Chapter One
“The trapdoor was sabotaged. When Colin stood on it, it gave way and he fell eight feet... onto the small steel pipe sticking out of the floor—”
“Ms. Kim—”
“It impaled him through the throat,” I cried. “He’s been paralyzed from the neck down ever since, changing the course of his life forever. And mine.”
“Ms. Kim, I—”
“But it turned out students had been sneaking under the stage to smoke, drink, and hook up for years, so a couple months before it happened, the headmaster had the whole place rigged with cameras. And when they checked those cameras, who did they see sneaking around under the stage, messing with the trapdoor?
“Me!” I burst out, making him jump. “He saw me, except it wasn’t me! It was Sue.Shesabotaged the stage.Shenearly killed Colin. Andsheset me up to fall for it, knowing that no one was going to believe it was the fault of my evil fucking twin.”
He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I understand that—”
“Do you?” I sliced in. “Do you understand that the headmaster grilled me for hours? Demanding to know what possible reason my sister would have for entering the grounds of a school she didn’t even go to, just to play a vicious prank on a guy she didn’t even know? A guy who just happened to be beatingmeout for valedictorian?
“He didn’t believe a word out of my mouth,” I scoffed. “And it didn’t help that my own mother sat in his office and said my accusations were ridiculous. Sue was across town working on her lessons with her math tutor. She was never anywhere near Titan Prep.
“I tried to tell them that she absolutely could and would do those horrible things. That any alibi she gave was false and coerced, and that Soo Min Kim is the most evil, manipulative, cold-hearted bitch that ever walked the face of the earth.I told them,” I cried, speaking over another attempt to interrupt me, “that only a few days before Colin’s accident, Sue cornered me coming out of my room.
“She hissed at me that I didn’t deserve my acceptance to Yale. That I only got in because I forced Omma to send me to a different, and better, high school. I got to ‘cheat’ my way to the top without her there to outshine me, and if it wasn’t for that, she’d be going to Yale and not me.
“I dismissed her as the jealous bitch she was, but—but I should’ve known,” I rasped, voice cracking, “that Sue always gets the last word.”
“Ms. Kim, please—”
“The headmaster expelled me,” I whispered, eyes stinging, “Yale rescinded my acceptance. No other college would take me, and then Colin’s family sued ours.
“Omma paid them everything they asked out of my trust and college funds. Then, she threw me out.” My voice was dead. “The shame was too much for her. She wanted nothing to do with me. And just like that... my life was over.”
“Ms. Kim,” he said gently. “I truly am very sorry for what happened to you, but, I confess, I don’t understand why you’re telling me this.”
I looked around the small, but cheerful office. Bright, blue walls enveloped us instead of clinical white. Everywhere I looked, there were adorable child-made drawings, and pictures of the babies who grew up to draw them.
“I’m telling you this, Dr. Cormac, because every dream I’ve ever had has been stolen from me. Every single one, except this one. I’ve wanted kids since I was a kid, and I’m tired of waiting. Tired of waiting for my life to start. Tired of waiting for permission to be happy. I want to do this,” I pressed, “but I can’t for thirty thousand dollars.”
I waved the price sheet he handed me in the air. “IVF cannot possibly cost this much.”
“I’m afraid it does.”
“But—but there must be payment plans,” I cried.
“There are—”
“Great,” I pounced. “I’ll do that—”
“—for those with a credit score of seven hundred or higher. Your score is four hundred and two.”
I bit my lip hard, refusing to deflate like the hopes he just popped a hole in. “Please,” I said when I trusted myself. “There has to be something you can do.”
“Well, we haven’t discussed IUI.” Dr. Cormac was as kind as his gentle green eyes, and the smile that was never far from his lips. That’s why I chose him as my doctor. I could hear in his voice that he wanted to help me. “The costs for IUI are greatly reduced. We charge only one thousand two hundred per cycle.”
I was shaking my head before he finished. “I can’t do IUI. One of my tubes is blocked, and the other is badly scarred from the endometriosis. IVF is my only real option.”
“I’m so sorry, forgive me.” He flipped quickly through my file. “I didn’t see that in your file.”
“Because the last doctor I went to would’ve been better off selling snake oil behind a donkey’s ass.”
