My husband and my three brothers dug out my heart for their favorite sister. I drink the prenatal supplement Jade gives me. Seconds later, my stomach folds in on itself, as if someone’s twisting a rope inside me. “C-section. We have to do a C-section,”Dr. Ethan Hart—my oldest brother, also the best cardiac surgeon in Fairmont—says I need an emergency C-section. My husband Julian Price screams, “Save her! I only want my wife!” My three brothers crowd around me. Their eyes are red. “Just sleep, Ivy, it’ll stop hurting. We have the best doctors, the best medicine.” When the pain is at its worst, I feel ridiculously lucky that the people who love me are right here. Until I overhear them outside the door while I’m waiting for anesthesia. Ethan’s voice carries a note of excitement I don’t like. “Ivy’s healthy, her blood type and age match. It’s a rare chance—let’s harvest her heart and transplant it to Jade.” Marcus agrees—my second brother. “I’ll arrange people to destroy the evidence. Ivy will never find out.” Oliver chimes in—my third brother. “I’ll formulate a targeted medication. Even if Ivy gets a bad heart, she won’t suffer.” After a beat, My Husband Julian exhales like a man unburdened. “Jade really needs a good heart to fulfill her dance dreams. As for Ivy… we’ll compensate her later. I’ll sign the consent now.” It’s like a bucket of ice dumped over me. My heart already feels like someone is carving it out of my chest with a dull knife. Then a voice rings inside my head—familiar and utterly foreign—a cold electronic chime: [ALERT: Host life at risk.] [FINAL CONFIRMATION: Do you wish to forfeit all rewards and remain in this world?] I laugh through my tears. This time, their counterfeit love can’t chain me anymore. — I try to roll off the bed. But a nurse shoves a tube down my throat and into my nose. Anesthesia floods my body. Before the darkness swallows me, I see Jade—accentuated and rehearsed in her pity—being wheeled in. The foster sister they adore now, and the one who poisoned my baby. Ethan holds his scalpel. He speaks coldly to the nurse: “Don’t bother with the dead fetus. Take her heart out and transplant it into Jade.” I feel the blade slice through my skin, layer by layer. Right before I lose consciousness, I hear him whisper. “Hold on, Jade. When you wake, you can shine on stage.”
When I come to, the first thing I do is ask *The System* what it said. “As long as my body dies,” I ask, “I can go back to my original world. My heart disease will be cured. And I’ll get a hundred million dollars. Correct?” [Correct.] How ridiculous—when I first agreed to come this world to redeem four men, it was because I couldn’t afford treatment for my heart disease.Fifteen years later, those same four men repay me back a bad heart again. I don’t hesitate to rip the oxygen tube out. To make me die faster. Breathing becomes harder. My throat clamps shut. My face turns purple. I am moments from suffocating. A small, humorless smile lifts my lips. Good. I won’t have to stay here and face their fake love anymore. The heart monitor explodes into red lights and a keening alarm. My three brothers and Julian burst into the room with a pack of nurses, bellowing, “Ivy!!” Ethan does CPR, he wants to save me. He puts the tube back in. Then he roars with bloodshot eyes. “Are you insane?! Why did you pull out your tube? It’s just a lost baby—don’t give up on your life!” I clutch at the hollow ragged pain where my heart should be and scrape out a voice. “I only lost a baby?” Julian collapses to his knees and keeps slapping his own face. “It’s my fault. I asked Jade to give you that medication. thought it would help the pregnancy. I didn’t know you were allergic…The toxins hit your heart. But Ethan’s the best cardiac surgeon in the country—he can fix you. We can have more children.” Julian crawls toward me on his knees. His eyes are wet. He grabs my hand. “I already punished the pharmacist who made the mistake. She’ll never work again. Don’t blame Jade, don’t blame yourself. we love you.” When I don’t answer, Marcus speaks. His voice is hoarse. “I’ve contacted hospitals overseas. We’ll find a matching heart.” Oliver pats my shoulder gently. “I’ll prepare the targeted medication. You’ll breathe like a normal person again. You’ll run and jump.” I feel nothing but so cold. They want to sweep it all under the rug. Jade poisoned me. Killed my baby. And now they’re planning to steal my heart. I let out a bitter laugh. I look at the four men surrounding my bed. “Where’s Jade? I’ll go see her myself.” Ethan frowns. “You’re still blaming her? She had a heart attack from the guilt. Lucky we found a donor just in time.” Oliver, the brother who used to spoil me the most, quickly adds. “Darling, Don’t cause trouble. Ethan will fix Jade, and he’ll fix you too.” I snort. “Really? Both surgeries, at the same time? My heart breaks, and Jade just happens to find a donor?” The room goes silent. “Ivy…”Ethan opens his mouth and closes it again. I’m tired of their lies. “Go check on Jade if you want. I’m glad she’s well.” They freeze, looking for something to say; I pull the blanket over my face. When I peek out again, they are gone. But Julian hesitates at the door and then stays. His shame is thick in his eyes. I smile at him. “Go see her. Come back and tell me how she’s doing.” Then he leaves without another word. When the house is finally empty, I breathe out and fumble for my phone. *The System* promised me one wish if I helped it meet its KPI. Right before I went into surgery, I traded my System wish for two video clips. I watch the videos until my vision blurs—over and over— I watch them plan how to steal my heart. How my eldest brother methodically stripped it out and painstakingly placed it into Jade. A chill runs through me. And then I am glad I didn’t die just now. Because leaving so easily would have been too kind for them.
During my hospital stay, one of them stays with me every day. But they always leave in a hurry. I think they are busy. Then one day I need to use the bathroom. No one is around. I drag my IV pole and slowly make my way down the hall. I pass a room. Through the window, I see Julian Price—the man who said he had an urgent meeting—feeding a dumpling into Jade’s mouth. My three brothers are in the room too. They watch her with soft, doting eyes. Ethan’s voice is helpless but fond. “Jade, you can’t go stuffing yourself just because you’re better. Those dumplings are too greasy.” Jade bats at his white coat and pouts. She complains with the exact touch of a spoiled child. “But Marcus made them for me. They’re too good to resist.” Then she complains again. “You guys crowd around me every day. It’s so annoying. I can’t even sneak a snack without someone catching me.” My nails dig into my palms. I laugh at myself. For days my meals have been nothing but plain rice porridge I’ve ordered myself. No one noticed. No one asked. Jade, meanwhile, has hot dishes hand-delivered by Marcus. I turn around. My legs feel like lead. Then I hear two nurses whispering outside the break room. “The patient I’m taking care of? I think this one is the real sister. Dr. Hart was explicit—just give anther one IV fluids and keep her alive. If Miss Jade has severe rejection, that one be ready to replace her whole blood.” My body clamps shut. The scar lines across my chest and belly feel like they’re tearing open; pain crawls through my limbs. How did it come to this? When I first came to this world, my body was weak. I was sick all the time. Another critical condition notice. Another brush with death. I remember being the child who if I so much as bumped my knee. Ethan learned medicine to take better care of me. Marcus and Oliver were the same. Marcus hustled to build businesses so we could afford treatments; Oliver buried himself in pharmaceutics to make my medicines less bitter. When I was on the edge of death, they prostrated themselves at famous temple and pray for a protective charm to me. To bring me good karma, they even saved an orphan named Julian Price from the snow. Everyone in Fairmont knows the Hart family’s daughter is blessed: three brothers who dote on their fragile little sister, and her fiancé is the CEO of a tech giant. I was an orphan. I craved that love more than anything. After I finished the mission I even refused the reward—I just wanted to stay and be loved by them. Then Jade arrived. The day they brought her home, the brothers swore over me. “She looks so much like our mother. She has the same heart condition. We can’t ignore her.” “Don’t worry. Adopting her will bring you more good karma. You’re still our love and only.” I believed them. I really tried to accept her. To be kind I gave up my room. Every time my brothers came back from a business trip, I reminded them to buy her a gift too. I felt sorry she couldn’t go places because of her heart. So every time Julian and I went on a date, I brought her along. Slowly, Jade sank into the family. She learned to whine for gifts. She play-fought with Julian. She fit right in. But somewhere along the way, something shifted. When Jade fell in front of me, Ethan’s first question was, “Did you push her?” One time Marcus cooked, he made all of Jade’s favorite foods. Oliver’s research goal became—develop a targeted drug for Jade’s heart. Even Julian, when we argued, would throw out, “Why can’t you be more like your sister? Learn to be softer!” And then… they plotted to steal my heart. All for her. The emotions surge back. My heart feels like someone is ripping it out again. I try to move faster. I want to leave this place. But I’m too weak. My legs give out. I fall. The wounds on my chest and abdomen split open. Pain so sharp it blots out thought folds me into a ball. I go limp, fog swallowing me, and whisper, “Ethan, Oliver and Marcus …” Just as I am about to pass out, I see them. My brothers and Julian. Running toward me. Ethan is the fastest. He scoops me up. His voice is harsh. “Ivy Hart! Because you saw us all with Jade, you hurt yourself again? Just to get attention?”
I am sent home from the hospital. Nurses watch me around the clock. They won’t let me hurt myself again. My body is too weak. I sit in a wheelchair. I can’t even use the bathroom without help. Jade, on the other hand, runs and jumps like nothing happened. She wears a pink chiffon dance dress and twirls in the garden, light on her feet. Julian holds his phone, recording her. My three brothers watch without blinking. Their lips curl into soft, adoring smiles. I feel boring. I turn my wheelchair around. I want to leave. “Oh!” Jade suddenly trips and falls with a small thud. “Jade!” The four men rush to her side. I look back. Jade points at a loose latch that fell from my wheelchair. Her voice wobbles with tears. “Ivy, I know you blame me for the wrong medicine and for losing the baby, and you must be jealous my heart got fixed and yours didn’t, but—” She bursts into sobs. “I can finally dance. How could you do this on purpose and make me fall?” Ethan kneels to check her leg, rubbing it gently. Marcus’s face darkens. Veins bulge on his forehead. “Ivy Hart! What happened to the way we raised you? How did you become so cruel?” The other three glare at me. Disgust in their eyes. My ruined heart feels like someone just stabbed it again. “I didn’t,” I rasp. “That part fell off yesterday—” “Still lying! We really spoiled you too much.” Marcus raises his hand. He is about to slap me. The blow is inches from my face before Julian steps between us. “Marcus, Ivy has been through a lot. She needs time.” Oliver also tries to calm him down. “Forget it. Jade mentioned wanting to try that new private restaurant. Let’s take her out to celebrate.” He turns to me. his eyes are cold now. “As for you. Stay home and think about what you did.” Julian hesitates. He wants to stay with me. but Jade rushes forward and grabs his hand in front of me, shaking it like a child claiming a toy. “Julian, come with me! You promised you’d buy me dinner if I was good during surgery.” Julian’s face stiffens. “I should stay with your sister… she—” I stare at their intertwined hands until my throat goes dry. “Just go. She wants you to.” Julian pats my head. “All right. Wait for me at home. I’ll bring back your favorite seafood porridge.” — I sleep until three in the morning and wake to an empty bedside. Julian never came home. The whole house is dark; only Jade’s room is lit. The door is ajar. As I closer, I hear the soft, syrupy sounds of her crying. Julian’s voice, huskier than I’ve ever heard it, murmurs, “Shh. We have to stop. You just got better…” Jade’s voice trembles. “Now that my heart’s fixed, when will you divorce her? I met you first. You were mine from the beginning.” Julian answers, low and warm, “You’re my favorite, baby. But Ivy saved my life. I can’t abandon her. Besides, if you reaction after the surgery was very strong, we might need her blood to save you.” “Julian…” Jade coos. A cold basin of water is poured over my head. All night I listen to them whisper and laugh, their sweet nothings spilling through the thin door. My hands shake as I grip my phone. I lean against the wall. I close my eyes. — Morning comes. My three brothers leave for work and find me propped beside Jade’s door. “Ivy, what are you doing here?”they ask. I give them a quick wave and then push my wheelchair inside Jade’s room without warning. In the stunned silence on their faces, I throw back the covers. Two bodies are tangled under the sheets—naked and breathless. I raise my phone and start taking pictures.
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