Maya’s Story 1
When I woke up again, I found myself strapped to an operating table.
The surgical lights were cold and harsh, and I could hear a familiar voice echoing in my ears.
“Clay, are you out of your mind? You’re not even waiting for a bone marrow match–you’re just going to secretly take Maya’s marrow and give it to Riley?”
That was Zane, my fiancé Clay’s childhood friend. He was a doctor.
“There’s no other way. Riley’s leukemia can’t wait,” Clay’s voice was chillingly calm.“Only Maya’s a match.”
“And Maya… I’ll make it up to her. Isn’t it her wish for me to marry her? After the donation, I’ll
her and take care of her for the rest of her life.”
marry
With a thud, Zane punched Clay in the gut, roaring, “What’s the point of your compensation if she loses her bone marrow? I don’t get it–what the hell did Riley do to you? Back in that car accident, you lost your legs and your inheritance saving her, and she just ran off with another
man!”
“Now she sees you back and comes crawling back. When she found out Maya was pregnant with your child, she threw a fit, and you let her slip abortion drugs to Maya, killing your child. Maya still thinks she lost the baby because she didn’t protect it well enough–she’s been depressed ever
since!”
“And now, you’re going to take her bone marrow for Riley?!”
“Enough!” Clay snapped, his voice sharp as a whip. “I know Maya loves me, loves me enough to give everything. And Riley is selfish and vain. But I love Riley. I love her like I’ve lost my damn mind!”
“And Maya? What about her?”
“She’s nothing! My mind’s made up. No one’s changing it. I’m taking Maya’s bone marrow, no matter what!” A cold glint flashed in Clay’s eyes.
“If you can’t do it, I’ll do it myself!”
The next thing I knew was the needle piercing my marrow.
The anesthesiologist clearly underestimated my resistance the pain shot through me like a thousand knives, making me bite down so hard I nearly shattered my teeth.
But the physical agony was nothing compared to the gut–wrenching, agonizing pain in my
heart.
Ten years of companionship, ten years of devotion, and this is how it ended–my lover drugging. me to steal my bone marrow for his first love.
I’d loved Clay for ten years.
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< Maya’s Story 1
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I first met Clay when I was fifteen, cornered by a gang of thugs in an alley. He was my knight in shining armor, my savior from the darkness.
From that moment, he was my light, my god.
But I never confessed my feelings—
–not just because he was brilliant, handsome, and from a family way out of my league, but also because he only ever had eyes for his childhood sweetheart–Riley.
Then, when he was seventeen, he lost his legs in a car accident saving her.
After that, Riley vanished from his life, even finding a new boyfriend.
Clay’s parents, consumed by their careers, had little time for their crippled son.
It was during his darkest days that I stepped in. I cared for him day and night, putting up with his moods, his anger, getting knocked down and bruised without a word of complaint.
I used myself as a guinea pig for his experimental medication, my legs covered in needle marks.
I begged doctors on my knees for a month, hoping for a miracle.
I thought, maybe one day, he’d see my devotion, my love.
But…
To him, I was nothing..
Ten years!
No matter what we went through, he only ever loved Riley.
Because of Riley’s words, he cruelly ended our child!
Because Riley needed bone marrow, he stole it from me, without a second thought.
I didn’t know how long it was before I felt something being ripped from inside me–my bone marrow, and every last shred of love I had for him.
When I woke up again, the smell of disinfectant burned my eyes, and tears streamed down my face.
“You’re awake?”
A deep male voice came from the doorway. I froze, slowly lifting my gaze.
Clay stood there, backlit, his tall figure silhouetted against the light.
He walked toward me, his black trousers molding to his long legs, each step like a stomp on my heart. He sat beside the bed, reached out to touch my face, frowning slightly.
“Does it hurt?”
As his thumb brushed away a tear, I tasted blood in my mouth. I’d bitten through my lip, crushed ten years of longing.
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< Maya’s Story 1
How could he so calmly ask if I was in pain? How could he, after stealing my bone marrow and ending our child’s life, sit here, so unconcerned, looking at me with that concerned expression?
“What…what happened?” My voice was hoarse, barely recognizable.
Clay didn’t even flinch, just said softly, “You had a bone marrow disorder. We performed a procedure.”
Bone marrow disorder?
I laughed, tears streaming down my face. Just like when I lost the baby–he couldn’t even bother to come up with a decent lie.
Seeing my tears, he didn’t seem to notice anything amiss. Thinking I was just in pain, he hurried to find a doctor, and then, he left.
He never came back.
Three hours later, a nurse came in to change my dressing, her hushed whispers drifting to my
cars:
“Mr. Sterling really dotes on Ms. Ford. He stayed up all night, and just now, and when she woke up and wanted the spaghetti from the south side, he drove out in the pouring rain to get it for her…”
Hearing that, I couldn’t hold back anymore. The tears came again.
So that was why he didn’t come back.
I was just a replacement for Riley, a bone marrow donor on standby.
He was so certain of my love, so sure I wouldn’t even get mad, so he didn’t bother to explain a thing.
Clay, was I some kind of pathetic fool?
How dare he assume my love for him was bottomless?
I stared out the window, my tears finally dried..
After a while, the nurse left, and I pulled out my phone, dialing a number.
I took a deep breath, my voice soft but clear.
“Ethan, will you marry me?”
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