Temptation of affection
Chapter 1
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My sister, Sarah, was getting a check–up at the hospita when they found out she had leukemia. Turns out, my b marrow was a perfect match.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I told my family that was the one who was sick.
Their reaction was a unanimous “no way.”
“Donating bone marrow is risky, we can’t put Sarah thre that,” they said.
“You being sick is your problem, don’t drag your sister it. You’ve gotta accept what life throws at you.”
And Sarah herself just flat–out refused, claiming she wi trying to get pregnant.
The last threads holding our family together were rippe shreds.
I finally got it. I left my test results behind and walked c done with the whole damn thing.
1
I’d just found out I was pregnant myself when I got the news about the bone marrow match.
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My advisor, Dr. Ramirez, had pulled me aside, looking He told me that if I wanted to donate to Sarah, I’d pr have to terminate my pregnancy first.
He urged me to think it through and talk it over with 1 husband, Ben.
And honestly, I was torn.
I’d been taking all kinds of herbs and going through fe treatments for months to get this baby.
And Ben had been practically jumping for joy when he found out I was pregnant, like he couldn’t wait to be a
To lose this baby… It was a thought I could barely star
But Sarah was only 29, and she’d always been my par golden child, their world. If something happened to her they’d be destroyed.
So, after agonizing about it all afternoon, I decided to home after work that night.
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When I got there, they were all having a big, happy dini
Besides Sarah and her husband, my younger brother, and his girlfriend were there too.
They were laughing, toasting – clearly celebrating something.
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But the cozy scene froze the moment I walked in.
Everyone’s smiles faltered, and they awkwardly put the glasses down.
Only my mom forced a chuckle, making a show of bein affectionate as she pulled out a chair for me.
“We thought you were busy, honey, or we would’ve invit you. But you got lucky, sit down and eat with us.”
But she could say all the nice things she wanted, her actions gave away the fact that there was a distance th
Suddenly, I had this urge to mess with them a bit.
I did a complete 180. Instead of my usual quiet self, I tu and gently took hold of her hand that was on my arm.
“Mom, I’m sick.”
Her hand stiffened. She played along, pretending it was nothing.
“…Uh, well, if you’re sick, eat up. Food cures everything
She didn’t even ask what was wrong, she just used the excuse of moving the chair to pull her hand away from
Matt frowned.
“Ava, you’re always trying to kill the mood. Every time something good happens in the family, you gotta spoil
“Sarah just got a spot on that big European tour. Don’t
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me you weren’t doing this on purpose.”
I ignored him and sat down in the chair my mom had
out for me.
“… I have leukemia,” I said.
Matt shut up.
My mom’s hand, which was reaching for the serving spoons, froze, and they dropped onto the floor.
The room went dead quiet.
My mom’s eyes welled up, she stood near me, wiping
away.
At the head of the table, my dad, who’d been quiet, fir spoke.
He said, “You need to tell your in–laws about this. The afford the medical bills.”
He shot me a disapproving look.
“You need to be more calm about this. Don’t be so ras Don’t go and give your mother high blood pressure.”
Mom scrubbed at her face and started piling food ontc plate.
“Your father is right. This isn’t something that needs to addressed right now, eat first.‘
Sarah smiled like she was a cheerful little girl
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Sarah smiled like she was a cheerful little girl.
“Yeah, you always worry too much, that’s what makes y
sick. Eat up, laugh, and everything will be okay.”
I didn’t touch my food.
I looked around at each of them.
“I’m not here to borrow money for treatment,” I said.
“I came to ask if Sarah could donate bone marrow.”
The room went silent again.
After a long pause, my dad slammed his fork down on t
table.
“Nonsense!”
He scowled at me.
“Don’t you know that donating bone marrow is risky?”
I laughed humorlessly.
“Isn’t saving my life worth a small risk?”
My dad stubbornly turned his head away.
“We can’t risk it with Sarah, even if it’s a 1% risk, that’s 100% risk to her.”
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I wasn’t surprised by my dad’s answer. As the second c who’d been sent away to live with family friends when I a kid, he hadn’t wanted me from the start, and wasn’t excited about me coming back either.
But at least my mom and Sarah were friendly to me,
I turned to my mom.
She was already crying.
I looked at her hopefully, thinking that maybe this would a chance for us to break through the awkwardness betv
- us.
That maybe she would see that I was sick and hug me t way she always hugged Sarah.
But she just cried and said something even more heartle
She said, “Sweetie, we all have to face whatever fate ha us, and even if you don’t like it, you have to accept it.”
She clutched her chest, looking devastated.
“Don’t drag your sister into it just because you’re sick. I lost both my daughters, how would I go on living?”
That’s when it hit me, Mom wasn’t worried about losing both of her daughters.
She was just worried about losing Sarah.
I felt myself losing interest. I then looked at Sarah, the c
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who this whole ordeal was about.
Since I’d been brought back home, Sarah had always t kind to me.
Even though she’d always said high–and–mighty things was obvious she’d had a sheltered life.
At least she would tell Matt to stop when he was being mean to me.
So, I still had some hope left.
But Sarah’s attitude was the opposite of her usual mildness, her face was contorted in anger as she glare
- me.
“Ava, you’re doing this on purpose!”
She stood up, emotional and angry, like she’d been put up with me for too long.
“I’ve wanted to say this for a long time, you’ve always f like our parents were wrong to send you away, so you‘ had this dark cloud hanging over you since you came b you like to make everyone miserable.”
“You act like we don’t know, like you suffered so much when you were gone, we know you’re trying to make o parents feel guilty!”
