Chapter 1

1

The day before my wedding, Mom walked in on my fiancé, Brad, getting way too cozy with my best friend, Tiffany. It triggered a massive heart attack, and she needed a transplant, pronto. Luckily, we were a match, so I made the call �C I'd give Mom my heart, and I'd get a mechanical one.

But here's the kicker: surgery was gonna cost a fortune. I begged Brad for help, but he claimed he was strapped for cash. Then, he turns around and marries Tiffany. Real stand-up guy, huh?

Just when I was at my lowest, Jake Walker showed up. He cleared all the bills, and as a top heart surgeon, he did the damn procedure himself for me and Mom. When I came to, Jake broke the news, his eyes full of pain, that Mom had sudden rejection issues and didn't make it. She was gone forever.

He held me close, those big blue eyes intense, confessed his feelings, and asked me to let him take care of me, for the rest of our lives.

…

Fast forward seven years, and I overheard him talking to his buddy, Liam:

"You swapped out Chloe's heart and gave it to Tiffany, right in front of her mom? That's cold, man."

"Had to be done. Her heart was the perfect match for Tiffany."

"But wasn't there another donor already lined up? Tiffany just had to wait half a day. Why the rush?"

Jake sighed, a heavy sound. "I couldn't stand seeing Tiffany suffer. Not for one extra second."

In the study, just a wall away, Jake blew out a puff of smoke, his voice tight. "If the world says I can't marry her, I'll have to make damn sure she's safe and sound."

Liam looked like he was wrestling with something. "But Chloe's got a rare blood type, finding a match is a nightmare. She's always coughing up blood, her chest is killing her, can't even have kids. And that mechanical heart she's got is about to hit the end of its lifespan. Are you really gonna make her go through another open-heart surgery, again and again? She loves you, man, give her back her heart. You've got a bunch of backups for Tiffany by now."

Without hesitation, Jake snapped back, "No way! Each spare heart is one more safety net for Tiffany. I won't gamble with her life."

Liam was getting worked up. "What about Chloe? I still can't forget the way her mom looked, like she was crying blood. Don't you worry that Chloe will come for you when she knows what happened?"

Jake was silent for a moment, then gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "If she wants to kill me, she can have at it. I was planning on taking care of her for life anyway." He paused. "As long as Tiffany's happy, I don't care what happens to me."

My fist tightened around the doorknob, my hand shaking uncontrollably. After recording everything on my phone, I stumbled back into the bedroom, collapsing on the floor. My body wasn't handling the mechanical heart too well; I was weak, always hacking up blood, and my chest felt like it was being stabbed.

Jake had told me that the heart transplant had to be a live one, and with Mom gone, it wasn't possible to switch back. I told myself it was okay because my heart was with my mother forever.

No wonder Jake was so insistent about dealing with Mom's arrangements after the surgery, using my weakened state as an excuse to keep me from seeing her body. It was all a lie! He never did the surgery for Mom!

Both Mom and I were nothing but sacrifices for this dude's beloved Tiffany. He must've made sure she was in the room for it so my Mom could see with her own eyes that her daughter's heart was given to someone else!

Even without my heart, my chest was on fire, and I coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Chloe?" Jake had appeared out of nowhere, and when he saw me, he rushed to my side and got me back on the bed. His eyes filled with worry as he wiped the blood from my mouth.

"I'm so sorry, Chloe. I didn't take good care of you. Don't worry, I've already got a top-of-the-line replacement heart ready to go. We'll do it in a few days." His eyes looked red from concern, the same as before when I looked ill. I always thought he was worried about me, and I'd put on a brave face to reassure him. What a sucker I was.