The artificial heart had too many flaws. Sudden chest pain, difficulty breathing, body convulsions—it could strike at any moment.
No amount of painkillers could fix it.
Every time, she had to endure it on her own.
Once the pain dulled slightly, Irwin hesitated before asking, “Sue… did you hear what Mavy and I were talking about?”
A storm raged inside her, but she kept her face blank.
“No. I was bringing you some pastries, but before I got to the door, my chest started hurting. I didn’t want you to worry, so I came back here instead.”
Irwin let out a breath of relief.
But then Sue asked, voice calm, “Is there something I’m not supposed to hear?”
“No, just some medical talk. It’s pretty gruesome. Didn’t want you losing sleep over it.”
She stared into his eyes and caught the flicker of guilt.
For years, she had trusted the sincerity in those eyes.
Now, she wished she never had.
Five years ago, she had a fiancé.
The night before their wedding, her mom walked in on him in bed with her best friend, Ava Allder.
Her mom was so furious that she had a heart attack.
But then her fiancé and Ava got married.
And every so-called friend and relative Sue had left took the chance to kick her while she was down.
At the lowest point in Sue’s life, it was Irwin, her childhood friend, who rushed back from Ohio overnight to personally perform surgery on her mom.
Even after her mom passed, during the darkest year of her life, he never once left her side.
So, when he proposed, she said yes.
She never imagined the truth would be this disgusting.
Her ex-fiancé and her now-husband—their hearts had never belonged to her. It was always Ava’s!
There was never any redemption. She was never the one they loved!
“Sue… why are you crying? Does it hurt?”
Irwin clumsily kissed away her tears, his voice soft as he comforted her.
“Sue, you need to rest well. In a couple of days, we’ll be replacing your artificial heart. You have to take care of yourself, or I’ll be heartbroken.”
Sue wiped her tears, pulled away from his embrace, and said flatly, “Okay, I’m going to take a shower.”
In the bathroom, in front of the mirror, she traced the ugly scar on her chest.
It shouldn’t have been this deep.
But Irwin had kept telling her he couldn’t find a suitable donor heart, so Sue had no choice but to keep relying on artificial ones to survive.
Artificial hearts were only temporary. Every so often, they had to be replaced.