My Stolen Kidney Your Eternal Regret

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At my own wedding reception, the interloperthe man who had stolen my lifeleaned in close under the guise of a celebratory toast. Felix offered me a smile that didn't reach his eyes, a sharp, predatory glint in the candlelight.

Happy wedding day, Miles, he whispered, his voice oily. Just so you know, Ive already had a taste of the bride. Shes... quite enthusiastic.

The red haze took me instantly. I didn't think; I just swung. My fist connected with his jaw, sending him sprawling into the tiered wedding cake.

The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the sharp crack of Madelines hand against my face. Then another. And another. She slapped me six times in front of the cream of society, her eyes burning with a cold, righteous fury.

"Felix never asked for anything!" she hissed, her voice trembling. "He gave up everything for you, and you still can't stand to see him happy!"

"Id rather have married a stray dog than a man as classless as you," she spat.

With a flick of her wrist, she signaled the security team. They dragged me down to the sub-basement of the Holloway estate, throwing me into a concrete pit filled with venomous snakesa "meditation chamber" designed to break my spirit.

For seven days, I was left in that dark, slithering hell. Then, my three biological sisters arrived, not to rescue me, but to settle the score.

Katherine, the CEO who ran our family empire with an iron fist, kicked me hard enough to shatter my shin. "Felix cried all night because of your stunt," she said, her voice like ice. "Ive already signed over every cent of your trust fund to him. You don't deserve it."

Margot, the Academy Award-winning darling of the silver screen, grabbed my arm and twisted until the bone snapped. "Im scrubbing you from the family archives, Miles. Felix is the only brother this family acknowledges. Youre nothing but a mistake we should have left in the gutter."

But Beatrice, the world-renowned surgeon, was the most clinical in her cruelty. She knelt beside me, a scalpel glinting in her hand. "Felix has suffered from kidney issues since he was a child. To make up for what you've done, you're going to give him one of yours. A healthy one."

Before I could even scream, she opened me up. No anesthesia. No sterile field. Just the raw, visceral agony of my organs being harvested while I was still conscious.

As the pain reached a crescendo that threatened to shatter my mind, a cold, mechanical voice echoed in my head.

Ding.

[Congratulations, Host. You have completed the 'Discarded Side Character' storyline!]

[Upon the death of this physical vessel, you will be transported back to your original world to claim your 0-00 billion prize!]

...

The moment I heard those words, my screaming stopped.

The despair that had been suffocating me for years suddenly evaporated, replaced by a crystalline sense of relief. I was almost out.

Katherine and Margot had already left, carrying my kidney in a chilled container like a trophy. Only Beatrice remained in the filth of the basement, her brow furrowed as she worked.

Blood continued to seep from the incision. She grumbled as she began to stitch me up, her movements hurried and careless.

"If you had just cooperated and donated the kidney like a man, we wouldn't have had to do the surgery in these conditions," she said, her voice dripping with annoyance. "This is such a hassle."

I remembered last week. Felix had gotten a papercut while looking through some filesa tiny, microscopic nick. Beatrice had reacted as if the world were ending. Shed summoned a team of specialists, performed an emergency bandaging, and checked on him every three hours.

But for me, as she literally sewed up a hole where my organ used to be, I was just a "hassle."

Perhaps sensing my silence, she leaned down and patted my cheek, then jabbed an antibiotic into my arm.

"Stop acting," she said. "I know you're fine. A little scratch like this won't kill you. You're just trying to play the victim so I'll feel guilty and stop favoring Felix. Its pathetic, Miles. Now that youre a Holloway, lose the gutter mentality."

In the past, I would have begged for her to see me. I would have cried, pleading for a shred of sisterly love.

Now, I felt nothing but a numb, hollow peace.

I closed my eyes and whispered, "Just go. Leave me here to die."

To me, death was the finish line. But to Beatrice, it was another provocation.

"What is that supposed to mean, Miles? You're trying to guilt-trip me now?"

She intentionally yanked the suture thread hard. The raw edges of the wound bunched together, and a fresh surge of blood soaked through the makeshift bandages. The pain was astronomical, the kind that makes your vision go white.

She watched me gasp for air, sweat pouring down my face. For a fleeting second, a shadow of somethingpity? regret?crossed her face, and her tone softened slightly.

"Youre my brother, Miles. Do you have any idea how much money and effort we spent looking for you? We would never let you die."

"Honestly, if you weren't so small-mindedif you hadn't attacked Felixyou wouldn't be in this position."

She sighed and injected a local anesthetic into the site.

"Promise me that when we go back, you won't harass Felix anymore. Apologize to him. If you do that, Ill move you to a real hospital wing and give you the best care. You won't have to suffer anymore."

Listening to her "mercy" felt like a joke.

I was a transmigrator. Id entered the body of Miles Holloway when he was six years old. Three years ago, after a lifetime of hardship, the three Holloway sisters found me, weeping as they claimed I was their long-lost brother.

But when I got to the estate, I found Felix. He was the boy they had adopted to fill the void I left behind.

I recognized him the moment I saw him. Back at the orphanage, he was the one who locked me in a cellar so he could steal my identity when the Holloways came to visit. Hed spent twenty years living my life, enjoying the love that belonged to me, while I suffered in his place.

Yet, every time he squeezed out a fake tear, my sisters turned on me. Even Madeline, my arranged fiance, looked at me with nothing but contempt while she beamed at him.

I was done. I didn't want to fight. I didn't want to explain. I just wanted to go home.

I reached down, my fingers trembling, and gripped the edge of the fresh stitches. With one violent motion, I ripped the wound wide open.

Blood and viscera spilled out onto the cold floor. Beatrice screamed, a high-pitched, jagged sound.

"Miles! Stop! You're going to kill yourself!"

I looked at the tears streaming down her face and felt a ghost of a smile touch my lips.

"Good," I rasped. "Thats the point."

"Living another second in this world... with you people... it makes me sick."

My eyelids grew heavy. The darkness surged up to meet me, and I finally let go.

I don't know how much time passed before I woke up.

I expected to be back in my own world, but when I opened my eyes, I saw the familiar, stern face of my eldest sister, Katherine.

"You're finally awake."

There were dark circles under her eyes, and she looked haggard, but her voice was still laced with that habitual impatience.

"You're a grown man, Miles. Why are you being so impulsive?"

"Trying to kill yourself over a little disagreement... its not very 'Holloway' of you."

The exhaustion hit me like a physical weight. I didn't even have the energy to argue. I just stared at the ceiling, my voice hollow.

"You're right. Im an embarrassment. Im not fit for this family."

"So just let me die."

Katherines face went pale. Her hand twitched as if she wanted to slap me again, but when she saw how ghost-white I was, her hand fell limp at her side.

"Miles! I am warning you, stop talking like that!"

Her voice was shaking. The irritation was still there, but beneath it was a flicker of something she didn't want to admit: terror.

"I spent a fortune and moved heaven and earth to get you out of that basement. I didn't do it so you could talk nonsense!"

I let out a dry, mirthless laugh. A fortune? She probably just didn't want her "backup organ donor" to expire. She didn't want her favorite pet, Felix, to lose his favorite punching bag.

The door pushed open and Beatrice walked in with a tray of medication. When she saw I was awake, a flash of joy crossed her eyes, but she quickly masked it with a scowl.

"Drink this. Don't make me force it down your throat."

She held out a cup of dark, bitter liquid. I turned my head away. "Don't waste it."

"Miles!" Beatrices hands shook with rage, but she didn't force the cup. Instead, she set it on the nightstand and reached out to check my bandages.

Her touch was surprisingly gentlethe kind of tenderness she usually reserved only for Felix.

"The recovery is going well. We used the best regenerative treatments..." She glanced at me, her expression fierce. "Stay still. If you rip these stitches again, I won't fix them."

She sounded tough, but I could see the burst capillaries in her eyes and the slight tremor in her fingers. She hadn't slept.

In the past, this tiny crumb of affection would have made me weep with gratitude. I would have clung to her and begged for forgiveness.

Now, it was just offensive.

I shoved her hand away and threw back the covers, my fingers clawing at the bandages. If I could just finish what I started, Id be free.

"Stop it!" Katherine grabbed my wrists, her grip tight enough to bruise, but she flinched when I groaned in pain. She let go slightly, her voice breaking into a sob. "Miles, what are you doing? What do you want from us?"

"I want to die," I said, my voice eerily calm.

"Letting me go is better for everyone. You won't have to deal with me, and Felix can be the perfect son you always wanted."

"So please. Just let me go."

My words hit Katherine like a physical blow. She raised her hand and struck mebut it wasn't the bone-shattering slap from the wedding. It was light, desperate, the act of someone who didn't know how else to communicate.

"I won't let you! You are a Holloway! I won't let you die!"

Beatrice rushed forward, pinning my shoulders to the bed. Her voice was thick with a rare, pleading tone.

"Miles, stop it. I know it hurts. Just... just get better. Ill take care of you. Ill be better to you, okay?"

I looked into her eyes and felt a wave of nausea.

Where was this sisterly concern when she was carving me open? Where was this tenderness when she was obsessing over Felixs papercut?

I closed my eyes and tuned them out. I wouldn't eat. I wouldn't speak. I wouldn't breathe if I didn't have to.

The door opened again, and my second sister, Margot, stepped in. Following close behind her was Madeline, her face pale and drawn.

Margots eyes turned red the moment she saw me. She rushed to the bedside.

"Miles, thank God you're awake. You scared me to death."

When I first returned to the family, Margot had been the "kind" one. She took me on trips, told me stories of how they never stopped looking for me. But as soon as Felix whispered a few lies into her ear, she turned into my harshest critic, calling me a "snake in the grass" who didn't appreciate the familys love.

I pulled my face away from her hand. Margots fingers froze in mid-air, her expression wounded.

Madeline stepped forward, taking the medicine from Beatrice.

"Let me try," she said softly. "He might listen to me."

She was confident, and why wouldn't she be? For years, I had worshipped the ground she walked on. I had endured her coldness with a smile, loving her with a desperation that was frankly embarrassing.

Just as she sat down, the door opened one more time.

"Miles? I came to see you."

Felix entered, wearing silk pajamas and looking fragile. Katherine immediately went to his side to support him.

"Felix, you just had surgery. You should be resting. Why are you up?"

Felix shook his head, looking at me with a perfectly curated expression of guilt.

"Its my fault. If I had stopped Miles at the wedding, none of this would have happened. I couldn't sleep. I had to apologize."

He took the medicine from Madeline and sat on the edge of my bed.

"Miles, please. Don't be angry with yourself. Just take the medicine. Everyone is so worried."

"I know you still blame me, but I never wanted to take anything from you. Everything the Holloways have... it belongs to you."

It was the same old routine. He was painting me as the bitter, jealous brother who was throwing a tantrum, while he played the saint.

Before the spoon could touch my lips, I slapped the bowl out of his hand.

The ceramic shattered against the floor. The hot liquid splashed across Felixs chest and arms. He let out a sharp cry, his skin reddening instantly.

His eyes welled with tears. "Miles... why? I only wanted to help..."

"Miles! You've lost your mind!"

Katherine was livid. She shoved me back and pulled Felix behind her. "He came here out of the goodness of his heart, and this is how you treat him?"

Beatrice was already hovering over Felix, checking his "burns" with frantic energy. "Is it bad? Someone call a nurse!"

Margot shook her head, her face a mask of disappointment. "Miles, this is too much. Felix apologized. When are you going to stop this childish behavior?"

Madeline was already dabbing Felixs shirt with a tissue, her voice sharp with rebuke. "Cant you be sensible for once? He was trying to be kind. Even if you don't appreciate it, you don't have to be violent."

They swarmed around him, a protective cocoon of love and concern. Not one of them looked at the man who had just had a major organ removed, the man whose stitches were still weeping blood.

Felix leaned into Katherines shoulder, catching my eye for a split second. He gave me a tiny, triumphant smirk before dissolving back into "sobs." "Its okay... don't be mad at him. Hes just in a bad mood..."

In the past, this would have sent me into a blind rage. Now, it was just pathetic. They were all so smartthe CEO, the Surgeon, the Actressand yet they were all puppets for a second-rate manipulator.

"If you want to coddle that parasite, do it outside," I said, my voice flat. "Get out of my room. You're polluting the air."

They froze.

"Miles, its clear you haven't learned your lesson," Beatrice said, her voice shaking with cold fury. "Fine. As of this moment, I am cutting off your morphine. No pain management."

"When you're ready to apologize to Felix, you can have it back."

Katherine nodded. "Exactly. Let him feel what its like to actually hurt. Maybe then hell stop being so entitled."

Margot sighed, and Madeline just looked away.

They filed out, following Felix like ducklings. The door slammed shut.

I didn't care about the pain. Compared to the last twenty years, a hole in my side was nothing. In fact, the pain was good. it kept me sharp. It reminded me that I was almost at the exit.

I reached under my pillow and pulled out a sharp shard of the broken ceramic bowl Id hidden earlier.

Without a second thought, I pressed it to my throat and dragged it across.

As the world began to dim, I felt the strength leaving my limbs. The agonizing throb in my side faded. My heart slowed to a rhythmic, peaceful crawl.

As the darkness finally took me, I actually smiled.

Finally. Its over.

...

In the hallway, Katherine stopped walking.

"You guys take Felix to the clinic," she said, her voice tight. "I feel... uneasy. Im going back to check on Miles."

"Ill go too," Margot said quickly. "He was really upset. Maybe hell listen to me."

"He needs a doctor, not an actress," Beatrice snapped. "Im going."

Madeline looked at Felix, then at the sisters. "Im his wife. I should be there." She offered Felix a quick, apologetic smile. "You'll be okay, right? It's just a little burn. I'll check on you later."

Before Felix could protest, the four women turned back.

But when they pushed open the door to my room, they weren't met with silence or a brooding brother.

They were met with the metallic, cloying scent of fresh blood.