The Pauper for The Princess

On my twenty-third birthday, my brother, Zackary Dixon, became the wealthiest man in the country. He threw a grand birthday party for the nanny's daughter, saying that she would be the Dixon family's favorite. At the same time, something went wrong with my artificial heart. I couldn't find a suitable one, only one month left in my life. Due to the torture of illness and great pressure, I had no choice but to call him. Hearing my cough, he coldly said, "At that time, you were afraid to get involved, and now you regret it?" My throat was sore. I stared at his expressionless face through the phone and laughed bitterly. "Zackary, three hundred thousand dollars is no big deal to you. Help me, OK?" Zackary sneered. I could hear his warm voice comforting Lillianna, "Voice phishing. It's fine." Of course, he was fine, because his sound beating heart was mine. Chapter 1 The phone hung up, and I received a message from the bank, showing three hundred thousand dollars had been transferred to my card. With my heart skipping a beat, I felt my nose sting. I used the money to pay the deferred bills, but it wasn’t enough. Suddenly, I saw Zackary Dixon. I quickly hid in the corner of the hall. I saw him gently caressing Lillianna Castillo's cheeks and smiling dotingly. Five years had passed. Zackary had not changed at all. He was still a lively man. It was just that the only person who could make him happy had become Lillianna. And I was no longer qualified to accompany him. I thought it was because of him that they went to the hospital. I suppressed the sadness in my heart and lowered my head to leave. But then he held Lillianna's hand, full of heartache. I smiled bitterly. And I brushed past him, but my wrist was violently clutched. I staggered to stand still to see his cold and angry eyes. Zackary snorted out a laugh as he sized me up, letting go of my hand and disgustedly wiping his off with tissue. I blushed in panic and tried to go away. Zackary said, "Didn't you run away abroad with my life-saving money? Now you've spent all the money and come back?" With my eyes turning red, I lowered my head and did not dare to look at him. I kept silent for one second and then laughed out softly, "You're right. So will you lend me some more money?" The air around me was suddenly cold, and Zackary's eyes erupted with anger. He pinched my chin, forcing me to look up. "At least we are a family. You don't want to explain it?" My heart was in pain, and a rusty flavor spread in my throat. His force loosened. I took a half step back and said, "Lillianna is your younger sister now. That money from before is considered to pay our first eighteen years of kinship." Zackary's hand in mid-air lurched and hung feebly at his side. He was about to say something else when Lillianna suddenly came forward and hugged me. "You're Kiersten?" She looked at Zackary in pain and grabbed my arm, which was full of needle holes. Lillianna said, "At first you turned your back and left Zackary. Now he is rich, and you can't wait to come back to ask for money. Are you shameless?" I felt the pain and was shrugged off by her before I could speak. Lillianna continued, "Zackary only has me. He pampers me, and even my dog, Clara." I held back my tears and peeked at Zackary, who kept silent, behind her. It was so nice that he looked fit and healthy. Zackary and I shared the same parents. When we were young, we were abandoned on a cold and snowy day by Mallory Castillo, the nanny. And then we lived with Joyce Underwood, the dean, in the orphanage. It was not easy for us to find our family. We only enjoyed three years of happiness. My parents went bankrupt and jumped off a building, leaving us to fend for ourselves. He dropped out of school to pay for my education, working day and night on a dozen part-time jobs. On the day when the debt was paid off, and I was admitted to a prestigious international school, he suddenly fainted and was diagnosed with hereditary congenital heart disease. At that time, Zackary's heart was failing, and the huge medical expenses almost emptied all our money. In order to let him get treatment, I secretly withdrew from school to get back the one hundred thousand dollars tuition fee. I recharged the money to his hospital account. I worked early in the morning and returned late at night to do all sorts of jobs, such as washing dishes, giving out leaflets, and working as a barmaid. I worked around the clock. I barely had time to eat. And more often than not, I even didn't have time to drink water. I'd tried my best but the money could only afford a few days of treatment, even the cheapest suppressive drugs. I didn't get the good news, but watched Zackary lying in the hospital bed. He was tortured by the pain of the disease. Symptoms, such as convulsions, vomiting blood, and being sleepy, were normal. He was crying for me to give up. The doctor hesitantly led me out of the hospital room, saying. "Ms. Dixon, there is only one way left to save him now. Are you willing to try?" Chapter 2 It turned out that the so-called solution was to use my heart to replace his. And the artificial heart the doctor newly created had not yet experimented with. It would be transplanted into my body. I knew what it meant, but I wanted Zackary to live. For him, I was willing to do anything. My thoughts were pulled back by a cold smile. Zackary protected Lillianna. What he valued the most was her. Zackary then said, "Thirsty? There's nothing to say to an ungrateful girl like her. It's only you that care about me. You are my little princess. No matter if it's you, or the puppy you raise, I will give you all the best." The lovely scene in front of me made my already trembling heart sting more and more, like a big hand choking my neck making it hard to breathe. I didn't want to see the two of them being intimate. I dodged Zackary's hesitant outstretched hand, burying that unspeakable sourness and jealousy in the bottom of my heart. Just as I took a step, Lillianna suddenly side-swiped my shoulder. She then said, "Hey, watch out. Bumping into me is nothing, but Zackary can not withstand your rudeness." My left shoulder connected to my heart, and my mind swelled causing me to fall to the ground, blood spilling from the corner of my mouth. Seeing me being like this, Zackary furrowed his brows and instinctively wanted to pick me up. Lillianna's face turned cold as she jumped into his arms and cried her eyes out. "Zackary, she looks at me like this. I'm scared." Seeing my cold gaze, Zackary lowered his eyes. He then said, "Kiersten, how shameless you are. "In order to ask me for money, you even swindled me with fake blood. Being your brother really makes me sick." I got up in a sorry state by holding onto the wall and wiping away the blood at the corner of my mouth. "It doesn't matter, as long as you lend me another one hundred thousand dollars. I'll disappear forever and won't get in your way anymore." Zackary clenched his fists and slammed them against the wall. Lillianna hugged him and fell into tears. When she turned her head to look at me, her eyes were filled with extreme disgust and resentment. Lillianna said, "Zackary, she's not so bad as to joke with her life. "No matter what, she was once your sister. Even if she... You were fortunate that you got the help of a kind-hearted person to pull through. "Just take it as doing something good." Her words let Zackary remember the suffering he once had. Kiersten, his sister, whom he spoiled in his life, was afraid of living a penniless life caused by him and took all his life-saving money to leave without hesitation. A hint of heartache in Zackary's eyes turned into intense hatred. "I've seen a lot of people like her who are greedy for life and afraid of death. Even if it's true, she deserved it." He led Lillianna away in big strides, ignoring her sympathetic words. The corner of Lillianna's mouth hooked up in mockery. But Zackary didn't notice it at all. Fingertips plunged into the palm brought dense pain, along with the mechanical heart kept trembling. My eyes dimmed, and I was no longer able to see the two of them. The phone rang. I froze for a second and clicked my cell phone. When I looked at the notification that I received one hundred thousand dollars, my heart couldn't stop trembling. I used the money to pay the surgery fee I still owed. The scar on my chest burned. My favorite brother had ever imagined. The so-called kind-hearted person was me, that greedy and fearful sister in his heart. Chapter 3 Back then, Zackary had long been unable to wait for a suitable heart. He was losing weight day by day, and the time he was awake was getting shorter and shorter. The emergence of the artificial heart made me ecstatic, even though the technology was not yet mature. Only a small number of people got transplanted with artificial hearts, and the side effects were unknown. I had no choice but to sign the implantation agreement. I gave my heart to him and implanted an artificial heart that would last five years. The cheapest mechanical heart cost thousands of dollars. Since then, I had vomited blood from time to time. I couldn't breathe when I walked a few more steps, and my body was inexplicably weak and cold. But for me, it was already the best deal. Now, artificial heart technology had matured and was now able to operate more efficiently in the human body. But I could no longer afford the surgery. During those five years, I suffered a lot. On the verge of dying, I could still see him once, and feel the beating of his heart, I had no regrets. When I walked back to the old building on the outskirts of the city, it was getting dark. I pushed open the door of my broken room. There came a moldy smell. The wet and cold feeling caused me to shiver. It was a quite small room with only a rusty iron bed and shaky ceiling fan. But it was enough for me to live in. At one time, Zackary and I were taken in here, and we found our family here. None of us could leave each other. So, when I learned that my heart could save him, I made up my mind to end the relationship with him. Zackary had been protecting me and pampering me for eighteen years. He experienced all sorts of life and knew how hard it had been for us to go all the way. For him, I worked hard day and night. He saw my hardness. So no matter what, he would not agree to me to change my heart to him. I had to pretend that I was afraid of death and deliberately distanced myself from him. No matter how much he hated me, I didn't blame him. I pretended to dislike him in front of the nurses for not being able to take care of himself and for being stinking. I cursed him fiercely and was fed up with the despair of having no hope day after day. I'd even said in public that he should die and stop dragging me into his miserable life. If he hesitated just a little bit, I could leave him mercilessly. He gave up on me that day. I threw the agreement ending our relationship in his face with a sneer on my face. Zackary cried and signed his name on the paper with all his force. And I, with that agreement, went into the operating room. I once said I would take all the money abroad and never come back. But often at sunset, I hid by the door, spying on his gradual recovery under the care of Lillianna. Nobody knew that the girl that should have gone abroad would hide in shadows. I didn't expect to be able to see him one more time before I died. The small wet and cold room became the home before my death. As long as he was happy, it was fine. The photo of Zackary was the screen saver of my phone. I was proud of him. At the same time, a touch of sourness inevitably welled up in my heart. The urgent ringing of the bell brought me to my senses, and I smiled to myself as I looked at the bright red warning of arrears. So the money was still not enough. There were a few people I could contact with. I hesitated for a moment and called Joyce. I begged her to help me find a job, no matter how hard it was. Zackary thought I took his life-saving money and abandoned him. He hated me. Knowing how poor I was now, he must be happy to see it. My heart went wrong, but I still had to work to pay off the medical bills I owed before. Though I often said that I was not afraid of death, when a ray of hope appeared in front of me, I still tried to grab it. Joyce didn't believe that I was an ungrateful girl. She felt sorry for what I had been through all these years. She immediately arranged for me to go to the hotel where Peyton Roman, her eldest son, worked. Zackary was hosting a party for Lillianna and was in desperate need of greeters. I could earn five thousand dollars a day, enough for me to buy drugs to survive for a few months. When I hurried to the hotel, I accidentally bumped into a warm chest. When I looked up, I met Zackary's confused and unbelievable eyes. Chapter 4 The girl behind him seemed to be familiar. Lillianna was dressed in a gorgeous dress, holding his arm. The crowd flattered them, and they were at such a high place that I could never touch. I hastily bowed my head to apologize. In front of my eyes appeared to be her fine-heeled shoes inset with diamonds. "Look, who is she? A miserable poor girl. She smells stinky." Lillianna covered her nose in disgust and laughed gaily. I was silent, hanging my head and backing away. A snap came. My face turned red, burning. She moved closer to me and grunted coldly, "Where's the manager? How can you let this kind of ungrateful person in? If she steals things, can you afford to pay for it? Fire her now." Zackary's lips pursed, and he looked at me, slightly stunned. Lillianna's eyes dyed with envy. She pushed me down and stepped hard on my chest. Intense sharp pain swept over me. I couldn't stop curling up and trembling, crying. "Don't look at Zackary. You don't deserve it. Get the hell out of my way." She laughed smugly, her tone full of rage. Zackary's eyebrows knit slightly. Only for a moment, the heartache in his eyes turned into merciless coldness. The manager, Peyton, was afraid that I would get hurt and was busy trying to take me away. Zackary coldly grunted and let Peyton leave, tugging my wrist to pull me up. "Kiersten, you chased me here for money?" Only then did Lillianna pretend to exclaim, wiping my face clean with a tissue. "What? How come it's Kiersten? You're the young lady of the Dixon family. Do you still need to condescend to work in the hotel?" When the words fell, the entire hall fell silent. Gazes with malice surrounded me. "So it's Ms. Dixon. She abandoned Mr. Dixon in spite of his feelings, and now she's reduced to working as a waitress?" "Poor thing, she deserves it." "She reaps what she sows." I didn't know who pushed me toward Zackary. He instinctively reached out but suddenly took a step back. My body fell uncontrollably into the corner of the table, coming along with severe pain. Blood and tears flowed out together, but I became numb. I tried to leave without saying a word. Zackary blocked in front of me and looked down at me. "Don't you want money? Lillianna is allergic and can't drink, so you'll help her drink." He dragged me into the private room and had three boxes of wine stacked all over the table. "Thirty thousand dollars a bottle, I'll give you as much as you drink." Lillianna pushed the bottle in front of me. "Drink it. Don't try to fool us." I ignored her and stared at Zackary's gloomy face, laughing lightly. "You really want me to drink?" He looked slightly stunned and froze in shock. Chapter 5 The primary artificial heart had a severe rejection reaction, and the slightest discomfort would make my life worse than death. Besides, the one who was allergic to alcohol was me, not Lillianna. Seeing the hesitation in Zackary's eyes, I smiled. "I can drink. You write off that three hundred thousand dollars, OK?" He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Deal!" His affirmative answer inspired me to tilt my head back and pour wine into my mouth. Since I wouldn't live much longer anyway, I could ignore the doctor's advice. The strong alcohol stimulated my brain, and the burning wine flew across the scars in my heart. The pain was all I could feel. Acid churned in my stomach, and I subconsciously bent over to dry heaven, almost coughing out my entire heart. Only after drinking one bottle, Zackary violently knocked over the wine, his face grim. "Enough!" His voice brought the laughter of those present to an abrupt end. Zackary clamped down on my shoulders in a deadly grip, like he wanted to crush my bones. "Kiersten, you could do whatever for money, do you?" I numbly broke away from him, only to see the wine bottle broken, and the wine all over the floor reflecting my pale face. Just as I was about to kneel and hold the wine in my hand and drink it, Lillianna suddenly pulled me up, her face full of concern. "Don't do that. You are not that low. "Zackary, don't make it difficult for her. We shouldn't make things that difficult for her. How about taking off your clothes?" She laughed and looked at me with contempt in her eyes. "One piece for one hundred thousand dollars, how about it?" I was silent for a moment, shaking off her hand. Against Zackary's unbelievable eyes, I took my uniform off and then unbuttoned the shirt. When I was about to unbutton the last one, Zackary furiously overturned the sofa. The heart could no longer withstand the stimulation. Severe pain attacked, and I sprayed out a mouthful of blood. I seemed to be unaware of it, mechanically trembling hands to remove the last shirt to cover shame. Zackary's eyes were scarlet, and a low, hoarse roar came from his throat. "Stop it!" I managed to pull out a smile and finally fell to the ground powerlessly. The broken glass stabbed into my knee, blood coming out. Zackary panicked and tried to hold me, but he was pushed aside harshly by Joyce who rushed over. She hugged me and draped her clothes over me. In the panic, the ugly scar on my chest was revealed. Zackary's face tightened, and he knelt in front of me in shock. Joyce protected me in her arms, hatefully glaring at him and yelling. "You ungrateful thing! Kiersten has already given you her heart. You still want to humiliate her like this. Do you really want to see her die? Are you satisfied?"