(Rosalind's POV)

"Register for a donation. Aurora needs a transfusion."

I stared at him. He left me at the altar. He humiliated me before the entire city. And now, hours later, he was demanding I bleed for the woman he left me for?

I wasn't just a placeholder bride. I was a walking blood bank.

I laughed. "No," I said. I yanked my wrist out of his grip.

Asher looked stunned. "What did you say?"

"I said no. I'm not giving her my blood."

Asher's face darkened. He stepped closer, looming over me, using his height to intimidate. It was a tactic he used in court.

"Rosalind, stop this nonsense right now," he growled. "You know her condition. The hospital doesn't stock her type. If you don't give her a transfusion immediately, she could die."

He looked at me with total conviction, as if my refusal was a crime. As if my body belonged to him to distribute as he saw fit.

I looked at Aurora, peeking out from under her lashes to see if I would fold. I looked at Asher, the man I had wasted five years on.

A cold, beautiful clarity settled over me.

I curled my lips into a smile. It wasn't a nice smile.

"Then let her die."

(Asher's POV)

I stared at the woman in front of me, but it was as if I no longer recognized her; she had suddenly become a stranger.

Rosalind had always been gentle, compliant. Soft. No matter what I asked for, she would smile and agree. I knew better than anyone that she had a severe phobia of needles. Every time she saw a nurse approaching with a syringe, her face would drain of color. She would tremble uncontrollably. After a blood draw, she often needed an hour just to stop shaking.

Yet, for me, she had rolled up her sleeve countless times. She had given pint after pint for Aurora without a single complaint.

I looked into her hazel eyes. They used to be warm, filled with an adoration that bordered on worship. Now, they were cold. Ice cold.

My throat went tight. I took a step forward, trying to find the girl I knew.

"Then just..." I started.

(Rosalind's POV)

"Rosalind, what do you mean?" Aurora's shriek cut through the air like shattered glass. "Do you want me to die right here? How can you be so vicious?"

I looked down at Aurora. Her face was a masterpiece of calculated despair, tears tracking perfectly through her makeup.

I felt nothing. No pity. No anger. Just a dull recognition of her technique. She was a natural actress, always knowing exactly which button to press to trigger Asher's guilt.

"My mother is lying in a coma because she saved Asher!" Aurora sobbed, playing her ace card. "She gave everything for him, and you won't even give a little blood for me?"

Asher's hesitation vanished instantly. The mention of Linda-Aurora's mother-acted like a command code. His expression shifted from confusion to a heavy, burdened sense of duty.