The day Bryan Abbott received the World Philanthropist Award, the doctors told me I would not live for long because I could not afford to replace my artificial heart.

The TV host asked Bryan to call the person he regretted being with the most.

Without hesitation, he dialed my number.

I answered the call. Bryan asked, “Do you regret leaving me for money back then?”

Staring at the astronomical bill for the artificial heart, I chuckled softly, “Bryan, you’re so rich now. Could you lend me $200,000?”

The call cut off abruptly. I watched as Bryan icily said on TV, “Now, I have no regrets.”

He did not know that back when his heart had failed, I had donated mine to him secretly so that he could live.

After the livestream ended, I immediately received a transfer of $200,000 from Bryan Abbott.

I was stunned for a moment as my heart felt a little conflicted.

After paying the medical bills with that money, I heard a familiar voice from outside the ward.

I looked through the crack in the doors and saw Bryan’s silhouette.

It had been seven years since we last met, but time had left almost no marks on him.

The only thing that changed was that I was not the person by his side anymore.

The award ceremony had just ended. He had not even managed to change his clothes and rushed to the hospital.

It was because his wife had a bit of a gastric issue.

I saw how he held Jade Garland dotingly in his arms.

I kept my head down and pretended not to see anything. Then, I quietly shut the door.

Bryan shoved the door open.

I jumped in surprise and looked up to meet his eyes.

Bryan’s gaze swept over my body with a bone-chilling coldness.

“We haven’t met in so long. Aren’t you… going to say hello?”

I looked at him, and my lips parted slightly. A thousand words gathered on my tongue, yet what came out was something else.

“Bryan, please lend me another $300,000.”

Bryan was stunned for a moment. A hint of anger lit up his cold eyes.

He grabbed my hand. “We haven’t met for seven years, and this is all you have to say to me?”

A dense, throbbing ache emanated from the countless pinpricks on my wrist.

I took a deep breath and said softly, “You’re so wealthy. If you don’t lend me the money, Ms. Garland might misunderstand things.”

Bryan was somewhat taken aback. The look in his eyes grew quite complicated.

Just as he was about to say something, Jade grabbed onto his hand.

“Dear, is this your ex-wife?”

Jade looked at me and said pitifully, “What can you do with $300,000? Bryan spends half a million just to buy me a pair of shoes!

“It’s a shame you didn’t appreciate him when you had him. If you hadn’t heartlessly abandoned him, how could I have ever met him?”

I remained silent as my thoughts drifted back to the past.

I met Bryan in college. We fell in love and dated for five years.

Back then, he was not yet an entrepreneur.

My health was not as poor as it was at present.

We were two poor, orphaned students who had found each other to care for.

We worked hard to build our own little family.

Just as our business began to take off, Bryan was diagnosed with severe heart disease.

Treatment and a transplant required a fortune.

We depleted every cent we had saved for our startup just to cover medical expenses.

I took on multiple odd jobs daily, ate only one meal a day, and stretched every penny to its limit.

I worked myself to the bone just to scrape together a meager sum for the medicine.

We even switched to the cheapest, low-quality generic drugs for his treatment.

Yet, we still could not find a suitable heart.

Just as I watched Bryan grow thinner by the day and wither away, I fell into despair, but the doctor told me that they found a match.

The person whose heart matched Bryan’s was me.

My well of thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

Bryan tenderly kissed Jade’s forehead. His eyes shone with relentless affection.

“If it weren’t for her cruelty, how would I have ever met you, my little angel?

“That $300,000 bag that you had your eye on? I’ll buy it for you. Next time, pick an expensive one. I can afford it.”

Watching them, the pain from the pins and needles in my wrist seemed to pierce straight through my heart. The pain stifled me until I could not breathe.

I wrenched my hand free from Bryan’s unyielding grip.

I no longer wished to serve as a reference point for their love.

Just as I turned to leave, Jade deliberately stuck out her foot and tripped me.

“Oh my, Ms. Lewis, how clumsy of you!”

I fell to my knees, and the medical report scattered at Bryan’s feet.

Seeing me fall, Bryan’s face tightened, and he instinctively reached out to help me up.

Jade grabbed his hand and gasped, “What’s this?”

Bryan’s gaze was drawn to the report on the floor.

He picked it up and scanned it.

“Artificial heart replacement…”

A flash of anger shone on Bryan’s face.

He flung the medical report at me.

“Aria Lewis, I never imagined you’d stoop to such despicable tricks for money!

“You’re exactly the same as you were seven years ago. Everything revolves around money for you. Nothing matters to you except money!”

I stood up and stared at Bryan’s healthy physique.

I smiled softly as I silently picked up the report.

“Since you know I love money, Mr. Abbott, why don’t you lend me some?”

Jade was overcome with emotion, and tears streamed down her face. She sobbed as she grabbed the man’s sturdy arm.

Yet, her gaze toward me was filled with resentment and malice.

“Dear, maybe it’s true?

“Besides, it was Ms. Lewis who left you first, which was why you received that heart donated by a kind soul!

“Shouldn’t we help her?”

Her words seemed to remind Bryan of the fact that I had once abandoned him for money.

Bryan froze. Anger and hesitation shone on his face.

“A kind person’s heart shouldn’t go to someone so cruel and ungrateful. She doesn’t deserve this kindness!”

Bryan pulled Jade away and turned to leave. Jade continued to plead with him.

But when she glanced back at me, she smirked at me with venom in her eyes.

I picked up the medical file, which was covered in Bryan’s footprints.

The mechanical heart suddenly shuddered with a tremor that did not belong to it.

My pupils dilated as their receding figures blurred into the distance.

Much later, I wiped the blood trickling from my lips and stared at the words “Artificial Heart Replacement.”

My fingers traced the scar that had marked my chest for seven years.

Bryan still did not know that the heart beating within his chest was mine.

Seven years ago, we were unable to find a suitable heart in time, and Bryan’s body grew weaker day by day.

The technology for Artificial Heart Replacement was not fully developed. In theory, it could only sustain basic life functions.

There were still too many unknown risks to it.

After finding out that we were a perfect match, I donated my heart to him.

As for me, I received an artificial heart with a theoretical lifespan of seven years.

It was the cheapest model available.

Ever since, I felt sharp pains in my chest from time to time.

Coughing up blood and sudden waves of weakness had become a part of everyday life.

Money was tight, so the surgery to replace the artificial heart with a newer model kept getting delayed.

Thus, seven years had passed.

The artificial heart within my chest delivered its seventh wave of agony.

I knew it had long since been pushed to its limit.

…

After leaving the hospital, I returned to my rental apartment.

The room was not very large. It was damp and humid, and the winter months were especially cold.

In summer, it was unbearably hot. But at least it was cheap.

Bryan and I had rented this place together, where we once dreamed of our future.

After learning that my heart was a match, I pretended to be all about money and status and pulled out the divorce papers to end things with Bryan.

Bryan and I spent five years together.

No matter how bitter or exhausting it got, I never uttered a single complaint and stayed by his side through thick and thin.

He knew all too well how deeply I loved him, and he refused to believe that I would ever leave him.

I knew his love ran deep in his bones, too.

If he knew everything, he would have never allowed me to trade my life for his.

To save him, I had to steel my heart and pretend I had had enough.

I had to act like I was tired of the endless hardship that I faced by his side. I had to pretend like I was feeling hopeless with him.

I told him I was sick of the cheap medicine and only a plain toast a day.

Such a life was making me frustrated.

I told him I had had enough of it all.

I still remember the day when I told him.

The boy who had always been strong and never even flinched from hardship or bloodshed shed tears for the first time.

He signed the divorce papers as he sobbed.

I wrote my name on the organ donation agreement.

After the surgery, I left Bryan for good with shame in my heart.

I returned to the rented apartment where we had lived together for five years.

I quietly waited for death, which I would embrace with my willing hands.

I never imagined I would see Bryan ever again.

He was drifting further away. He had become who he had always dreamed of being.

But I could never go back.

As I watched his confident demeanor on the news, a pang of bitterness suddenly welled up inside me.

Then, I felt a touch of relief.

The ringing of my phone interrupted my memories.

I answered it. It was from the bank.

They informed me that the previous transfer of $200,000 was a clerical error.

I must return the funds immediately, or else I would face criminal charges.

I hung up and smiled bitterly. I was at a loss for words.

After a moment’s silence, I called my best friend and asked her to find me a job to repay the debt.

Bryan hated me that much. He knew that someone like me could only pay him back in installments.

He would gladly accept it and watch me work myself to death to pay it off.

Due to my heart condition, my body felt weak. This made it impossible for me to work many jobs.

I could only survive on occasional odd jobs.

My best friend, Beryl Smith, knew of my health issues and found me a job as a banquet waitress.

The work was relatively easy. I could earn $500 a day.

As I slipped into the waitress uniform, put on my mask, and served drinks at the banquet, I saw Bryan once more.

He wore an expensive suit and was standing tall with an imposing presence.

Jade glided in an elegant evening gown and radiated grace and charm.

Arm in arm, the two looked like the perfect couple. They were adored and admired by everyone around them.

I glanced at them once and immediately lowered my head.

Bryan, who was holding a glass of wine, did not recognize me. Just as I was about to turn away, Jade spoke up.

“What kind of service is this? Didn’t you see that you spilled wine on my gown?”

I paused mid-step. Only then did I notice a patch of dampness on the hem of Jade’s gown.

I said nothing, simply lowered my head, and dabbed at the stain on Jade’s gown with a tissue.

Bryan watched me. His brow slightly furrowed, and his lips pressed into a straight line.

Malice shone in Jade’s eyes as she suddenly kicked me hard in the chest.

A sharp pain shot through me as I collapsed to the floor. I could not stifle my cry of agony.

“Don’t you dare touch me with those filthy hands! Security, throw her out!”

Jade’s face was twisted in rage, yet the smugness in her smirk was impossible to hide.

Though only my eyes were visible, in that fleeting moment of eye contact, Bryan recognized me.

His lips moved as if to speak. A flicker of pain shone in his eyes. It was then replaced by nothing but mockery.

He raised a hand to halt the security guard, then ripped off my mask.

“Aria! Won’t you even say hello to your ex-husband?”