After My Death, His Love Turned Obsessive

The hospital corridors were deathly silent in the wee hours, nothing like their usual daytime bustle.

They rushed in to find Luke pacing frantically in the hallway, desperately trying to make a call.

He spotted James and Ella instantly and dashed over, grabbing James urgently.

"Hurry, sign the papers, man! We're seriously out of time!"

James jerked his arm free and smoothed out his crumpled shirt.

"Really laying it on thick, huh? You guys should take this act to Broadway!"

Luke looked momentarily lost.

"What act?"

"James, whatever your problem is with me, can we shelf it for now? Just sign the surgery consent. Emma can't wait any longer."

James' expression darkened as he smirked bitterly.

"What's her rush? Trying to skip the line to the afterlife?"

Yeah, James, I am dying, and I'd rather pass on than see your face again!

I tried to punch James but my fist just phased through him, grasping at nothing.

Luke, ignoring James's sarcasm, tried to pull him again toward the surgery ward.

"Emma urgently needs a kidney transplant. She's got to go into surgery right now."

At the mention of "kidney", Ella's eyes widened, her panic setting in. She clung to James' arm.

"James, Emma isn't trying to snatch my kidney, is she?"

James slowly calmed Ella down.

"Don't sweat it. Even if she tries, she'd need the chops to pull it off!"

He then turned back with a frosty look at Luke.

"So, Emma needs a kidney, huh? What next, you'll tell me she needs the same rare blood type too?"

Luke, caught off guard, blurted out, "How did you know?"

James' sneer deepened as he scoffed.

"Using jealousy to try to cut off Ella's lifeline, huh? Is that humane?"

"You want my signature that bad? I'll sign, but it's to refuse treatment!"

Behind him, Ella smirked slightly, a look I caught clear as day.

If I was only suspicious before, now I was dead sure that kidney was mine.

Luke, utterly bewildered by James' harsh stance, grasped his arm again.

"Don't be rash, James. Emma's your wife, for heaven's sake. You're gonna watch her die without lifting a finger?"

"If you have an issue with me, let's hash it out later. Just sign the form. I'll do whatever you ask."

Luke, who had no blood ties to me but regarded me as his sister, was showing his true colors—I was moved.

James, seeing the genuine desperation and pain on Luke's face, wavered for a moment.

"Is she really that bad off?"

"James... I'm scared. Maybe I should just die now." Ella broke into dramatic sobs, pulling James' attention back to her.

Resolved, James stormed into the surgical prep room, shouting.

"I'm Emma Moll's family, and we're opting out of treatment!"

The medical team, busy preparing, stopped and stared at him in disbelief.

At that moment, a nurse rushed up.

"Who's here for Emma Moll?"

Luke stepped forward as the nurse looked on apologetically.

"I'm sorry to inform you, but Emma, due to severe injuries and blood loss, was declared dead at 3 a.m."

James froze, his mouth agape, barely able to whisper.

"What did you say? Who's dead?"