Chapter 2

The colossal deep-sea creature finally revealed itself before my eyes—an enormous octopus.

It waved its extremely long eight tentacles, slowly passing by my side, without even sparing me a glance.

The octopus's slimy bodily fluids splattered onto me, emitting a nauseating, putrid stench.

In this unfortunate situation, the silver lining was that octopuses don't like to eat humans, I grimly consoled myself.

I relaxed my body, allowing the gushing seawater to flood into me.

Before death, the experience I regretted most played over and over in my mind.

It was an ordinary evening, and I was lying uneasily on the cold operating table.

On the adjacent bed lay the unconscious Zara.

In this surgery, one of my lungs would be transplanted to Zara.

Nash had promised me that if I saved his cousin, he would agree to get a vasectomy, permanently childless.

Although he had agreed before we got married, he had to go back on his word due to pressure from his parents.

On the operating table, I naively thought: If I don't want to have children, I should at least sacrifice something for Nash.

"Doctor, I'm not sensitive to anesthesia. Nash should have already told you about this, right?"

The lead surgeon, a middle-aged man in his fifties, frowned without saying a word, only gesturing to the anesthesiologist to slightly increase the dosage.

I was stunned. Hadn't he mentioned it?

The anesthetic gradually took effect, but I remained in a state between sleep and wakefulness, constantly hearing the clinking of surgical instruments.

The harsh glare of the overhead fluorescent lights pierced my eyes. In my dazed state, I felt my belly being cut open.

A sharp, prickling sensation irritated my nerves, causing me to groan.

Hushed whispers from the doctors arose.

"What's going on? Why is she still conscious?" It was a female nurse's voice.

The lead surgeon deliberately lowered his voice, "Her husband didn't mention she was this resistant to anesthesia! We can't possibly continue the surgery!"

"What do we do now? We've already opened her up!"

"Let's keep going... Actually... Her husband slipped me some cash, said his darling has a high pain tolerance."

With those words, an eerie silence fell over the operating room.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I felt the cold instruments probing my insides.

It hurt! God, it hurt so bad! Every cell in my body seemed to be screaming in agony!

My limbs twitched slightly, but I couldn't speak.

At this point, I had no choice but to let the doctors finish the surgery.

Otherwise, I might not make it out alive!

The torturous procedure dragged on for what felt like an eternity. In my hazy state, I thought I saw my bloody lungs being removed.

Finally, it was over. I breathed an internal sigh of relief.

I believed that by the time they started stitching me up, I'd be too numb from the pain to feel anything anymore.

"Now, now! Let's get her stitched up already!" the timid nurse asked, her voice on the verge of tears.

"Yes, and after the stitches, we'll insert the IUD."

IUD! Isn't that for sterilization? Didn't he promise he'd get a vasectomy?!

My heart sank, and the tears I'd been holding back flowed freely.

My body began to move slightly in protest.

No! No! I told him I have uterine fibroids and the doctor said I can't use an IUD!

The two doctors forcefully spread my legs, inserting the contraceptive device through my lower body and into my uterus.

Furious and in unbearable pain, I passed out.

When I woke up again, it was early morning.

I struggled to open my eyes, my entire body feeling like it had been torn apart, pain consuming me.

In the morning light, the man I had loved for years was leaning over, his arms braced on either side of the adjacent bed next to mine.

He tenderly planted a lingering kiss on Zara's forehead.

Zara's sleeping profile gradually overlapped with the image I'd glimpsed on Nash's phone screen.

That was no random internet picture! The girl on Nash's phone was clearly Zara!