Chapter 1

After the car accident, the doctor told my husband, Martin Oliver, that he could only save one of us, me or his first love, Kaylee Jackson.

Our daughter, Lily Oliver, rushed to him and said, "Dad, please save Kaylee. She's not in good health. She can't afford to wait."

Martin smiled and agreed, praising Lily, "You're getting so thoughtful."

But they forgot that I was hanging by a thread because I'd risked everything to save them.

At that moment, I gave up on them completely.

If they never loved me, I didn't owe them my love anymore.

*****

"Treat Kaylee first," Martin said. His voice was steady and determined.

Just like always, he picked Kaylee over me without a second thought.

Half an hour earlier, the doctor had already made it clear.

With the Christmas holiday coming up, the hospital was short-staffed. They had to decide who would be treated first, Kaylee or me.

Lily and Martin didn't care if I was listening. They openly defended Kaylee right in front of me, and I caught every word.

"Doctor, please save Kaylee first. You have to save her," Lily pleaded.

"But Ms. Jackson only has superficial wounds," the doctor tried to explain.

Lily burst out, her voice rising. "Kaylee has to be treated first. Kaylee first!"

But they forgot that I ended up so badly hurt because I saved them in the accident.

Martin helped Kaylee away, not even glancing at me.

The doctor looked at me with pity in his eyes.

But I just felt numb, like none of this had anything to do with me anymore.

About ten minutes later, the doctor finished treating Kaylee's wounds.

I had no idea how many ribs were broken. The pain was so intense that I blacked out more than once.

I could hear Lily and Martin giving the doctor a hard time in the hallway.

"Can you check again? It's only been a few minutes, and this was a car accident. Don't you need to do an X-ray?" Martin insisted.

Lily jumped in, backing him up. "What kind of doctor are you? Kaylee's hurt so badly, and you just say she's fine? She needs a full check-up."

The doctor was getting flustered, pacing back and forth.

"But Ms. Morton is in critical condition. If we don't treat her now, she could die," he said.

Martin snapped, "She's worthless. Always groveling in front of parents. Don't bother with her.

"Just wait until Kaylee's done, then you can deal with her. I'm paying you, so do your job and quit dragging your feet."

Martin's words made me feel humiliated, and I felt a dull pain in my chest.

I was a teacher and spent most of my time with my students. So I didn't spend much time with Martin and Lily, but that never meant I didn't love them.

Martin always believed I only became a teacher for the money from the students' parents.

"Alright, let's hurry and check on Kaylee. If anything happens, can you handle the consequences?" Lily pressed.

Once again, Lily and Martin led the doctor straight to Kaylee.

If I stayed put any longer, I guessed I was probably going to die right here.

If they couldn't care less whether I lived or died, there was nothing left tying me there.

I got to decide what happened to my life.

I yanked the IV needle out of my hand and forced myself out of bed, using every ounce of strength I had left.

Blood was seeping through the bandage on my arm, and my chest hurt so much that I could barely breathe. But at least my legs still worked.

The hospital was almost deserted by evening, and I staggered out the door, barely keeping myself upright.

I could barely see straight. My vision was swimming when a guy showed up right in front of me.

"Help... me..." I croaked out, barely able to speak.

I breathed in a familiar scent and opened my eyes.

I was in a spotless bedroom, with several lush houseplants lined up on the windowsill.

"Justin... is that really you?" I asked, my voice so weak it was barely a whisper.

"Now that you're awake, get up and eat something. You've been sleeping all day," Justin Lindsey said.

Justin's voice was strong and steady. We went to college together.

I tried to sit up and was surprised to find the pain was gone, though moving my arm was still a bit awkward.

"Thanks for saving me," I said.

"You're lucky you made it out alive. Getting yourself into this mess, man, you're something else," Justin said.

Justin handed me a bowl of soup.

"Where's your husband?" he asked.

I remembered how Martin looked at Kaylee, all that heartache in his eyes, and just shook my head.

"Damn, you're really down and out, huh? You owe me one hell of a favor. I'm keeping score," Justin teased.

Back in college, we were sworn rivals. I always bragged I'd be the best teacher ever, and Justin claimed he'd be the top doctor.

He used to joke that if I ever dropped dead from teaching too hard, I'd have to beg him to save me.

It turned out that he wasn't wrong.

"Thanks," I said.

Justin frowned. "Enough with the sappy stuff. Taking care of you cost five hundred, and setting your bone plus letting you crash here ran up another seven thousand.

"So cough it up already. Don't think a 'thank you' is gonna pay the bill."

I gave a quiet laugh. "Alright."

Just then, someone started pounding on the door.

"You bitch, get out!" Martin shouted.