In the seventh year of my marriage, my husband's first love came back—with a child in tow.

I finally accepted the truth: my husband didn't love me, and he didn't love our six-year-old daughter either.

I asked Thaddeus Abbott for a divorce and moved out with our daughter.

But on the way, Marilyn James and I were in a terrible car accident.

The crash cost me my heart. It cost Marilyn a kidney.

When I woke up, Thaddeus was kneeling at my bedside, slapping himself across the face, heaping every ounce of blame onto his own shoulders.

I pressed my hand to the artificial heart humming beneath my ribs, and Marilyn and I decided together: we'd give him one more chance. Thirty days—the mandatory cooling-off period before a divorce could be finalized. That was his window.

On the twenty-ninth day, I overheard a conversation between my husband and his secretary.

"Mr. Abbott, you gave your wife's heart to Miss Mason, and you gave Miss James's kidney to Miss Mason's daughter."

"Even if you don't love your wife, Miss James is your biological daughter. Do you truly have no regrets?"

Thaddeus gazed tenderly at a wooden box sitting on his desk.

"She's the one who insisted on taking the child and leaving. If she hadn't done that, there wouldn't have been an accident. She should be grateful her heart was still useful."

"As for Marilyn—she still has one kidney, doesn't she? What's the problem?"

"I promised I'd be a good husband and a good father going forward. That should be enough."

——

I fought to keep my body from trembling, terrified that the people in the study would hear me.

The conversation continued behind the closed door.

"The artificial heart inside Alberta Jenner is the best model available. It won't cause any issues."

"And Marilyn—I looked into it. A person can live a perfectly normal life with one kidney. I'll take care of her for the rest of her life. That's more than fair."

Nathan Abbott's voice carried a note of reluctance.

"The technology behind artificial hearts still isn't mature. Rejection reactions are common."

"And Miss James is so young. Because she only has one kidney left, she can barely manage to urinate on her own..."

Thaddeus cut his secretary off with a flash of impatience.

"So what are you saying? That I should have stood by and watched Monica and her daughter die?"

"Alberta and Marilyn saving Monica and her child—isn't that earning good karma for themselves?"

I was afraid that if I stayed a second longer, I'd burst through that door and scream the truth into his face. So I stumbled away on unsteady legs.

Back in my room, my strength gave out completely. My knees buckled, and I collapsed to the floor.

So that was it. This whole month, Thaddeus hadn't been good to us because he wanted to make our marriage work. He'd done it to ease his own guilt.

My heart and Marilyn's kidney—we hadn't lost them in the accident. Thaddeus had taken them to save Monica Mason and her daughter.

What I'd believed was redemption was just another abyss.

A month ago, on the way to the airport with Marilyn, our car had been in a devastating crash.

The driver died on impact. Marilyn and I were both critically injured.

After I woke up, the guilt nearly destroyed me. I blamed myself for insisting on the divorce, for insisting on leaving Thaddeus.

Most of all, I blamed myself for ruining Marilyn's life—for the kidney she would never get back.

Thaddeus had knelt in front of me then, pulling my shaking body into his arms.

"This is all my fault. I didn't pay enough attention to you and Marilyn. I didn't take care of you the way I should have."

"I promise, Alberta—from now on, I'll take care of you both. I can't lose you again."

Six-year-old Marilyn had fought through her own pain to comfort me.

"Mommy, it doesn't hurt. Don't blame Daddy."

"If giving up one kidney means Mommy and Daddy can be happy, then Marilyn thinks it's worth it."

It was that day that the three of us made a promise.

We would use the one-month divorce cooling-off period as a trial. We would work on our family, give each other one more chance.

Over the past month, Thaddeus had done exactly what he said he would. He put Marilyn and me first in everything, doing his best to be the perfect husband and father.

But the conversation I'd just overheard between Thaddeus and his secretary told me it was all a lie.

I stared at Marilyn, fast asleep in her little bed, and tears rolled down my cheeks in heavy, unrelenting drops.

I was still sitting there in a daze when Thaddeus walked into the room and found me crumpled on the floor.

"What's wrong, Albie? The floor's cold. Why are you sitting down here?"

"Have you been crying? Are you feeling sick?"

I lifted my eyes to the man standing in front of me. The concern in his gaze looked genuine, identical to every single day of the past month.

I lowered my eyes, afraid he'd see through me.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about Marilyn. She's so little. What's going to happen to her?"

Thaddeus let out a breath of relief and carefully helped me up from the floor.

"It's going to be okay, Albie. Medical technology is advancing so fast these days. There'll be a way. I'll find a matching kidney and heart for you and Marilyn. You two are my everything."

"And even if I can't find them, it's fine. I'll protect you both for the rest of my life. I'll be your shelter. I'll be the one you lean on."

Listening to him, a bitter laugh echoed silently inside me.

If I hadn't just overheard that conversation with his secretary, I would have believed every single word.

But now, all that was left in my heart was hatred. A hatred so vast it could swallow the sky.

"Let's go to sleep, Thaddeus. I'm tired. Don't wake Marilyn."

He didn't suspect a thing.

"Okay. Let's sleep."

A long while later, his voice drifted through the darkness, murmuring in his sleep.

"Monica... Monica..."

I swallowed the sourness burning in my throat, slipped out of bed, and made my way downstairs to the study.

Earlier, while Thaddeus was on the phone with his secretary, his gaze had kept drifting tenderly toward a wooden box on the desk.

I'd rarely set foot in his study before. That box, I had never once opened.

But instinct told me it held the answers I was looking for.

The moment I lifted the lid, the tears I'd held back all night finally broke free.

Inside was a thick stack of letters. The handwriting evolved from the clumsy scrawl of a child to the neat strokes of a student to the bold, confident sweep of a grown man.

Every word, every line was proof that Thaddeus had loved Monica Mason.

"A girl came to the house today. Mom said she's only seven. She's so pretty, like a little princess."

"Monica started middle school. She seems taller again. She follows me around all day calling me 'big brother,' but I don't want to be her brother."

"Monica turned eighteen. I can finally tell her how I feel. But she only seems to see me as a brother."

"Monica got married today. She looked so beautiful in her wedding dress. Just as beautiful as the day she was seven."

"Monica got divorced. But I have my own family now. Albie's a good person. I don't know what to do."

...

I had always known there was someone else in Thaddeus's heart.

But seeing these words laid out in front of me, I finally understood. His love for Monica was far deeper and far longer than anything I had ever imagined.

I swiped the tears from my face and kept searching through the study.

Now was not the time for grief. There was something more important I needed to find.

At last, in the bottom drawer of the desk, I found a document envelope.

Inside were organ donation consent forms for Marilyn and me.

My hands trembled so violently I could barely hold the two flimsy sheets of paper.

So it was true. My heart and Marilyn's kidney hadn't been damaged in the accident at all. It was Thaddeus.

All of it was because of Thaddeus.

The memory of Marilyn crying in humiliation because she couldn't hold her bladder seized my chest like a fist clenching around it, so tight I couldn't breathe.

It turned out an artificial heart could ache, too.

I photographed both documents with my phone, then dialed my brother overseas.

"Dominic Jenner, please help me. Please save me and Marilyn."

After I choked my way through the story, his voice came back through the receiver, shaking with fury.

"Thaddeus! He actually dared!"

"I'm sending a plane for you tomorrow night. Until then, do not make any sudden moves. Don't give Thaddeus any reason to suspect anything. Leave the rest to me."

After I hung up, I put the study back exactly the way I'd found it, returned to the bedroom, and lay down as though nothing had happened.

The next morning, Thaddeus was already gone by the time I woke up.

After lunch, Marilyn sat quietly at her little desk, drawing something.

I walked over to look, and she held up her picture like a treasure she couldn't wait to show off.

"Mommy, look! I drew our family."

"See? This is Daddy, this is Mommy, and this is me."

Looking at her face, my vision blurred with tears.

My sweet Marilyn. Her whole world was nothing but Mommy and Daddy. How could Thaddeus have had the heart to do what he did?

Just then, Thaddeus walked into the room.

"There's a banquet tonight. Let's all go together as a family."

I was about to shake my head and refuse, but he pulled me gently into his arms.

"Today my probation period is officially over. From now on, we're a family again."

"A day this good deserves a proper celebration."

Marilyn threw her arms around his leg.

"Daddy, will there be yummy food at the party?"

Thaddeus scooped her up high, his expression melting into pure tenderness.

"Of course there will! The party's going to have all kinds of yummy food. Our little Marilyn can eat whatever she wants!"

I thought about what Dominic had said—that the plane would come for us tonight. I looked at Marilyn's eager eyes, then remembered Dominic's warning not to raise Thaddeus's suspicions. In the end, I nodded.

The moment the three of us stepped into the banquet hall, every eye in the room turned our way.

"Look, Mr. Abbott and his family are here. What a gorgeous couple. Their daughter's name is Marilyn, isn't it? She's absolutely adorable. I wish I could set her up with my boy."

"I know, right? Such a sweet, well-behaved child. I can't help but love her just looking at her."

A few of Thaddeus's business associates waved him over. He smiled at me, then headed their way.

The moment he left, a cluster of wives closed in around Marilyn and me.

"Mrs. Abbott, you really are blessed. Mr. Abbott is so young and capable, and your daughter is so well-behaved. We're all green with envy."

"Honestly! Did you see the way he looked at you just now? The man couldn't peel his eyes off you. Married all these years and still that smitten."

The pleasant chatter was interrupted by a voice dripping with affected sweetness.

"Is that so? Wasn't Mrs. Abbott trying to divorce Mr. Abbott just a month ago?"

"I heard she was in a terrible car accident on her way out, too. She must have remarkable recovery powers—back on her feet and looking this good after only a month."

"Then again, I hear her health is nothing like it used to be. After all, even her heart is artificial now. And poor little Marilyn—I heard she's only got one kidney left, and she's just six years old. What's going to become of her?"