Love and hate are gone
Chapter 1
The day before my wedding, Mom walked in on my fiancé, Brad, getting way too cozy with my best friend, Tiffany. It triggered a massive heart attack, and she needed a transplant, pronto. Luckily, we were a match, so I made the call
I’d give Mom my–heart, and I’d get a mechanical
one.
But here’s the kicker: surgery was gonna cost a fortune. I begged Brad for help, but he claimed he was strapped for cash. Then, he turns
around and marries Tiffany. Real stand–up guy,
huh?
Just when I was at my lowest, Jake Walker showed up. He cleared all the bills, and as a top
heart surgeon, he did the damn procedure
himself for me and Mom. When I came to, Jake
broke the news, his eyes full of pain, that Mom
く
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had sudden rejection issues and didn’t make it.
She was gone forever.
He held me close, those big blue eyes intense,
confessed his feelings, and asked me to let him take care of me, for the rest of our lives.
Fast forward seven years, and I overheard him
talking to his buddy, Liam:
“You swapped out Chloe’s heart and gave it to Tiffany, right in front of her mom? That’s cold,
man.”
“Had to be done. Her heart was the perfect
match for Tiffany.”
“But wasn’t there another donor already lined
up? Tiffany just had to wait half a day. Why the
rush?”
Jake sighed, a heavy sound. “I couldn’t stand
seeing Tiffany suffer. Not for one extra
cocond”
In the study, just a wall away, Jake blew out a puff of smoke, his voice tight. “If the world says
I can’t marry her, I’ll have to make damn sure
she’s safe and sound.”
Liam looked like he was wrestling with
something. “But Chloe’s got a rare blood type,
finding a match is a nightmare. She’s always
coughing up blood, her chest is killing her, can’t
even have kids. And that mechanical heart she’s
got is about to hit the end of its lifespan. Are
you really gonna make her go through another
open–heart surgery, again and again? She loves
you, man, give her back her heart. You’ve got a
bunch of backups for Tiffany by now.”
Without hesitation, Jake snapped back, “No
way! Each spare heart is one more safety net
for Tiffany. I won’t gamble with her life.”
Liam was getting worked up. “What about
Chloe? I still can’t forget the way her mom
looked, like she was crying blood. Don’t you
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く
worry that Chloe will come for you when she
knows what happened?”
Jake was silent for a moment, then gave a self-
deprecating chuckle. “If she wants to kill me,
she can have at it. I was planning on taking care of her for life anyway.” He paused. “As long as Tiffany’s happy, I don’t care what
happens to me.”
My fist tightened around the doorknob, my hand
shaking uncontrollably. After recording
everything on my phone, I stumbled back into the bedroom, collapsing on the floor. My body
wasn’t handling the mechanical heart too well; I
was weak, always hacking up blood, and my
chest felt like it was being stabbed.
Jake had told me that the heart transplant had
to be a live one, and with Mom gone, it wasn’t
possible to switch back. I told myself it was
okay because my heart was with my mother
forever.
