He Let Me Drown, Another Man Taught Me Love

Nina lay in an ICU bed. Beneath the oxygen mask, every breath felt like knives cutting through her lungs.

She had barely crawled back from the brink of death. The doctors had said that if she had arrived two hours later, no one could have saved her.

But the moment she regained consciousness, she heard Aria's weak sobbing from the next room. "Julian… I'm so cold… Am I going to die?"

Julian's voice was low but firm. "You won't. Hang on. I'll get someone to transfuse blood for you right away."

"But… the blood bank is running low," the nurse said anxiously.

Julian's tone left no room for argument. "Nina and Aria have the same blood type. Take hers."

Nina's entire body froze.

In that moment, it felt as if her soul had been torn apart.

He had once taken a bullet for her. Now he was willing to drain her blood to save another woman.

The attending doctor immediately protested. "Mr. Blackwell! Dr. Avery just suffered massive blood loss. Her hemoglobin is only sixty. If we draw more blood, she could die!"

"She won't die." Julian's eyes were cold. "She's tough. Aria has lost too much blood. We can't wait."

The doctor's voice trembled. "This really isn't possible!"

"I said take her blood." Julian spoke each word slowly, carrying the unmistakable pressure of a mafia heir. "If something happens, I'll take responsibility."

When the needle pierced her vein, Nina didn't resist.

She simply stared at the ceiling, letting the warm blood flow drop by drop into the transfusion tube.

So in his eyes, her life was nothing more than a resource that could be measured and sacrificed.

The transfusion lasted forty minutes.

Nina's blood pressure suddenly plummeted, and the heart monitor shrieked with a sharp alarm.

The nurse screamed. "The patient is going into shock!"

Julian only glanced over coldly. "Stabilize her. How is Aria doing?"

"Miss Monroe is out of danger."

"Good." He turned and walked away without looking back.

As Nina drifted toward unconsciousness, she heard those words. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye into her hair.

It took an entire day and night before she woke again.

Her body felt as if it had been crushed and stitched back together. She was too weak to even lift a hand.

The hospital door opened. Aria walked in wearing a patient's gown, her complexion rosy and her smile bright.

"Nina, thank you for saving me." She sat beside the bed, her voice syrupy sweet. "Julian said your blood worked perfectly. I felt better almost immediately."

Nina closed her eyes and ignored her.

Aria leaned closer and lowered her voice. "Do you know what you are? Just a tool. I'm the rose he keeps in the palm of his hand."

Nina suddenly opened her eyes, her voice hoarse. "Get out."

"Oh, angry?" Aria sneered. "What do you think you are?"

Nina stared at her. "At least I didn't fake an illness to get sympathy."

Aria's expression changed. Suddenly she grabbed the glass from the bedside table and smashed it against her own forehead.

"Ah!" she screamed as she collapsed, blood instantly pouring down her face.

Julian rushed in at the sound. Seeing Aria covered in blood, he immediately picked her up. "Aria! Who did this?"

Aria pointed at Nina through tear-filled eyes. "She… she yelled at me… and hit me…"

"I didn't!" Nina protested urgently. "She did it to herself!"

Julian didn't even look at her. "Lock her up," he ordered the bodyguards. "No one sees her without my permission."

"Julian!" Nina screamed. "You believe her? Are you blind?"

Julian finally turned back, his eyes icy. "Nina, I've already shown you more mercy than you deserve. Don't force me to make you disappear."

He carried Aria away without hesitation.

Nina collapsed back onto the bed as silent tears slipped down her face.

This time, even anger was gone.

All that remained was a barren silence.

The next day, she checked herself out of the hospital.

As she stepped out of the hospital entrance, a black Maybach pulled up in front of her.

The window rolled down. It was the butler from the Blackwell family's estate.

"Ms. Avery, Mr. Blackwell would like you to come to the estate."

Nina felt a slight tremor run through her body. A bad feeling crept over her.

The car drove toward the century-old estate outside the city, the true center of Blackwell power.

The iron gates slowly opened, revealing rows of guards in black standing on both sides.

Edmund sat at the head seat, his expression grave.

Julian stood by the window, the gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses impossible to read.