When He Forgot Our Promise

Jovan sneered. "My mom? I’ve never heard of my mom having heart disease, let alone heart failure. If you’re going to make up a story, at least make it believable. Just because you don’t want Winona to use the heart source, you’re cursing her into the ICU?"

My mother-in-law had been diagnosed with heart failure six months ago, but she kept it from her son to avoid worrying him. She had been having check-ups quietly whenever Jovan was resting, usually with Dr. Zidan.

"It’s true! Mom was afraid you’d worry, so she had me arrange the heart source under my mother’s name. The one with severe heart failure is your mom! Her condition is critical; if she doesn’t get a heart transplant soon, she’ll die!"

Jovan hesitated for a moment. "Are you telling the truth?"

I sighed in relief. "The ICU is just over there. If you don’t believe me, you can go see for yourself."

Jovan glanced worriedly at Winona.

"Jovan, go ahead. It’s okay if I’m delayed a bit. But Siora's mother is older now. Please don’t make her go through this kind of trouble just to make a scene."

Hearing this, Jovan exploded with anger. "Just because I haven’t seen you recently, you came up with such a low-down scheme? And you’re joking about my mother’s life?"

Winona cast a smug glance at me.

I was burning with anger. “I’m telling the truth, Jovan! You’ll regret it if you give the heart to Winona today!”

Jovan looked at me with a half-smile and said, “Regret? The biggest regret of my life is marrying you! Move out of the way!”

“Jovan!”

Seeing him push the bed away, I dropped to my knees with a thud. “I’m begging you, Jovan. Just go see Mom. She really needs the heart source! You… you’ve always wanted a divorce, right? After the surgery, we’ll get divorced. I’ll make it easy for you. Please, Jovan!”

Thinking about my mother-in-law in the ICU, I broke down in tears. She had always treated me like a daughter. If I didn’t get Jovan to go see her today, she… I couldn’t bear to think about it.

Jovan turned around. “Using retreat as a tactic? Siora, I’m very busy and don’t have time to play along with your drama. You’re going to such lengths to prevent me from performing Winona’s surgery! How malicious!”

With that, he strode away, not wanting to say another word to me.

I blocked the bed. “No, you can’t leave, Jovan! If you go like this, you’ll be killing Mom!”

Jovan’s face darkened completely. He pushed me aside roughly. “Enough! Siora!”

I lost my balance and fell to the ground, the leg I had injured in a car accident beginning to throb painfully. I watched helplessly as Jovan entered the operating room. As the lights in the surgery room came on, I felt utterly hopeless.

Stumbling back to the ICU, I saw my mother-in-law pressing her hand against the glass to touch my face. “Siora, what’s wrong? Your little face is all red from crying.”

Seeing her pale face, I was unable to stop my tears.

“Jovan has made you suffer again? That blind, heartless beast! Don’t cry anymore, dear. Mom has already prepared the soup. When you get home, I’ll make your favorite drunken crab and a plate of spicy chicken…”

My mother-in-law gently comforted me as if I were the most precious thing in the world. With many siblings at home, there was little maternal love left for me. I had never experienced such unique and devoted affection.

But she was in the late stages of heart failure. Speaking so much had already drained her strength. She breathed heavily, her face flushed red from the effort. Even so, she still remembered to smile and soothe me.