Chapter 2
Late at night, Lena had already gone to bed.
Surprisingly, Charles came over with a first aid kit and took my battered hand.
I inhaled sharply as the alcohol swab touched my wounds.
He lowered his head, carefully applying ointment.
In the lamplight, his focused profile made me momentarily flash back to the past.
Back then, we had just gotten married and our relationship was still good.
Once, I accidentally cut my finger while cutting fruit. He had been like this too, nervously and caringly treating my wound while scolding me for being careless.
He had said: “Let me handle these things in the future. Don’t hurt yourself again.”
“You know I can’t stand the sight of blood now that I’m devoted to my faith.”
A few days later, Lena complained in a coquettish voice that her skin had become rough due to pregnancy and needed beauty treatments.
I never expected Charles would turn his attention to me.
The private doctor he brought in told me that Lena needed stem cell injections to improve her skin, and my stem cells were the most compatible with hers.
I lay on the cold operating table, watching my blood being slowly drawn from my body and injected into another container.
Charles stood not far away, watching expressionlessly.
The doctor glanced at the markings on the blood bag beside him, frowning involuntarily.
“Mr. Shaw, if we continue, Mrs. Shaw’s body may not be able to take it. Extracting stem cells isn’t a matter of ‘the more the better.’ Too much could actually…”
“Continue,” Charles’ voice was unwavering.
“Lena has a weak constitution, and this is her first pregnancy. Of course we need to use the best.”
“You’re using my life to give her the best?” I barely managed to squeeze out these words from my parched throat.
Charles finally turned his gaze to me.
“This is my first child, and it’s your blessing too,” he said.
“Although I’m devoted to my faith, I still need an heir. As my wife, you should understand.”
It was his child with another woman, yet now my flesh and blood were being used to nourish it.
I could even imagine Lena lying in a comfortable bed, enjoying high-end care, while I was reduced to being her living health supplement.
The doctor tried to speak again: “Mr. Shaw, this dosage is really… very dangerous. It could cause irreversible damage, even…”
“I said, continue,” Charles emphasized. “Everything is cause and effect.”
Lena’s classmates had somehow appeared at the door, peering in curiously.
“Charles is so good to Lena. We’ve never seen such a good man in our tribe.”
“As long as Lena gives Charles a child or two, Charles will surely increase his investment in our tribe in the future.”
“Religious people are supposed to be compassionate. Besides, how could Charles bear to see our superior race suffer?”
Another voice chimed in.
His compassion, it seemed, was selective.
My body grew colder and colder.
“That’s enough, Mr. Shaw. We really can’t extract any more,” the doctor’s voice trembled. “If we continue, it could be fatal!”
Charles seemed to walk over, his figure swaying in my blurry vision.