, heavy and suffocating. The other customers were staring, their faces a mixture of curiosity and

njustice of it was a bitter pill in her throat. He had her kidney inside of him, functioning perfectly, gi

He was insulated by his wealth and his new life, shielded by a woman who wou

and tired. She smoothed it out on the table, the bl

the greedy gold-digger he believed her to be, then let her b

ng with a strange, detached calm. She foun

y. How much is your peace of mind worth to you

o a crime she didn't commit. But it was easier than fighting a battle she had already lost. It was

her phone buzzed with an in

he decline button, but a morb

t?" Sarah asked,

y-sweet sympathy that was more insulting than her earlier cruelty. "Mark is so

health was a delibe

'll manage,"

everything you did to him, he still has a soft spot. He's talking about... I don't know, setting up some kind of fund

g, waiting for th

s crazy ex-girlfriend popping up and causing scenes. It's not a good look. So, what's your price? Name a numbe

ropose in her text, but hearing it from Jessi

r idea, not his

decision," Jessica said smoothly. "He's too emo

. It was more intense this time, stealing her breath. She press

ere?" Jessica's v

proposed this himself. He had left it to Jessica. He was so completely detached, so thoroughly convinced

at I'm done. He doesn't need to pay me off. He's won. Tell

espond. The phone slipped from her

re. It spread through her torso, making it hard to breathe. The cafe started to

out on her forehead. She slumped forward, her head hitting the table with a dull thud. The last thing

rom her failing body

eamed in protest. The nurses told her the anonymous donation had been a success. The recipient was recove

ment she'd twisted in her farewell note into a selfish bribe-to buy a bus ticket to another city. She had to

ng because of the kidney she had given him, and he was out there, living the

pain was all-consuming now, a black tide pulling her under. Her last conscious thought was of his face, not the cold, angry man fr

rything w

-