Chapter 3 He was afraid that if she died, there would be no one to donate blood

The place was supposed to be a marital home, yet River barely ever came back. And when he did, it was only to pressure her into donating blood for Cecilia.

Opening the door, she was greeted by silence. For the sake of marriage, she missed her exam to become a licensed traditional medicine doctor. After marrying River, he insisted that a wife should be obedient. So, she gave up a prestigious hospital job and her title, choosing instead to work at a nearbyhospital as a mere assistant.

She forced herself to learn household chores and cooking, things she despised, spending her days in the kitchen and waiting in the living room for River late into the night, only to be met with despair in the darkness. She felt as insignificant as a stain in the kitchen sink, while River was either having candlelit dinners with Cecilia or personally putting her to sleep at the hospital. Enough was enough!

Zinnia walked to the dining room. On the table, as usual, was a bowl of overly sweet bird’s nest soup left by the maid. In the past, after she had donated somuch blood that she was pale as a ghost, River had seen her and started leaving this soup for her. She thought it was a sign of his care, but River had said, "Celia needs healthy, fresh blood." To him, she was nothing more than a walking blood bank. Yet she endured the humiliation, drinking every drop each time. But now...

Suddenly recalling something, Zinnia found a small jar in the kitchen, scooped some of the soup into it, and dumped the rest down the sink. She hated overly sweet things!

Turning on all the lights, she climbed the stairs in the bright glow, prepareda herbal bath, and soaked comfortably, washing away the chill. The mirror reflected a delicate, pale face. In less than a year of marriage, she had been worn down to this state. Love a man? She should love herself!

Zinnia played a lullaby her mother loved, and as the music played, she opened the closet. She found that three-quarters of it was filled with River's clothes, while her own were crammed into a corner. The wardrobe was full of flashy, bejeweled outfits, all chosen to suit River's or rather, Cecilia's style.

"How foolish," she muttered, shakingher head.

She yanked all of River's clothes off the hangers and tossed them into the trash. Then she pulled out a suitcase, packing a few pre-marriage clothes, personal items, and important documents.

Opening the vanity drawer, she found it filled with yellowed paper cranes. They were from birthdays past, when River...

Shaw used to give her paper cranes he folded himself, each one containing a wish for her to grow up healthy and happy. He started this tradition fromthe day they met and continued until just before their wedding. He promised, "Zinni, I'll take care of you forever."

Funny how she was the only one who remembered his promise. The paper cranes turned yellow with age, and men, well, they change just like that. Zinnia closed the drawer, deciding not to take anything from it.

Just then, her phone on the bedside table lit up twice. One was a bank notification, and the other was a text from an unknown number—Sebastian Huo. [Your card has reached its limit.]Personal daily large transfers have restrictions; her card could only receive thirty million today. The five hundred million couldn't be transferred all at once. Zinnia smiled slightly; he was true to his word.

She replied with a thank you, saved Sebastian's number, and then messaged her friend Soleil, who was on a business trip in Apex City. She asked Soleil to help find a villa and inquire about a well-known lawyer in Bridgewater City. After finishing these tasks, Zinnia turned off the lights and comfortably lay on the guest bed, replaying the day's events in her mind.She had been reborn in the first year of her marriage to River Shaw. On this day, she donated blood to Cecilia Chin. Weighing less than 100 pounds, she was forced by River to give 600 milliliters! A strong man can't donate more than 400 milliliters at once! Weak and left in the pouring rain by River, she couldn't get a cab and had to walk home, eventually catching pneumonia. Her health deteriorated, leading to frequent hospital stays, and River never visited her. She lay alone in the hospital bed, enduring the heart-wrenching pain, a memory still vivid.Now, she planned to sleep well, take care of her health, and never let herself be mistreated by a jerk again. Soon, she fell into a deep nightmare.

Surrounded by towering waves, a capsizing ship, and flames reaching the sky, she was swallowed by the sea, sinking slowly into darkness. "Help... help me!" She reached out desperately for help but received no response. Finally, her body plunged into the deep sea, and through the blur, a white figure swam swiftly toward her, like an angel descending!

He embraced her from behind, pulling her away from the terrifying darkness.She tried desperately to see his face, but it remained unclear. Who are you?!

The scene shifted, and she was already ashore, opening her eyes in a daze to see the cold, indifferent face of 26-year-old River Shaw! "Ah!!!!!!"

Zinnia woke up with a start, barely having time to gather her thoughts before her phone rang urgently with River's distinctive ringtone. In the past, a call from River would fill her with joy, and she'd answer in a heartbeat.

But now, that jerk just wouldn't leave her alone...Switching her phone to silent mode, she took a sip of lemon water to calm her nerves, rubbed her temples to clear her mind, and finally answered the call.

"Why did you take so long to pick up?"

Since their marriage, River's tone was always cold and impatient, laced with blame and displeasure. In her past lifeshe hadn't realized that River used this kind of manipulative language to belittle and control her!

Zinnia rolled her eyes dismissively and replied coolly, "Get to the point."

Hearing her indifferent tone, River's dark eyes flashed with irritation. He glanced back at the hospital room and ordered, "Get to the hospital. Celia needs your blood."

Then the call abruptly ended with a busy tone.

"Heh..."

Zinnia's lips curled into a mockingsmile. In her past life, she had naively thought that donating blood to Cecilia would move River. But it turned out, it was just Cecilia's way of tormenting her for fun. And River? Forget being moved; he didn't even see her as a person!

It was time to take back what was hers!

Zinnia took a short nap, then chose a simple yet elegant white dress. She leisurely enjoyed a breakfast rich in iron before casually heading to the hospital. No rush.

First, she went to the lab to find her college friend and handed over a sealedcontainer from last night. "Could you do a test for me, please?"

"Sure, but the composition is complex; it'll take some time."

"No worries, I'm not in a hurry."

At 9 AM, she finally arrived at Cecilia's hospital room.

Creak.

Zinnia pushed open the door to see a cold array of blood-drawing needles and even more blood storage tubes than yesterday. All prepared as a grand gift for her!Her gaze shifted to the side...

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