Chapter 1

Ever since my husband, Caleb Ross, gave one of his kidneys to a stranger, he had never made excuses again for failing to perform in sex.

Whenever I slipped into my pajamas feeling down, I couldn't even bring myself to wonder if he was giving the sex meant for me to someone else.

On my way to the hospital to bring him lunch, I absentmindedly scrolled through my feed and stumbled upon a trending question. [How would you rank life, freedom, love, and money?]

There were all kinds of replies in the comment section. Most people put money at the top.

But one special reply caught my eye. [I met him when my time was running out, so I chose love above everything.]

While everyone else was busy mocking her for being love-brained, the poster calmly responded: [If you were me, you'd make the same choice.

[Last year, I had acute kidney failure. He gave me one of his kidneys. Back then, he wasn't even my boyfriend, but my attending physician.]

My heart suddenly skipped a beat. Last year, Caleb donated a kidney to a stranger.

I was fiercely against it at first, but Caleb comforted me and said, "Saving lives is a doctor's duty."

I trembled as I swiped down the screen, my fingertips cold.

The comment went on. [He's in great shape. He only has one kidney left now, but in bed, he's so strong that it's almost too much to handle. He wears me out every night, leaving my back and waist sore.]

There was a photo attached below. Under the dim bathroom light, a well-defined back was visible.

On the left side of his waist, there was a faint bite mark. I left that mark on Caleb when I was eighteen, as punishment for him beating up an upperclassman who had a crush on me.

*****

I only snapped out of my daze when the cars behind me kept honking. There were still twenty minutes to go before I reached Caleb Ross's hospital.

I pulled into a side street, killed the engine, and pulled up that post again.

The vibe in the comments had totally changed. [Wait, pure love like this is still around? It's making me believe in love again.]

The poster kept sharing their story in a calm way. [His parents divorced when he was a kid, and nobody really wanted him. Even now, after all his success, deep down he's longing for love.]

My heart clenched for a moment.

[I grew up in an orphanage. We share the same pain, I suppose. I can't give him anything but love, but that's exactly what he needs most.

[As long as we can heal each other, that's enough. Even if he is married, I don't care. I want to be with him for as many days as I can.]

Everyone in the comments was stunned. But she acted like she didn't even notice, kept commenting: [I'm dying. There's not much time left for me.

[I worry about hurting him, so I've turned him down so many times. But every time I see him looking so defeated and sad, I can't bring myself to push him away.

[Life is too short, and our meeting was too dazzling. However long we have together, I'll take it.]

The last comment read: [Here's a photo of us together.]

I stared at those words, the screen so bright that it hurt my eyes. The loading icon kept spinning, making my vision blur. My finger hovered above the screen, unable to press down.

The answer I was dreading felt like a hand, tightening around my throat, refusing to let me breathe.

Just then, hearing a soft thud, I snapped out of it and caught a glimpse in my rearview mirror.

A girl's bike had tipped over behind my car, and she was scrambling to pick it up. She looked fragile, dressed in a faded white hoodie.

When I watched her jog over, my heart unexpectedly tightened.

"I'm so sorry." She bent over and pressed her hand to the window, panic written all over her face. "It's my first time riding, and I couldn't stop. I'm really sorry."

The window fogged up. Her face was hidden behind the misty glass, too hazy to see clearly. But her silhouette and her eyes filled me with an inexplicable sense of unease.

I took a deep breath, finally pressing my thumb down on the screen. The moment the photo loaded, I swear I stopped breathing.

On the screen, Caleb was looking down, his gaze very gentle. He had his arm around a girl in a white hoodie, her face tilted up toward him, smiling brightly. It was exactly the girl outside my car window.

Suddenly, the world fell completely silent. All I could hear was my heartbeat, pounding through me, each beat making everything hurt.

I slowly lifted my head. Her hand was pressed against the window, and she was saying something. My eyes suddenly started to burn.