Chapter 36
Chapter 36:
Brinley couldn’t shake the absurd thought that Austin might be gravely ill—perhaps battling some hidden disease that required a lifesaving organ transplant, and she was a perfect match.
The idea slithered down her spine, leaving goosebumps in its wake. Scenes from melodramatic soap operas flickered through her mind, where marriages of convenience masked sinister plots for organ harvesting.
What if Austin had a secret illness and needed her organ to survive?
As his legal wife, wasn’t she the most convenient donor?
“Something bothering you?” Austin’s voice broke through her spiraling thoughts as he stepped inside.
Catching sight of her pallor, he reached out to check her forehead. Brinley flinched away, dodging his touch so quickly she nearly stumbled.
Her eyes dropped to his long, refined fingers, and her imagination betrayed her—those hands no longer belonged to a businessman, but to a surgeon gripping a scalpel. Panic jolted through her, and she backed into the kitchen counter with a sharp thud.
“N-no, it’s nothing!” She forced a brittle smile. “I just feel exhausted. I’ll head upstairs to rest p>
𝗗𝘰w𝗻𝗅𝗈a𝖽𝗮𝘣𝗹е 𝗣𝖣𝗙s 𝗈ո 𝘨𝘢𝗅ո𝗈𝘷еls.𝗰𝗈𝗆
Before Austin could say another word, she turned and fled to the second floor.
He lingered there, his hand frozen midair as he watched her hasty retreat.
A faint crease formed between his brows.
Why on earth was Brinley acting so strangely?
Later that evening, she lay restless in bed, twisting beneath the sheets. Her thoughts tangled with the image of Austin calmly chewing her burnt cookies, overlapping with Miguel’s description of the merciless CEO who crushed rivals without blinking.
The more she dwelled on it, the colder her skin felt—until fear dragged her into a nightmare.
In the depths of her dream, Austin’s smile warped into something sinister as he came after her, a scalpel gleaming in his hand.
“You monster, Austin!” she shouted in her sleep, thrashing against invisible hands. “You’re after my kidney?! I swear, I’ll fight you off p>
Her arms flailed wildly, nearly toppling the lamp on her bedside table. She cried out again, her voice ragged with desperation. “There’s nothing I want from you, yet you’re greedy enough to want my kidney p>
Downstairs, Austin lay awake, her strange behavior earlier still gnawing at him. When her muffled cries drifted down the stairwell, he threw on a robe and hurried up.
Pushing open the bedroom door, he found Brinley twisted in the sheets, her face damp with sweat, her brow knotted tight.
She mumbled frantically, words spilling out in broken fragments. “Kidney… my kidney… Austin, give it back p>
He froze beside the bed, staring at her tormented expression. A helpless sigh slipped from his lips before he leaned down, brushing her clammy forehead with careful fingers.
The instant his touch grazed her cheek, her eyes snapped open.
Panic flared in them as she recoiled with a piercing scream. “Ah! Austin! You really came to steal my kidney p>
The room was cloaked in darkness, and under the silver wash of moonlight, his face looked shadowed and inscrutable. Only half his features were visible, the rest swallowed by night—perfectly matching the sinister figure that had haunted her dream.
Brinley scrambled backward in panic, her hands and feet tangling in the sheets until her spine hit the headboard. Her wide eyes brimmed with fear.