Lahat ng Kabanata ng A Heart for a Heart: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

James shook his head. "I'm sorry… I know you'd be devastated if you saw his body, so I had him cremated."But he wasn't.He was just worried that I'd see our son's hollowed chest, missing a heart.I fought back my hatred as I stared at the lopsided bracelet on James' wrist.It was Stan's gift to him.James was always insomniac in the past, so Stan learned how to make one of those Kabbalah bracelets and gave it to him.James was slack-jawed when he wore the unattractive bracelet, unable to say a word until Stan said, "Daddy?"He then finally took the bracelet from Stan, carefully putting it on his wrist before giving Stan a hug. "Thanks, son. I really like it."Come to think of it, James must have been losing sleep when he planned our accident.James followed my gaze just then, and seeing that I was looking at the bracelet, there was a troubled look in his eyes as he pulled up his sleeve to hide it."I promise you, dear, that I'll remember our son just like you, and for the re

I tried to push Sue away as hard as I could, but she held on firmly on my wrist and slapped herself with my palm.As she collapsed on the floor, she looked at me in grief as she cried, "Please! I'm sad that Stan is gone too, but why are you doing this to me? What did I do?"Before I realized what was happening, I felt a big shove behind my back and knocked my head on the tea table.Although I was bleeding, James didn't seem to see it as he worriedly helped Sue to her feet. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"Sue shook her head, but her tears were raining. "My head hurts so much…"James wheeled on me angrily right then. "What are you doing here?! Just because your son died?! Apologize right now!"I couldn't stop my tears as hatred and fury ate at me. "Stan's your son too! He's your biological child whom you've been a father to for four years!"James paused and suddenly looked down at the bracelet on his wrist, which felt like it weighed tons.Even as his hand seemed to twitch, he a

I laughed icily, before snapping, "Parnoid?! You're still lying to me even now! You staged that accident and worked with the medical staff to deceive me while you took away my son's heart and handed it off to the son you had with Sue! Did you really think I'd never find out?!"I flung the evidence at his face, and he turned pale while he saw what it was.Sue had her hand over his mouth too, gaping at him in shock as she realized the truth was out.However, James didn't give up and scanned through it, but everything was there—his conversations with Sue, Nathan's medical records, camera footage of James at the scene of the accident, and even him arranging for my womb to be surgically removed.All of it made it very clear that I knew about the plot he had hatched and carried out for years.Even as his breathing turned rough and panic showed visibly in his eyes, he grabbed my shoulders and exclaimed, "I-It's all fabricated, to drive us apart! You have to believe me, Wanda… You know ho

As I stared at James' perfect cheeks, I remembered the fantasy that he weaved for me and Stan.But as it turned out, it was just one humongous spiderweb.Still, while James didn't expose Sue's lies, he wasn't stupid enough to confess either.Hence, the first court session ended in disappointment.Before the second started, I went to visit Stan's gravestone, brushing my fingers against the name carved into the marble.It was hard to imagine that not long ago, he stood right in front of me, alive and healthy, planning for a trip to the beach during the holidays. We even bought him a float, swimming trunks, and goggles…But now that the holidays were here, when all the children were playing happily, Stan's remains were left here, in this cold, harsh place.I once again remembered how my boy kept yapping as the excitement at the mall reached its peak, and how James was looking at him in confusion, pain, and hesitation.It felt strange at the time, but that coldness in James' reacti

I wasn't there when James was to be executed.Instead, I was visiting Stan's grave."I've finally avenged you, Stan. Everyone who hurt you has received their just deserts."We're divorced, but you have nothing to worry about—he gave me everything he had in his will, and I will set up a charity fund with the money to help children like you, who had their organs stolen, or families who have lost children because of that."Oh, I miss you so much…"-A year later, I was volunteering at an orphanage and playing with some children when I noticed a familiar face.The boy was sitting alone in a corner, keeping his head down and playing with a broken airplane model.I quietly went over, crouching beside him and called out, "Nathan?"He looked up, studying me for a while, and eventually said quietly, "I remember you, ma'am."I felt a mess of emotions looking at him now. Revenge clouded my mind when I abducted him from Sue's home back then, but he never became wary of me. He ate the s