Left To Bleed

"What's going on here, Damien?" I asked, my mind racing to find a logical explanation for why my husband was in the hospital with my sister, the same hospital where I had been operated on without my consent. Did my sister have an accident? Was that why she was in the hospital as well? But if that was the case, why didn't my husband come to visit me if he was in the hospital, and instead left me tied up on the bed alone and afraid? Nothing was making sense to me.

"Yes, I asked the doctor to take one of your kidneys to save Sasha. Yours was the only one that matched, she was running out of time, so I had to make an impulsive decision to get you here without your knowledge."

"So Ethan hadn't been lying?" Despite my efforts to hold back tears, I could already feel the sting of tears in my eyes. "You really had me operated on without my permission?"

"It was to save your younger sister. Are you so heartless that you would rather see her die?!" The hatred in Damien's eyes made my heart clench painfully in my chest. Over the years, he had never looked at me like this, except when we were younger. Even though he hadn't expressed his love for me, I always assumed it was because he didn't like showing his affection through romantic gestures. I thought he was the kind to show his affection through gifts and cash, but now I didn't know what to think anymore.

"You had no right to do this to me! And the text message I received, did you send it? So all this time you've been having an affair with my sister behind my back!"

"And what if I have?" Damien had no remorse for me, not even the fact that we had spent 3 years of our lives together stopped him from breaking my heart. "Our marriage was merely a contract. I told you the moment you signed that I could never love you."

"Why did you do this to me?" I had tears in my eyes as I watched the man I had selflessly devoted myself to for 3 years holding my sister in his arms intimately. "What have I not done for you?"

"You were never the one I wanted, it has always been your sister. I love her, and I don't plan on ever letting her go. Don't make any trouble for us."

Damien turned around and walked away. The malicious look Sasha flashed at me before her brother-in-law took her away was the final straw. I broke down right there in the hospital and cried pitifully.

I thought of all I had sacrificed for my husband. My career, some of my genuine friends who truly cared about me, 3 years of my life all gone down the drain, simply because I had convinced myself that a marriage contract could lead to something more. In the end, I hadn't gotten anything out of the marriage except for a broken heart. Damien had warned me that he would never give me his heart. All I would ever get out of the marriage was monetary benefits. But I had been convinced that I would be able to make him fall in love with me. I was determined to make him see that I cared about him the most in this world and that I would go to hell and back to ensure he was happy. But he didn't feel the same way about me; he had been willing to put my life at risk to save my sister. He had never cared about me, not ever.

* * *

It rained heavily that day, and I spent nearly an hour under the downpour trying to get myself a taxi. Damien had sent a car to pick me up, but I'd rather die than take any favors from him. I was sure he was waiting for me at home with Sasha, just prepared to make fun of my predicament. I wouldn't let him add salt to my wound. I seriously couldn't believe I hadn't realized what a hypocrite my husband was until this very moment.

I was always making excuses for Damien in the past. When he hadn't showed up for our first anniversary, I had convinced all my friends that he was simply too busy with work to show up. After all, managing the affairs of a multi-million dollar company wasn't easy. I gave the same excuse when he hadn't showed up on my birthday or when he came late to our wedding. I always believed Damien could never do anything wrong. The love I had for him had blinded me so much that I was prepared to overlook his wrongdoings if it meant that I would always keep him by my side.

Now I was paying the heavy price of my foolishness. I had nowhere else to go other than my parents' house. The moment my mother opened the door and saw the miserable state I was in, she pulled me into an embrace. I was almost crying in my mother's arms, but her words made me feel cold all over.

"It wasn't your sister's fault, dear," my mother said earnestly. "You have to understand how sick she was. Only you could have saved her. Please don't be angry with her."

The little pieces of my heart I had managed to put together shattered once again. I pulled away from my mother's embrace, my eyes glazed over with pain and betrayal.

"You knew," the words felt bitter against my tongue. I saw the guilt in my mother's eyes, but I also saw the relief there. Relief that me being here meant the operation had been successful and that her favorite daughter was out of harm's way. "You saved your sister."

"Did you also know that Sasha was sleeping with my husband? Did you know that I was drugged and tied up to that damn hospital bed after my organ had been harvested?"

"You weren't supposed to find out this way. You need to understand, your sister never meant to hurt you."

"Then why did she take my husband away from me?!"

Mrs. Carter didn't know what to say. Perhaps she had been expecting her daughter to react differently to the news. she had foolishly assumed that I would be thrilled at being the one who saved my sister's life, I was probably never supposed to find out about the affair between my husband and sister right now, my mother wanted me to believe that my sister hadn't meant to hurt me. Bullshit!

The older woman tries to reach for me with the intention of comforting me, but I avoided my mother's touch completely. I walked past the woman and went straight to the living room where I knew my father would be. I wanted. . . no, I needed at least one of my family members to be on my side. I wanted someone to give me a shoulder to cry on.

" Dad, " I called out to the man. He was seated on the luxurious sofa with a glass of whisky in his hand. His gaze was cold when he turned to look at me