Only If His Heart Still Echoed Mine

Everest Quentin, my commander husband, has fallen in love with his dead comrade's widow, Selene Brooks.

When I find out about it, I don't bother kicking up a ruckus. Instead, I just turn in my resignation letter at my workplace and trick Everest into signing a divorce agreement.

After Everest drops his signature, he falls silent for a very long time. Finally, he speaks up in an extraordinarily warm tone.

"If you truly intend to quit your job, can you write a recommendation letter for Selene to work at your school instead?

"You know that Selene's husband has sacrificed his life in the war. Life will be very difficult for her if she doesn't secure a job to make ends meet."

I nod without turning Everest's request down.

Previously, I've donated my own heart to him, only to find out that he has it transplanted into Selene's chest instead.

I only have three days to live, so I have nothing else in this life.

That's why I've tricked Everest into signing the divorce agreement on the first day.

On the second day, my resignation letter officially goes into effect. My position is now Selene's.

On the third day, I die right in front of my parents' graves. Unfortunately, that also means I never get to attend the banquet Everest has thrown for Selene.

The banquet is so boisterous that one would think it's a wedding instead. Everest scans his surroundings, only to realize that I'm absent.

He frowns immediately before admonishing me for throwing a tantrum on Selene's big day. The next thing he knows, a soldier rushes over and announces my death right in front of the guests.

For once, Everest, who has always prided himself on being cool-headed all the time, actually drops the wine glass he's holding in his hand.

As the anesthesia kicked in, I heard the lead surgeon ask Everest Quentin. "Colonel Quentin, are you absolutely sure about transplanting Aurora Lane's heart into Selene Brooks?"

Everest's expression darkened. "I am. Aurora lost her womb, so changing her heart won't make much of a difference now."

"But Colonel, you were the one who staged that car accident on purpose to take her womb, just because you didn't want her to get pregnant and upset Selene.

"Aurora still doesn't know she was three months pregnant then. She doesn't know her baby's placenta was used as a supplement for Selene's treatment."

At this point, the lead surgeon could barely even go on. He hesitated, then continued, "With Aurora's current condition, what if…"

The operating room went deadly silent.

Everest walked over to me and stroked my face. His voice was tinged with a trace of regret as he said, "What's the big deal about a heart transplant? She's getting Selene's heart in return, isn't she?"

Uncontrollable tears slipped and soaked into my pillow, drowning my thoughts.

It turned out that the love I had anticipated for so long was nothing but a nightmare.

The accident on Mother's Day that sent me to the ICU and stripped me of my chance to be a mother was no accident at all. It was orchestrated by my husband, the man I had loved for seven years.

In the next second, the anesthesia surged through my veins.

My consciousness started to blur. The instruments were freezing as they cut deep into my flesh. My bloody heart was ripped out whole, only to be replaced by Selene's diseased one.

In the final moment before I faded out, a burning tear streaked across my face like a jagged blade.

…

When I woke up again, Everest was by my bedside, looking at me with worry written all over his face.

"Honey, you're finally awake. You were out for days; do you have any idea how worried I was?"

He pressed my hand against his cheek and asked in concern, "How do you feel? Does it hurt anywhere?

"Tell me if the pain is too much to bear. I'll have the doctor give you anesthesia for it."

His eyes were filled with concern and worry for me, but the sharp, stabbing pain in my chest reminded me that this wasn't a hallucination.

"I'm fine."

I shoved his hand away. My chest felt pierced by a sharp weapon.

I couldn't understand how he treated me with such kindness while plotting against me for another woman. Just because I told him I wanted a baby, he staged a car accident, had my womb removed, and even fed our unborn baby to Selene as medicine.