A Man's Love Does Not Last Forever

I was wheeled into the guest room, and just a few minutes later, Frank stormed in.

"Why did you come out?" His voice seethed with anger. "Dad and Irene were perfectly happy until you showed up, and then she faints. Why must you always ruin everything?"

The last time I saw Frank, he was just three years old and starting kindergarten.

He would rush into my arms every day after school, bubbling with stories from his day. Whenever his teacher handed out snacks, he would secretly save some and bring them home to me.

"Mom, I love you the most! Even more than Dad!"

I was away for only three years, and yet, everything had changed.

The disdain on his face now mirrored his father's perfectly.

"I don't want to see you! Go back to the basement!" His eyes brimmed with frustrated tears, and as he spoke, he shoved my wheelchair toward the door.

Before we reached it, Vincent stepped in front of us, blocking the exit.

"Where are you taking her?" he asked, his voice sharp.

Frank faltered, his anger wavering for a moment. "I… I hate her! I don't want her around!"

"Frank!" Vincent's voice was stern, his face set in a grim line. "Go back to your room. You are not to be involved in this."

He then turned to the housekeeper. "Jolene, keep an eye on Frank. He's not to leave the house for the next week."

…

Vincent drove me to the hospital.

As I watched his profile, I couldn't stop myself from asking, "Three years ago… Irene didn't go through with the surgery, did she?"

The car swerved slightly at my words.

After a long silence, he responded, "Kelsey, this is what you owe her."

It became clear then. Irene had suffered significant cardiac damage three years ago, and a heart transplant had been imminent. However, the surgery was aborted due to a public outcry after the plans were inadvertently leaked.

Now, I was released from the basement to have my heart transplanted to Irene.

Numb as I was, a sharp, quiet pain still spread through me. So, he had known everything all along, yet he still chose to send me to her.

"Then do you know that I'm going to die?"

Suddenly, the car screeched to an abrupt stop at the roadside. He turned to look straight into my eyes. "Kelsey, no! I won't let anything happen to you. Trust me!

"But Irene saved my life once. How could I just watch her die? And besides…" His voice trailed off.

"You're healthy," he muttered, almost as if to convince himself. "Dr. Wilkins said you're fine. This will be the last time, I promise!"

'But Vincent, can't you see the wounds covering my body? Taking me to the operating room now is as good as signing my death sentence,' I mused.

The system in my mind couldn't hold back any longer. 'Host, we've got to get out of here! Why are you wasting time arguing with this scumbag? If you don't run now, you'll be nothing but a cold corpse soon!'

At that, I wondered, 'His love for Irene… It never really wavered, did it?'

I had foolishly believed that, at some point, I had succeeded in winning his heart.

I still remember the moment I first arrived in this world.

Vincent was being held down at the mop sink, forced to drink the filthy water, while Irene stood by, watching with a cold smile. "Look at me with those disgusting eyes one more time, and I'll gouge them out!" she had threatened.

That day, I called the dean, but it only made things worse. The group of bullies turned their attention to me instead.

But none of that mattered. My mission was to win Vincent's heart, to protect him from Irene and from becoming evil.

So, after school, I persuaded him to join me for taekwondo practice.

By the time he could fend off ten men single-handedly, the way he looked at Irene had lost all its tenderness.

Yet, he would still bring me breakfast, walk me home, and blush uncontrollably at the slightest thing I said. After we graduated, he rented out an entire building just to propose to me.

"Kelsey, all I can afford right now is to rent this place for a night. But believe me, one day, I'll buy it outright and put your name on it for everyone to see!"

That night, under a vast sky of stars, I drowned in the depths of his eyes and was completely captivated by him.

At that moment, the system chimed in, notifying me that Vincent's love for me had reached 100%. The strategy was successful, and I had to leave quickly.

I laughed it off. 'How could Vincent's love for me ever change?'

But, as it turned out, the system was right. A man's love doesn't last forever.

I Gave Her a New Heart

By the time the Carson Corporation went public, Irene's family had already gone bankrupt.

Vincent finally got his first love.

Turned out that it wasn't that he didn't love her; rather, he felt he had nothing to offer back then, so he dared not love her.

At that time, I was eight months pregnant when I rushed to the bathroom, vomiting until the room spun around me.

That night, I went into early labor.

When I awoke, Irene was cradling my newborn son, Frank, a smug smile playing on her lips. "Vincent said I should take care of the baby for now!" she declared triumphantly.

For Frank's sake, I couldn't leave. I begged her over and over again to give my child back to me.

Instead, she had me locked in the hospital and sedated for six months.

During that time, she comfortably settled into my home, assuming the role of Vincent's wife.

Later, many of my screenplay drafts were posted online under her name. She had stolen my account, and overnight, she became a celebrated genius screenwriter adored by the masses for her so-called talent.

As she grew busier, she finally returned Frank to me.

When he turned three, our villa caught fire.

Vincent was in his study, dead drunk. I dragged him from the flames, only to collapse from exhaustion. When I woke, my world had shifted beyond recognition.

Irene accused me of stealing her manuscript and setting the villa ablaze. She claimed that in her efforts to save Vincent, she inhaled so much smoke that her organs were permanently damaged.

Vincent disappeared for three days after the fire. When he returned, the first thing he did was have someone break my legs before dumping me into the basement.

That was where my memories cut off, and my heart no longer stirred.

Vincent was now the owner of an empire worth billions. He bought the building where he once proposed to me, only to gift it to Irene.

Now, here I was, in that building, sent to my death for the sake of another woman.

I no longer wanted a man who had sullied himself so thoroughly.

Both Irene and I were wheeled into the operating room. Irene looked smug, almost gleeful. "Do you see? Vincent still loves me the most!"

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "You're getting so proud over picking up someone's trash."

Just then, the system in my head shrieked a warning, "The doctor only has one dose of anesthesia! They're planning to cut you open alive!"

Given that this hospital was built after the Yatezes regained their power, it was no surprise that they were capable of anything.

"Block the pain sensors now!"

The system's voice trembled with panic. 'Host! Why aren't you escaping? What are you waiting for?'

'Soon…' I thought. 'I want to see Irene's heart.'

Irene quickly succumbed to the anesthesia, her body going limp. I watched closely as the doctor opened her chest and lifted out a healthy, strong, beating heart.

I stared in disbelief. Her heart was perfectly normal.

Irene may despise me, but she would never gamble with her own life like this. Heart transplants were dangerous, so why would she risk such a procedure just to swap hearts with me?

The heart was then placed into my chest.

As the final stitch was tied, the operating room doors shuddered under the weight of loud, desperate pounding.

Through my hazy consciousness, I thought I heard Frank's voice calling for me.

I laughed bitterly to myself. 'System, let's go.'

But my soul didn't leave this world immediately. Instead, I hovered above, watching as Frank burst into the room, Vincent right behind him.

"Frank! Three years ago, you interrupted the surgery, and this time, I won't let you interfere!" Vincent's voice was sharp, dripping with frustration.

I froze. 'Three years ago, Frank sabotaged Irene's heart transplant? He loves her so much—how could he possibly have done that?'

I looked down again and saw Frank rushing to my bedside. "Mom…"

For a moment, I thought I was hallucinating.

"Why are Mom's eyes closed?" His voice cracked.

The doctor, visibly shaking under Vincent's gaze, stammered, "I-It's the anesthesia…"

"You're lying! There's no needle here; there's no anesthesia at all!" Frank shouted.

Vincent rushed over, his face twisting in fury as he surveyed the scene. "What have you done?"

'I have only been following Irene's orders, ensuring Kelsey would suffer a bit as she had requested,' he thought.

After all, everyone knew Irene held Vincent's heart, so the doctor obeyed without question.

Besides, Vincent had given the command to perform the heart transplant. His treatment of his wife had always been cold and indifferent, so the doctor never imagined it would be a problem to help Irene.

But now, seeing Vincent's reaction, he began to wonder, 'Does he still care for his wife?'

Frank shook me gently. "Why isn't Mom moving?"

Sensing something was terribly wrong, Vincent reached out, placing his fingers under my nose, searching for the faintest breath. He stood there, motionless for what seemed like an eternity.

"What's wrong, Dad? Didn't you say if we made Irene happy, Mom would come back? Is she still not happy? Why isn't Mom waking up?"

Vincent remained frozen, his gaze fixed on me. His voice, hollow with disbelief, cracked as he whispered, "Kels?"

'How long has it been since I've heard him call me that? What on earth is going on in his mind?' I mused.

"Kels, wake up! Please, Kels, open your eyes!" His voice carried a desperation I had never heard before.

The doctor rushed over. "Mr. Carson, please calm down. Your wife just fainted from the pain. Look, she's still breathing…"

He reached under my nose to check again. "No breath? Oh no… Mrs. Carson… She's… dead?"

Vincent let out a guttural cry, his voice laden with disbelief. "Impossible! I gave her a new heart! How could she die?"