My Two Hearts, Both Taken by You

Cindy brushed her hand across my cheek and said, "Don't worry. I'll keep you alive."Her mentor had performed heart transplants before, so she was confident that she could pull this off. "Once Tristan recovers, your whole family will finally accept you. And I'll be right there with you."She and her colleagues worked through the surgery with focused precision. After a long time, Cindy removed a heart from my body. She didn't even stop to look at it before rushing it into Tristan's operating room.My chest was still open, my body lying alone on the operating table. The shrill flatline from the monitor woke the doctor left on watch."He's dead? I thought he had two hearts."One of Cindy's colleagues couldn't make sense of it."You actually believed Dr. Green when she said that?" Kelly Thompson answered."Good riddance. He did so many awful things and wouldn't lift a finger to save Dr. Green's husband. On top of that, he tried to make a move on her.""So what do we do now?""He's

Cindy stared at the papers in disbelief, wondering if I was being serious. It was just one heart, and I actually had the nerve to ask for a divorce over it.She grabbed the box of pastries and hurled it into the trash. "If you don't want this family, then don't ever come back."Her phone rang just then, and she picked it up."Cindy? Where has Hayden been lately?"It was Dad, which was rare. He rarely called to ask about me. Usually the only name out of his mouth was Tristan's.Cindy thought it over and realized my parents were the only people who could pressure me into showing my face. And since Tristan had almost healed anyway, she told Dad about the surgery.My parents rushed to the hospital that night. The moment Tristan saw them, he couldn't stop crying. The three of them held each other and sobbed for a while before my parents finally asked about me."Where's your brother? He's right here in the hospital. He can't even be bothered to come see you?"Tristan hesitated. "He a

The hospital staff were puzzled. As far as they knew, Cindy's husband was the patient in Bed 32 who had just undergone heart surgery."My husband has already been discharged. He was in Bed 8," Cindy declared.Upon hearing that, one of the doctors dropped the medical chart in his hands. It hit the floor with a loud clatter. Dr. Roth shot that doctor a look of displeasure, and the latter hastily picked it up again.Just as the atmosphere turned a little awkward, the door opened. My parents walked in, followed by Uncle Brian and Aunt Edna.Seeing a room full of doctors, they assumed that these people had come to check on Tristan's condition. Mom and Dad hurried forward at once."Doctor, how's my son doing?"Aunt Edna followed closely behind. She'd come over to the hospital to ask me for money. She'd camped outside my house for several days without catching sight of me, so she had no choice but to call Mom and Dad. When she heard that Tristan had undergone heart surgery, she and Uncl

Kelly's heart settled back in place when she saw that it was Cindy who had come barreling in."What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be accompanying your husband?" Kelly asked.Ignoring the question, Cindy stormed up to Kelly and grabbed her, questioning, "Were you the one who signed off on releasing the patient in Bed 8?"The moment Kelly realized Cindy was talking about me, she remembered everything Tristan had said about me. She scrunched her nose in disdain before replying, "What about it? He's dead, so isn't it a given that his body should be released?" She kept talking while Cindy stared at her in horror."Weren't you the one who did the surgery? He stopped breathing the moment you stepped away from the operating table."Cindy slowly released her grip on Kelly, repeatedly shaking her head. "No. You're lying to me. That's not what happened!"Thinking that Cindy was simply remorseful over my death, Kelly tried to comfort her."Don't feel bad about it. Your husban

Tristan continued to wail, "I can't believe how horrible Hayden is! All I did was take one of his hearts! Why did he come up with these fake messages to trick you when he's perfectly fine?"Mom couldn't stand listening to him any longer. She walked over and slapped him hard across the face.He couldn't believe she'd just hit him."Did you just hit me because of Hayden? But why? What's so good about him? He's just some worthless bastard that doesn't even have a family who wants him!" Tristan screamed, his tone nastier than his words.Cindy couldn't hold back either. She seized Tristan by the throat with both hands, shrieking, "And who do you think you are, huh? Do you seriously think I wanted Hayden to donate his heart to you because I cared about you? Do you think I'd even feel like talking to you if it hadn't been for his heart?"She had a strange feeling when she first met Tristan, one that she couldn't put into words. It was as if just the sight of him gave her the urge to subm