The Borrowed Tomorrow

I had already bought the house we were supposed to build our future in, and over the years, I had carefully set aside a substantial wedding fund. I could not wait to spend the rest of my life with my girlfriend, Jeannie Cooperd. Jeannie had always seemed delicate and timid. Even a simple remark would leave her eyes red with tears. For two years, I spoiled her shamelessly, giving in to her every whim. Every plan I made, every dollar I saved, and every dream I held revolved around our wedding and the life we would share together. Then, I received the kidney compatibility report. The moment I saw the results, my heart turned icy. The woman who normally shrank from pain was now gripping my shoulders with surprising strength, determined to push me toward the operating room. "You're healthy! What's the big deal about living with one kidney?" she cried. "Elliot is dying!" Elliot. The name alone was enough. He was the first love she had never truly let go of, the one she had kept hidden in the deepest corner of her heart. Just yesterday, he was diagnosed with complete kidney failure. To pay for his treatment and cover the debts he had accumulated, Jeannie secretly canceled our wedding, drained every cent from the wedding fund and savings we had built together, and poured it all into Elliot's medical bills and endless financial problems. That was not enough. With sweet words and carefully crafted lies, she coaxed me into coming to the hospital and persuaded me to undergo compatibility testing. Chapter 1 I struggled to pull away, but Jeannie did not hesitate for a second and slapped me. "How can you be this selfish? I've never fought with you for anything else. I'm only asking for this one thing! As long as you agree to donate your kidney, we'll register our marriage right away. Is that enough?" I stared into her eyes and finally saw the truth. The gentle, obedient, and almost saintly side of her that I had seen for the past two years was all an act. The love I had given her, the wedding fund I had carefully saved, the future home we had planned together, and even the life that I had imagined with her… None of it had ever meant anything to her. To her, they were just resources to drain dry; bargaining chips she could use to save her first love. I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and tore the compatibility report into pieces. "I'd rather feed my kidney to a stray animal than donate it to a scumbag dying of late-stage AIDS." "What did you just say?!" Jeannie Cooper's scream shattered the quiet of the examination room. She lunged at me, grabbing my white coat with both hands. "How could Elliot possibly have a filthy disease like that?! Just because you don't want to donate your kidney, you made up a disgusting lie!" Her fingernails dug so hard into my skin that they nearly pierced it. Her eyes were wild with hysteria. Looking at her, I almost wanted to laugh. "A lie? Jeannie, have you forgotten what I do for a living? I'm an attending physician at this hospital. Do you really think I can't access his preliminary blood test results?" Jeannie froze. However, it was only for a moment. The madness quickly returned to her eyes. "Impossible! Elliot is such a pure and kind person! He wouldn't even dare hold a girl's hand casually. How could he get a disease like that? It has to be you! You tampered with the hospital's system because you wanted to leave him to die!" I grabbed her wrists and shoved her away. Then, I straightened the collar she had wrinkled. "Pure? Kind?" I walked to my desk and logged into the hospital's internal database. After entering Elliot's name and identification number, a sealed electronic report immediately appeared on the screen. I turned the monitor toward her. "See for yourself. HIV antibody screening, positive. CD4 cell count, under 50. This is a textbook case of advanced AIDS. His immune system has already collapsed. His kidney failure isn't from overwork. It's a severe complication caused by AIDS." Jeannie's eyes locked on the report. Her pupils instantly widened. The strength seemed to drain from her body, and she swayed violently. "No... That's impossible… That's impossible..." She stared at the glaring word that read out 'Positive' on the screen. The color vanished from her face. Then, a sharp, agonized scream burst from her throat. She clutched her head and stumbled backward until she slammed into a medical cabinet. "It's fake! All of it is fake! Carson, you're unbelievably cruel!" Chapter 2 "It's one thing if you won't save him, but how dare you slander him like this too?!" I watched Jeannie lose control with cold indifference. There was no sympathy left in me, only disgust. I turned, walked to the door, and pulled it open. "Get out." Right in front of her, I slammed the examination room door shut. Her screams and breakdown were completely sealed off. The hallway fell silent for a few seconds, but then the pounding started again, and it was even more violent than before. "Carson! Open this door! You selfish bastard! Do you think some fake report is enough to fool me?! I'm telling you, Elliot's condition can't wait! You're donating that kidney today whether you want to or not!" I sat down in my office chair and took a sip of the cold water on my desk. Five hundred thousand dollars in wedding savings and a canceled wedding banquet. I stared at the bank notification on my phone. For the sake of her first love who was dying from advanced AIDS, she had drained my money dry. Now, she wanted to take my kidney too. The pounding on the door quickly attracted nurses and patients from the hallway. "Ma'am, please stop causing a disturbance outside the examination room. If you keep hitting the door, we'll have to call security." Jeannie's voice became as sharp as nails scraping across glass. "Security? Fine, call them! Let everyone come and see what kind of cold-blooded monster your attending physician is! He's letting someone die! He won't even save his own fiancée's first love! "He makes tens of thousands a month! What's the big deal about losing one kidney? He still has another one! Elliot is only 25 years old! He's still so young!" I set down my cup and stood up. Then, I opened the door. The hallway was crowded with spectators. The moment Jeannie saw me, she rushed forward and tried to grab my clothes again. I stepped aside, causing her to stumble and nearly fall. "Are you done yet?" I asked. Jeannie pointed a finger straight at my face. "Carson, I'm asking you one last time. Are you donating that kidney or not?" I looked at her face, which was twisted with rage. "No. I'd rather cut my kidney out and chop it into pieces before giving it to that piece of trash." Jeannie trembled from head to toe. Her teeth clenched tightly, and her eyes were filled with hatred. "Fine, Carson. Don't regret this. You think Elliot is doomed just because you won't donate your kidney? I'm telling you right now, even if I lose everything, even if it costs me my life, I'll cure him! And as for you..." An icy smile spread across her face. "I'll make sure you pay for what you did today." With that, she shoved through the crowd and stormed away, her high heels slamming against the floor. The head nurse walked over, concern written all over her face. "Dr. Lloyd... Should we call the police?" I shook my head. "No need. She'll come back to me on her own soon enough." … After finishing my rounds the next morning, I returned to my office. Out of habit, I pulled open the bottom drawer of my desk. It was a secure drawer used to store important departmental medications. The lock had been forced open. The three vials of X-40 anti-rejection targeted medication that had been inside were gone. X-40 was still in the clinical trial stage. For patients suffering from severe kidney failure, it worked wonders, rapidly repairing damaged kidney cells. However, it came with one fatal side effect. It placed extreme suppression on the human immune system. An ordinary patient could survive the effects with the help of additional medications. However, for someone with advanced AIDS whose immune system had already collapsed... The drug was nothing less than a death sentence. I stared at the empty drawer. I did not raise any alarm. Instead, I turned around and went to the security office to review the hallway surveillance footage. There she was on the screen. Jeannie sneaked into my office, looking around nervously. Ten minutes later, she hurried out in a panic. One side of her handbag was visibly bulging. I pulled out my phone and dialed Jeannie's number. Chapter 3 The phone rang for a long time before someone finally picked up. "Hello?" There was a smugness in Jeannie's voice that she could not quite hide. "You took the medication?" I asked without wasting time. Jeannie let out an icy laugh on the other end. "So what if I did? Carson, if you won't donate your kidney, what's wrong with me taking a few vials of medicine? The drugs belong to the hospital anyway. Just write them off as damaged or missing. Do you really have to be this stingy?" I walked over to the window and looked down at the busy crowd moving through the streets below. "That medication isn't something you can use casually." Jeannie exploded immediately. "Stop trying to scare me! I already asked other doctors. It's the newest anti-rejection breakthrough drug, and Elliot feels so much better after taking it!" I lifted an eyebrow. "He already took it?" "That's right!" Jeannie's voice shot up several octaves. "I already gave him one injection! Carson, let me tell you something. Once Elliot gets better, I'm leaving with him immediately. "As for the 500,000 dollars in wedding funds, consider it payment for those few vials of medicine. We're even!" I almost laughed at her absurd logic. Five hundred thousand dollars in wedding funds and three vials of a priceless experimental drug that was still in clinical trials. Yet, she thought a casual 'We're even' settled everything. "Jeannie, do you even know that drug causes severe immune suppression? If he really is—" "Shut up!" She cut me off so abruptly that I could not finish. "You're just jealous of Elliot! You don't want to see him recover! First, you made up lies about him having AIDS, and now, you're trying to scare me with side effects? Carson, how can you be so vicious?" I held the phone farther away to keep her shrill screaming from rupturing my eardrums. "I'm vicious?" "I'm warning you, if you dare call the police on me, I'll expose you online for refusing to donate your kidney! I'll make sure the whole internet knows you're a hypocrite who lets people die! I'll ruin your reputation!" After screaming herself breathless, she seemed to be waiting for me to beg. I stayed silent for two seconds before answering, "Do whatever you want. I just hope you won't regret it." Then, I hung up. The screen went dark in my hand. I walked over to the sink and carefully washed my hands. She had taken the bait. If she insisted on driving herself into a dead end, there was no reason for me to stop her anymore. That afternoon, the head of security came to see me. "Mr. Lloyd, about your desk drawer being forced open, do you want us to contact the police?" I shook my head. "No need. I accidentally lost the key, and I had already moved the medication elsewhere." The head of security visibly relaxed. "That's good. The drug is still in clinical trials. It'll be a huge problem if it's actually gone missing." After he left, I sat back down in my office chair. Suddenly, my phone began vibrating nonstop. It was the hospital group chat. Someone had posted a video link and tagged me. [Dr. Lloyd, you need to see this! Someone's spreading rumors about you online!] I tapped the link, and a bold headline filled the screen: [Cold-Blooded Doctor Refuses to Save a Life, Killing Fiancée's First Love to Keep Their Wedding Fund for Himself] The thumbnail showed Jeannie with tears streaming down her face. I leaned back in my chair. "The show's finally starting." In the video, Jeannie was wearing an old T-shirt that looked faded from countless washes. Her hair was messy, and her face looked pale and exhausted. She stared into the camera, crying so hard that it seemed she could barely breathe. "Hello, everyone. My name is Jeannie. My fiancé is Carson, an attending physician at Central City Hospital. My first love, Elliot, was diagnosed with kidney failure yesterday and urgently needs a transplant. "Carson's the perfect match, but he refuses to donate because he wants to keep all 500,000 dollars of our shared savings for himself! He even forged a fake AIDS report and used it to slander Elliot! "Elliot is only 25 years old! He's never even held a girl's hand. How could he possibly have a disease like that?" Chapter 4 "Carson, are you even a doctor? How can you just stand by and watch someone die?" The second half of the video consisted of an audio recording she had secretly taken of me. It was only one sentence, but it was a harsh and merciless one. "I'd rather cut my kidney out and chop it into pieces before giving it to that piece of trash." The clip had been carefully edited and paired with mournful background music. The moment it was uploaded, it exploded across every major platform. The fury of public opinion swallowed me whole. [How is someone like him qualified to be a doctor? He's an animal!] [Her first love is dying! Is losing one kidney really going to kill him?] [He forged an AIDS report? That's illegal! The hospital should fire him immediately!] [Expose him! Make sure he can't survive in this city!] In less than half a day, every detail of my personal information was dug up and spread online. Someone even delivered funeral wreaths to the entrance of my examination room. Reporters packed the hospital entrance so tightly that people could barely get through. At 2:00 pm, the department director called me into his office. He looked exhausted, sighing nonstop. "Carson, all of us trust your medical skills and your character. However, the pressure from public opinion is overwhelming right now. Even upper management can't hold back the backlash anymore. "Why don't you go home and take some time off? Once things calm down, we'll figure it out." Looking at the troubled expression on his face, I nodded. "I understand. I'm sorry for causing trouble for the hospital." I took off the white coat I had worn for five years and carefully folded it before placing it on my desk. After packing a few medical textbooks into my bag, I left the hospital. The moment I stepped into the outpatient lobby, I ran straight into Jeannie. She was pushing a wheelchair. Elliot sat in it, his face pale and weak. Several internet influencers surrounded them, holding up their phones and livestreaming the whole thing. The instant Jeannie saw me, she jumped in front of Elliot like a mother hen protecting her chick. "Carson! You actually have the nerve to show your face! Look what you've done to Elliot!" Elliot leaned against the wheelchair and coughed weakly. When he looked up at me, a flash of smug satisfaction slipped through his eyes. However, when he spoke, his voice sounded weak. "Dr. Lloyd, I heard you've been suspended. I'm really sorry. This is all because of me. Jeannie is just worried. Please don't blame her. If you're angry, take it out on me. After all, I probably don't have many days left anyway." The influencers immediately turned all their cameras toward me. "Look! That's the cold-blooded doctor!" "The patient is already in this condition, and he's still wearing that expression!" Ignoring the cameras around me, I walked over to the wheelchair. Then, I looked down at Elliot from above. "How are you feeling?" I asked. Elliot blinked. "What?" I stared straight into his eyes. "I'm asking how you're feeling after that injection." Elliot smiled. There was obvious provocation hidden behind that smile. "Pretty good. I actually feel stronger. Mr. Lloyd, thanks for the medication." I nodded. "You're welcome. Enjoy the last days of your life." Jeannie exploded with rage. Her entire body trembled as she pointed at my face and started screaming, "Carson, who are you cursing?! You've already been fired! What exactly are you so arrogant about? Get out! The farther away you go, the better!" I ignored her shouting completely and continued walking toward the exit. "Carson! Don't think this is over! You owe us, and I'll make sure you pay back every bit of it with interest!" … I did not return to the hospital dormitory. Instead, I took a cab straight to the home that had once been my future with Jeannie. I had purchased a luxury apartment in the city center and paid for it in full two years ago. The property deed carried only one name—mine. When I reached the front door, I pulled out my key and tried to unlock it. However, no matter how hard I tried, the key would not fit into the lock. Chapter 5 The locks had been changed. I let out a humorless laugh and immediately called a locksmith. Ten minutes later, the locksmith opened the door with practiced ease. I pushed the door and walked inside. A strong smell of disinfectant hit me in the face. The living room was a complete mess. Men's clothes that did not belong to me were piled all over the couch. Elliot was lying on the custom-made leather bed in the main bedroom, the one I had spent 30,000 dollars on. His eyes were closed as he rested. Jeannie was in the kitchen wearing an apron, tending to a pot of soup. The moment she heard someone enter, she rushed out with a ladle in her hand. When she saw it was me, her expression instantly darkened. "What are you doing here? Who said you could come in?" She pointed the ladle at me as if she were driving away an intruder. "Elliot is living here now. He needs a sterile environment to recover! You're covered in germs. Get out!" I stared at her self-righteous expression and found the whole thing absurd. "Jeannie, are you out of your mind? I bought this apartment before we were engaged. I paid for it in full. The deed has only one name on it—mine. And you're telling me to get out?" Jeannie slammed the ladle onto the table and planted her hands on her hips. "So what if you bought it? We're about to get married. What's yours is mine! "Besides, Elliot is seriously ill right now. Do you expect him to stay in some filthy, run-down rental apartment? Can't you show a little compassion?" A weak cough came from the main bedroom. "Jeannie... Stop arguing… I'll leave… I can't keep causing trouble for you..." Elliot struggled to sit up in bed, only to collapse heavily back onto the mattress. Tears immediately filled Jeannie's eyes. She rushed into the bedroom and grabbed his shoulders. "Elliot, don't move! Stay right here! This house belongs to my fiancé, which means it belongs to me too! No one's driving you out!" Then, she turned and glared at me viciously. "Carson, if you're really a man, then you should be the one to leave! When Elliot gets better, we'll naturally give the apartment back to you! And if you dare call the police, I'll completely destroy your reputation online!" I looked at the shameless couple who had taken over my home as if it belonged to them. Then, I smiled. "Fine. I'll leave." I walked into the guest bedroom, grabbed a few clothes, and stuffed them into a suitcase. Dragging it behind me, I headed for the front door. Before leaving, I turned back and looked at Jeannie, who was still standing protectively beside Elliot's bed. "Jeannie, I hope you enjoy living in this apartment." After walking out, I immediately called a real estate agent I knew well. "Mr. Robinson, I need to sell my apartment downtown. Yes, 20% below market value. My only condition is full payment. The faster the ownership transfer, the better." After hanging up, I opened the utility payment app on my phone. I canceled the payment for the apartment's water, electricity, and gas services. Then, I submitted an immediate request to shut everything off. Once that was done, I dragged my suitcase to a five-star hotel near the hospital and checked in. At 10:00 pm, I had just finished showering when my phone suddenly began vibrating nonstop. Jeannie's name flashed across the screen. I answered. "Carson! Are you insane?!" Jeannie's hysterical scream exploded through the speaker. "What gives you the right to shut off the water and electricity?! Elliot's breathing machine stopped working! Are you trying to kill him?!" I calmly dried my wet hair with a towel. "My apartment, my utilities. I can shut them off whenever I want. If you've got a problem with it, pay the bills yourself." "Carson, you animal! I won't let you get away with this!"