The Blood I Gave Him, The Love He Stole

My life was bought by renting out Charles Delgado.

I had a rare blood disease, and the only thing keeping me alive was a transfusion every month from my best friend, Eugenia Vance.

In return, she needed Charles to pretend to be her boyfriend, to hold off her mother's pressure to settle down and marry.

Charles agreed.

"As long as you give Summer Chase her transfusion on schedule every month, I'll help you."

Eugenia gripped my hand.

"Please, please. My mom's lined up more than twenty blind dates for me. I really can't take it anymore."

I was in no position to refuse. All I could do was nod.

For the next three years, on every single day Eugenia needed a boyfriend, Charles would leave me behind.

I watched the photos on Eugenia's social media, the two of them flaunting their love.

I watched them slip into easy affection in front of their parents.

The hurt went numb.

Until today, when Kay Vance issued her final ultimatum.

"Eugenia's already thirty. When exactly are you two getting married?"

Eugenia was about to refuse.

Charles spoke first.

"By the end of this month. Eugenia and I have already talked it over."

The next instant, the whole table erupted in delighted cheers.

Only I kept my face down over my bowl, not making a sound.

So it turned out this whole fake-couple act had only ever been my one-woman show.

I opened the surgery plan the doctor had sent me seven days earlier.

My eyes settled on the last line.

"The success rate for this procedure is only ten percent."

I typed back.

"I'll do it."

This time, I chose to leave it to fate.

...

Everyone at the table besides Charles and me was part of Eugenia's family.

They were all overjoyed about the happy occasion to come.

"Is one month enough time to plan a wedding?"

"Have you two settled the betrothal gift and the gold jewelry?"

The Vances chimed in one after another, fussing over the wedding.

Eugenia flushed, bashful.

Charles set a peeled shrimp into Eugenia's bowl, answering their questions as he went.

"The wedding planner and the venue are already booked."

"A hundred grams of gold jewelry. Eugenia's going to pick the styles herself."

"The betrothal gift is eight hundred eighty thousand. It's already in Eugenia's account."

His tone was easy, as if he'd had the answers ready for a long time.

I lifted my eyes to Charles.

His gaze rested on my face for a single beat, then he turned the osmanthus cake I loved toward me.

Eugenia noticed the gesture.

She passed me the shrimp she'd already peeled in her own bowl.

"Summer, you're not strong. Eat more."

Charles said nothing. He just picked the gloves back up to peel more shrimp for Eugenia.

Then Kay turned her head toward me.

"Summer, now that Eugenia's getting married, why don't I introduce you to someone too?"

Charles spoke up out of nowhere.

"She doesn't need that."

The moment the words left him, everyone wore a startled look.

Eugenia hurried to explain.

"What Charles means is that Summer's health is poor, so dating wouldn't suit her."

Realizing where he was, Charles quickly nodded.

"Right. That's what I meant."

I nodded along.

"Thank you, Mrs. Vance. I'm not planning to date anyone right now."

For these three years.

I had been waiting. Waiting for Charles to come back to my side.

I'd thought the act would end soon enough.

I never imagined the ending would be the two of them getting married.

Back in the car, I sat in the passenger seat, staring blankly at the seven characters in front of me: "Reserved for Miss Eugenia."

This had once read my name.

Two years ago.

Charles said he was going to meet Eugenia's parents and was afraid of giving the game away, so he'd swapped the sticker out for the time being.

After that, he never once mentioned switching it back.

I looked out the car window at the two of them saying goodbye to relatives.

Waiting for them to give me an explanation.

Eugenia climbed in first, pulling two red booklets from her purse and holding them out in front of me.

"Ta-da! Charles and I are married!"

I saw the two of them beaming in the photo.

A chill spread through me, and even breathing felt hard.

Charles got in after her and laughingly knocked down the hand holding up the marriage certificate.

"Stop teasing Summer. She's going to take you seriously."

He reached over and pinched my cheek.

"These two certificates are fake. They're just to fool people."

"Sorry I didn't tell you about the fake marriage ahead of time. The plan was, if Eugenia's parents didn't push for a wedding, we'd just let it slide."

"I just didn't expect them to make such a huge production of it this time."

"So we figured we'd throw a fake wedding. That way we can satisfy Eugenia's parents and mine both."

I frowned, not following.

"Your parents?"

Charles looked at me, his tone matter-of-fact.

"Summer, you know how it is. My parents really mind your illness."

"But they're willing to accept Eugenia."

Only then did I realize that he'd already taken Eugenia home to meet his parents behind my back.

As his real girlfriend.

But Charles had known about my illness from the moment we got together.

Back then he'd held me, his voice so earnest.

"Summer, don't worry. I'll make my parents accept you, no matter what."

"However hard it gets, I won't give up."

I believed him then.

But later my illness grew worse and worse.

I needed a monthly transfusion of the same rare blood type as mine.

Eugenia came back from overseas just to help me.

"Summer, don't be scared. From now on I'm staying in Harriston."

"However much blood you need, I'll give it to you."

I was moved by her words, and I took her for my closest friend.

With the man I loved and my best friend beside me.

No matter how much the treatment hurt, I was willing to keep going.

But now it seemed everything had changed.

The car started, and no one noticed how lost and heartsick I was.

Charles and Eugenia were busy discussing the details of their wedding.

"I want the whole venue covered in white roses."

"I've already picked out the dress, a mermaid cut. It suits my figure. It'll be gorgeous."

"And a champagne tower. I want a pink theme."

Eugenia waved her hands, giddy with excitement.

Charles watched her through the rearview mirror, an unconscious tenderness curling at the corner of his mouth.

I saw it. I said nothing.

Eugenia seemed to sense that I was unhappy.

She leaned forward to look at me in the passenger seat.

"Summer, I've picked out your bridesmaid dress too. It's the princess style you love."

"And the bouquet is your favorite, lily of the valley. When the time comes, I'll have Charles hand it to you himself."

Charles patted my hand.

"Summer, don't be sad. I'll give you a real wedding someday."

They both looked at me.

Like they were soothing a sulking child.

Once.

I would have been moved.

But now, looking at the matching couple's rings on Eugenia's and Charles's fingers.

It felt like something had clenched hard around my heart.

A sour ache crept along my veins, choking me until my chest felt tight with panic.

The ring on Eugenia's hand was mine.

She'd borrowed it and never given it back. And neither had she given him back.

Just as I sat there, dazed.

A runaway truck came barreling straight at us.

Charles threw one arm back to shove Eugenia behind the driver's seat, and with the other he wrenched the wheel hard to the left.

The big rig came barreling straight at my side of the car.

Then the crash of impact.

I squeezed my eyes shut in terror.

In my ear, Charles's frantic voice.

"Eugenia!"

The pain I braced for never came.

Slowly, I opened my eyes.

The truck had swerved and slammed into the guardrail along the roadside.

A hair's breadth from hitting us.

I stumbled out of the car.

Charles, finally coming back to himself, came running after me.

"Summer, are you all right?"

I opened my mouth to answer.

A hot stream came gushing out of my nose.

When I opened my eyes again, I was already lying in a hospital bed.

Charles was talking with the doctor.

"Can she skip the transfusion this time?"

"Eugenia's on her period. She's not well."

The doctor let out a long sigh.

"It's possible, but the patient would have to be managed with medication. She'd need to stay in the hospital for half a month."

Charles said that was fine.

I bit my lip and held back the tears.

They seemed to have forgotten.

Why we'd pretended to be a couple in the first place.

Charles walked over to the bed and took my hand.

"Summer, just stay here and take good care of yourself."

"Eugenia and I will be busy with the wedding for a while."

"The day you're discharged, I'll come pick you up."

His tone was so natural.

So natural that I was starting to feel unmoored.

As though he and Eugenia Vance were the real couple.

And I was just the outsider.

Before I could react.

Charles took a phone call and got up in a hurry to leave.

I saw the caller ID.

The contact name read "Sweetheart Eugenia."

My heart gave a sudden jolt, the sting of it almost real.

I watched his back as I asked.

"Can't you stay and keep me company?"

Charles's steps came to a halt.

He turned and looked at me.

"Summer, be good."

"I'll come see you once I'm done."

With that, he walked out without looking back.

I stared at the open door of the hospital room.

The tears I'd been holding back finally fell.

I couldn't hold on to him.

And I couldn't hold on to his heart.

Never mind.

The surgery required a long preoperative preparation.

This stretch of time was as good as any.

From that day on, Eugenia said it was to put my mind at ease, and so she reported the entire process of her and Charles's wedding prep to me.

I had just finished a blood draw and sat down when a message popped up on my phone.

"Summer, Charles looks so handsome in a suit. You have to see this."

In the photo, Charles was crouched down, slipping a high heel onto Eugenia's foot.

I was on my knees on the floor, vomiting from a drug reaction, when a message popped up on my phone.

"These are the wedding candies Charles picked. Aren't they pretty?"

Every one of them was a fruit flavor I couldn't stand.

I had fallen out of the bed from the pain and was reaching for my phone to call the nurse.

Her message popped up on my phone again.

"Summer, I'm just in love with the wedding decor sketches Charles put together."

I stared hard at this image.

I'd seen this picture before.

It was the third-anniversary gift Charles had given me.

Our future wedding.

Back then he'd kissed my forehead and said with a smile:

"Summer, this is the wedding design I made for you. One day I'm going to marry you right here."

But now.

It belonged to Eugenia.

Seven straight days of preoperative treatment wore me down until I started thinking of giving up on the surgery.

I dialed Charles's number.

"Charles, I'm in so much pain."

"Could you come to the hospital right now?"

As long as he came.

I'd give up the surgery.

But the other end was silent for a long moment before he spoke.

"Summer, let me come see you once I'm done, all right?"

Its late. Get some rest now.

I gave a soft hum and hung up.

Hed heard the disappointment in my voice.

But he didnt call back.

Five minutes later.

Eugenia sent over a screenshot of a chat.

Then unsent it.

Summer, I sent that to the wrong person, you didnt see it, did you?

One minute.

Long enough for me to read every word.

Charles, complaining to Eugenia.

She called and wanted me to come to the hospital.

I told her no.

After all these years of taking care of her illness and her moods, Im a little worn out.

Eugenia sent a comforting little hug emoji.

Charles sent back a crying face.

And one more line.

If only everything we have right now were real.

A screenshot can be unsent.

But the brain cant delete a memory.

My hand tightened around the phone.

I typed back.

What did you send? I didnt see it.

Eugenia sent a tongue-out emoji.

Just an unimportant picture.

But I knew. She wanted me to see it.

She and Charles didnt want to be the villains. They wanted me to step aside on my own.

The day before the wedding.

Charles came to the hospital to pick me up.

He didnt take me home. He sent me and all my luggage straight to a hotel instead.

The house is being turned into the wedding suite for tomorrow. Sorry to make you put up with one night at a hotel.

I blinked, the corner of my mouth twisting into something bitter.

Nothing they did now, no matter how far it went, surprised me anymore.

After tomorrow, it would all be over.

Tomorrow afternoon Id be going in for surgery.

If it worked, Id never have to depend on Eugenias blood to stay alive again.

If it failed, Id just call it a fresh start in the next life.

Whether or not I came off that operating table, I was done with this love and this friendship. Both of them.

The next day, I stood behind Eugenia as her bridesmaid.

The venue was beautiful.

Exactly the way Id imagined it.

Only the bride wasnt me.

Charles and Eugenia stood up on the stage.

The vows.

The exchange of rings.

The kiss.

Both of them with red-rimmed eyes.

As if reaching this happy ending had cost them everything.

I still remembered how, right before we went up, the two of them had each said a line to comfort me.

Summer, dont be sad in a bit, okay? Were only acting.

Right, just think of it like were playing one of those murder-mystery games.

Id smiled and nodded back then.

Hadnt told them.

I didnt care anymore.

The officiant suddenly held the microphone out in front of me.

I hear this bridesmaid is the brides best friend since childhood. Do you have any words of blessing for the newlyweds?

There was no such moment scheduled in the ceremony.

I glanced at Eugenia.

She kept her head down, not daring to meet my eyes.

Charles shot me a warning look not to say anything out of line.

I looked at their ten fingers laced together, and inside I was strangely calm.

I wish you a love that lasts, happiness forever, growing old together. Congratulations on your marriage!

The next second, warm applause broke out from the floor below.

Then came the bouquet toss.

Charles was just about to take the bouquet from Eugenias hands to pass it to me.

But Eugenia abruptly raised it and flung it into the crowd.

In the scramble, the flowers hit the floor and were trampled to a pulp.

Charles froze for a moment, then gave a helpless little laugh.

He came to my side and lowered his voice.

Eugenia got carried away, she just forgot.

Ill buy you a new bouquet once the weddings over.

With that.

He stepped forward, slid his arm around Eugenias shoulders, and went off with her to make the toasts.

I picked up the bouquet, crushed underfoot.

I looked at it for a moment.

Then I dropped it into the trash.

After I left the reception, a text from Charles popped up on my phone.

"Go back to the hotel and rest. I'll come get you once things wrap up here."

I didn't reply.

I flagged down a cab and went straight to the hospital.

The moment I lay down on the operating table.

The fear slowly settled into calm.

The blessing I'd given at the wedding was sincere.

And so was my hatred for them.

As the anesthesia went in, my world sank into darkness.

Elsewhere, the wedding reception ended.

Charles saw the text Summer still hadn't answered two hours later, and an uneasiness he couldn't explain rose in his chest.

Summer would never leave one of his texts unanswered.

Once, after they'd fought and she went quiet, he'd panicked so badly that he rode his motorcycle all over the city in the dead of night looking for her, and nearly crashed.

After that, they'd made a promise: no matter what happened, neither of them would ever ignore the other's messages.

He shrugged off Eugenia, who had her arm hooked through his.

"I'm going to get Summer. She's still waiting for me at the hotel."

Eugenia clung to his hand, refusing to let go.

"Charles, today is our wedding. Can't you just not go looking for Summer?"

Charles ignored her and walked off.

The whole way to the hotel, he kept calling Summer.

But the other end gave only a cold, automated message: the number was powered off.

He rushed to the hotel room door.

Inside, there was only the cleaning staff.

"Where's the guest staying here?!"

The cleaner jumped at his shout and rolled her eyes at him.

"Checked out, so she's gone. How would I know where to?"

Charles stood frozen.

And just as he stood there at a loss, a call from the hospital flashed up on his phone.

"Is this a family member of Ms. Summer Chase?"

"Please come to the hospital right away. Something has happened to Ms. Chase"