Chapter 1

My husband Alex discovered I was immortal — and turned me into a blood bag for his beloved Bella.

When a stalker targeted Bella, he had me pose as her. I ended up beaten and crippled.

When kidnappers took Bella, he sent me in as her substitute. I got blown apart by explosives.

I tried to run, sobbing, desperate to escape — but he always dragged me back.

He'd always say: "It's fine. It's not like you can die anyway."

What he didn't know was that I'd made a deal with a god to give up my immortality.

Within three months, my immortality would fade away entirely.

And yet he was still using me as Bella's human shield, right up to the very end.

He had no idea this would be the last time.

I woke up again and stared blankly at the wedding photo of me and Alex hanging on the wall.

The couple in the photo looked perfect together — he was handsome, I was pretty. But there wasn't a single smile on his face.

Everyone said Alex loved me to the bone. What they didn't know was that I was nothing more than a stand-in for Bella — his foster sister, the woman he truly wanted.

By day, I took Bella's hits. By night, I took her place in his bed.

All because they couldn't be together.

A few hours ago, I'd been attacked by one of Bella's obsessed fans.

The guy came at me with a knife, stabbing me over and over until I was covered in holes, bleeding everywhere.

Bella laughed from the comfort of Alex's arms and said, "Good thing you had Chloe pretend to be me. Otherwise, I'd be the one looking like a pincushion right now."

The way she looked at me — like I was the lowest, most pathetic creature alive.

And Alex just gazed at her with that tender, adoring look of his, and said lightly, "It's fine. It's not like she can die."

I'd lost count of how many times I'd taken the fall for Bella.

A stalker hunted her — I stepped in and got beaten until I couldn't walk.

Kidnappers took her — I went in her place and got blown to pieces by explosives.

And now? A few dozen stab wounds. No big deal.

I looked down at my wounds in silence.

They weren't healing the way they used to.

My immortality was disappearing.

A few days ago, a divine presence from another realm had come to me. I was the one who'd asked it to remove my immortality.

It agreed.

In three months, my immortality would be gone completely.

After that, I would be ordinary. No powers. No protection.

I gave my wounds one last bitter look and let the memories of my life with Alex wash over me.

Everything that had already happened — I'd endured it all.

Everything still to come — I was powerless to change.

Some time passed. The bedroom door swung open and Alex walked in.

His handsome face was half-hidden in shadow.

He looked at my pale face and the wounds exposed on my skin, and his brow furrowed. "What's going on? Why is it taking so long to heal this time?"

I gave a hollow smile and said nothing.

He reached out and touched my face — the face that looked so much like Bella's — and let out a relieved sigh.

"Good. The face is untouched."

It felt like a needle to the heart. The only thing he cared about was how much I resembled her.

What about the dozens of stab wounds covering the rest of me?

He pulled me close, his grip carrying a raw, possessive pull.

I hissed and pulled back, whimpering, "That hurts."

But he didn't stop. He didn't care what I wanted.

He spoke coldly against my ear: "Then grit your teeth."

At the most intimate moment, I heard him murmur softly against my skin — "Bella…"

The tenderness in his voice — as if I were the most precious thing in the world to him.

I stared up at the crystal chandelier above me, and in that moment, I felt my tears run dry.

To him, I was nothing. Just a body he used to fill the void she left.

A clap of thunder shook the air. Outside, rain came pouring down — just like my tears.

Alex's phone rang. It was Bella. She was crying, saying she was scared of the thunder, saying she needed him.

Alex's voice went soft and gentle. "I'll be right there."

He didn't look at me once. No explanation. He just grabbed his jacket and walked out the door — like I was a piece of garbage he could throw away whenever he felt like it.