Chapter 4

HAZEL

I wanted to tell him what was wrong with me.

But as I opened my mouth to, his phone rang out.

Austin brought it out of his pocket and picked up.

With the change in his facial expression, I could instantly tell who had called him.

“Are you okay? Hang in there, I’m coming over right now.”With that, he brushed past me and headed for the door.

With how roughly he brushed past me, I toppled over, my head hit the corner of the table and I felt a sharp pain.

But Austin didn’t even turn to look at me.

But I badly wanted to talk to him. I wanted to tell him what was going on with me.

I quickly grabbed his arm, stopping him.

“I’m hurt, Austin, you pushed me.”I murmured showing him the corner of mg forehead.

I could already feel the warm liquid running down and I knew I was bleeding.

He glanced at me, without any sign of remorse.

“You have a small cut on your head but Sophia’s heart is failing her, which is worse?”He taunted.

My lower lips quivered.

I had an untreatable cancer.

Wasn’t that worse?

I just wanted someone to care.

“If you leave right now, I’ll order for my heart to be ripped out and fed to dogs.”I threatened in despair.

“You think I believe you really want to give your heart to Sophia? You’re up to something so fuck off!”With that, he tugged off his arm from me and stormed off.

I stared at the direction he had gone.

I sat on the floor as I burst into tears.

Feeling weak and pathetic, I lay down on the floor.

I had no one when I slept off but I felt my body being moved.

When I opened my eyes in a daze, I saw Austin.

For a moment, I thought I was dreaming.

“Austin.”I murmured as I raised my hand to touch his face.

“Let’s talk.”

I was still half-asleep but I asked.”About what?”

He replied.”The medication Sophia’s on can only help her failing heart to function for about five months. I have no idea why you’re doing this or why you don’t want to live anymore but if you’re really serious about donating your heart to her, I guess I could agree to your condition.”

I looked at the window and saw that it was dawn.

I glanced at the wall clock, it was six minutes past 5 O’clock.

The reason why he came back home was because he wanted my heart for his lover.

It was painful though.

He didn’t know I had cancer and that I was dying but he was willing to accept my heart and give it to his lover?

To him, I was just a healthy lady who wanted to die.

He stared at me.”What? Are you having second thoughts?”

He was so cruel.

He was willing to watch me die in order to save Sophia.

Did he love her that much?

Do I mean nothing to him at all?

I felt upset and so, I shot at him.

“You might be late though. I told you last night that if you walk out the door, I’ll feed my heart to the dogs…”

“I’m sorry about last night.”

I stared at him in disbelief as he apologized to me.

A narcissist like Austin had never apologized before, but now, he was apologizing to me?

The woman he despised the most?

I felt depressed and wronged.

He genuinely cared about Sophia to the point where he could sacrifice his pride and self-respect for her.

At this moment, what else could I say?

I nodded in agreement.”Okay, as long as you keep to your words.”

I agreed because I just wanted a blissful three months.

---

I laid on the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling.

I was getting thoroughly checked.

I had already scheduled for the donation to happen in less than three months time.

So before it happens, more tests and medication had to be put in place.

This had a weird advantage though, because even after I die, my heart will still be alive in Sophia.

Despite everything, I still loved Austin.

I had fallen in love with him since I met him at the age of fourteen.

I suddenly felt the urge to sketch and so I asked the nurse for a paintbrush and paper.

I then began to draw a picture of Austin, taking me for a ride on his bike.

I had a lot of paintings of Austin and I over the years. I had no idea how many I had dawn.

I just wanted to paint, as if it were a way to express my love for him, to express the love story that we would have had.

I painted when I missed him, when I was pleased by him, when I was sad.

Everything I painted him, I felt like a teenager again.

Like the fourteen years old who had a crush on this boy and the boy liked her too.

I was lost in the happiness of the memory.

Suddenly, the paintbrush was pulled out of my hand.

I looked up and saw Austin’s grim face.

I supposed we had already began the three months agreement where he can finally love me the way I wanted to be loved.

So I said to him.”Honey, give me the brush, I’m almost done here.”

Austin glared at me.

I sighed, guessing this might not be the start of him being nice to me.

“Is something wrong?”

“I’ve spent all day trying to know why you would agree to something like this!” He grabbed the drawing board and slammed in against the wall.

“You think I won’t figure it out? You have people in place, don’t you? You think I’d believe you really want to give up your life to save Sophia? You’re doing this so people would say I killed you! You’re doing this so that people would say I gave your heart to Sophia! Since we can’t work, you want to send Sophia and I to jail instead!”

I sighed.

Perhaps, I should just come clean with my cancer diagnosis.

Maybe that would make him stop doubting my decision.

“I have…”

“Just shut up! I don’t want to hear more lies from you!”

“Why are you speaking to her like that?!” And that was Julieta, Austin’s grandmother.

I was shocked to see her.

What was she doing here?

How was I going to explain why I was in the hospital?

“And what did I hear today? That you, Hazel, agreed to donate your heart to Sophia, I want to believe that isn’t true! What kind of insane idea is that?!”

Oh, she already knew.

I bit my lower lip.

Grandma Julieta had always been nice to me, especially after I lost my parents.

For the longest, she wanted her grandson and I to end up together.

That was why she even forced him to marry him.

I know I should have backed out seeing that the man wanted someone else.

But I found out that Sophia was a horrible person. She didn’t deserve Austin and I cared about him too much to let him end up with someone like that.

I had desperately wanted to make him see her for who he is.

But I guess I should have just let him learn the hard way.