My Sisters Stole My Heart For A Stranger

The cold medicine Kellan gave me was burning a hole in my gut.

Victoria, the eldest, a Chief of Surgery known as The Top Scalpel of Manhattan, declared I needed an immediate stomach pump.

Aaliyah, my childhood sweetheart and fiance, was screaming, her voice raw. I just want my husband back!

My three sisters eyes were raw with unshed tears.

Its okay, Dev. Sleep it off. We have the best doctors and the best meds right here.

In that moment of searing, agonizing pain, I was overwhelmingly grateful that the people who loved me were all around me.

Then, as I waited for the anesthesia to kick in, I heard their voices just outside the door.

Victorias tone carried a chilling, almost excited edge.

Devon is perfectly healthy, and his blood type and age are an exact match. This is a rare opportunity. Well just perform the heart transplant for Kellan while were at it.

Sasha, the CEO, agreed immediately.

Ill make sure all the evidence is destroyed. Devon wont ever know.

Elise, the pharmaceutical professor, chimed in, her voice clinical.

Ill go back to the lab and formulate a highly potent suppressant. It will ensure Devon doesnt suffer when we replace the faulty heart.

A long moment of silence passed before Aaliyahs voice, thick with relief, cut through the quiet.

Kellan genuinely needs a strong heart to achieve his music dreams, and as for Devon we can just shower him with compensation later Ill sign the surgical consent form now.

I felt as if my entire body had been plunged into an icy bath.

My chest constricted, a phantom pain that felt as if someone had already gutted me and brutally ripped the organ out.

At that moment, a familiar yet strangely detached electronic voice cut in:

[ALERT! Monitoring a threat to the Host's life force!]

[Final confirmation: Are you truly willing to forfeit all rewards and remain in this world?]

I laughed, a silent, internal sob.

This time, their counterfeit love couldnt hold me here anymore.

...

I tried to thrash and roll off the bed, but the nurse expertly shoved the intubation tube down my throat and nose as a massive dose of anesthetic flooded my system.

Before my consciousness completely fractured into darkness, I saw him being wheeled in: Kellan, the cherished adopted younger brother who had poisoned memy heart failure was meant to be his salvation.

Victoria, scalpel in hand, gave the nurses a chilling instruction.

Forget about Devon for now. Prep his heart for Kellans transplant.

I felt the knife's edge bite through layers of tissue, and in my last fragment of wakefulness, I heard Toris murmur.

Just hold on, Kellan. When you wake up, youll finally be able to shine on stage.

When I regained lucidity, my first thought was to confirm with the System.

[If my physical body dies, I return to my original world, my heart condition cured, and I get a hundred million dollars, right?]

[Confirmed.]

The bitter irony of it was hilarious. I had agreed to cross over and "save" these four women fifteen years ago because I couldn't afford to treat my own congenital heart disease.

And now, the four women I spent fifteen years saving were trading my heart out for a sick one.

I didn't hesitate. I ripped the oxygen tube from my face.

Breathing instantly became a desperate, agonizing struggle. My throat tightened as if it were being choked, and no amount of air would reach my lungs.

My face went purple; I was seconds from suffocation.

Yet, a faint, peaceful smile touched my lips.

Death was a blessing. I wouldnt have to live another day facing their exquisite lie of love.

The heart monitor screamed a frantic, piercing alarm. My three sisters and Aaliyah burst through the door with a team of nurses.

Devon! they screamed.

Tori immediately performed CPR, saving my life. Once the oxygen mask was back in place, her eyes were bloodshot as she roared.

Are you insane? Why would you pull out your oxygen tube?

Aaliyah knelt by the bed, tears streaming down her face as she slapped herself repeatedly.

Blame me, Devon. It was my fault. I asked Kellan to bring you the medicine that day.

I thought it was just for your cold. I didnt realize you were severely allergic and that the toxins attacked your heart directly.

But dont worry, darling. Tori is the best doctor in the country. Shell fix you.

She crawled toward me on her knees, desperately gripping my hand.

Ive already had the consulting doctor punishedshes been blacklisted from the industry. Dont blame Kellan, and dont do this to yourself. You have so many people who love you!

Seeing my silence, Sasha spoke, her voice strained.

Shes right, Dev. Ive already contacted every hospital overseas. Well find a suitable donor heart for you, fast.

Elise gently patted my arm.

Im heading back to the lab now. Ill develop a customized treatment plan that will have you breathing easy and back to normal soon.

I felt a profound, chilling cold.

How utterly pathetic. They thought a few flimsy lies would erase the fact that Kellan poisoned me, that they planned to steal my heart, and that they had already begun the surgical process.

A mocking smile stretched across my lips as I looked at the four women surrounding my bed.

Where is Kellan? I want to ask him myself.

Toris brows furrowed.

Youre still going to blame Kellan? He had a massive heart episode from the guilt, and we barely saved him by rushing to find an emergency donor.

Elise, who had doted on me the most since I was a child, rushed to intervene.

Sweetheart, stop this now. Focus on getting well. Tori saved Kellan; shell fix you too.

I let out a soft, dry laugh.

How convenient. Surgery at the same time, my heart fails, and Kellan just happened to find a donor?

The room fell into a heavy, dead silence.

Devon Tori began, her face unreadable.

I was too exhausted for their lies.

I forced another small smile.

Just kidding. Go check on Kellan. Im happy hes better, too.

My sisters froze, wanting to argue, but I simply pulled the blanket over my head.

When I uncovered my face, the sisters were gone, but Aaliyah remained, her eyes filled with guilt.

I smiled blandly.

Go check on him for me, please. Tell me how my little brother is doing when you get back.

She finally turned and left, her steps quick and decisive.

Finally alone, I slowly exhaled. My hand trembled as I unlocked my phone.

Before the surgery, I had used the single wish the System owed me to retrieve two video clips.

I watched the clips, my gaze fixed on the screen, compulsively replaying the moment they conspired to replace my heart.

I watched Tori's cold, professional removal of my heart and its careful placement into Kellan.

The blood in my veins ran ice cold.

I felt a sudden, fierce gratitude that I hadnt died just yet.

Because leaving them this easily would be too kind.

During my hospitalization, they ensured one of them was with me every day, but theyd always rush off.

I assumed they were truly busy.

One day, needing the restroom, I found myself unattended. I unhooked my IV stand and slowly shuffled toward the bathroom.

Passing a room, I glanced through the window and saw Aaliyah, who had rushed off to a crucial board meeting, carefully feeding a gourmet potsticker to Kellan.

My three "swamped" sisters were also there, watching him with indulgent smiles.

Toris voice, though firm, was loving.

Kellan, you cant pig out just because youre recovering. Those potstickers are too rich.

Kellan playfully tugged on her pristine lab coat and whined sweetly.

I cant help it! Sashas cooking is the best.

He then complained.

Its annoying having all of you hovering around me every day. I cant even sneak any extra treats.

I dug my nails into my palm, forcing a self-deprecating smile.

I had been eating bland, takeout congee for days.

Kellan was getting gourmet meals, personally cooked by Sasha, surrounded by all of them.

I turned stiffly to return to my room, only to overhear a hushed conversation between two nurses outside the station.

I heard the Maxwells actual son is the one Im taking care of. Doctor Maxwell is ruthlessshe specifically told me to keep him on a strict regimen of nutrient injections. Shes keeping him healthy to use as a walking blood bank, in case Master Kellan has a severe rejection reaction and needs a full-body blood exchange.

I froze mid-step.

The incisions on my chest and abdomen felt like they were tearing open again. The pain was paralyzing.

How did it come to this?

I remember a time when a simple scrape would send Tori into a panic.

She had gone to medical school specifically to ensure she could take better care of me.

Sasha and Elise were no different.

When I first arrived, my health was frail, and I was constantly sick.

When I was near death once, they had walked up the steps of the citys grandest cathedral on their knees, praying for my health and offering massive charitable donations for good karma.

After I recovered, Sasha, who had been an aimless socialite, plunged into the business world, desperately building a fortune to pay for my treatments.

Elise abandoned her art studies and switched to pharmacology, aiming to formulate a better, less bitter medication for me.

To accrue more good fortune, they even rescued Aaliyah Stone, a brilliant but penniless orphan caught in a blizzard, and brought her into our lives.

The entire city knew that Devon Maxwell was born under a lucky star, having three sisters who worshipped the ground he walked on and Aaliyah, the tech prodigy, who was his devoted fiance.

As an orphan, I had desperately clung to this overwhelming, intoxicating affection.

After completing the System's mission to "save" them, I refused the reward, choosing to stay with my sisters and Aaliyah.

But then Kellan arrived.

The day they brought him home, my three sisters hugged me and swore.

Devon, he just looks so much like Dad, and he has the same heart defect. We cant just ignore him.

Dont worry, sweetheart. We're adopting him to bring you good karma. Youre still our one and only center of the universe.

I believed them. I genuinely wanted to embrace him.

To show my goodwill, I gave him my room.

I always reminded the sisters to bring him a gift when they traveled.

Feeling bad that his heart condition kept him from doing much, I even brought him along on most of Aaliyahs and my dates.

Gradually, Kellan cemented his place in the family.

Hed proactively charm the sisters for favors and gifts.

Hed playfully bicker with Aaliyah.

But slowly, subtly, their attitude toward me began to shift.

If Kellan stumbled near me, Tori would immediately snap, Did you hurt Kellan?

Sasha, on the rare occasion she cooked, made only Kellans favorite spicy Sichuan dishes.

Elises research priority shifted to creating a miracle cure for Kellans heart.

Even Aaliyah, during an argument, snapped.

Why cant you be more like your brother and just ask me for what you want?

And finally they conspired to steal my heart for him.

The emotional swell of pain returned, and it felt like my heart was being scooped out all over again.

I wanted to escape the house of horrors, but moving too fast, I slipped.

The surgical wounds on my chest and stomach tore open. In the blinding agony, I curled into a ball.

My mind fractured, and I let out a desperate, instinctive whimper.

Sister

Just before I blacked out, I saw my sisters and Aaliyah rushing toward me.

Tori reached me first, hoisting me up, her voice sharp with anger.

Devon Maxwell! Did you see us with Kellan and decide to hurt yourself again just to get attention?!

I was discharged and placed under strict watch by a home nurse, forbidden from leaving or doing anything to harm myself.

I was confined to a wheelchair, too weak to move, and dependent on help even for the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Kellan was running and jumping with abandon.

Aaliyah held her phone, taking a video of him. My sisters watched him, their faces glowing with proud, affectionate smiles.

Bored and heavy-hearted, I tried to wheel myself away.

Ouch!

Thump. Kellan fell.

Kellan! The four women rushed to him, helping him up immediately.

He pointed a finger at a small metal lock that had fallen from my wheelchair onto the floor, his voice thick with tears.

Brother, I know you blame me for the medicine, and I know youre jealous that my heart is fixed while yours is still failing, but

He burst into sobs.

But Im finally able to move around! How could you throw something down to trip me on purpose?

Tori quickly examined Kellans leg, gently rubbing his slightly scraped skin.

Sashas face turned an ugly shade of gray, a vein throbbing in her forehead.

Devon Maxwell! What have we taught you? How could you become so malicious?

The others glared at me, their faces a mix of confusion and pure rage.

My fractured heart felt like it had been stabbed twice more. I whispered.

I I didnt! That piece fell off the wheel yesterday

Dont you dare try to lie your way out of this! Weve indulged you too much!

Sashas fury was overwhelming. She raised her hand to strike me.

Just as her hand flew toward my face, Aaliyah stepped in to block it.

Sasha, Devon has been through so much trauma lately. We need to give him time.

Elise pulled Sasha back gently. Let it go. Kellan, didnt you want to try that new French bistro? Lets take you out to celebrate your recovery.

Her eyes turned cold as she looked at me.

As for you, go reflect on your behavior!

Aaliyah tried to stay, but Kellan rushed up and grabbed her hand right in front of me, shaking it pleadingly.

Aaliyah, please come with me! You promised to take me out to dinner if I was brave enough for the surgery!

Aaliyahs face tightened.

I need to stay with your brother he

I stared at their hands, subtly intertwined, and spoke, my voice hoarse.

Since your brother wants you to go, then go.

Aaliyah patted my head gently.

Ill be back soon, darling. Be good at home. Ill bring you your favorite lobster bisque.

But I woke up at 3 AM. The side of the bed was empty.

Aaliyah had not returned all night.

The mansion was dark, except for the dim light spilling from Kellans room.

His door was slightly ajar. As I wheeled closer, I heard a mans and a womans voice.

Aaliyahs voice was low and breathless.

Easy, baby. Not so fast. Youre still recovering

Kellans voice, thick with emotion, cut in.

My heart is fixed now. When are you finally going to divorce him? I met you first! You were always mine!

Aaliyahs soft, velvety murmur followed.

Youre my true love, baby. But Devon saved my life. I cant abandon him, and besides, Tori needs his blood in case you have a rejection reaction.

I felt a bucket of ice water poured over my head, the chill sinking to my bones.

My hand shook as I clutched my phone, leaning my head back against the cold wall, my eyes closed.

The entire night, I listened to themthe laughter, the breathless entanglement, the declarations of twisted love.

The next morning, my three sisters were about to leave for work and saw me leaning against Kellans door.

Devon, why are you out here?

I beckoned them closer, then burst into Kellans room.

As the three sisters gasped in astonishment, I tore the duvet from the bed and took several rapid-fire photos of the two people naked and entangled beneath it.

Aaliyah screamed, scrambling to cover Kellan, her face a mask of terror.

Devon Maxwell! What in Gods name are you doing!

I clutched my chest, gasping for air, and hissed.

What am I doing? What do you call lying naked in bed with my brother, my wife?

Aaliyahs face changed.

Last night there was a storm. Kellan was scared and asked me to stay.

Kellans face was deathly white. He wrapped the duvet around himself and knelt on the floor, grabbing my sleeve.

Brother, Im so sorry. I was just too terrified last night, so I reached out to Aaliyah.

Tori immediately pulled him up.

Aaliyah must have been drinking last night and walked into the wrong room by mistake.

Sasha instantly backed her up.

Its normal. When Kellan was little and afraid, I used to sleep in his room, too.

I slowly turned to Elise.

She laughed nervously. Theyre right, Dev. Kellan would never do this.

Why were they so blindly biased toward Kellan?

I was shaking with helpless rage. I raised my phone.

I have the audio of your glorious night right here. Shall I play it for my sisters?

Kellan stared at the phone in horror, then suddenly turned pale, gasping for breath.

Sister I cant breathe.

You are not going to fake it!

SMACK!

Toris palm connected hard with my face, sending me sprawling to the floor.

I covered my stinging cheek, looking up at Tori in disbelief.

Why are you looking at me like that? If you hadnt agitated him, Kellan wouldnt have collapsed!

She rushed Kellan to the family emergency room.

Hurry! Bring Devon in, too! We need his blood to save Kellan now!

Sasha and Elise dragged me into the sterile room.

Panic washed over me. I thrashed and shivered uncontrollably, kicking my legs and trying to crawl backward.

Please, no dont

Aaliyah held the large-gauge syringe, her expression unsettled.

Kellan is like this because you provoked him. Isnt it the least you can do to give him some blood?

Sasha and Elise held me down tightly.

Looking into their resolute, cold eyes, I realized the struggle was pointless.

I closed my eyes in resignation and slowly extended my arm.

My voice was quiet.

Take it. Draw every last drop from my body. Save your precious Kellan.

Elise quickly averted her gaze, covering my eyes. Her voice was weak.

Be a good boy, Devon. Just a little blood. It wont hurt.

An hour later, Tori stabilized Kellan. The four women sighed in collective relief.

Tori removed her mask, her voice cutting and cold.

Alright, Devon Maxwell. Now we can properly address the matter of you intentionally causing Kellan to collapse.

She turned to face meand all four of them stopped dead.

I was curled up on the adjacent gurney, unmoving.

A surgical scalpel was plunged deep into my chest.

The gushing blood had soaked the sheets and stained the clean tile floor crimson.