My husband, an anesthesiologist, deliberately increases the sedative dosage on an accident victim so he can get a new heart for his first love, Selena Quigley. After her operation, he cares for her and celebrates her rebirth. He only remembers to contact me after she's recovered.

"It's been three months since we saw each other, honey. You shouldn't be mad anymore, right? Why don't you book a flight for tomorrow so you can come home? I'll pick you up at the airport."

I won't be going home anymore, though. Not now, not forever.

I've already died on his operating table.

I never imagined I would die at the hands of my husband, Jonathan Lewis. Even worse, I never thought he would do it to save his first love, Selena Quigley.

Just an hour earlier, Selena had called Jonathan. Her voice had broken with each sob. "Jon, the doctor said my heart can't hold out much longer. I'm still so young. I don't want to die!"

"Don't be afraid. I'm here." He had soothed her with a tenderness I had never received from him.

Then, he lit one cigarette after another.

After I was rushed into the emergency room after the car accident, he manipulated the anesthesia dosage.

That was because I was O blood type, just like Selena. I had also registered as a volunteer organ donor long ago. The moment I died, she would receive my heart.

As my soul drifted away, I listened to the doctor pronounce my death. They then sliced through my chest with a scalpel and removed my heart.

Even in death, the pain surged through me. It was a torment that made me writhe and cry out, "Jonathan, it hurts so bad!"

I called his name over and over, but he couldn't hear me.

A sterile cloth was draped over my face, and Jonathan had no idea that the lifeless body was mine.

…

The surgery went incredibly smoothly.

When Selena woke up, there were barely any signs of rejection.

Jonathan smiled as he pulled her into his arms. "Congratulations on your new life, Selena. This heart was meant for you!"

"You harmed someone to save me. What if that deaf-o finds out and confronts you?" she asked.

The "deaf-o" Selena referred to was me. I couldn't hear anything and had to wear cochlear implants year-round.

"We agreed not to bring her up," he replied with a frown, as if I were a curse he wished to forget.

…

Once Selena fell asleep, Jonathan stepped outside to call me. But my phone was off.

Even so, he didn't think much of it. He chuckled helplessly and muttered, "Her temper sure is getting worse. She's making a big deal out of nothing."

We had only fought once since we met, and that was one month ago.

I had discovered he still had feelings for his first love, the very person who had bullied me in school.

Jonathan knew how much I had suffered at Selena's hands, yet he continued to associate with her. He even claimed I needed to move on from the past.

In a fit of anger, I left the country to study abroad. But he bombarded me with messages, pleading for my forgiveness and promising to cut ties with Selena.

I eventually relented and returned three days ago to celebrate his birthday.

However, I was caught in an accident after picking up Jonathan's birthday cake. But he was the one who killed me and used my heart to save the person who had tormented me.

…

Jonathan didn't seem to care about me. Instead, he took leave to look after Selena.

She was in a VIP ward that came with a small kitchen, where he prepared her meals three times a day.

When she wanted an apple, he would peel it for her, meticulously removing every bit of skin. If she complained about her toenails being too long, he'd patiently trimmed them. He even went as far as to give her a manicure.

Jonathan cared for Selena with a natural ease that surpassed how he had ever looked after me. It was as if he had done this countless times before.

The group of bullies who had once tormented me were all friends with Selena.

When they visited her at the hospital and saw how tenderly Jonathan treated her, they teased, "Oh, stop it, you lovebirds! When are you two planning to get married?"

Whenever anyone brought up my relationship with him, he always sidestepped the topic. He even refused to wear his wedding ring in public.

But here he was, holding Selena's hand, his eyes brimming with affection. "Selena's health isn't great, and she doesn't have much energy. All she really wants to do is focus on her art.

"She has made it clear she doesn't want to get married or have kids. She doesn't want to be tied down by marriage."

"Surely Mr. and Mrs. Lewis wouldn't agree to that? Are you planning to find some woman to marry and have kids to appease them?" someone asked.

Jonathan simply smiled in response, neither confirming nor denying it.

It was no wonder he had married me and always insisted he wanted children. He seemed deeply in love with me, yet he wouldn't even acknowledge me as his wife.

I stared at him in shock. As I wiped my face, I realized that even in death, one could still feel sorrow and shed tears.

The others joked about wanting to be their bridesmaids and groomsmen, while Selena blushed. Jonathan, on the other hand, smiled gently at her.

Right then, the hospital called him.

"Is this Mr. Jonathan Lewis? Your wife, Madeline Sullivan, passed away three days ago in a car accident. Please come to First Hope Hospital to make arrangements for her remains."

I had imagined countless ways Jonathan might react to the news of my death. But his actual response was nothing like I had expected.

"Alright, got it," he said casually before hanging up.

Someone nearby asked, "What's the matter, Jonathan?"

"It's nothing. Just a scam call," he replied indifferently.

Since I hadn't told him I was back in the country, he assumed I was still abroad. No wonder he thought it was a scam when the hospital told him I had been in a car accident here.

Well, at least he hadn't told anyone else I had died. Otherwise, they'd probably be grumbling about how I had managed to ruin their day yet again.

To them, I was always the killjoy, the one who smelled like fish. The wet blanket who didn't finish their homework. A nuisance because I couldn't give them money for a new gaming console.

Even when they shoved my head into the toilet, I was still a disappointment. I was unable to scream, and that only made them torment me more.

Even now, the memory of their words sent a shiver through me.

If it hadn't been for Jonathan—guiding me, standing by my side, standing up to Selena and her gang—I might have jumped from the rooftop years ago.

…

Jonathan stayed by Selena's side for an entire month while she was in the hospital and cared for her. People thought they were a couple and praised their devotion to each other.

Yet, he never denied it. It seemed like he had long forgotten he had a wife.

Finally, Selena was ready to be discharged and to recuperate at home.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and cooed, "I want to stay at your place."

"I'm married," Jonathan reminded her.

"But that deaf-o isn't even around. Besides, she's too clueless to suspect anything. It's been 15 years, and she still hasn't figured out that you approached her just to toy with her. You’ve been treating her like some kind of joke!"

As Selena recalled the past, a grin spread across her face. "I remember how you stole her cochlear implants and flushed them down the toilet. She went nearly half a year without hearing anything.

"You told everyone she was a pathetic loser, yet she just kept smiling at you like a fool. You—"

"Shut up!" Jonathan cut her off sharply. His expression darkened. "I gave you the heart you needed, so keep quiet. Don't ever bring this up to her!"

Selena's smile faltered at his words. "Have you… actually fallen for her?"

"That's none of your business. And don't forget, you were the one who left me first!"

"What's with that attitude?"

Tears welled up in Selena's eyes. Almost immediately, Jonathan pulled her close. He started whispering words of comfort.

In no time, they were as close as ever.

Meanwhile, I felt paralyzed. My heart sank into a deep, cold void that sent an ache coursing through me.

I had searched everywhere for my cochlear implants when I lost them but to no avail. My parents were so frantic that they went as far as kneeling before my classmates.

"If anyone has found Madeline's cochlear implants, please return them," they pleaded.

After all, a pair of cochlear implants cost more than 50 thousand dollars. It was a crushing expense for our family.

But all my classmates did was laugh mockingly.

My mother's eyes were swollen from crying. "I'm sorry, Maddy. You won't be able to hear for a while," she told me in sign language.

From then on, my parents woke up even earlier and came home even later. They saved every cent until the day they were killed in an accident while on their way to sell fish.

Fish flopped in puddles of their blood. At that point, my mother couldn't even lift her hand.

Her lips parted as she spoke, and her eyes filled with tears. However, I couldn't hear her.

Meanwhile, my father's hands trembled as he signed to me, "Live on… Keep living…"

I had suspected each member of Selena's gang of stealing my implants. Yet, the thought of Jonathan being the culprit never crossed my mind.

This was the same Jonathan who had once scolded Selena for bullying me, the one who had held my hand on the rooftop and insisted I had to keep going.

He had been the one to save me from their cruelty. So, how could he have become one of them?

But there was no one to provide an answer.

…

Not wanting to upset Selena, Jonathan brought her to our matrimonial home.

"Just the sight of her irritates me!"

The moment she saw my framed photo, she tossed it straight into the trash.

Jonathan, on the other hand, watched calmly. "You were the one who didn't want to get married to chase your dreams. So, why are you acting like a madwoman in my home?"

Selena stared at him blankly. "What if I said I regret it? Would you divorce her?"

He evaded her question. Instead, he replied, "The heart transplant surgery requires two months of bed rest. By then, Madeline will be back from her studies abroad. You can't stay here much longer."

Tears welled up in Selena's eyes instantly. In a fit of frustration, she began throwing out the plants I had nurtured, my skincare products, and my clothes.

Then, she threw herself into Jonathan's arms with tears streaming down her face. In the next moment, she raised her head to kiss him.

He didn't reciprocate but didn't push her away either. Only when she started undressing did he finally grab her hands.

"Selena, don't. Your body isn't strong enough yet."

What if she had fully recovered? Would they have done it right there on our bed?

I couldn't help but resent the fact that my soul still lingered after my death. I could hear every word without needing my cochlear implants, and I was forced to discover every sickening detail.

Yet, all I could do was watch as Jonathan and Selena lost themselves in each other.

…

Finally, once Selena had recovered enough, Jonathan sent me a message.

With a smile, he typed, "Honey, it's been three months. Surely you've cooled off by now? I miss you so much. How about flying home tomorrow? I'll pick you up at the airport."

However, a day passed, and he received no reply.

Jonathan tried calling, but my phone was off. So, he reached out to my family and friends, but none of them had seen me.

He even checked with my colleagues who had traveled abroad with me, only to discover that I had returned to the country long ago. That was when he sensed something was wrong and contacted the police.

When the officer entered my details into the system, he looked up at Jonathan, stunned.

"Mr. Lewis, your wife died in a car accident over two months ago. Both the police and the hospital contacted you."