My Heart Was Given To Her Chapter 1

After my heart surgery, my brother confessed to me, “We gave the heart that matched you to Luna.”

“Your surgery wasn’t done; they just opened you up and stitched you back.”

I trembled, utterly incredulous. “You gave my heart to her? What about me?”

Mom and Dad’s smiles vanished. “Luna has always been frail since she was little, what’s wrong with letting her have it this one time?”

“With how full of life you are, you’ll find another heart eventually!”

“If we’d known you’d be so calculating, we never should have brought you back.”

Luna’s crisp, tinkling laughter drifted in from outside, her voice sweet and cloyingly flirtatious. “Brother, where are you? Weren’t we supposed to take the baby to the Ferris wheel?”

I stood frozen, my heart suddenly aching. But the doctor said my body was on the verge of collapse. That heart was my only hope to live.

It felt like forever, but I was woken by laughter, having passed out from the pain. I looked up to see them returning, doting on Luna, the fake daughter. She walked in the center, a amusement park bow in her hair. Mom held her hand, Dad and my brother followed, laden with shopping bags.

“Baby’s tired of walking, wants milk tea!” Luna stomped her foot, pouting sweetly, her voice cloyingly cute. “The Ferris wheel was so fun just now, Daddy, will you take baby again next time?”

“Of course, of course,” Dad readily agreed. “As long as our little Luna is happy.”

Mom reached out to adjust her scarf, chiding her softly, “You just had major surgery not long ago, don’t bounce around, be careful of your incision.”

Luna stuck out her tongue. “I know, Mommy, but baby’s happy!” She turned her head and kissed Mom. “Thank you, Mommy, for baby’s new heart.”

“Brother always said baby was too weak to go diving, but now Brother has no excuse!” She looked back at my brother, grinning. “Next month, Brother promised to take baby diving in the Maldives!”

I suddenly remembered that spring when I was first brought home. They used to smile at me then too. Mom took my hand and led me into that house, pointing to a south-facing bedroom and saying it was mine. She said she heard I liked the ocean, so she specially chose curtains as blue as the sea for me. I stood at the doorway, looking at the sun-drenched window, and tears streamed down my face.

The voices outside faded, and the phone rang. When I answered, the doctor’s anxious voice came through. “Seraphina, how could you give the heart that finally matched you to your sister?”

“If we can’t find another suitable heart, you’ll die!”

I gripped the phone, my heart heavy with bitterness. The doctor, sensing my silence, sighed heavily. “Alright, never mind. I won’t ask. You need to come to the hospital immediately. I’ll do another assessment, report your critical status, and put you back on the most urgent waiting list.”

“Seraphina, do you hear me? We can’t give up!”

My nose stung. After thanking him, I hung up and took a taxi to the hospital.

Blood tests, forms, examinations—I’d been through the routine countless times, it was etched into my memory. I sat alone on a cold chair, waiting for the results, while others were surrounded by their families. I looked down at the dense needle marks on my hand, unmoving. I had long grown accustomed to this kind of loneliness.

By the time I left the hospital, it was already dark. I hailed a cab home, but when I pushed open my room door, I froze. My bed was piled high with Luna’s suitcases and shopping bags, and her cosmetics and jewelry boxes cluttered my desk. My bedroom had become her storage room.