She Married My Stolen Credit

My wife, Piper Carlson, yanked out my ventilator tube with her own hands. All because she believed the man who donated a kidney to save her was the guy she'd never gotten over. And me? The husband she'd hated for ten years? Just a liar who stole his credit. "Don't be scared, Elliot. The thief who stole your life finally got what he deserved." The second she pulled the tube, my body locked up. I couldn't breathe. Piper barely looked at me. She just held her "savior" close, relieved I was finally gone. Then, while I was dying, she hit me with one last secret. "Marco, wanna know why you could never get me pregnant again? I slipped something into every bottle of vitamins I gave you. You don't deserve my child." I was so furious I almost lost it. But Piper was already posting her marriage certificate with Elliot Lacy. [After everything we've been through, I finally got my happy ending with the man who saved me.] With the last bit of strength I had, I left one final comment. [Piper, how's my kidney treating you?] Then I opened my eyes. I was back ten years earlier, on the rainy night Elliot stole credit for saving her with my kidney. Chapter 1 The phantom choke of Piper Carlson ripping out my ventilator tube still crushed my throat when I jolted awake. Blinding white filled my vision. The sharp stink of disinfectant hit next. "Marco, pretending to pass out again? After all these years, can't you come up with something new?" Her icy voice cut right through me. I slowly turned my head. Piper stood beside my hospital bed in a sharp suit. But the way she looked at me? Like I was trash. Elliot Lacy—the man who got me killed in my last life—stood beside her with a smug grin, his arm hooked through hers. Then it hit me. This was the day I was diagnosed with kidney failure. The same day Elliot "accidentally" let Piper find out he only had one kidney. After that, the woman who once loved me with everything she had became convinced Elliot was the one who saved her. And me? I became the liar who stole his credit. But this time, I got another shot. I was back where it all started. Hatred slammed into me like a wave. "Piper, don't say that. Marco might actually be sick..." Elliot said, all fake concern. But the smug look in his eyes gave him away. "Sick?" Piper scoffed and dropped his arm. Then she leaned over, grabbed my chin, and squeezed hard enough to make my jaw ache. "He's perfectly fine. This is just another pathetic stunt to get my attention." I stared at the hand gripping my face. In my last life, that same hand had ripped out my ventilator. I'd loved her with everything I had for ten years. I gave her a kidney to save her life. And what did I get? She called me a thief who stole someone else's life. I met Piper's eyes, my voice rough and ice-cold. "Let go. You make me sick." She froze, clearly not expecting me to push back. "What did you say?" "I said let go, Piper Carlson. Don't touch me with those filthy hands." I had a second chance now. I wasn't wasting it sacrificing myself and waiting for Piper to learn the truth. I just wanted away from these two monsters. As far as possible. Piper's face went dark. "Marco Mercer, do you have a death wish?" "Piper!" Elliot grabbed her arm. "Marco must be delirious. Otherwise..." He gave her sleeve a gentle tug, playing the saint. "He loves you so much. Why would he ever talk to you like that?" "Love?" The word made Piper's eyes go red. Her family had forced her to marry me, and she had always resented it. Then the hospital room door opened. A doctor walked in, looking grim, my test results in hand. "Mr. Mercer, your results are back. Your kidney function is severely damaged. You need to be admitted immediately. And... we found that you only have one kidney." My fingers curled tight. Beside me, Piper froze. Then she looked straight at me. "You only have one kidney too?" Disbelief flashed across her face, like she couldn't accept it. I let out a bitter laugh. I hadn't planned to say anything. But then I saw the panic flash across Elliot's face, and the denial died on my tongue. "That's right. I only have one kidney." I held Piper's gaze, waiting. Regret? Guilt? Maybe even total devastation? This time, she knew the truth ten years earlier. "You're lying!" Her answer hit harder than a slap. She ripped the report from the doctor's hand, crushed it into a ball, and threw it at me. "Keep lying. You'd fake a medical report just to save yourself?" She leaned in, teeth clenched. "You think claiming you have one kidney makes you Elliot? That it makes you my savior?" Her eyes turned cold. "Dream on, Marco. You'll never be half the man Elliot is." Disgust rolled through me. I was too tired to fight anymore. I really loved someone like her? Someone this arrogant... this cruel? Elliot suddenly gasped and bent down, picking up a yellowed slip of paper that had fallen with the report. One look, and his face changed. He quickly tried to hide it. "What's that?" Piper frowned. His eyes darted away as he forced a smile. "N-Nothing. Just an old surgery receipt... Piper, let's go." A surgery receipt? My heart jumped. Piper snatched it from him and studied the handwriting and date. Her brows slowly pulled together. Then she looked at me. For the first time, suspicion flickered in her eyes. "Is this yours?" Chapter 2 Piper frowned at the slip, trying to read the faded handwriting. My stomach turned. I didn't want any more drama before I left, so I reached for it. Elliot got there first. "Piper, don't look!" He sounded nervous—but weirdly relieved. Then he stomped on the paper. "It's just some useless receipt. It's filthy." Before Piper could question him, he grabbed his chest and went ghost-white, sagging against her. "Piper... my chest... I can't breathe..." Her focus snapped straight to him. "Elliot? Don't scare me!" "Maybe... Marco startled me..." He leaned into her, then shot me a smug look from the corner of his eye. I let out a cold laugh. Piper had always been like this. The second her precious "savior" felt even a little sick, I stopped mattering. The doctor sighed and went to check on Elliot. I forced myself out of bed and stumbled toward the crumpled receipt. My fingers almost reached it— A polished high-heeled shoe slammed onto my hand. Pain tore through me, and I doubled over. Piper's voice cut like ice. "Marco, enough with your pathetic games. Stop begging for my attention. If anything happens to Elliot, I'll make your life hell." Then she ground her heel down harder. The pain was brutal. "Piper..." I looked up at her, my voice ragged. "Did you ever think you might have the wrong guy? What if that kidney—" "Shut up!" Her face twisted as she pressed down harder. "You still wanna argue? After everything Elliot went through? All the blood he lost?" She glared down at me. "Say one more word, and I'll have you dragged out of this hospital." Then she helped Elliot toward the door. Right before it slammed shut, he looked back with a cruel smile. His lips formed two silent words. 'You lost.' The room went dead silent. Just me and the filthy receipt. I crawled over, every move agony, and picked it up with shaking hands. The words Kidney Transplant stared back at me beside the date. A brutal reminder of what I'd given up. And Piper still didn't believe me. I crushed the receipt in my fist until my nails bit into my palm. I hadn't been given a second life to suffer all over again. I'd come back to make them pay. And Piper would answer for ripping out my ventilator tube. I dragged myself to my feet and headed for the only person Elliot had never fooled. The only one who could keep Piper in line. I barely reached the door before it swung open. Piper was back. And she looked even angrier. She stalked toward me with my phone in her hand, staring like she wanted me dead. "Marco, you contacted Grandpa behind my back? What are you trying to pull?" Chapter 3 Piper grabbed me by the throat and slammed me into the cold wall. My vision went black. I couldn't breathe. But her words hit even harder. "Talk! What did you send Grandpa? What lie were you gonna feed him this time?" She screamed in my face, veins standing out on her forehead. "Marco! I told you to behave. Why do you keep pushing me?" My face burned from the lack of air. Tears and blood streaked down my cheeks as I forced out a few broken words. "I... didn't... I didn't..." She hurled my phone to the floor. The screen shattered, then lit up with an unsent draft. [Recipient: Walter Carlson] I'd only typed it. I never sent it. So how did she know? The second Piper saw the message, her face twisted. "Elliot was right. You were gonna use Grandpa to threaten me and steal his credit!" "Marco, this has gone too far!" Elliot rushed over, looking all innocent. "Grandpa Carlson's health is already fragile. What if you upset him and something happens?" Every word pushed Piper further against me. "You bastard!" Her grip tightened, hatred blazing in her eyes like she really meant to choke me to death. "Why can't you be more like Elliot? Why can't you just listen to me like you used to? Why?" She suddenly let go and tossed me to the floor. Air flooded my lungs, and I doubled over coughing. "Looks like you've had way too much free time in here if you're still pulling crap like this." She adjusted her cuffs, staring at me like I was already dead. Alarm bells went off in my head. Then she said it. "Since your kidney is failing, you should focus on 'recovering.'" She pulled out her phone and made a call. "Dr. Ramsey, Marco Mercer in the VIP room needs complete bed rest. No visitors without my permission. No phone. No outside contact. Keep him under watch." She was locking me up. No way. "Piper, you can't do this!" I shouted. "That receipt—the date matches your surgery. It was my—" I wanted to tell her. 'It was the deposit for your surgery. I sold my house to pay it.' I'd never planned to explain. But this changed everything. If I wanted out, I couldn't let her trap me here. Elliot suddenly gasped. "Oh no..." He picked up a tiny recorder from the corner. The red light was still blinking. He stared at it like he was shocked. "Marco... y-you recorded us? You were trying to get evidence on Piper? How could you?" Piper's eyes snapped to the recorder. Whatever patience she had left disappeared. She ripped it from his hand, smashed it on the floor, and crushed it under her heel. "Wow. Just wow, Marco. You really never learn." "Piper!" I finally snapped. "Are you Elliot's freaking dog? Do you believe every word he says?" Of course, she didn't believe me. All she saw was another scheme. She bent down, grabbed my chin, and forced me to meet her cold stare. "You won't shut up about your kidney, right? Fine. Here's your chance to prove it." She nodded at the bodyguards by the door. One of them brought in a bowl of dark, foul-smelling medicine. "Dr. Cole prescribed this. Supposedly, it's good for your 'kidney.'" Her voice was pure mockery. "Drink it. Prove your kidney is really failing." Panic burned through me as I stared at the bowl. "Piper, I'm not drinking that! I saved your life, you ungrateful psycho! What gives you the right to torture me? I just want out. Get the hell away from me!" Her face went cold. "That's not your choice." She grabbed my jaw and shoved the bowl toward my mouth. "Piper, don't!" Elliot cried, pretending to stop her while pinning my arms behind my back. The bitter liquid flooded my mouth. This wasn't medicine. I thrashed my head as tears blurred my vision. Even after getting a second chance... Was I still going to die because of them? But right before it was too late— "Stop!" An old, commanding voice boomed from the doorway. Piper froze. We all turned. Walter stood there, pale with rage. "What the hell are you doing?" He slammed his polished cane against the floor. His horrified gaze swept over me as they forced the medicine down my throat, then snapped to Piper. Finally, it landed on the filthy receipt lying on the floor. His pupils shrank. Chapter 4 Crash! Piper froze. The bowl slipped from her hand and shattered across the floor. Elliot went ghost-white. He dropped my arms and spun toward the door. "M-Mr. Carlson..." Walter ignored him. His eyes stayed locked on the receipt, his chest heaving. The old butler rushed over, carefully picked it up, and handed it to him. Walter took it with shaking hands, slid on his reading glasses, and read it again and again. The room went dead silent except for my muffled coughing. Piper's expression flickered, but she forced herself to stay calm. "Grandpa, you've got it wrong. Marco—" "Enough!" Walter's roar shook the room. He held up the receipt, his hand trembling with rage. "What is this, Piper? Tell me. What is this?" She pressed her lips together and shot me a dark look. "Marco forged it to trick me. It's one of his usual games..." "A game?" Walter threw the receipt in her face, furious. "Look at the date! Look at what the payment was for!" "This is the deposit receipt from the kidney transplant center I arranged for you back then. So why does Marco have it?" Walter stood there, completely stunned. "What?" Piper froze. She caught the receipt and, for the first time, actually looked at it. The deeper her frown grew, the more Elliot unraveled. He rushed over and grabbed her arm, his face drained of color. "Piper, it's fake! Marco forged it! He only knows those details because he read my diary. He's manipulative. There's nothing he won't do!" He could barely get the words out. Cold sweat ran down his face. "Fake?" Walter let out a cold laugh, his eyes locking on Elliot. "Then go forge me one." He snatched the receipt back. "Look at the handwriting. Look at the hospital seal. The name's faded, but you can still make out 'Mercer.'" Walter's voice exploded through the room. "Is your last name Mercer?!" The second Walter finished, Elliot started shaking. His legs gave out, and he crumpled to the floor. All he could do was frantically shake his head. "M-Mr. Carlson... Piper... please, let me explain!" "Enough!" Walter brought his cane down hard across Elliot's back. His eyes turned ice-cold. "You look perfectly healthy to me. Do you look like a man missing a kidney?" He pointed toward the door. "One more word, and you're out." Piper stared at the faded but still readable name on the receipt. Mercer. Then she slowly looked up at me. Shock flashed across her face. Then confusion. Disbelief. And finally, crushing regret. "No... that's impossible..." she whispered. "Back then, Elliot clearly—" "Clearly what?" Walter snapped. "He had some random scar? Dropped a few vague hints? And that was enough for you to call him your savior?" The angrier he got, the harder his cane came down on Piper's head. "What did I teach you? You can't tell friend from enemy, and you believe every word you hear!" His voice shook with fury. "You've been a complete idiot!" Blood slid down Piper's forehead. She didn't even seem to feel it. She just stared at me, shock and panic twisting into fear. A cold smile pulled at my lips. Using the wall for support, I forced myself to stand. "Piper, haven't you always wondered why I'm so messed up?" I pointed at the spilled medicine. "I'm not sick because of some disease. I only have one kidney. The other was removed three years ago after I donated it to save a woman dying in an alley." Tears ran down my face as all the pain and rage finally broke loose. "You kept asking why I couldn't get you pregnant. It wasn't because I wasn't good enough. "My condition made me infertile. The doctors said I didn't have much time left. I took all those meds in secret because I wanted us to have a child. That's why I ended up like this." Then I pointed a shaking finger at Elliot. "And you believed him. You slipped drugs into my vitamins to destroy my fertility and made everything worse." I looked back at Piper. "Then when you got pregnant, you secretly had an abortion." My whole body shook. "What gave you the right to do any of that to me?" Every word hit Piper like a punch. The disbelief drained from her face until she was pale as a ghost. She stumbled back. Then her eyes landed on the spilled medicine. Fear. Doubt. Panic. "No... no... You're lying..." She kept shaking her head, barely able to get the words out. Elliot lunged at me, trying to slap a hand over my mouth. "You're lying! Piper, don't listen to him! He's a liar—" "Get away from me!" Piper shoved him so hard he slammed into the floor. She didn't even look at Elliot. Her bloodshot eyes stayed locked on me. Like she was seeing me for the first time. She took one slow step after another, her voice raw, shaking with desperate hope. "Marco... was it all true? That kidney... was it really yours? And... you knew about the abortion?" She looked like she was drowning in guilt. I should've felt satisfied. Instead, I felt nothing. My heart had already been broken beyond repair. "Piper." I crooked a finger at her. "Come here." I wanted to tell her the secret I'd carried through both my lives. A secret so devastating... Even Piper would wish she were dead. But before I could speak, my body finally gave out. I collapsed backward. As everything went dark, I heard Walter's furious roar, Elliot's panicked screams, and Piper shouting for the doctors like she'd lost her mind.