rds were flat a

g kidney is failing rapidl

ind the doctor's head. He didn't look at

n asked. His voi

Maybe less. Your body is weak." The doctor

knew that was impossible. He stood up,

you,

treet. The noise of the traffic and the crowds felt distant. Thr

e job cleaning tables at the Grand Hyatt. He needed the money for the

ears. Back to when he was a rising archite

s fiancée. The

id she wouldn't survive the waitlist. He hadn't hesitated. He was a perfect m

t look like he was desperate for money. Then, he broke their engagement. He told her he was leavi

saved her. He knew she would never have accepted his kidney if she knew the truth. T

ndustry. And he was Ethan Miller, a sick man working odd jobs, slo

ce being held in the main ballroom. The irony was bitter. He p

en he

nd powerful in a sharp red dress. She was laughing, her voice confident and clear. For a

t across the

y. A look of shock, then pu

him, her heels clicking angrily on the marble

h contempt. "I should have known I'd find you in

wave of dizziness, a familiar symptom of his condit

said, his

are you doing here? Hoping to get close to someo

felt their stares like physical blows. He wanted to tell her the truth. He wanted to scream it.

raight in the eye and gav

ice just loud enough for her

g, pulled out her checkbook, and scribbled a number with sharp

hundred thousand dollars. Is that enough for you? Now take it and

He was publicly branded as a greedy opportunist,

lars. It was more money than he' d seen in years. It was enough

king hand,

aid, his voice flat. "Yo

by the hotel manager, cam

u need t

oward the exit, he glanced back one last time. Chloe was watching him, her eyes filled with a triumphant, cold hat

he night, the check

rundown apartment, his phone buz

r: $100,000.00 f

iny room, at the stacks of medical bills on his table, and the empty bottles

que shop, a job his only friend, Sarah, had helped him get. He

ed by a tall, handsome

nd her lip curl

t we have here. You certainly move up in the world f

. He just set the v

and doesn't last long

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