Chapter 2

It didn’t even take thirty minutes for Adrian Ryan to return to the hospital.

Out of breath, he rushed down the hallway and pulled Eve Snow into his arms. His voice was filled with relief and joy as he said,

“Eve, you’re finally going to be okay.”

Hearing this, Eve’s eyes welled up with tears, and she leaned into his chest, her voice trembling as she whispered,

“Adrian, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even want this heart… I’d rather give up.”

Adrian tightened his embrace, gently placing a kiss on her forehead. His voice was full of unwavering promise:

“Don’t worry. I’ll divorce Mia soon.”

“I only married her because I was angry with you.”

Even though this was something everyone seemed to know, hearing it from Adrian’s own lips still sent a sharp pain through my heart.

So, this was how deeply he loved Eve Snow.

So, even after five years, I hadn’t been able to melt the ice around his heart.

The ache in my chest deepened as Adrian comforted Eve, telling her to prepare for surgery. He then walked into the operating room with Noah to scrub in.

Performing a heart transplant was nothing more than routine for Adrian. It was the kind of procedure he could do with his eyes closed.

But when he saw the bloodied body lying on the operating table, he couldn’t help but frown.

“Noah, why wasn’t this cleaned up before it was brought in?” he asked, his tone sharp.

Noah hesitated, his nervous gaze avoiding Adrian’s. He stammered,

“Dr. Ryan, Eve’s match is so rare… And, well… keeping the heart fresh was the priority.”

Adrian didn’t respond right away. Instead, he took the scalpel from Noah’s hand and prepared to begin.

But just as he was about to make the first incision, he paused.

I followed his gaze and realized he was staring at my left hand.

There, on my ring finger, was the diamond wedding ring I had designed myself. The blood that covered it only made it more striking.

I had even made Adrian a matching band for our wedding, but he had hated it. On the day of our marriage, he locked it away in a drawer and never wore it again.

“What’s wrong, Dr. Ryan?” Noah asked, confused by his hesitation.

Adrian shook his head but spoke with a faint trace of regret in his voice.

“She was unlucky. Her husband must be devastated.”

As he said this, he made the incision, opening up my chest.

Noah stood beside him, passing him tools as needed. At one point, he added,

“And… after running the tests, we found out she was two months pregnant.”

“Really tragic when you think about it.”

This time, Adrian didn’t reply. The atmosphere in the room grew heavier, like an invisible weight pressing down on everyone.

I watched him from a distance, memories flooding back.

Last winter, I fell terribly ill. My fever was so high that I couldn’t even get out of bed. Adrian was home that night, but he barely noticed. He was too busy working on a paper for some medical journal.

I spent the entire night shivering and burning up, too weak to call for help. By the time I was rushed to the hospital, the doctors said I had narrowly escaped death.

When I finally woke up, the first thing Adrian did was scold me.

“You’re an adult. If you’re feeling this bad, why didn’t you say something?!” His eyes were cold, filled with anger. “Or was this your way of getting my attention?”

I didn’t have the strength to argue with him.

I wanted to remind him that he had always told me not to bother him, even if I was sick. I had been nothing but obedient, so why was he still angry?

Now, standing in this operating room, I couldn’t help but wonder:

How could Adrian show compassion for a stranger but be so heartless toward me, the woman who had been by his side for five years?