4. “GIVE IT BACK.”

CLARA

A bomb could have dropped and blown up the hospital room with me in it, and I’d have felt nothing compared to the pain that settled in my chest.

“What’s going on?” I muttered softly. My eyes were getting wet again.

“I don’t understand, Doctor. You gave me your word. You said that you would hold the spot for me. I swear it was an accident. I don’t need to be punished for this!”

The doctor sighed. “ No one is punishing you, Miss Clara. Not the hospital.”

I blinked in an attempt to fight my tears. “Then what’s going on?”

Another sigh. “You should ask your fiancé directly.”

My stomach twisted. I turned to Lucas, searching his face for answers.

“Lucas?”

He sighed, trying to take my hand but I snatched it away from him, still in utter shock and disbelief.

“Clara…” he started to speak, but Ella stepped forward.

She wore one of those confident looks that made me want to grab her by the hair and pull so hard, she’ll have a headache for years to come.

“Clara, my best friend, Selena, has a very serious heart condition,” I couldn’t tell if it was the softness of her voice or the words she spat at me that made my skin crawl.

“If she doesn’t get a transplant within a week, she’ll die.”

I blinked. Twice, three. What did that have to do with me and my heart transplant?

She clasped her hands together, lowering her gaze as if she were in mourning. I watched as she slowly leaned into Lucas’ shoulder. I wasn’t surprised when he allowed her. I was just…disappointed. But that wouldn’t be the first time.

“If I knew that was yours, I definitely wouldn't have let Lucas give that heart to my friend. Please don’t blame him for this. If you want to blame anyone, be angry with me. ”

A slow, creeping rage boiled inside me.

I had waited over twenty years for this transplant. I had endured every limitation, every near-death experience, every painful reminder that my life was always on the verge of being taken away.

Never made friends, lost relationships, lost out on key life changing experiences because of this.

And yet, somehow, Ella’s friend—someone I had never even met—was supposed to take the spot that had been meant for me?

I saw red. The color flashed in my eyes and blinded me from seeing anything else. I couldn’t breathe, sure as hell couldn’t think. I didn’t want to. Not this time. Thinking always stopped me from doing what should be done.

My pulse spiked dangerously, my chest tightening as my heart fought against my fury. The monitors wailed, and a sharp, stabbing pain tore through my ribs but it didn’t stop me.

Lucas gasped. “Clara, don’t—”

But I was already moving.

I yanked the IV from my arm, ignoring the burn as I stumbled out of bed. My legs barely held me, but sheer rage pushed me forward.

I only saw Ella’s right cheek. I only felt the unbearable need to bring her pain—at least just a fraction of what she had inflicted on me.

My bare feet hit the cold floor and my vision swam, but I reached her in two unsteady steps. The slap echoed through the room, sharp and violent. Ella gasped, clutching her face.

I saw Lucas move at once, but before he could get between us, I staggered, the room tilting dangerously. My pulse pounded in my skull, drowning out everything.

I could barely hear Lucas calling out for me… my head swirling as I fought to stay conscious.

Then his hands were suddenly on me, steadying me before I could collapse.

“Clara!” His voice was no longer detached. It was panicked. His grip tightened around my arms, holding me up as my knees nearly buckled. “Breathe, baby. Please, you have to breathe.”

My heart was seizing, spasming like it was fighting to keep me alive. My chest ached so badly I thought I might die right there.

His arms wrapped around me. He pulled me against his chest, his body warm, solid, grounding. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “I’m sorry. I swear, I’ll fix this.”

His scent wrapped around me, familiar yet foreign after what he had done. But I didn’t have the strength to push him away. Not when my heart was betraying me, failing me again. I broke down in tears at once, my body shaking even more.

Through the dizziness, I clutched his shirt weakly. “I waited my entire life for that heart, Lucas… you know I did,” I rasped. “Why does she get to take it from me?”

Lucas swallowed hard, guilt flickering in his eyes. “Clara… I… it seemed like your condition isn’t as critical as hers. And…” He hesitated. “You wouldn’t have been able to get the surgery right now anyway, I felt it was best to save her friend’s life first.”

The ground beneath me shattered.

I wrenched away from him, my whole body trembling. “Not that serious?” My voice was nothing more than a broken whisper.

I had been living on borrowed time since I was a child. He knew how much this heart had meant to me. He had watched me live in caution, had seen me in the hospital more times than he could count.

And this was what he said?

Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I would not cry. Not in front of him.

Lucas’s jaw clenched. His hands hovered like he wanted to touch me again, but I took a shaky step back.

“Baby…” he started.

“Give it back.” My voice was sharp, cutting.

He flinched. “Clara, I—”

“Give me my heart back.”

Lucas turned to Ella, his expression taut. “Give it to her.”

Ella sucked in a breath. Then, she shook her head. Her eyes welled up with tears, but I didn’t care.

“It’s too late,” she whispered.

A hollow, terrible silence filled the room.

I clenched my fists. “What do you mean, too late?”

She wiped at her tears, her voice trembling. “During the transfer… the heart was accidentally contaminated.”

The remains of my fragile heart finally shattered into a million pieces.

She swallowed, voice thick with emotion. “The hospital hasn’t reported it yet, but… it can’t be used anymore.”

My shoulders shook again as I cried, realizing that I had just gone back to square one again.

Lucas reached for my hand. “Clara… my love, I swear—I’ll find you another one. I’ll fix this. Just—”

I jerked away from him, my chest tight with a pain deeper than physical.

“Leave.” My voice was hoarse.

His brows drew together. “Baby—”

“Get out!” I screamed, pointing at the door.

He hesitated. He didn’t want to leave. But this time, I wouldn’t let him stay.

The moment the door clicked shut, my knees buckled, and I crashed to the floor.

“Why me?” I wept bitterly.

“Why do I deserve this?”

Just then, the door opened and my mom walked in, holding a tray of food.

She paused on her tracks when she saw me on the ground, my shirt soaked with my tears. Worry stretched across the lines of her face almost immediately.

“Clara?”

I could not find it in me to look up at her.

“What happened? I just saw Lucas and a strange lady leave. He seemed worried about something. Did you guys fight?”

She was panicking. I could hear it, feel it.

I managed to force the words out,

“Lucas and Ella… they gave my transplant to someone else.”

The tray of food in her hands crashed to the floor.

For a moment, my mom just stood there. I risked looking up at her and watched helplessly as the worry on her face gave way for pure, unadulterated anger.

Then, without another word, she turned and stormed out of the room.

“Mom!” I cried out, trying to crawl after her.

“Somebody stop her, please!”

But she was already gone. And I had a feeling she was going straight for Ella.