No More Meetings for the Rest of Life

I was on a flight home for my wedding after wrapping up a project overseas when the plane went down.

When Victoria Hawthorne heard the news, she called my phone, frantic.

I was pinned in the twisted metal, unable to move, letting the calls go to voicemail.

I don't care what it costs, you have to find Nathaniel Ashton!

My heart swelled with love for her, but then I heard the rest of her sentence.

"Once you find him, transplant his heart into Marcus. Marcus doesn't have much time left."

...

"Ms. Hawthorne, Mr. Ashton's legs are shattered. We need to operate immediately, or he'll be crippled for life."

Victoria's voice was like ice. "No. Marcus's surgery comes first. We can't risk any delays. Besides"

Her voice grew colder still. "A cripple is easier to control. When I bring my son home, he won't be in any position to object."

I lay just a few feet away from her, tears streaming down my face.

The wedding I had looked forward to for ten years was nothing but a charade.

And I was just a tool.

Later, because of me, this very tool, Victoria would tear the heart from Marcus's chest with her own hands.

Rescue workers spotted me and carefully lifted me from the wreckage. Every inch they moved was a fresh agony, like being pierced by a thousand knives.

But it was nothing compared to the pain in my chest.

Seeing me lying there, motionless, Victoria spoke without restraint.

"I've had the artificial heart flown in. After the surgery, tell him his own heart was ruptured in the fall. I don't need to spell out the rest, do I?"

The doctor, busy dressing my wounds, looked increasingly distressed.

He couldn't help himself. "Ms. Hawthorne, Mr. Ashton's legs are broken. If we don't operate now, he will be permanently disabled. He's such a proud man... he won't be able to handle it."

Victoria didn't hesitate. "No. Marcus's surgery is the priority. We can't afford any delays. And"

Though my eyes were closed, I could feel her cold gaze on me.

"I promised Marcus years ago that our child would be the sole heir to the Hawthorne fortune. That will never change."

"Marrying me is the best outcome Nathaniel could ever hope for. As long as he's obedient and treats my son as his own, I'll be good to him."

The doctor was still hesitant. "But what if Mr. Ashton finds out the boy is your biological son?"

Victoria gently took my one uninjured hand, her thumb tracing patterns on my fingers.

"He's so naive. He hasn't figured it out in the last five years. He won't figure it out in the future."

She suddenly leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. I had to fight every instinct to keep from flinching away.

Victoria's whisper was a demon's caress. "During the surgery, please make sure he feels no pain."

"Use the best of everything. He has a very low tolerance for pain."

The doctor couldn't bear to look anymore and sent someone to prepare the operating room.

"Ms. Hawthorne, if you don't love Mr. Ashton, why did you agree to marry him? Why not just marry Mr. Donovan? That way, no one would have gotten hurt..."

Victoria's voice was detached, emotionless. "Because the husband of a Hawthorne must be an Ashton."

A fresh wave of pain washed over me.

For all these years, I thought our love was mutual. I had even bragged to my friends that it was possible to find true love in an arranged marriage.

What true love?

She wasn't interested in me. She was interested in the Ashton family's power and my own gullibility.

Victoria personally wheeled me into the operating room. Along the way, she repeatedly instructed the surgeons to ensure the procedure was a success and to minimize my suffering. The other doctors and nurses whispered about how lucky I was to be so cherished by the great Victoria Hawthorne.

As the doors to the operating room swung shut, I heard her making a call.

"Destroy the plane's black box. Make sure it's clean. And the personnel involved? Send them all away. Leave no loose ends."

"After today, this was an ordinary aviation accident, understand?"

My chest suddenly ached with a tearing, visceral pain that spread through my entire body. A profound emptiness filled my thoracic cavity. Is this what it felt like to have your heart ripped out?

I had wondered how I survived the crash.

Now I knew. It was all Victoria's design.

She wouldn't let me die. My heart was too useful.

And so was I.

The anesthesia began to claim me, and the world dissolved into nothing.

When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed.

Victoria was asleep in a chair beside me, one hand resting protectively on mine. The slight movement of my fingers startled her awake.

Her eyes lit up. "Darling, you're awake! Are you in any pain? I'll get the doctor right away."

Looking at her worried face, you would never guess she didn't love me. Her hand was warm, but her touch sent a chill through my entire body.

I gently pulled my hand away. My voice was a raw scrape. "It hurts."

"Victoria, when the plane was going down, I thought I'd never see you again. I was so scared."

"Do you know what it feels like to drown in the ocean? It's dark, silent... everything around you is dead..."

Victoria's expression faltered. She quickly stood up and rushed out to find a doctor, completely forgetting about the call button right next to the bed.

I stared at the phone she'd left on the nightstand.

I had never looked at her phone before. I had always given her my complete trust.

But now, like any man who suspects his partner of cheating, I picked it up.

The password was a simple 1111.

Before, I would have thought she was just too lazy to think of something more complex. Now I knew. It was Marcus's birthday.

Victoria, the woman who claimed she never changed contact names, had made an exception for the one person who mattered to her. Marcus was the period at the end of her life's sentence.

I suddenly remembered, six years ago, Victoria had gone abroad for a year to handle a corporate merger. She wouldn't let me visit, saying she didn't want me to overwork myself. Now I realized she had been giving birth to her child.

Their chat history was sparse, mostly photos of the boy that Marcus sent her. But no matter what time he sent them, Victoria always replied thoughtfully.

When I messaged her, she was always impatient. Sometimes she'd let a dozen of my texts pile up before sending a single "OK." I used to tell myself that a CEO was always busy, that she was making money for us.

The truth was, she just didn't have time for me.

She had even forged my infertility report. It wasn't just that she didn't want to have a child with me.

Tears blurred my vision. I saw a photo of her and Marcus kissing their son's cheeks, one on each side. A perfect, happy family.

Hearing footsteps approach, I placed the phone back where I found it.

The first thing Victoria saw when she came in was my tears.

She rushed to my side. "Where does it hurt? Why are you crying?"

"Doctor! Come and see what's wrong with him!"

After the doctor finished his examination, he cautioned me to remain calm.

"Mr. Ashton, you now have an artificial heart. The severe injuries to your legs have resulted in significant nerve damage. It's highly likely you will be permanently disabled. It's best for you to maintain emotional stability."

Victoria clutched my hand, her face a mask of sorrow. "Darling, it's okay."

"Whether you can walk again or not, you are the man I love most. I will only ever have one husband, and that's you."

I looked into her soulful eyes. For the first time, I realized she had the makings of a world-class actress.

Just moments ago, I had seen her chat with her assistant on her phone.

The wedding was to proceed as planned.

Clicking through the wedding details she had personally approved, I saw the truth. From the very beginning, the man she intended to walk down the aisle with was Marcus.

The backdrop, the invitations, the marriage certificateeverything was for Marcus.

Including Victoria.

I exhaled slowly and wiped my tears. "The wound hurts."

Victoria knew how much I hated pain. My simple explanation dispelled her suspicion.

"Vicky, can we postpone the wedding? In my condition, I don't think I can make it."

She frowned. "We've already sent out all the invitations. It's too late to reschedule."

"But we could find another way. What if we have someone stand in for you, just for the ceremony?"

She delivered the line so smoothly, it was as if she'd rehearsed it a thousand times.

I nodded. "Whatever you think is best."

She stayed with me for most of the day before a phone call pulled her away. "Nathaniel, I have to preside over an emergency meeting at the office."

I showed no sign of distress, simply telling her to go. I pretended I hadn't heard the sound of a child crying on the other end of the line.

Once I was sure she was gone, I contacted a medical facility overseas and asked them to find me a heart donor. An artificial heart was a temporary solution at best.

As for my identity here, I was preparing to erase it.

For the next few days, she spent all her free time at the hospital with me, attending to my every need. If I casually mentioned a craving, she would go to any length to get it for me.