A Stolen Heart: Goodbye Forever

My husband, an anesthesiologist, deliberately increases the sedative dosage on an accident victim so he can get a new heart for his first love, Selena Quigley. After her operation, he cares for her and celebrates her rebirth. He only remembers to contact me after she's recovered.

"It's been three months since we saw each other, honey. You shouldn't be mad anymore, right? Why don't you book a flight for tomorrow so you can come home? I'll pick you up at the airport."

I won't be going home anymore, though. Not now, not forever.

I've already died on his operating table.

I never imagined I would die at the hands of my husband, Jonathan Lewis. Even worse, I never thought he would do it to save his first love, Selena Quigley.

Just an hour earlier, Selena had called Jonathan. Her voice had broken with each sob. "Jon, the doctor said my heart can't hold out much longer. I'm still so young. I don't want to die!"

"Don't be afraid. I'm here." He had soothed her with a tenderness I had never received from him.

Then, he lit one cigarette after another.

After I was rushed into the emergency room after the car accident, he manipulated the anesthesia dosage.

That was because I was O blood type, just like Selena. I had also registered as a volunteer organ donor long ago. The moment I died, she would receive my heart.

As my soul drifted away, I listened to the doctor pronounce my death. They then sliced through my chest with a scalpel and removed my heart.

Even in death, the pain surged through me. It was a torment that made me writhe and cry out, "Jonathan, it hurts so bad!"

I called his name over and over, but he couldn't hear me.

A sterile cloth was draped over my face, and Jonathan had no idea that the lifeless body was mine.

…

The surgery went incredibly smoothly.

When Selena woke up, there were barely any signs of rejection.

Jonathan smiled as he pulled her into his arms. "Congratulations on your new life, Selena. This heart was meant for you!"

"You harmed someone to save me. What if that deaf-o finds out and confronts you?" she asked.

The "deaf-o" Selena referred to was me. I couldn't hear anything and had to wear cochlear implants year-round.

"We agreed not to bring her up," he replied with a frown, as if I were a curse he wished to forget.

…

Once Selena fell asleep, Jonathan stepped outside to call me. But my phone was off.

Even so, he didn't think much of it. He chuckled helplessly and muttered, "Her temper sure is getting worse. She's making a big deal out of nothing."

We had only fought once since we met, and that was one month ago.

I had discovered he still had feelings for his first love, the very person who had bullied me in school.

Jonathan knew how much I had suffered at Selena's hands, yet he continued to associate with her. He even claimed I needed to move on from the past.

In a fit of anger, I left the country to study abroad. But he bombarded me with messages, pleading for my forgiveness and promising to cut ties with Selena.

I eventually relented and returned three days ago to celebrate his birthday.

However, I was caught in an accident after picking up Jonathan's birthday cake. But he was the one who killed me and used my heart to save the person who had tormented me.

…

Jonathan didn't seem to care about me. Instead, he took leave to look after Selena.

She was in a VIP ward that came with a small kitchen, where he prepared her meals three times a day.

When she wanted an apple, he would peel it for her, meticulously removing every bit of skin. If she complained about her toenails being too long, he'd patiently trimmed them. He even went as far as to give her a manicure.

Jonathan cared for Selena with a natural ease that surpassed how he had ever looked after me. It was as if he had done this countless times before.

The group of bullies who had once tormented me were all friends with Selena.

When they visited her at the hospital and saw how tenderly Jonathan treated her, they teased, "Oh, stop it, you lovebirds! When are you two planning to get married?"

Whenever anyone brought up my relationship with him, he always sidestepped the topic. He even refused to wear his wedding ring in public.

But here he was, holding Selena's hand, his eyes brimming with affection. "Selena's health isn't great, and she doesn't have much energy. All she really wants to do is focus on her art.

"She has made it clear she doesn't want to get married or have kids. She doesn't want to be tied down by marriage."

"Surely Mr. and Mrs. Lewis wouldn't agree to that? Are you planning to find some woman to marry and have kids to appease them?" someone asked.

Jonathan simply smiled in response, neither confirming nor denying it.

It was no wonder he had married me and always insisted he wanted children. He seemed deeply in love with me, yet he wouldn't even acknowledge me as his wife.

I stared at him in shock. As I wiped my face, I realized that even in death, one could still feel sorrow and shed tears.

The others joked about wanting to be their bridesmaids and groomsmen, while Selena blushed. Jonathan, on the other hand, smiled gently at her.

Right then, the hospital called him.

"Is this Mr. Jonathan Lewis? Your wife, Madeline Sullivan, passed away three days ago in a car accident. Please come to First Hope Hospital to make arrangements for her remains."