The Swapped Heart

Four years. Four years since my daughter left, and now, finally, new life was within me again.

The words Alec uttered just as I was wheeled out of the delivery room plunged me into an icy abyss. He said the heart our little Sasha had desperately waited for, he had given it to Pearlmy best friend Stella's daughter.

I simply couldn't believe my ears; my blood felt frozen in that moment. Yet, he showed no remorse, instead defending himself by saying Pearl was his biological daughter, inheriting his brilliance, exceptionally gifted in physics since childhood. Unlike Sasha, who struggled with even simple math, as mediocre as me.

In his eyes, giving the heart to Pearl was far more valuable than giving it to Sasha. He even proudly pulled out a photo, pointing to the trophy in it, saying Pearl had just won a major competition. He even thought it was an honor for my daughter to save such a "pillar of the nation."

My voice hoarsely asked him why he was only telling me now. He merely casually played with our newborn baby, saying Stella had always felt guilty and insisted he "compensate" me with another child. Now that the baby was born, he felt he no longer owed me anything. And Pearl was growing up, needing her father's companionship.

Finally, he coldly tossed me an ultimatum: either divorce, or pretend none of this ever happened.

That photo was thrown before my eyes. Alec held a spirited Pearl, his other hand entwined with Stella's. The three of them smiled, a dazzling picture that any onlooker would mistake for a happy family. If my Sasha were still alive, shed be that old too.

Glancing at the date in the bottom right corner, it was fourteen hours ago. At that time, I was in agonizing labor in the delivery room, signing surgical consents alone, while my husband was with his illegitimate daughter at an award ceremony. And worse, the other woman was my best friend, Stella.

The tearing pain beneath me. This wasn't a dream. My eyes bloodshot, tears flowed uncontrollably. "Sasha was only five then. She loved you so much, still calling for 'Daddy' before she left How could you be so cruel?"

A flicker of guilt crossed Alec's eyes, instantly masked by indifference. But she was so annoyingly dull! Anyone would choose a genius like Pearl over her.

Seeing his self-righteous demeanor, a bitter taste surged in my throat, my voice trembling uncontrollably. "Then why, of all times, did you choose now to tell me the truth?" He knew perfectly well I had just given birth and couldn't handle any shock.

Alec frowned, sighing as if finally relieved. "Eleanor, you don't understand. Nine years of sneaking around, Stella and I have had enough. I couldn't wait another moment."

"Pearl is so brilliant, so talented, yet she has to be pointed at and called a fatherless bastard." As he said this, his eyes suddenly reddened, filled with heartache.

I froze instantly, a myriad of emotions churning within me. The day Sasha died, he hadn't shed a single tear. I had rationalized it, telling myself he simply wasn't good at showing emotion. All those deliberately ignored red flags now slowly surfaced in my mind.

At the supermarket, he bought an eight-hundred-dollar model for Pearl but lectured Sasha on frugality over an eighty-dollar picture book. Eating out, he clearly remembered Pearl's preferences but forgot what Sasha was allergic to. Even when we went out, Sasha twisted her ankle, but his eyes were only on Pearl, who had merely scraped her knee.

Whenever I asked, he always had a logical explanation. "She's your best friend, and it's not easy for her with a child. Shouldn't I look out for her?" Even Stella herself had joked with me more than once. "They say love extends to everything connected to the beloved. Looks like your Alec is truly head over heels for you."

It wasn't that he was head over heels for me; he had simply fooled me terribly. And I was blind, letting them keep me in the dark, a fool for so many years.

My vision went black, and I suddenly vomited a large amount of blood, staining the bedsheets. Alec's expression changed, and he instinctively reached out.

"Slap"

Stella suddenly burst in, slapped Alec, then rushed to embrace me, her face full of fury. "Alec, I step away for a moment, and you're bullying my Eleanor like this?!"

The perfume scent clinging to my nose was the same couple's scent Alec wore. My heart turned completely cold, and I fiercely pushed her away.

For nine years, whenever Alec and I argued, Stella was always the first to step forward and protect me. Every time, he would back down, immediately capitulating to me. And I, like a fool, was immersed in the dual happiness of love and friendship, blind to Alec's special treatment of her.

In her startled gaze, I curled my lips into a sneer. "Stella, stop pretending."

"Having an illegitimate daughter with my husband behind my back, and stealing my child's heartdoesn't your conscience bother you?" Stella's pupils contracted sharply, and she fell to her knees with a sob. "You, you know everything? Eleanor, I'm so sorry If I could, I truly wish I could dig out my own heart to give to Sasha."

When Sasha first passed, I was overwhelmed with grief; Stella even handled the funeral arrangements entirely. Countless nights, I cried hysterically in her arms, and she, with reddened eyes, said she sympathized with my pain. Now, thinking back, it was truly ironic.

I threw a fruit knife in front of her, my eyes bloodshot as I shrieked. "Dig it out! I just fear you could have a thousand hearts, and none could bring back my Sasha!"

Stella's body stiffened, a flicker of resentment swiftly crossing her eyes.

At the hospital room door, Pearl cried out in fear. Alec's face instantly turned dark, his voice sharp and menacing, squeezed through clenched teeth. "Enough! You've scared Pearl!"

"Eleanor, Stella has always protected you as her best friend. Do you have to force her to her death before you'll stop? What's past is past, don't keep dwelling on it like a madwoman!" He frantically helped Stella up, then turned and gently hugged Pearl tightly, comforting her. But when Sasha was alive, Alec had never shown her a kind face.

I couldn't stand it anymore. I grabbed a teacup and threw it fiercely at them. "Get out! Get out of here with your mistress and your illegitimate daughter!"

Hearing this, Pearl cried even harder. Alec was utterly enraged, his voice chilling to the bone. "Eleanor, watch your mouth! Don't keep calling her a mistress and illegitimate daughter! Pearl was born a month before Sasha. If you really want to calculate it, you were the other woman!"

Like a thunderclap out of nowhere, I stared at him, stunned. Something deep inside me suddenly felt mangled and bloody. Alec stared at my bloodshot eyes and spoke expressionlessly. "We had already slept together."

"The day your mother died in that car accident." My mother had been in that accident delivering documents for Alec. The caller to the emergency services said the truck had rolled straight over my mother; she had been covered in blood at the scene. By the time I arrived, my mother had already taken her last breath. Alec's message to me had been just two words. "My condolences."

It wasn't until I had handled everything that Alec and Stella rushed to my side. They explained to me that their team had gone out of town for research and study. Stella was Alec's deputy, always volunteering to "supervise" Alec's schedule for me. I had never doubted her words. But the truth was, while I was heartbroken over my mother's death, the two of them were in bed, fooling around. One, my beloved husband. One, my best friend. I had poured my all into supporting their research dreams, only to enable two deceitful, ungrateful ingrates.

I stared at Alec, my voice trembling, persistently wanting an answer. "Why? Alec, I've been with you since I was eighteen. How have I wronged you?" Alec froze, lowering his head to avoid my gaze.

After a long pause, his tone was stiff. "We were never on the same path. You're vulgar, stupid, only capable of housework. But I have ambition and talent; only Stella can truly resonate with me."

"Blame your nouveau riche parents for not making you a genius like me." My stomach churned, and I almost vomited from disgust.

Back then, Alec was just a greenhorn who couldn't even get research funding. He was too arrogant and proud, offending many people, even my parents disliked him. When we got married, we didn't even have a wedding. I gave up my beloved painting, worked three jobs a day, splitting every penny. At my poorest, I drank eight bottles of white wine and miscarried a child, just to secure him a grant. Later, when Alec achieved success, I retreated behind the scenes, letting him focus on his research. Now, he called me vulgar, stupid, only capable of housework.

In that moment, the gentle class president who had brought notes to me, a failing student, when I was eighteen, was completely dead in the past. Tears streamed uncontrollably from my eyes. In the dead silence, I heard my own voice. "Alec, let's get a divorce."

"You cheated on me, so you leave with nothing. The assets and the child are mine, no problem with that, right?" I lowered my eyes, my voice mechanical and calm.

Stella bit her lip, grabbing my hand, pleading. "Eleanor, Alec can't leave with nothing. Pearl's masterclass costs two thousand a session, and she used to call you godmother. How can you bear to ruin her future?"

Hearing 'masterclass,' my body stiffened. Back then, my parents had pulled many strings to secure a spot for Sasha in a masterclass. Alec, after hearing about it, flatly said it would be a waste of good resources for Sasha. Sasha was heartbroken in my arms for a long time, promising to make him proud. But before she could even enroll, she died from her illness. I never imagined Alec would pull a switch, sending Pearl instead. In his eyes, Sasha attending was a waste; Pearl attending was her right. It felt like being cut by a blunt knife, the pain so suffocating.

Stella cried, her face streaked with tears, slapping herself repeatedly as she begged for my forgiveness. I looked at her, my vision gradually blurring. In high school, Stella and Alec were desk mates. She knew all my teenage crushes, constantly trying to set us up. The day my confession succeeded, she got drunk and begged me not to forget her once I had a boyfriend. In my first month of work, she spent all her salary to take me on a trip. On the night of my wedding, she cried as she handed over half her savings, calling it my dowry, wishing me happiness.

She was the one who loved me. But she was also the one who had a daughter with my husband.

The next second, Alec stopped Stella's movements, his face full of heartache. "Why hit yourself like this?" When he looked at me, those eyes that once held deep affection now only held disgust. "Eleanor, you don't need to be so hard on Stella. From past to present, she has never done anything to wrong you!"

"The Evans family is declining day by day. After your mother's death, your father's mental state hasn't been good. His attending physician is my friend; I can have him sent to a mental hospital with one word." My heart jolted, and I abruptly looked up. Alec was as calm as if he were discussing what to have for lunch. "Give me the assets. Nurturing a genius requires a lot of money."

"Also, I need to give Pearl a legitimate name. I won't let her be slandered and abused again. So, now you are the third party attempting to infiltrate our marriage with a bastard child." His gaze fell on the sleeping baby beside me. I trembled violently, unable to utter a single word, watching Alec protect both Stella and Pearl as they left.

Alec looked back at me deeply, his tone unusually softened. "Eleanor, tonight I'll have someone take you to the press conference."

"Think about your father. You know what to say and what not to say, I'm sure."

That evening, Alec's people arrived as promised. Leading them was none other than Pearl. She stood elegantly, dressed in a haute couture gown. The amulet on her wrist, however, made my pupils constrict in shock.

Four years ago, when Sasha was critically ill, I had bowed and prayed at countless temples, big and small, to obtain that amulet. Alec had scoffed at my superstition, calling it primitive, yet he had secretly taken it and given it to Pearl.

Pearl shed her innocent facade, revealing her mischievous true nature. "Sorry, Godmother, Daddy and Mommy are busy, so I've come to get you." Before I could react, several bodyguards forcibly seized me and shoved me into a car. But my baby and Pearl were still in the hospital room! I was frantic, struggling with all my might to break free and rush back to the room.

At the end of the corridor, Pearl held my motionless baby, grinning at me with a sinister smile. I screamed in despair, pushing her away and snatching my baby back. My babys face was ashen, breathing faintly. I cried hysterically, begging the doctors to save him like a madwoman. But everyone avoided me. This was all at Alec's instruction.

The baby in my arms gradually grew cold. The immense grief caused my freshly-sutured post-delivery incision to rip open. Blood gushed onto the floor. I frantically squeezed Pearl's neck, my eyes bloodshot, shrieking. "Why?! Why did you kill my child?! Pearl, I was so good to you! How could you be so vicious!"

The next second, a powerful, wind-whipped slap landed heavily on my face. Alec, furious, shielded Pearl behind him. Behind him, reporters' long lenses and flashes aggressively flickered at me. "Eleanor, you're insane! Pearl is just a child! You killed your own child and now you want to frame Pearl and take it out on her?!"

Stella, kneeling before me, was in tears. "Eleanor, we're best friends! I don't know how I offended you, that you would treat Pearl like this. Pearl has always looked up to you as her most respected person!"

The reporters swarmed, verbally assaulting me. "Eleanor, not only did you interfere in your best friend's marriage, but you also assaulted a child. Do you know that what you're doing is illegal?"

"Who knows which random guy you got pregnant with, and you dare to slander Professor Davies? You evil woman, how dare you lay hands on an innocent child!"

I was exhausted from the pain, my neck stiff as I stubbornly argued. "My child isn't a bastard! He's Alec Davies's child! Stella is the mistress who broke us apart!"

"If you don't believe me, we can do a paternity test!"

Alec's eyes were dark and somber. Moments later, he pulled out a paternity test report. But it showed that the baby had no blood relation to him.

"He's not my child at all. Are you going to keep harassing us with a bastard child? Stella, out of consideration for your friendship, has been endlessly tolerant of you, but it turns out she welcomed a wolf into her home!" The moment his words fell, he pulled out his marriage certificate with Stella and violently threw it in my face. "Everyone saw it, Stella is my legal wife! Pearl is my only daughter!"

Alec picked up the injured Pearl, and before leaving, didn't forget to warn me. "If anything happens to Pearl, I will never let you off the hook." He left me alone, facing the swarm of reporters and their abusive curses. I desperately hugged my baby's cold body, struggling to hide in the stairwell corner. Seeing the purplish marks on my baby's neck, my heart felt as if it had been torn to shreds, the pain so suffocating.

Just then, I suddenly received a phone call. "Ms. Evans, your father, Mr. Robert Evans, has committed suicide by jumping from a building due to severe mental distress. Please accept our condolences." My phone instantly crashed to the floor.

It turned out that everything that just happened had been live-streamed. I failed to protect my child and caused my kind father to die so humiliatingly. Watching the reporters about to break through the door, I slowly rose, step by step, climbing to the highest floor.

Outside the clinic, Alec had a vague, uneasy premonition. Pearl, like him, had a hereditary heart condition. Her body hadn't been well since the heart transplant. He and Stella had protected her like delicate porcelain. But Eleanor dared to frame and bully her like that! Stella cried, falling into Alec's arms, saying Pearl's condition was bad and she needed a blood transfusion. She secretly curled her lips, urgently tugging at his collar. "Eleanor has O-negative blood, she can do it!"

But Alec suddenly remembered the puddles of blood beneath Eleanor... In her physical state, if she were to donate blood, she would surely die. As he hesitated, a figure rapidly fell from the window, like a butterfly. Alec's eyes met hers, his pupils suddenly constricted, and he rushed to the window.