Ethan held her hand.

She was pale, her lips dry.

He leaned down to kiss the back of her hand.

"It's over."

"We can finally be together."

Scarlett offered a weak smile. "Where's Nora?"

Ethan glanced at his phone.

Suddenly, he stood up.

"I need to make a call."

He walked to the end of the hallway and dialed the hospital's internal line.

"My wife..."

"Mr. Carter," the nurse's voice was frantic. "Your wife is in the ICU. She's not out of danger yet."

"She went straight to get an abortion right after donating her marrow! She is in extreme danger right now!"