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Looking back, Antonio’s betrayal had been foreshadowed.
He’d pressured me, along with my parents, to donate a kidney to Lucia. Gazing into my eyes, he’d promised, “Once you’re recovered, we’ll leave this town and start over.”
It was a lie.
Lucia held a place in his heart I could never occupy.
“I’m sorry,” Antonio mumbled, pushing Lucia away as if remembering his vow to me. “I told Grace I’d always love her.”
His feign affection sickened me.
Lucia sobbed, clutching her wound.
My parents rushed to call a nurse and pulled Antonio aside for a private
conversation.
Outside, Dad confronted Antonio, “Do you have feelings for Lucia?”
Antonio hesitated. “I’m not sure.”
“It’s a simple yes or no. Do you like Lucia?”
“I don’t know…” Antonio took a deep breath. “Grace’s sister is like my sister, but since she got sick, I’ve been terrified of losing her. I was frantic during her surgery, constantly thinking about her. I…”
He slapped himself. “I’m a jerk. I’ve failed Grace.”
“It’s not your fault.” Dad shrugged, disconcertingly casual. “Grace never
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had Lucia’s charm. Lucia has always been more lovable. It’s natural you’d fall for her.”
He looked at Antonio. “If you and Lucia have feelings for each other, end things with Grace. Lucia just had surgery, she needs someone. She’d be happy with you.”
My mom, silent till then, finally spoke. “Isn’t this harsh on Grace? She just gave her kidney to Lucia.”
Dad’s tone hardened. “Antonio doesn’t love her anymore. It’s better to end it now.”
Mom, after a pause, nodded. “Grace will understand. She’s always been mature, putting Lucia first.”
She seemed to have forgotten my childhood resistance to their constant demands that I give in to Lucia, resistance that always earned me a scolding,
“Let Lucia have her way.
“If you make her cry, you’ll suffer.” Dad would threaten.
My compliance wasn’t born of generosity, but of fear.
I was tired of being threatened.
And now, they’d forgotten me again.
No one visited me, not even Antonio, who broke up with me via text.
They didn’t wait for a response.
My consent, my feelings, were irrelevant.
My opinion never mattered.
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Just like the kidney donation. My repeated refusals were ignored.
They dragged me to the hospital.
I had no right to say no.
That night, Antonio became Lucia’s boyfriend.
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Before Lucia even left the hospital, they were openly affectionate, the entire family basking in their newfound happiness, oblivious to the nurses and doctors exchanging disgusted glances.
After several futile attempts to inform them of my death, the staff gave up.
Like me, they waited for my family to remember me.
But they never did.
The day Lucia was discharged, Dad, upon seeing the bill, erupted.
“My daughter is alive! What the hell is this body storage fee?”
His outburst caught the attention of other patients and their families, who began questioning the hospital’s fees, some even recording the scene.
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