Leaving was the Only War I Won

Marcella spent seven years and gave up a kidney just to make Grady Walquist turn back and look at her.

But his ex-girlfriend only needed seven days to win his heart all over again.

“Don’t be so greedy, Marcella. And don’t you dare compare yourself to Zeth!”

Even the son she cherished like a lifeline made a birthday wish. “I hope Aunt Zeth can be my new mom.”

Under the candlelight, Grady’s gaze was hazy as he kissed Zeth Beckinsale.

Quietly, Marcella walked out of the home she had painstakingly built and sent a confirmation message to a classified organization deep in a remote, deserted area.

[I’m willing to give up everything and join the mission of the organization. From now on, my life belongs to my country.]

——

Marcella spent the entire night by the river, letting the evening wind blow against her.

She couldn’t understand how her life had turned out this way.

When did it start?

Was it when Grady agreed to marry her?

Was it when she donated a kidney for him without hesitation?

Or was it when she gave up her career to stay home and take care of Seth?

Marcella’s mother had been a maid for the Walquists. Marcella had practically grown up with Grady, and from the very beginning, her heart had belonged to him.

But she always knew—there was an unbridgeable gap between them, one she could never cross in this lifetime.

And his ex-girlfriend Zeth had always been by his side.

To everyone else, they were a match made in heaven. It was only a matter of time before they got married.

But one day, Grady got into a car accident and suffered severe organ damage.

That was when everything changed.

While Grady lay in a coma, Zeth left the country.

The Walquists were furious but powerless, desperately searching for a compatible kidney donor.

Whether it was Zeth’s luck or misfortune, Marcella was a match.

She still remembered that afternoon when Henrietta, Grady’s mother, cried in front of their maid’s daughter for the first time, begging Marcella to save Grady.

Seeing Marcella not saying anything, the older woman even made a promise.

“I know you’ve always loved Grady. Dear, if you want, once he recovers, I will make sure you two get married!”

But what Henrietta didn’t know was that in those moments of silence, Marcella had no intention of using her organ to bargain.

She was simply happy—happy that she could save the man she loved.

Grady was silent for an entire month after waking up and learning about his girlfriend's departure.

He also ignored Marcella’s visits, acting as if she didn’t exist.

Everyone assumed he had agreed to be with her because she had forced him into it.

But what they didn’t know was that he was the one who brought it up first.

“At worst, just give her family some money. No need to marry her—I was just talking nonsense!

“Does she even know her own status? How could she have the guts to actually expect you to marry her?”

Henrietta’s voice came from inside the hospital room just as Marcella arrived, holding the soup her mother had just made.

Marcella had never thought of forcing Grady to marry her.

But hearing those words still made her heart clench in pain.

She could only act like nothing had happened as she walked into the room.

Before she could even set the soup down, Grady grabbed her wrist.

“Let’s get married. Do you want to?”

His words came so suddenly that even his mother was caught off guard.

Marcella knew she would never be accepted.

But when she saw the gentleness in Grady’s eyes at that moment…

She hesitated.

‘Just this once. Let me be selfish just this once.’

That thought filled her mind as she met his gaze and nodded.

But she never expected that after seven years, everything would turn out to be nothing but a fantasy.