"It's my fault, Virginia."
"I was just so scared that day. I was afraid you really had killed someone, and that's why I couldn't control myself and hurt you."
"Hit me. Just hit me, will you?"
Ridge knelt by the hospital bed, holding my hand and pressing it against his cheek repeatedly, his words filled with a desperate sincerity, as if he still were that loving husband I once knew. I turned away, almost pleading, "Ridge, tell me how our baby really died."
With those words, Ridge's expression shifted completely. "The police said it was an accident. You don’t believe me? Not even them?"
After learning that our daughter's heart had been donated, I used my last ounce of strength to report it to the police. The investigation confirmed, just as Ridge claimed, an accidental death. Yet somehow, it was hard to accept.
How could it be such a coincidence? My daughter died the day before Morgan's daughter needed a heart transplant.
“Virginia.” My mother's sympathetic voice cut through the tense silence between Ridge and me, and the tears I had managed to suppress flowed freely.
“Mom,” I choked out.
After my parents divorced, Mom remarried, and all the maternal love that should have been mine was given to Morgan. Since the chaos at the engagement party years ago, I hadn't seen her.
But in this moment, I only longed for comfort. Before I could feel my mother's warmth, her words froze me to the core.
My mom pulled my niece close, gently guiding her toward me.
“Virginia, you need to pick yourself up.”
“I've thought it over. Since Aadhya has your daughter's heart, she's like part of your family now. Taking care of her would be like tending to your own child.”
“Your sister's not well, and your brother-in-law is busy. As her sister, it's only right for you to step in.”
I thought I must have misheard. My own mother, after I lost my child, offered no solace but instead asked me to care for Morgan's child.
"What enemy? She's your sister."
At my words, my mom's face fell immediately. Ridge looked even more displeased, "Virginia, the child is innocent."
Innocent?
Her daughter gets a new chance at life while my child lies in the cold earth. Innocent?
I never imagined I could be so unrelenting. "Fine, take her heart out, and I'll take care of her."
"Esme!"
Ridge erupted, hurling the coffee cup he held onto the floor, "How long are you going to be so unreasonable?"
"Morgan and Aadhya did nothing wrong! You're a mother too; why can't you be compassionate?"
Morgan, who had been hiding behind my mom, could no longer endure it. She cried genuine tears, "Sister, it's my fault. I shouldn't have used your child's heart to save my daughter."
"I should just die, pay for your child's life! Please don't curse my child!"
With that, she lunged toward the window, causing chaos in the hospital room. Cries and curses filled my ears.
I lay back in bed, caught between laughter and tears.
