Three years after breaking up with Adrian Whitmore, he came looking for a surrogate, while I was competing for the highest surrogacy commission. When our eyes met, his lips curled into a cold sneer. “Didn’t you marry into a wealthy family carrying some bastard back then?” “How did you fall so low that you need to make money through surrogacy? Is it because you didn’t give birth to a son?” I gripped the agency’s business card tightly in my hand and said nothing. “Kneel and beg me. Maybe I’ll consider giving you a chance.” I lowered my eyes and knelt down. “Mr. Whitmore, I’m sorry. Please.” He stared at me for a long time before throwing the contract in front of me. “Since you love having other people’s children so much, you’ll keep doing it until I’m satisfied.” For five years, I gave birth to three children for him. During the third delivery, I had a sudden amniotic fluid embolism. They had to remove my uterus to save my life. The anesthesia had barely worn off when he tossed the termination agreement on my bedside. “Buying your reproductive rights was my worst decision. You’ll work off the penalty as a lifetime nanny.” I closed my eyes, my mind filled with my mother’s critical condition notice and the astronomical surgery costs. “Can I use my heart to pay for the final payment?” He frowned, examining my pale face. “Your heart? How much is it worth?” I took out the report showing my heart was a match for his wife’s. I was dying. This was the last thing I could do for him, for my mother.
Adrian’s pupils contracted sharply, as if he’d heard the most absurd joke in the world. He leaned down, almost touching my bloodless face. “You’d be that kind?” I said nothing, only pushed the heart compatibility report forward another inch. He straightened abruptly and barked toward the door: “Mark!” Assistant Mark pushed the door open in response. “Go,” Adrian’s gaze remained fixed on my face, each word deliberate, “arrange a new heart compatibility test. Rush all the testing. Personally supervise it. No room for any errors.” “I want to see what kind of trick she’s trying to pull.” Mark picked up the report, glanced at me with a complicated expression, and hurried away. The air in the hospital room grew stagnant, leaving only my weak breathing, suppressed by pain. Adrian walked to the window and lit a cigarette, but didn’t smoke it. He just let the smoke curl around his fingers, blurring his sharp profile. The wait wasn’t long, yet every second stretched endlessly. Two hours later, Mark returned. “Mr. Whitmore, the results are in. Confirmed… highly compatible.” Adrian took the report, then let out a low laugh. The laughter was full of karmic retribution and grim satisfaction. “The best heart is actually yours. I guess Heaven really does punish those who do too much evil.” He suddenly reached out and gripped my chin, forcing me to raise my face. “For money, you really can sell anything? Even your heart?” I looked into his anger-filled eyes and forced out a disdainful smile. “Yes.” “I’ve always been this kind of person. As long as the price is right, anything goes. Mr. Whitmore, this deal shouldn’t be a loss for you. Want to cooperate?” He seemed stung by my smile and released me abruptly, as if he’d touched something filthy. “A cheap life indeed,” his words dripped with disgust, each one like a knife, “even your heart is dirty. It’s only fit to be a container for Flora.” He turned to Mark without any hesitation. “Arrange the surgery immediately. The sooner the better.” Without waiting for me to recover from childbirth, Adrian arranged for the surgery as soon as possible. As the anesthesia took effect, I slowly closed my heavy eyelids. Suddenly, Mark’s hesitant voice reached my ears. “Mr. Whitmore, which implant device should we use for Miss Parker? The basic model our company is currently promoting, or… the ‘Guardian’ you specifically developed for Mrs. Whitmore?” Adrian didn’t even pause to think. “Did you eat shit for brains to ask such a question! Does a bitch like her deserve the Guardian?” His mockery was undisguised. “The ‘Guardian’ is Flora’s fallback. Only my wife in the entire world can use it.” He deliberately emphasized the word “wife,” and seeing my body tremble uncontrollably twice, he smiled with satisfaction. The cold verdict followed. “Use that batch of defective experimental products on her. It’s a good chance to see what needs improvement! She owes me this.” Even though I’d long known how much Adrian hated me, hearing his cold, merciless words still made my heart twist. As the doctor brought the artificial heart into the operating room, Mark glanced at it and immediately tried to stop them: “You’ve got the wrong one. This isn’t the one set aside for…” “Shut up!” Adrian’s rebuke prevented me from hearing the last few words. The next second, the cold scalpel cut across my chest, and my entire body suddenly convulsed violently. The anesthesiologist panicked immediately: “Something’s wrong. Stop the surgery now! Her body seems to be allergic to the anesthetic. The surgery can’t continue…”
“If you don’t want to be fired, increase the anesthesia and proceed with the surgery.” Under Adrian’s powerful presence, the anesthesiologist ultimately compromised. Darkness surged like a tide. I suddenly found myself back in that bright afternoon when I first met Adrian. By the basketball court, the boy I’d secretly loved for three years ran toward me in a white shirt. “Hey,” he smiled as he handed me a bottle of water, “can you hold this for me?” My heart pounded, but he forced the water into my hand. The teasing from the crowd made my face burn red. That was Adrian Whitmore! The most popular guy in school! He actually used the most clichéd yet passionate way to pursue an ordinary girl like me. He would brave a high fever to bring me an umbrella when I was trapped in the lab by a rainstorm. He would climb a tree and jump into my third-floor dorm to bring me medicine when I was sick, not caring that he fractured his bone in the process. At the school talent show, he loudly confessed: “Lena Parker, my future must include you.” His eyes were full of burning passion. I stood there, my cheeks impossibly hot. That night, we first tasted love. He cupped my face and said: “Lena, I’ll be good to you forever. So good that you can never leave me.” The scene shifted to my mother suddenly developing a rare serious illness. I had just discovered I was pregnant but hadn’t had time to tell Adrian yet. Mrs. Whitmore had always been strict with Adrian. She said he could play around with me, but couldn’t marry me. I didn’t want Mrs. Whitmore to think I was approaching Adrian for money. But the astronomical surgery costs were enough to crush all my hope and dignity. Just when I had nowhere to turn, Mrs. Whitmore slowly pushed a check in front of me. The amount was exactly my mother’s surgery cost. “Miss Parker, the Whitmore family urgently needs a strategic marriage alliance now, but he’s ready to secretly sell a kidney to secure investment because of you. Someone from your background can’t help Adrian at all. You’ll only become his burden.” I tried to explain, tried to plead. I even thought about telling Adrian the truth no matter what. But that afternoon, while I was struggling and hesitating, I witnessed Adrian being forced to drink until he had stomach bleeding, all to secure investment. Yet he texted me, pretending to be strong: “Lena, I’m going abroad on business. I might be gone for two weeks. Be good at home and wait for my surprise.” Before I could reply, the hospital urgently contacted me: “Miss Parker, your mother’s condition can’t be delayed any longer.” The cruel reality made me reach out and take that check, light as a feather yet heavy as a thousand pounds. Mrs. Whitmore personally sent me to the procedure room, then acted with me, establishing the fact that I despised the Whitmore family’s downfall and ran off with a rich old man while carrying a bastard. Sharp pain yanked me violently from the tangled memories. My body curled into a ball, drenched in cold sweat. Adrian’s anxious roar reached my ears: “Doctor!” When I fully regained consciousness, his face was cold, and every word stabbed: “Good that you’re not dead.” It must have been too much anesthesia that made me dream such delusions. Was Adrian actually concerned about me? “Report any discomfort immediately. The lab needs the data.” As he finished speaking, the artificial heart sent distinct stabbing pains and persistent suffocation. But none of it compared to the pain of Adrian hating me. This was fine. My heart would finally stop aching for him. Flora Reed would replace me and love him properly! Along with the three children I bore for them. “Adrian, Miss Parker doesn’t look well. Should we call a doctor?”
Flora pushed her wheelchair in. Adrian strode to meet her. “Didn’t I tell you to rest? What are you doing here?” He crouched in front of her, worriedly holding her hand. His eyes held that familiar focus and tenderness. Only, it no longer belonged to me. Flora pointed to the fruit plate on her lap, smiling sweetly: “Lena gave birth to our children, and now she’s saved me. I want to thank her…” “This is fruit I cut for you. Does she deserve to eat it?” Flora quickly covered his mouth, playfully scolding: “How can you say that?” Adrian fed Flora several pieces of fruit carefully before allowing her to bring the rest to me. “I can never repay your kindness, so I have a request. I don’t know if you’ll agree?” Her gaze fell on the thick bandages on my chest, choking with emotion. Adrian dotingly kissed away the tears on her face. “Flora, is there anything your husband can’t handle? Why do you need to beg her?” Flora shyly pushed him away: “Adrian, Lena is watching. Stop it! Don’t delay me from talking business with her.” Flora’s face was bashful, her complexion rosy—not at all like someone who just had heart transplant surgery. “Lena, can I ask you to be the godmother of my three children? After all, you saved me, and they were all born from you…” “No!” “I don’t agree!” Adrian and I refused in unison, making Flora’s smile freeze. “Why do you both…” Adrian quickly planted another kiss on Flora’s lips before turning to look at me, his eyes instantly returning to their usual coldness. “Lena Parker, please understand. Only women like Flora are worthy of being Mrs. Whitmore, worthy of being my children’s mother. And you…” He paused, a mocking smile playing on his lips. “You’re just a breeding tool. You’ll never be worthy.” A sharp pain shot through where my heart should be. I closed my eyes, forcing the tears back. Adrian’s devotion to Flora Reed was famous in New York—he’d give her the stars if she asked, never the moon. Refusing to let me be the children’s godmother was the first time he’d ever said no to Flora. To compensate her, he immediately called Mark to attend an auction and bid on everything Flora might possibly like. Flora suddenly leaned close to me and whispered: “Lena Parker, you’re really hard to kill. You didn’t die after giving birth three times. Now you’ve got a new heart and you’re still so resilient. I just wonder about your mother…” My pupils constricted. She actually knew about my mother’s critical condition. After a moment’s thought, I understood why each of my three deliveries had been more dangerous than the last. But I couldn’t hate this woman who had helped Adrian at all. “As long as you don’t touch my mother, you’ll get your wish within a month.” At my last prenatal checkup before the third delivery, I collapsed in the examination room. After emergency treatment and tests, they discovered late-stage brain cancer. The doctor said with good care, I had three months at most. Now that I’d given my heart to Flora, I probably had only the “shortest month” the doctor mentioned. … Adrian never showed up until I was discharged. I also got used to the dull, painful beat of the artificial heart in my chest. I returned alone to the Whitmore villa and didn’t go check on the three children as usual. Unexpectedly, the door opened a crack, and little Hudson peeked his head in worriedly. “Miss Parker…” He was Adrian and Flora’s eldest son, now three years old. “Miss Parker, I heard from Mommy that you saved her. This is my favorite chocolate. It won’t hurt anymore after you eat it.” Hudson waddled over on his short legs and handed me the chocolate that had melted somewhat in his grip. The softest part of my heart was touched. I forced a smile for Hudson and accepted the chocolate: “Thank you.” The moment I put the chocolate in my mouth, Hudson suddenly burst into tears. I quickly got up to pick him up and comfort him, but he suddenly pushed hard against my heart: “Bad person! Why did you steal the chocolate I gave Mommy? And pinch me to make me call you Mommy? You’re not my mommy!” I clutched my heart, cold sweat instantly beading on my forehead. An ominous premonition wrapped around me along with the heart pain.
Adrian burst through the door, rushed over, and slapped me across the face: “Lena Parker, is this how you bully my son behind my back?” With someone to back him up, Hudson immediately cried and complained to Adrian: “Daddy, Miss Parker made me call her Mommy. When I refused, she pinched me! She said Mommy is a bitch and she’d kick Mommy out of the house!” “I didn’t…” I instinctively tried to explain. Adrian slapped me again: “Would Hudson lie?” He picked up Hudson and left with Flora in his arms. He ordered the butler to throw me out of the Whitmore house. Flora came out alone to see me off, her eyes cold: “Lena Parker, you think that after sacrificing so much, acting weak will make Adrian change his mind? No. He wishes you were dead!” “If you’re smart, never come back. Otherwise…” The next second, she suddenly pulled out scissors and stabbed herself in the arm without hesitation. The black card in her hand also fell to the ground. Her piercing scream shattered the villa’s tranquility. Adrian rushed over at the sound. Flora immediately threw herself into his arms, crying like a broken flower, trembling all over: “Adrian, I kindly saw Lena off and gave her the black card. She thought it wasn’t enough and suddenly stabbed me with scissors, saying only if I died would everything I have become hers…” Adrian stared at the wound on her arm—not deep but striking enough. The heartache in his eyes couldn’t be hidden. After calling an ambulance, his eyes held only cold disgust when he looked at me. “Lena Parker, you dare hurt Flora. I’ll make you wish you were dead.” I opened my mouth but couldn’t make a single sound. Explain? Who would believe me? In his eyes, I was already a viper who would sell anything for money and could even hurt children. “Mark, lock her in the basement. Release the snakes.” That already malfunctioning artificial heart sent frequent sharp pains when snake after snake wrapped around me and bit madly. It felt like an invisible hand was viciously squeezing and tearing inside my chest. Years ago, when I was bitten by a snake, Adrian sucked out the poison with his mouth to save me. Later, when we both survived, I blamed him for being so reckless. He said all my pain, he wanted to experience it too. From then on, I hated and feared snakes most of all. But now, he let a room full of snakes engulf me. I don’t know if I was seeing things, but there seemed to be a green snake mixed in with the others. I curled up in the corner, hugging myself, my jaw chattering. My phone screen suddenly lit up. The hospital was calling. “Miss Parker, your mother’s account is overdrawn again. Please pay the fees as soon as possible.” In the call’s background, I heard my mother’s weak but anxious voice: “Don’t pressure my daughter. She has it hard enough… the medicine… I can go without medicine for now…” That voice was like a dull knife sawing back and forth across my heart. I hastily hung up and pounded on the door like a madwoman, begging Adrian to let me out. But only Flora brought me a glass of warm water: “You can scream your throat raw and he won’t soften. Enjoy your last moments.” In front of me, she killed that green snake and took it away. All the physical pain couldn’t compare to the agony in my heart. I completely lost consciousness. I woke again when Adrian threw a bucket of ice water over me. “Tell me, where did you hide Hudson? Just because he exposed your true face, you had someone kidnap him. How did you become so vicious?” I couldn’t care what he was saying. My first reaction was to find my phone. When I saw countless missed calls from the hospital and a notification about my mother’s critical condition, I crawled to his feet: “Adrian, please, save my mom…” He froze for a moment, then ordered Mark to investigate my mother’s situation. Learning my mother was critically ill and dying, he suddenly slammed me against the cold wall and gripped my throat: “Tell me where Hudson is, or your mother doesn’t need to live either!” “I don’t know… I didn’t kidnap him…” “Lena Parker! You’re asking for death!” The air in my lungs was rapidly emptied. My vision darkened. I used my last strength to grab his wrist: “It wasn’t me… Adrian… believe me… please… save my mother first…” He leaned down, his cold lips against my ear, word by word: “Don’t give up Hudson, and your mother’s resuscitation will be suspended.” I jerked my head up, staring at him in disbelief. But he calmly said: “You dare touch my child, I’ll let your mother die in the emergency room.” “When you’ve thought it through, call me.” I was pushed back into the snake pit while he personally went to search for Hudson. Soon, my phone in the corner rang again. I tremblingly pressed the answer button. From the other end came the doctor’s anxious, heavy voice: “Miss Parker! Why haven’t you come to the hospital yet? Your mother suffered multiple organ failure after resuscitation was interrupted due to power outage… We did our best… Please come to the hospital immediately to settle the outstanding fees and handle the funeral arrangements…” The phone slipped from my hands full of bloody holes. The screen shattered, like my heart in that moment. I maintained the posture of answering the phone, wanting to say something, but my throat felt stuffed with wet cotton. I couldn’t make a sound. As I fell straight backward, Adrian returned. Seeing me collapse, he frowned impatiently and sneered coldly: “Lena Parker, smart move. Hudson is safely home! Your mother is also being resuscitated, but you dared kidnap Hudson, so you deserve punishment!” Three days later, while playing with his newborn daughter, he casually ordered Mark: “Go ask her if she knows her mistake, if she dares to touch my wife and children again, or covet things she shouldn’t!” Ten minutes later, Mark stumbled back, his face bloodless with terror, his voice shaking uncontrollably: “Mr. Whitmore! Miss Parker… she… she… is dead!”
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