From the corridor came a cold voice. "It's an honor for him to die for my husband. Do it! Besides, if you hadn't delayed things and affected the surgery, would my husband have had a sudden episode of heart palpitations? No more nonsense. Take his heart now!"

The attending doctor said quietly, "Ms. Brewer, there's no heart available in the hospital right now. Removing his heart means—"

Before he could finish, Tara cut him off impatiently. "If there's no heart, then just use an artificial one. I'll pay for it. If he doesn't survive, it just means he's unlucky."

At the sight of my blood-and-tear-streaked face, she pinched her nose and backed away in disgust.

A kind nurse beside me gently brushed my sweat-soaked hair behind my ear, revealing one side of my face.

Tara happened to turn away to answer her phone right then. "Hey, honey. I'm preparing a heart for you right now. Just hang tight."

When Nicholas Archer, her assistant who was behind her, saw my face, his eyes widened.

Turning to Tara, he stammered out, "M-Ms. Brewer, that is…"

His throat seemed to close up as he pointed at me, words failing him.

Hanging up, Tara snapped, "Shut it! Watch things here. I'm going to go get my husband!"

Nicholas gave me one last glance, trembling, too afraid to speak.

As I heard her footsteps fade away down the corridor, the tears in my eyes dried out completely.

The doctors fitted me with an artificial heart at the same time my heart was transplanted into Brandon's body. Both of Tara's husbands were only a few feet apart.

With blood everywhere on my hands and body, I forced myself to watch Tara as she fussed over Brandon.

"Honey, this heart is a match for you, so you'll be fine. And I have good news. I'm pregnant. Based on the timing, it should be yours."

Brandon nodded along, but his eyes drifted toward me as he barely hid a smug grin.

He had every reason to smile. Because of him, my marriage and my life had both been ruined at Tara's hands. My marriage was dead, and my life was barely intact.

Even the child I had once looked forward to, she had conceived with her lover.

I struggled to breathe, my fists clenched tightly.

I really wanted to know what expression Tara would make when she learned the truth. Would she still be able to keep that tender, loving look? Just imagining it made a laugh slip out of me.

Tara's expression darkened instantly, her eyes full of malice.

Just as she was about to cuss me out, her butler, Matthew Stroll, stumbled in, his face pale with panic. "Ms. Brewer, Mr. Robles is gone!"

Tara froze briefly, then immediately shoved Brandon's hand away and jumped to her feet.

Her voice trembled almost imperceptibly. "Where's Eric?"

Matthew wiped sweat from his forehead. "This morning, he said he was taking your seal to you, but he never came back…"

At that moment, a thought crossed Tara's mind, and she started to tremble slightly all over.

A few seconds later, she forced her voice to sound calm before saying, "Find him. Find him immediately!"

Just as Matthew turned to leave, he spotted me on the operating table and screamed, "Sir!"

Tara knitted her brows. "Who are you talking to? I want you to find Eric, not Brandon!"

With a trembling finger, he pointed behind her, whispering, "Ms. Brewer, that is Mr. Robles…"