Leaving Ashes, Finding Her Sky

I gave my husband, Chandler, one of my kidneys to save his life. In return, he married me. I was a girl from an orphanage; he was a New York tycoon. I fo**ishly believed his gratitude would one day turn into love. Then his first love, Kristyn, came back. When she was diagnosed with a rare bl**d disorder, Chandler dragged me to the hospital and demanded I give her my bone marrow. My doctors warned him that with my failing health, another major surgery would be a death sentence. He called me selfish and forced me onto the operating table. As the doors swung shut, I saw Kristyn, who was supposed to be dying, sit up in her bed. A wicked, triumphant smile spread across her face. Through the glass, she mouthed the words. "I don't have a bl**d disorder, you id**t." A nurse plunged a thick needle into my spine. They were draining my life away to appease a liar, all on my husband's orders. I died on that table, my last thought a prayer that I would never see him again. But when I opened my eyes, I wasn't in heaven. I was in a private medical facility, and my long-lost childhood friend, Elijah, was standing over me. He looked at me, his eyes burning with a protective fire. "I faked your death, Ava," he said, his voice cold with rage."Now, let's make them pay." Chapter 1 Today is our third wedding anniversary. It is also the day Kristyn Palmer, my husband's first love, came back. She stood on my doorstep, wearing a dress that cost more than my first car, and slid a blank check across the table. "Name your price, Ava." Her voice was smooth, confident. "I want you to disappear from Chandler's life." I looked at the check, then at her. I felt nothing. The shock and pain had been burned out of me a long time ago. She smiled, a sharp, cruel thing. "You have one week to sign the divorce papers and leave. Don't make this harder than it needs to be." I just nodded. "Good girl," she said, and left. I sat there in the silence, the check a stark white rectangle on the cheap wood of my dining table. Why had I ever thought this marriage would be anything more than a transaction? A debt paid with my body and my life. I already knew how this story ended. I'd known for three years. The memory was always there, waiting in the quiet moments. It was the night of Chandler's recovery party. He had survived, thanks to my kidney. The Roth family mansion was full of New York's elite, champagne flowing like water. I wasn't part of the celebration. I was in the shadows of the hallway, my body still weak, listening. Listening to my new husband and his grandmother, Doretta Roth, in the library. "You can't be serious, Chandler," Doretta's voice was like ice. "Kristyn left you when you were on your deathbed. She ran off to Europe with that polo player. Ava was the one who stayed. Ava gave you a literal piece of herself to save you." "I know what Ava did," Chandler's voice was strained. "I'm grateful." "Grateful? You owe her your life!" "But it's not the same, Grandma. Kristyn... when she cries, I can't... I still love her." The words hit me harder than any physical blow. I leaned against the wall, my hand covering my mouth to keep the sound in. "And Ava?" Doretta pressed, her voice sharp with disbelief. "What is she to you? Your wife?" There was a long pause. I held my breath, praying for an answer that would not break me. "What I feel for Ava," Chandler said, his voice quiet but clear, "is gratitude. It's not love." Gratitude. Not love. The memory faded, leaving me back in my small, lonely apartment, the one Chandler rented for me a few blocks from the Roth mansion. It was more convenient that way. He didn't have to see the living reminder of his debt every day. My phone buzzed. A message from Kristyn. It was a picture. Her, tangled in the sheets of Chandler's bed, a triumphant smile on her face. The timestamp was from last night. Our anniversary eve. A single tear slid down my cheek, hot and wet. Then another. I couldn't stop them. My body shook with silent sobs. I was a girl from a working-class neighborhood in Queens. He was the heir to a New York financial empire. We never should have met. But when I was a scared, lonely kid in an orphanage, a boy with kind eyes had given me his candy bar and told me not to cry. That boy was Chandler. I'd loved him from that moment. Years later, when I heard he was dying from kidney failure, I didn't hesitate. I was a match. I gave him my kidney, and with it, my health. I developed a severe heart condition from the strain of living with one kidney, a secret I kept to myself. He proposed to me in his hospital bed after the surgery. There was no ring, no romance. Just a quiet, "Marry me, Ava. It's the only way I can repay you." I had fooled myself into thinking his gratitude would one day turn into love. I had believed that my sacrifice would mean something. I was a f**l. The pain in my ch**t was sharp now, a familiar agony. I clutched my heart, my breath coming in ragged gasps. My phone rang. It was Chandler. "Did you see it, Ava?" his voice was cheerful, distant. "See what?" I whispered. "Look outside your window." I dragged myself to the window. In the sky above Manhattan, a fleet of drones was spelling out a message with clouds of red rose petals. I LOVE YOU AVA. It was on the news, a grand, public spectacle of a love that didn't exist. "Do you like it?" he asked, expecting praise. My last bit of hope flickered. "Chandler," I begged, my voice cracking. "Please, just come home." "I can't right now, baby. I'm in a meeting." Then I heard her voice in the background, a light, musical laugh. Kristyn. "Talk to you later," he said quickly, and the line went dead. That was it. The final cut. The world went dark at the edges. The pain in my ch**t exploded, and I fell to the floor. My heart. It was giving out. I crawled to my purse, my fingers fumbling for the small bottle of pills. The doctor's words echoed in my head from my last visit. "Your heart can't take the stress, Ava. Your remaining kidney is failing. You have maybe six months. A year, if you're lucky and avoid all stress." Stress. My life was nothing but stress. I swallowed the pills dry, the bitter taste a reflection of my life. It was over. All of it. The hope, the pain, the love. My fingers, shaking, typed out one last message. Not to Chandler. To Kristyn. You can have him. Then, I added one final, desperate condition. One last bargain for the life I had thrown away. Just let me die in peace. Chapter 2 The world went black after I sent the text. I must have passed out on the floor, because the next thing I knew, Chandler was standing over me. It was early, the sun barely up. "Ava? Why are you sl**ping on the floor?" His voice held a flicker of concern, the kind you'd show a pet. He scooped me up. His arms were strong, familiar. For a second, I let myself pretend this was real. He laid me gently in bed and pulled the covers over me. My nose stung, and I had to fight back a fresh wave of tears. He really was the perfect husband, on the surface. Gentle, polite, a man who remembered I liked my coffee with two sugars and put soft bumpers on the sharp corners of the furniture because I was clumsy. He had even custom-ordered a thick, soft rug for the living room because I liked to walk around barefoot. I had drowned in that gentleness for years. But Kristyn's return had been like a bucket of ice water to the face. It was all a performance. I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to see the pity in his. He sighed, his fingers tilting my chin up. "Stop sulking, Ava. I have something for you." I almost laughed. Sulking? Was that what he thought this was? He placed a small velvet box in my hand. I opened it. Inside, nestled on the satin, was a single diamond earring. Just one. The doorbell rang. Chandler went to answer it, and a moment later, Kristyn's voice floated into the room. "Chandler, darling, you can't just give a girl one earring. It's supposed to be a pair." I sat up. Kristyn was standing in the doorway of my bedroom, a smug smile on her face. Dazzling on her earlobe was the matching diamond stud. He had given me her hand-me-down. I remembered a promise he'd made to me, years ago, in the sterile white of the hospital."I'll give you everything, Ava. A love that is yours and yours alone." The words were ash in my mouth now. I was nothing more than someone who picked up the scraps Kristyn left behind. A sharp pain shot through my ch**t. Kristyn looped her arm through Chandler's, acting like she owned the place. Like she was the wife, and I was the guest. "I'm starving," she announced, her eyes landing on me. "Ava, you're such a good cook. Why don't you make us breakfast?" It was a command, not a request. "I'm not feeling well," I said, my voice barely a wh**per. Kristyn's face fell instantly. She pouted at Chandler. "If she doesn't want me here, I'll just leave." "Don't be ridiculous," Chandler said, his brow furrowed in annoyance. Not at her. At me. "Ava, stop being difficult. Just make some breakfast." He was treating me like the maid. My fight was gone. I was too tired, too broken. I dragged myself out of bed and went to the kitchen. I was frying eggs when it happened. My hands were shaking, my vision blurry with unshed tears. I tripped over the rug-the one he'd bought for my comfort-and the hot pan flew out of my hand. Sizzling oil splattered across my arm. The pain was immediate, searing. I cried out. Chandler rushed in. But he didn't run to me. He ran to Kristyn, who was standing safely by the door. "Are you okay? Did it get on you?" he asked, his voice frantic with worry as he inspected her hands, her face. She hadn't been touched. "I think a little bit splashed on me," Kristyn whimpered, holding up her perfectly fine hand. "It hurts, Chandler. Take me to the hospital." He scooped her up into his arms and ran out the door without a single glance back at me. I was left alone on the kitchen floor, my arm blistering, my heart shattered into a million pieces. I could still hear his voice, a ghost from the past, whispering, "I'll protect you, Ava. For the rest of my life." Chapter 3 I took a cab to an urgent care clinic. The nurse winced when she saw my arm. The burn was bad, a mess of red skin and angry blisters. "That looks painful," she said, her voice full of sympathy. "Did your husband bring you?" I managed a weak, bitter smile. "He's busy." Just then, I heard voices from the hallway. Kristyn's voice, sweet and cloying. "Chandler, what you did was so heroic. You're my knight in shining armor." Then she lowered her voice, a se**ctive wh**per."Why don't you call me your wife? I want to hear you say it." A pause. Then Chandler's voice, low and indulging. "Alright, my beautiful wife." Wife. The word hit me like a s**p. He had never, not once in three years, called me his wife. It was always "Ava." I had thought he was just a private, reserved man. Now I knew the truth. I wasn't worthy of the title. I couldn't breathe. I stumbled out of the clinic, paid the cab driver, and went home. He was there, waiting for me in the living room, his face a thundercloud. "Where have you been?" he demanded. "The clinic," I said, not looking at him. He grabbed my arm, his grip tight. He saw the bandages. "God, Ava, it's that bad?" His tone wasn't concern. It was accusation. I pulled my arm away. "Kristyn's was worse, I'm sure." He frowned. "Why are you always like this? Can't you be more understanding? I have a history with her. You need to be the bigger person." My heart felt like it was being shredded. I was the one with a blistering burn. I was the one he abandoned. And I was supposed to be the bigger person? Tears streamed down my face, silent and hot. He didn't care about me. He only cared about her. I was just the maid. The live-in nurse. The organ donor. "You're going to be free soon, Chandler," I said, my voice flat. "What was that?" He was distracted, already pulling out his phone. He didn't hear me. He never really heard me. "I'll take you to the beach tomorrow," he said, not looking up from his screen. "Just the two of us. We'll sort this out." The next morning, Kristyn was in the car, wearing a tiny bikini that left little to the imagination. "I thought I'd come along and teach Ava how to swim," she said with a bright, fake smile, snuggling up to Chandler. "Kristyn was worried you'd be bored," Chandler explained, avoiding my eyes. The lie was so transparent it was almost funny. This wasn't for me. This was their date. I couldn't swim. He knew that. So I sat on the sand, a fully-clothed ghost at their beach party, and watched them. They splashed and laughed in the waves, his hands lingering on her waist. He playfully flicked water at her, and she squealed. They looked like a perfect couple. His phone rang. A business call. He walked down the beach for better reception. Kristyn waded out of the water and walked over to me, dripping. "Time for your lesson," she said, her smile not reaching her eyes. Before I could protest, she grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the water. "I don't want to," I said, trying to pull away. She was stronger than she looked. She yanked me into the shallows, then, with a sudden, vicious movement, she shoved my head under the water. Panic seized me. Saltwater flooded my nose and mouth. I thrashed, but she held me down. "You're going to learn to swim today, Ava," her voice was a distorted, monstrous sound above the water. "I'm going to make sure you get enough of it." My lungs burned. Black spots danced in my vision. I was dying. She pulled my head up. I gasped for air, coughing and sputtering. She held my hair, forcing me to look at her. "Do you really think he'll care if you die right here? He won't even notice." "No," I choked out, a flicker of defiance still alive in me. He wouldn't. He couldn't. After everything I did for him. She smiled, a truly evil sight."We'll see." Chapter 4 Just as Kristyn spoke, Chandler ended his call and started walking back toward us. Kristyn's eyes lit up with a wicked idea. She let go of my hair and, in one fluid motion, wrapped her arms around me, pulling me with her as she fell backward into the deeper water. "Help!" she screamed, a perfect damsel in distress. The ocean swallowed us whole. The cold was a shock. As I sank, I saw Chandler's face, etched with panic. But that panic wasn't for me. His eyes were fixed on Kristyn. A bitter laugh escaped my lips, a bubble of air and despair. My tears mixed with the salt of the sea. My body hit something hard on the seafloor, and a fresh wave of pain shot through me. My vision blurred. Suddenly, strong arms were around me, pulling me up. For a wild, st**id moment, I thought it was him. But when I broke the surface, coughing up water, I saw Chandler a few feet away, cradling a sputtering Kristyn in his arms. He was murmuring soft words to her, his face a mask of concern. A lifeguard had saved me. The sight was a final, brutal confirmation. He would have let me drown. Bodyguards in black suits appeared, pulling me roughly to my feet. They forced a dripping wetsuit onto my body and dragged me in front of Chandler and Kristyn. Kristyn was sobbing into Chandler's ch**t. "She said... she said she wanted to die and take me with her, Chandler! I was so scared!" "I would rather die than cause a misunderstanding between you two," she wailed, a master manipulator at work. Chandler held her tighter, his eyes burning with fury as he looked at me. He ki**ed her, a long, pa**ionate k**s meant to reassure her and punish me. Then he turned his full wrath on me. "What is wrong with you, Ava?" he snarled, his voice low and dangerous. "Why do you keep going after her?" The accusation stole my breath. "Do you really think I would do that?" I whispered, my heart aching. He hesitated for a fraction of a second. That was all Kristyn needed. "I'm leaving, Chandler. I can't do this," she cried, making a move to stand. That broke him. His eyes went cold as ice. "Take her," he commanded his bodyguards, his voice devoid of any emotion. They dragged me back into the water, toward a large, ominous cage floating near the yacht. A shark cage. "Mr. Roth's orders," one of the guards said grimly. "A punishment for upsetting Miss Palmer." They threw me inside. The iron door clanged shut, plunging me into a world of shadows and bars. My breath hitched. I was claustrophobic. A childhood trauma I thought he, of all people, understood. Then I saw them. Sharks. Dozens of them, drawn by bait the guards must have thrown, circling the cage, their fins cutting through the water. They slammed against the bars, their dead eyes staring at me, their teeth a flash of white in the gloom. I screamed. My mind splintered, throwing me back to a dark closet, to the feeling of being small and helpless, locked away for hours by the cruel matron at the orphanage. Chandler had been the one to find me then. He'd held my hand and promised, "I'll never let anyone lock you in the dark again." Now he was the one who had locked me in the dark, using my deepest fear as his weapon. I curled into a ball in the corner of the cage, shaking uncontrollably, my sobs lost to the water. "Are you happy now, Chandler?" I thought, the question a bitter prayer. I closed my eyes, my breathing growing shallow. Let it end. Sometime near dawn, a fishing boat found me. The fishermen told the police I was unresponsive, my oxygen tank empty. I was in a coma for what felt like an eternity. I dreamed of my life. The good parts-the candy bar, the way he held my hand after the surgery, the quiet nights we'd spent watching old movies. Then the dream soured. He was holding Kristyn's hand, his face cold and remote. "I never loved you, Ava. It was always her." I reached for him, but he faded away, leaving me alone in the dark. I woke up with a strangled cry, my face wet with tears. The hospital room door opened. Kristyn walked in, a victorious smirk on her face. A dark, ugly mark-a hi**ey-was visible on her neck. "Are you satisfied now?" she taunted. "Or do I need to break you a little more?" I was too tired to fight. I just stared at her. She tossed a file onto my bed. "Chandler signed them." It was the divorce agreement. His signature was a sharp, angry scrawl at the bottom. My life was ending. My marriage was over. It was all a pathetic joke. I let out a small, self-mocking laugh and signed my name. "Good," Kristyn said, snatching the papers. "Now take the money and get out of our lives." She left. I lay in the bed, silent tears soaking the pillow. For the next few days, Chandler didn't come home. The house was an empty, echoing tomb. I started to pack. It didn't take long. I had nothing. A few changes of clothes. The expensive jewelry he'd bought me sat untouched in its boxes. I had nothing that was truly mine. Except for one thing. A cheap, faded keychain. The one he'd given me at the orphanage, the day we met. I held it in my hand, along with my simple wedding band. Then I walked to the window and threw them both out into the night. "What the h**l are you doing?" I jumped. Chandler was standing right behind me. "Are you throwing another tantrum?" he demanded. My heart seized. I couldn't take any more punishment. I was too weak. He grabbed my arm, his grip like iron. "Get dressed. You're coming with me to see my grandmother." Chapter 5 The Roth mansion was blazing with lights. It was Doretta's birthday. I felt a bitter laugh bubble up inside me. In five years, Doretta had never once allowed me to attend a family party. I wasn't good enough. And now, on the day of our divorce, I was finally invited. I tried to pull my hand away, but Chandler's grip was unyielding. "Kristyn arranged this," he said, his voice low. "She convinced Grandma to give you a chance. So be on your best behavior." Kristyn's doing. Of course. It was another setup. He dragged me in front of the family matriarch. "Happy birthday, Mrs. Roth," I mumbled, my eyes on the floor. Doretta gave a thin, dismissive smile. "And what is your gift for me, Ava?" I froze. A gift? Chandler had never mentioned it. I looked at him, a silent plea in my eyes. He looked just as surprised as I was. We had both forgotten. Across the room, I saw Kristyn's triumphant gaze. She had planned this humiliation perfectly. I closed my eyes, a single tear escaping and tracing a cold path down my cheek. The rest of the evening was a blur of pain. I stood silently in a corner, watching as Doretta showered Kristyn with affection. She praised her beauty, her family, her sophistication. Then came the grand finale. Doretta took a ring from her own finger-a massive, antique diamond, the Roth family heirloom-and slid it onto Kristyn's. "From now on," Doretta announced to the room, "Kristyn is the true mi**ress of the Roth family." All eyes turned to me. The legal Mrs. Roth. "Do you have any objections, Ava?" Doretta asked, her voice dripping with malice. I looked at Chandler. He was beaming at Kristyn, his eyes full of a love he had never shown me. My heart shattered. "No," I said, my voice surprisingly steady. "No objections." Doretta smiled, satisfied. She sent Chandler and Kristyn away on some flimsy pretext, then turned to me. "Come with me," she said. She led me upstairs to a cold, bare room. Two burly bodyguards stood waiting. "Bring the family law," she commanded. One of the men brought out a long, leather whip. They forced me to my knees. "Do you know why you're here?" Doretta asked, her voice like chips of ice. "I never wanted you in this family. My grandson's wife was always meant to be Kristyn. You were just a temporary solution, an organ farm." She sneered. "And in five years, you haven't even managed to produce an heir. You are useless. You deserve to be punished." I tried to speak, to tell her about my health, about why I couldn't have children. But the words wouldn't come. The whip cracked through the air. It hit my back, a line of pure fire. A scream tore from my throat. The second lash landed. The pain was blinding. I couldn't breathe. The third. I screamed Chandler's name, a last, desperate hope that he would come and save me. He didn't. I bit my l*p until it bled, my body convulsing. Darkness crept in at the edges of my vision. Through the haze of pain, I felt someone lift me. I smelled his scent, the familiar cologne he always wore. "Chandler," I sobbed, clinging to him. He gently closed my eyes with his hand, his touch surprisingly soft. But his words were daggers. "Grandma is just teaching you a lesson, Ava. This is what you signed up for when you chose to marry me." Chapter 6 I don't remember how I got home from the mansion. My mind was a fog of pain. His words echoed in my head, over and over. This is what you chose. I remembered his proposal."I will cherish you, Ava. I will protect you." All lies. He had watched me be tortured, and he had blamed me for it. A single tear slid from the corner of my eye. I was so lost in my misery that I didn't see the figures lurking in the shadows of the street. A burlap sack was thrown over my head. I was dragged into a van. I lost consciousness. I woke to the sound of waves and a man shouting into a phone. "I have them, Chandler! Bring the money, or you'll never see your precious wife and your wh**e again!" My eyes slowly focused. I was on the deck of a boat. Kristyn was tied up next to me, sobbing hysterically. The man on the phone was Jermaine Herrera, Chandler's illegitimate half-brother. "Please," Kristyn begged him. "Let me go. It's her he wants, not me!" "Jermaine, calm down," I tried, my voice hoarse. He laughed, a harsh, ugly sound. "You sh** up. Tonight, you're going to see just how much your beloved husband really cares about you." Chandler arrived soon after, a briefcase full of cash in his hand. "Let them go, Jermaine," he said, his voice tight. Jermaine checked the money, then smiled. "I've changed my mind. You can only take one. The other one dies." I closed my eyes. I knew who he would choose. It was always her. I braced myself for the end. "I'll take them both," Chandler said, his voice cold. "Name your price." I stared at him, stunned. Kristyn stopped crying, her face turning an ugly shade of green with jealousy. "I'd die for you, Chandler!" she shrieked, suddenly launching herself at Jermaine in a theatrical display of devotion. Jermaine, enraged, grabbed her by the hair and slammed her against the boat's railing. In that moment, I saw it. A glint of metal in Jermaine's hand. A kn**e. He was going to stab Chandler. I didn't think. I just moved. I threw myself at Chandler, pushing him out of the way. Jermaine's attack missed its target. The kn**e plunged deep into Kristyn's stomach. She let out a piercing scream and collapsed in a pool of bl**d. Chandler's face twisted with rage. He kicked Jermaine aside and then turned to me, his eyes blazing. "You did this on purpose," he snarled, his voice a low, terrifying growl. "You used him to k**l her." "I... I was trying to save you," I stammered, my whole body trembling. "Save me?" He laughed, a sound full of hate. "If I had known you were this venomous, I would have let you drown." He scooped up the bleeding Kristyn and carried her off the boat, leaving me behind with her would-be murderer. I collapsed onto the deck, my body numb, my heart frozen. My phone, which had fallen from my pocket, buzzed on the deck. The screen lit up with a stark notification from my health app. Life expectancy: 24 hours remaining. A strange sense of calm washed over me. I was finally going to be free. I don't know how long I was on that boat. A day, maybe more. Eventually, someone found me. I dragged my exhausted body home and wrote a will. Everything I had-which was nothing more than the money from Chandler that I never touched-I left to the orphanage where we first met. I called my doctor's office and arranged to donate my body to medical science. "Just please," I told the nurse, "come and get me when it's over. I don't want him to find me." Then I lay down on my bed and closed my eyes, ready for it to end. I was just drifting off when the door burst open. Bodyguards. Chandler's men. They pulled me out of bed and dragged me to a car. They took me to the hospital. Chandler was there, pacing frantically. "Kristyn is dying," he said, his voice ragged. "She has a rare bl**d disorder. She needs a bone marrow transplant. You're a match." I stared at him in disbelief. "Chandler, I can't. The doctor said another procedure will k**l me." "Don't be so dramatic," he snapped, his patience gone. "You've lived a life of luxury for five years. You're not that fragile." He grabbed my shoulders, his eyes wild. "Don't be selfish, Ava. Do this one last thing for me. I'll make it up to you. I promise." They forced me into the operating room. As the door swung shut, I saw Kristyn, who was supposed to be on her deathbed, sit up in her bed in the adjoining room. A wicked, triumphant smile spread across her face. "I don't have a bl**d disorder, you id**t," she mouthed through the glass, her eyes sparkling with malice. "You're going to die anyway," her voice, though unheard, was clear in my mind. "Might as well make it quick." She gave an order to the doctors in my room. Her doctors. A nurse approached me with a thick needle. I felt a sharp, brutal pain as it plunged into my spine. They were draining my bone marrow. They were draining my life. I screamed. Through the glass, Kristyn blew me a k**s. "I'll never forget you, Ava." My vision blurred. My body convulsed in agony. I had always imagined a peaceful death, drifting away in my sl**p. Not this. Not this brutal, painful end. My life flashed before my eyes. The orphanage. The candy bar. The hospital proposal. The loneliness. The pain. A final tear slid down my cheek. Goodbye, Chandler, I thought. I hope we never meet again. ...... What happens next? Available chapters here are limited, click the button below to install the App and enjoy more exciting chapters (Automatically jump to this novel when you open the app) &2&