Reborn To Stay Away From Him novel Chapter 1

Chapter 1

On her 60th birthday, Josephine Faye lay at death’s door.

The hospital had issued the third critical condition notice–she needed a transplant immediately.

But her husband, Edmund Oswald, would not allow their son, Stephen Oswald, to donate part of his liver.

Refusing to lie there and wait for the end, she got up and dragged herself to the doctor’s office, hand braced against the wall.

As she reached the door, she overheard Edmund speaking.

“Steve isn’t my wife’s biological child, so a match is impossible. Frankly, even if he were a match, I still wouldn’t let him donate.”

The doctor looked surprised. “What about her biological child? If they act now, she could survive.”

Edmund shook his head.

“Her daughter died in a car accident three years ago. We’ve decided to give up treatment.”

Josephine trembled violently as the shock hit her. Her throat tightened, letting out nothing but a jagged, wheezing rasp as she struggled to breathe.

Stephen wasn’t her child?

Impossible!

She had suffered through three days and nights of labor just to give birth to him.

Even after her uterus had been removed to save her life, holding the tiny baby in her arms made every bit of pain worth it.

“Edmund!”

She shouted with all her remaining strength.

The surge of emotion made her stagger, nearly collapsing.

The next moment, her best friend, Diana Harlette, caught her.

Before Josephine could even thank her, Diana fell to her knees, tears streaming.

“You’re old. If you die, it’s your time. But Steve is still young–he can’t go through a surgery this dangerous.”

“I can’t hide it anymore. Steve is mine and Eddy’s child. Look at him- he’s called you ‘Mom‘ for decades. Don’t make it harder for him.

“I’m begging you… I’ll kneel for you if I have to!”

Josephine’s chest rose and fell weakly. She could do nothing, just watch the two of them cling to each other in front of her.

Her whole life, in the end, amounted to nothing but a faint word, “compensation.”

No wonder Diana could come and go from the military base housing area at will.

No wonder every gift from Edmund had a piece for her.

All those years of shared life–it was just empty joy.

And her daughter–whom she had planned to name Jesslyn Oswald- was already dead, far from home.

He had fallen for someone else. He could have told her.

Why trap her in this false marriage and let it cost Jesslyn’s life, too?

A piercing alarm rang out.

The heart monitor flatlined.

Josephine bit down hard on her lip, exhaling her last breath, and then she was gone.