The Seventh Heartbeat

The day Bryan Abbott received the World Philanthropist Award, the doctors told me I would not live for long because I could not afford to replace my artificial heart.

The TV host asked Bryan to call the person he regretted being with the most.

Without hesitation, he dialed my number.

I answered the call. Bryan asked, “Do you regret leaving me for money back then?”

Staring at the astronomical bill for the artificial heart, I chuckled softly, “Bryan, you’re so rich now. Could you lend me $200,000?”

The call cut off abruptly. I watched as Bryan icily said on TV, “Now, I have no regrets.”

He did not know that back when his heart had failed, I had donated mine to him secretly so that he could live.

After the livestream ended, I immediately received a transfer of $200,000 from Bryan Abbott.

I was stunned for a moment as my heart felt a little conflicted.

After paying the medical bills with that money, I heard a familiar voice from outside the ward.

I looked through the crack in the doors and saw Bryan’s silhouette.

It had been seven years since we last met, but time had left almost no marks on him.

The only thing that changed was that I was not the person by his side anymore.

The award ceremony had just ended. He had not even managed to change his clothes and rushed to the hospital.

It was because his wife had a bit of a gastric issue.

I saw how he held Jade Garland dotingly in his arms.

I kept my head down and pretended not to see anything. Then, I quietly shut the door.

Bryan shoved the door open.

I jumped in surprise and looked up to meet his eyes.

Bryan’s gaze swept over my body with a bone-chilling coldness.

“We haven’t met in so long. Aren’t you… going to say hello?”

I looked at him, and my lips parted slightly. A thousand words gathered on my tongue, yet what came out was something else.

“Bryan, please lend me another $300,000.”

Bryan was stunned for a moment. A hint of anger lit up his cold eyes.

He grabbed my hand. “We haven’t met for seven years, and this is all you have to say to me?”

A dense, throbbing ache emanated from the countless pinpricks on my wrist.

I took a deep breath and said softly, “You’re so wealthy. If you don’t lend me the money, Ms. Garland might misunderstand things.”

Bryan was somewhat taken aback. The look in his eyes grew quite complicated.

Just as he was about to say something, Jade grabbed onto his hand.

“Dear, is this your ex-wife?”

Jade looked at me and said pitifully, “What can you do with $300,000? Bryan spends half a million just to buy me a pair of shoes!

“It’s a shame you didn’t appreciate him when you had him. If you hadn’t heartlessly abandoned him, how could I have ever met him?”

I remained silent as my thoughts drifted back to the past.

I met Bryan in college. We fell in love and dated for five years.

Back then, he was not yet an entrepreneur.

My health was not as poor as it was at present.

We were two poor, orphaned students who had found each other to care for.

We worked hard to build our own little family.

Just as our business began to take off, Bryan was diagnosed with severe heart disease.

Treatment and a transplant required a fortune.

We depleted every cent we had saved for our startup just to cover medical expenses.

I took on multiple odd jobs daily, ate only one meal a day, and stretched every penny to its limit.

I worked myself to the bone just to scrape together a meager sum for the medicine.

We even switched to the cheapest, low-quality generic drugs for his treatment.

Yet, we still could not find a suitable heart.

Just as I watched Bryan grow thinner by the day and wither away, I fell into despair, but the doctor told me that they found a match.

The person whose heart matched Bryan’s was me.

My well of thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

Bryan tenderly kissed Jade’s forehead. His eyes shone with relentless affection.