Back then, Zackary had long been unable to wait for a suitable heart. He was losing weight day by day, and the time he was awake was getting shorter and shorter.

The emergence of the artificial heart made me ecstatic, even though the technology was not yet mature. Only a small number of people got transplanted with artificial hearts, and the side effects were unknown.

I had no choice but to sign the implantation agreement.

I gave my heart to him and implanted an artificial heart that would last five years.

The cheapest mechanical heart cost thousands of dollars.

Since then, I had vomited blood from time to time. I couldn't breathe when I walked a few more steps, and my body was inexplicably weak and cold.

But for me, it was already the best deal.

Now, artificial heart technology had matured and was now able to operate more efficiently in the human body.

But I could no longer afford the surgery.

During those five years, I suffered a lot.

On the verge of dying, I could still see him once, and feel the beating of his heart, I had no regrets.

When I walked back to the old building on the outskirts of the city, it was getting dark.

I pushed open the door of my broken room. There came a moldy smell. The wet and cold feeling caused me to shiver.

It was a quite small room with only a rusty iron bed and shaky ceiling fan.

But it was enough for me to live in.

At one time, Zackary and I were taken in here, and we found our family here.

None of us could leave each other.

So, when I learned that my heart could save him, I made up my mind to end the relationship with him.

Zackary had been protecting me and pampering me for eighteen years. He experienced all sorts of life and knew how hard it had been for us to go all the way.

For him, I worked hard day and night. He saw my hardness.

So no matter what, he would not agree to me to change my heart to him.

I had to pretend that I was afraid of death and deliberately distanced myself from him.

No matter how much he hated me, I didn't blame him.

I pretended to dislike him in front of the nurses for not being able to take care of himself and for being stinking.

I cursed him fiercely and was fed up with the despair of having no hope day after day.

I'd even said in public that he should die and stop dragging me into his miserable life.

If he hesitated just a little bit, I could leave him mercilessly.

He gave up on me that day. I threw the agreement ending our relationship in his face with a sneer on my face. Zackary cried and signed his name on the paper with all his force.

And I, with that agreement, went into the operating room.

I once said I would take all the money abroad and never come back.

But often at sunset, I hid by the door, spying on his gradual recovery under the care of Lillianna.

Nobody knew that the girl that should have gone abroad would hide in shadows.

I didn't expect to be able to see him one more time before I died.

The small wet and cold room became the home before my death.

As long as he was happy, it was fine.

The photo of Zackary was the screen saver of my phone. I was proud of him. At the same time, a touch of sourness inevitably welled up in my heart.

The urgent ringing of the bell brought me to my senses, and I smiled to myself as I looked at the bright red warning of arrears. So the money was still not enough.

There were a few people I could contact with. I hesitated for a moment and called Joyce.

I begged her to help me find a job, no matter how hard it was.

Zackary thought I took his life-saving money and abandoned him. He hated me.

Knowing how poor I was now, he must be happy to see it.

My heart went wrong, but I still had to work to pay off the medical bills I owed before.

Though I often said that I was not afraid of death, when a ray of hope appeared in front of me, I still tried to grab it.

Joyce didn't believe that I was an ungrateful girl. She felt sorry for what I had been through all these years.

She immediately arranged for me to go to the hotel where Peyton Roman, her eldest son, worked.

Zackary was hosting a party for Lillianna and was in desperate need of greeters.

I could earn five thousand dollars a day, enough for me to buy drugs to survive for a few months.

When I hurried to the hotel, I accidentally bumped into a warm chest.

When I looked up, I met Zackary's confused and unbelievable eyes.

The girl behind him seemed to be familiar.

Lillianna was dressed in a gorgeous dress, holding his arm.

The crowd flattered them, and they were at such a high place that I could never touch.

I hastily bowed my head to apologize. In front of my eyes appeared to be her fine-heeled shoes inset with diamonds. "Look, who is she? A miserable poor girl. She smells stinky."

Lillianna covered her nose in disgust and laughed gaily.

I was silent, hanging my head and backing away.

A snap came. My face turned red, burning.

She moved closer to me and grunted coldly, "Where's the manager? How can you let this kind of ungrateful person in? If she steals things, can you afford to pay for it? Fire her now."

Zackary's lips pursed, and he looked at me, slightly stunned.

Lillianna's eyes dyed with envy. She pushed me down and stepped hard on my chest.

Intense sharp pain swept over me. I couldn't stop curling up and trembling, crying.

"Don't look at Zackary. You don't deserve it. Get the hell out of my way." She laughed smugly, her tone full of rage.

Zackary's eyebrows knit slightly. Only for a moment, the heartache in his eyes turned into merciless coldness.

The manager, Peyton, was afraid that I would get hurt and was busy trying to take me away.

Zackary coldly grunted and let Peyton leave, tugging my wrist to pull me up.

"Kiersten, you chased me here for money?"

Only then did Lillianna pretend to exclaim, wiping my face clean with a tissue.

"What? How come it's Kiersten? You're the young lady of the Dixon family. Do you still need to condescend to work in the hotel?"

When the words fell, the entire hall fell silent.

Gazes with malice surrounded me.

"So it's Ms. Dixon. She abandoned Mr. Dixon in spite of his feelings, and now she's reduced to working as a waitress?"

"Poor thing, she deserves it."

"She reaps what she sows."

I didn't know who pushed me toward Zackary. He instinctively reached out but suddenly took a step back.

My body fell uncontrollably into the corner of the table, coming along with severe pain.

Blood and tears flowed out together, but I became numb.

I tried to leave without saying a word. Zackary blocked in front of me and looked down at me.

"Don't you want money? Lillianna is allergic and can't drink, so you'll help her drink."

He dragged me into the private room and had three boxes of wine stacked all over the table.

"Thirty thousand dollars a bottle, I'll give you as much as you drink."

Lillianna pushed the bottle in front of me.

"Drink it. Don't try to fool us."

I ignored her and stared at Zackary's gloomy face, laughing lightly.

"You really want me to drink?"

He looked slightly stunned and froze in shock.

The primary artificial heart had a severe rejection reaction, and the slightest discomfort would make my life worse than death.

Besides, the one who was allergic to alcohol was me, not Lillianna.

Seeing the hesitation in Zackary's eyes, I smiled.

"I can drink. You write off that three hundred thousand dollars, OK?"

He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"Deal!"

His affirmative answer inspired me to tilt my head back and pour wine into my mouth.

Since I wouldn't live much longer anyway, I could ignore the doctor's advice.

The strong alcohol stimulated my brain, and the burning wine flew across the scars in my heart.

The pain was all I could feel.

Acid churned in my stomach, and I subconsciously bent over to dry heaven, almost coughing out my entire heart.

Only after drinking one bottle, Zackary violently knocked over the wine, his face grim.

"Enough!"

His voice brought the laughter of those present to an abrupt end.

Zackary clamped down on my shoulders in a deadly grip, like he wanted to crush my bones.

"Kiersten, you could do whatever for money, do you?"

I numbly broke away from him, only to see the wine bottle broken, and the wine all over the floor reflecting my pale face.

Just as I was about to kneel and hold the wine in my hand and drink it, Lillianna suddenly pulled me up, her face full of concern.

"Don't do that. You are not that low.

"Zackary, don't make it difficult for her. We shouldn't make things that difficult for her. How about taking off your clothes?"

She laughed and looked at me with contempt in her eyes.

"One piece for one hundred thousand dollars, how about it?"

I was silent for a moment, shaking off her hand.

Against Zackary's unbelievable eyes, I took my uniform off and then unbuttoned the shirt.

When I was about to unbutton the last one, Zackary furiously overturned the sofa.

The heart could no longer withstand the stimulation. Severe pain attacked, and I sprayed out a mouthful of blood.

I seemed to be unaware of it, mechanically trembling hands to remove the last shirt to cover shame.

Zackary's eyes were scarlet, and a low, hoarse roar came from his throat.

"Stop it!"

I managed to pull out a smile and finally fell to the ground powerlessly.

The broken glass stabbed into my knee, blood coming out.

Zackary panicked and tried to hold me, but he was pushed aside harshly by Joyce who rushed over.

She hugged me and draped her clothes over me.

In the panic, the ugly scar on my chest was revealed.

Zackary's face tightened, and he knelt in front of me in shock.

Joyce protected me in her arms, hatefully glaring at him and yelling.

"You ungrateful thing! Kiersten has already given you her heart. You still want to humiliate her like this. Do you really want to see her die? Are you satisfied?"