We'd been married for three years, and my wife, Ashley, treated me like gold. She went above and beyond to support my career, and she kept our home spotless. She always said she knew she couldn't give me kids, that she already owed me so much, so she had to make it up to me in other ways. Everyone told me she was head-over-heels for me, and honestly, I believed it. But one day after work, I accidentally overheard a conversation between her and our adopted daughter: "Mommy, I miss Daddy. I don't like Uncle Kevin." Ashley's eyes grew distant as she stroked our daughter's hair. "Daddy's heart is beating inside Uncle Kevin's body. He's always with us." My blood ran cold. Three years ago, I had a heart transplant. Turns out, she wasn't infertile, she already had a kid with someone else. I was just a substitute. 1 "Mommy, I don't like Uncle Kevin. When can we go back to the house where Daddy lived?" I'd just gotten to the front door after work when I heard that little voice coming from inside. It was Ashley's and my adopted daughter, Lily. And me? I was just "Uncle Kevin." My hand froze on the doorknob. A moment later, I heard Ashley's soft, careful voice. "Lily, honey, Daddy's heart is beating inside Uncle Kevin's body. He's always with us." When Ashley said that, her normally gentle voice had a hint of a tremor I'd never noticed before. As soon as she heard that, Lily started wailing. "Uncle Kevin is a bad man! He stole Daddy's heart! Waaaaah!" That's when my blood turned to ice. Three years ago, I'd gotten a heart transplant. I heard the donor was a young guy. I met Ashley during my recovery. She was the campus queen at State U, we even had classes together back then, and I'd chased after her for three years. She was always so cool to me, so I gave up. Then, she showed up at the hospital visiting a friend and ran right into me sneaking out of my room. The nurses were doing their rounds. She was so tiny, and we hid together in this narrow hallway alcove. Her beautiful eyes were glued to me. Our eyes met, and I was pathetically smitten all over again. She was gorgeous, one of those girls who just glows. She'd always acted like I was invisible, but when she heard I'd nearly died and gotten a new heart, she suddenly said yes to a date. The way she put it was, "You only really appreciate something when you almost lose it." She'd take me out to the park when I was going stir-crazy in the hospital, she'd bring me a bouquet of blue roses every morning, and when I finally got out, she swore she'd love me forever in front of our family and friends when I proposed. After we got married, she played the role of "perfect wife" to the hilt. She did everything around the house, wouldn't let me lift a finger. Our friends called her my "pocket angel," sweet and beautiful, and said she was here to repay me for something in a past life. Only, she couldn't have kids. I never blamed her, but it made her sad. She didn't perk up until we adopted Lily, and you could see the happiness radiating from her. Everyone said she was crazy about me. They couldn't believe how this ice queen from college was now so devoted. Yeah, Ashley's eyes were deep and beautiful, her dark pupils always looked like they were filled with this bottomless love. Just one look from her, and I'd melt. But now I realized she was looking right through me at someone else. That her not wanting to have kids was because she already had a kid. I was just a replacement. Because my chest was beating with her lover's heart. 2 Grief crashed over me like a tidal wave. My hands started shaking. The jigsaw puzzle I'd bought for Lily tumbled to the floor, shattering the silence. The door flew open. Ashley saw me and her eyes flashed with panic. She knew I'd heard the conversation. "Kevin, let me explain…" Ashley instinctively reached out to me, but I shoved her away. I took a step back, feeling like I couldn't breathe. My heart was pounding harder, but all I felt was disgust. She ignored me and wrapped her arms around my waist. Her soft voice whispered in my ear, "Breathe, Kevin. Don't do this." The last time I'd gotten this upset was when my mom died. I was so choked up, I could barely breathe. I held onto Ashley and told her I didn't have a family anymore. And Ashley stayed with me every single long, painful night, soothing me over and over. She said she'd love me forever, she'd give me a home. As long as I took care of myself, took care of this heart, and cherished the life we'd made. I believed her. I did everything I could to protect our family. Even though Lily wasn't that close to me, I tried to win her over, buying her the toys and snacks she liked. Ashley gave so much to our family, I wanted to match her efforts. But it turned out I was always the outsider. I was the bad guy who stole her dad's heart. They were the real family. 3 "So you never loved me. It was always someone else, wasn't it?" I wrenched myself out of Ashley's arms and stomped towards the bedroom to pack my things. She grabbed my arm, and in the struggle, I accidentally knocked over the snow globe on the hall table. The crash echoed. Ashley froze. Glass shards everywhere. The old gears inside whirred to a halt, making this awful, screeching sound. She babied that snow globe, always said it was a gift from a special friend, never let me touch it. Lily, standing nearby, started crying. "Daddy gave that to Mommy! You bad man!" Ashley didn't even pay attention to me. She instinctively reached down to pick up the broken glass, and the sharp edges sliced her long fingers, drawing blood. She didn't seem to notice. Her eyes were red-rimmed as she stared at me. "Kevin, have you lost your mind? What do you want from me?" "Your life was saved by him! What right do you have to act like this?" She was yelling at me for the first time. There was a flash of something like hate in her eyes. My heart twisted, and I just stood there. Lily pushed me. My lower back slammed into the corner of the table. A sharp pain shot through me. "It's your fault! I hate you!" "Because of you, Daddy doesn't want me anymore! Can't you just get out of our house!" Her words felt like a punch to the gut. My heart was beating faster, and I was shaking all over. Lily wouldn't let up. She kept pushing me towards the door. My chest was tight, and I couldn't catch my breath. I instinctively struggled, accidentally shoving her away. Lily fell to the floor and immediately started screaming. "I want Daddy! Daddy's not here, and everyone's picking on me! Waaaaah!" Ashley instantly stepped in front of Lily, her bloody hands protecting her. She glared at me. "She's a child, Kevin! What the hell is wrong with you?" "She's been living without her dad for three years because of you! And if it weren't for his heart, you wouldn't even be alive right now! How can you treat our daughter like this?" I stared at Ashley, stunned. She was a complete stranger. If I was so awful, why had I worked so hard to please Lily? Why had I stayed up all night with her when she was sick, why had I been the first one at school when she got bullied? Lily wasn't my biological child, but I'd treated her like she was. And now she was calling me "awful." How ridiculous was that? 4 My legs were starting to give out. The pain, physical and emotional, was crushing me. Just breathing was agony, and I didn't have the strength to say anything. It was the start of a heart attack. Ashley seemed to notice something was wrong. Her yelling stopped abruptly, and I saw a flicker of worry in her eyes. "Okay, you've got his heart. Don't get too worked up." Even now, she was thinking about her lover's heart. I smiled bitterly to myself. Lily, seeing Ashley soften, got an idea. She tugged at Ashley's sleeve and whispered, "Mommy, Uncle Kevin doesn't have Daddy's heart… Daddy's still alive." "He called me." Ashley paused, confused. "When did Daddy call you? Are you sure it was him?" "Yeah! Daddy said he's coming back to surprise Mommy. He said when the blue roses are blooming, you'll see each other again." Ashley's eyes filled with tears. She murmured, "That was our thing… He's really alive. There's no way you'd know that otherwise." Blue roses. Ashley had special ordered them for our wedding. The bitterness and pain in my heart got worse. The throbbing in my chest grew more intense. I bit my lip, trying to get inside to grab my medication. "Move, Ashley. I don't owe you anything anymore…" But Ashley grabbed my wrist, her eyes cold. "Yeah, you're nothing to him now, but you just pushed Lily. Apologize." Now that she knew the truth, she looked at me with disgust. Even the last bit of affection was gone. She was standing by Lily's side again. My lips were white, my voice trembling. "Let go, Ashley. I don't feel well." "Do you think I'll believe you? How many times have you lied to me before?" Ashley sneered. I used to tease her, telling her my heart was acting up. Whether I was serious or not, Ashley would always rush back to my side. Even when she knew I was faking it, she'd tear up and whine about it, hugging me and saying I couldn't lie to her again. But that affection and forgiveness only mattered when I was loved. Now that the charade was over, how much of it had been real, and how much was just revulsion? I couldn't risk it. I wanted to live. My mom had wanted me to live a good life. I just wanted to get my medication. My forehead was covered in sweat from the pain, but I managed to stammer, "I'm… sorry… Lily…" I looked at the child I'd doted on for three years, hoping she'd remember the good times and not push me to my death. But the next moment, her little voice rang out, condemning me. "Uncle Kevin, stop lying. You always pretend to be sick to trick Mommy." Ashley huffed, looking down at me. "Get on your knees and apologize to Lily. You owe her that much." My last shred of hope disappeared. My eyes dimmed. Just then, Ashley's phone rang. She answered it impatiently, but as soon as she heard the voice on the other end, she froze. "Kevin…? Is that really you…" Her face softened. She even lowered her voice. Lily also heard the voice on the phone. She leaned in excitedly. "It's Daddy, Mommy! Is Daddy coming to get me?" In the silence, I heard a gentle voice coming from the phone. "Ashley, how have you been?" Ashley hesitated for a moment, her voice barely audible, as if she needed to make sure it was real. "...They said you died. That they gave your heart to someone else." "I signed a donor agreement, but they transferred me overseas for treatment. The doctors said the chance of recovery was small. I didn't want to give you hope and then have it crushed, it was too cruel. So I chose to keep it a secret." "But I'm lucky to be alive. Can you come see me?" There was a hint of helplessness and a sob in his voice. "Where are you? Send me your location." She didn't hesitate. She turned to leave. I was losing strength. I used all my energy to grab the edge of her shirt. "Ashley, I'm in so much pain… Call an ambulance." But the woman who used to have eyes only for me mercilessly pried my fingers off, disgust on her face. "Kevin, do you think you still have anything to hold over me?" "I used to care about your heart. Now, what do you have? Don't embarrass yourself." I stumbled to the ground. Shards of the snow globe dug into my skin. My palm was covered in blood. I whimpered from the pain. My eyes welled up. "Please… Ashley. I'm not lying this time." "For the sake of our three years together, help me." Maybe the shaking in my voice and my obvious pain got through to her. Ashley paused. There was a flash of hesitation in her eyes. I felt a flicker of hope. But then Lily grabbed her hand, urging her on. "Mommy, I want to see Daddy!" "Uncle Kevin's lying again! He's trying to stop us from being together. Daddy's waiting for us!" As soon as Ashley heard the words "stop us from being together," the hesitation in her eyes turned to disgust. "Okay. Mommy's going to take you to see Daddy." She tore my hand off her shirt. The force of it sent me crashing into the broken glass. My skin was cut, and blood pooled underneath me, staining my white shirt.
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