Chapter 5

My stomach churned violently.

I quickly leaned over to the side, gagging.

Oliver sneered, "If you dare throw up, I'll make you swallow it back down."

The nausea surged up my throat, and I bit down hard on my lip.

Something was seriously wrong with my body.

My feet and hands were swollen.

But the worst part was my stomach—it had puffed up like a ball.

It looked like I was pregnant.

But that was impossible.

My stomach was bulging in a way that felt totally off.

I noticed all this weird stuff happening to me, but there was nothing I could do.

I couldn't even get out of this room.

My head felt like it was on fire, and except for a few moments of clarity, I was slumped against the wall, barely aware of anything.

But eating was non-negotiable.

At first, I was hungry as hell, but later on, I lost all appetite. Still, I was forced to eat something.

Oliver would pry my mouth open and force-feed me.

What the hell was he trying to do?

There was no way I was ever going to tell him where Liam was.

No matter how many meals I was forced to eat, or how much longer it kept me alive, I would never tell him.

Liam used to protect me and sacrifice himself for me. This time, I had made up my mind to protect him.

Someone came in.

But I couldn't even be bothered to open my eyes.

"Get up, it's shower time. Then we're off to the healing den," Oliver ordered.

*****

When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw the room was filled with medical equipment.

At the foot of the bed, Oliver and the healer were in conversation.

The healer flipped through the report. "Her vitals are all normal. She's only too weak right now. It's not safe to do the transplant anytime soon."

Transplant? What did he mean by that?

I felt a cool chill on my waist, like something was slapped onto me.

I pulled back the blanket to see what was going on.

"Her vitals are good; that's all I care about." That was the only thing I caught from Oliver.

With a loud thud, something that had been sitting on my bed suddenly tumbled to the floor as I moved.

They both turned to look at me.

My clothes were pulled up at the waist, revealing a layer of yellowish liquid on my skin.

Was that why my skin felt so cold?

"Oliver, we'll head downstairs now," the healer said.

At the door, he turned back and shot me a look I couldn't quite read.

"Of course, we still need her consent for the surgery. That's the right way to do things," the healer added.

He was all serious, but Oliver just nodded, totally relaxed. "Don't worry, I'll handle it."

The room fell silent.

I shot Oliver a puzzled look. "You brought me to this healing den?"

"Who else do you think would bring you here?" Oliver replied.

I glanced down and saw that the swelling in my stomach, which had puffed up like a ball before, had finally gone down a bit.

I thought they had already given me some medicine here.

Silently, I pressed my lips together and sank back onto the bed.

Even though the symptoms had eased up, my body still felt limp.

I didn't want to think about anything.

For once, everything felt calm. I closed my eyes and let myself soak in that peace.

But Oliver was still there.

After a few seconds, he spoke. "Sophia, there's something I need to discuss with you."

I never expected him to use the word "discuss" when talking to me.

I opened my eyes and stared at the IV drip, watching the liquid fall, drop by drop. "What is it?"

"You're short on cash, right? How about we make a deal?"

I shot him a puzzled look. "What kind of deal?"

He pulled the blanket I'd just moved, his big hand pressing down on the spot where the yellowish liquid was smeared. "I'm buying it—300 thousand dollars for your kidney, right here."

I couldn't help but shudder.

I stared at him for a long moment, unable to get a word out.

My hand balled into a tight fist under the blanket, almost without me realizing it.

His eyes stayed locked on me.

He looked like he was waiting for my answer.

After a long, heavy silence, I finally tore my gaze away from him. Then I fixed my eyes back on the IV drip. "Are you serious? 300 thousand for my kidney?"

"Absolutely."

I guessed his lips were pressed into a tight line.

"Fine, I'll sell it."