I Died Before You Begged Me

Ever since we were children, my fianc, Burke, wore a tiny silver bell on a chain around his neck. Whenever I rang my matching silver chime, he would appear before me, no matter what.

I always thought he was my superhero. But his mother, Mrs. Chapman, disabused me of that fairy tale with a cold smile.

"Isla, darling, its a leash. A dog collar."

"If he hadn't been so reckless as a boy and knocked your pregnant mother down the stairs, you wouldn't have been born premature. You wouldn't have this failing heart."

I didn't understand what a leash meant back then. I only knew that whenever I needed Burke, he was there to fix things.

Until our engagement party.

Mrs. Chapman brought a frail, pale girl before me. "Isla, this is your wedding gift. She has volunteered to be your heart donor."

"After the transplant, you and Burke can be together forever."

Before I could even process her words, the girl dropped to her knees, though her spine remained rigidly straight.

"I will give you my heart," she said, her voice shaking but resolute. "On one condition. Let Burke go. Free him."

The room erupted into whispers. But the most shocking thing was Burke. His eyes, usually so stoic, welled with tears.

He reached up, ripped the silver bell from his neck, and hurled it to the floor. It shattered into useless, glittering shards.

"Isla," he hissed, his voice laced with a venom Id never heard before. "I have spent my entire life paying for my mistake. I mortgaged my future to you to atone. Why do you still have to hurt Melanie?"

The sheer hatred in his eyes pinned me to the spot. I could only watch, paralyzed, as he grabbed her hand and stormed out of the ballroom.

But what Burke didn't know was that my "forever" was already running out. I only had seven days left.

The laughter of the high-society crowd echoed around the ballroom, swelling in waves. Every eye was pinned on me.

"Burke finally snapped. Can you blame him? Carrying that dead weight around for years."

"She actually thought she could keep him chained to her forever like a dog. Look at her now."

I stood frozen in the center of the room. The humiliation was physical, like being stripped bare under the harsh chandeliers. My fingernails dug so hard into my palms that they nearly drew blood.

Mrs. Chapmans face twisted in fury. She snapped at the security guards standing nearby.

"What are you waiting for? Drag that boy back here! He's lost his mind."

Then, she stepped toward me, wrapping her cold hands around mine, trying to offer comfort.

"Isla, sweetheart, I will make this right. I promise you."

"Once we get Burke back, you can punish him however you like. I won't stop you."

All my life, I had been the "fragile burden," the tragic girl everyone pitied. Only Burke had ever protected me, pampered me.

But now I knew. His kindness was never love. It was just penance.

And now that he had decided his sentence was served, it was time for me to wake up from my beautiful, fragile dream.

I looked down, slipped the heavy diamond ring off my finger, and placed it gently into Mrs. Chapmans palm.

"It's fine, Mrs. Chapman. Let's just call off the wedding."

I didn't wait to see her reaction. I gathered the heavy tulle of my gown, turned, and walked out.

When I got back to the empty family estate, the silence was deafening.

Looking around my room, packed with the plush stuffed animals Burke had bought me over the years, I did something I hadn't done in months. I called my mother, who lived thousands of miles away in Europe.

"Isla! Darling, today is your engagement day, isn't it? Oh, my beautiful girl must look like an absolute angel."

A sudden, sharp ache bloomed in my chest. A wave of childish, pathetic longing washed over me.

My throat tightened, and a sob slipped out.

"Mom... the wedding is off."

"I miss you so much. Can I... can I come stay with you guys?"

"No, sweetie."

The warmth in her voice vanished, replaced by a tense, practiced cheerfulness.

"Your father and I are in the middle of a massive expansion here to pay for your medical bills. You need to be good and stay with Mrs. Chapman, okay? Burke has sacrificed so much to care for you all these years. Don't be selfish, Isla."

She kept rambling, her voice a background hum of excuses, but I stopped listening.

In the background of the video call, a tiny, high-pitched voice had cut through her words.

"Mommy."

A toddler's voice. But I was an only child.

"Mom," I whispered, my heart freezing. "Who was that?"

Her face stiffened. The lie died on her lips, and she let out a long, weary sigh.

"Isla... it's your little brother."

"He's still so small. I can't leave him right now. You understand, don't you, baby? You aren't mad at Mommy, are you?"

My mind went completely blank.

A brother.

The line went dead before I could even reply. That familiar, crushing pain flared up in my chest.

Instinctively, my hand reached down to shake the silver bell I always kept on my nightstand.

But my fingers met empty air.

Burke had smashed it.

My parents had abandoned me. And Burke, the boy who had spent a lifetime holding me when I cried, had walked away too.

My chest felt hollow, as if my heart had already been carved out, leaving nothing but a ragged, painful void.

The sudden ring of my phone shattered the silence. It was Burke.

I answered it instantly, my heart leaping with a pathetic spark of hope. But his voice on the other end was like ice.

"Isla, did you seriously run to your mother to complain again?"

"Hasn't my family played your personal servants long enough? Why do you have to drag Melanie into your sick little games?"

I listened to his trembling, furious voice, feeling strangely detached.

"I didn't complain, Burke. The wedding is canceled."

"I rejected the transplant. You can come back now. Don't fight with your mother because of me."

There was a rare, heavy silence on the line. He seemed to catch his breath.

I took a slow, painful breath and continued.

"Burke... thank you for taking care of me all these years. The doctors say I only have seven days left. Can you... would you please spend these last seven days with me?"

I held my breath, waiting, hoping for just a sliver of the boy I used to know.

But before he could speak, Melanies voice drifted through the receiver, dripping with mocking pity.

"Burke, don't let her play you. His mother has guards looking for us everywhere. They're downstairs right now."

Burkes tone turned instantly frigid.

"Isla, does torturing me make you feel powerful?"

The line went dead with a sharp click.

I slowly lowered the phone, my fingers stiff and cold.

The tiny spark of light inside me flickered once, and went entirely dark.

The next morning, I went to the hospital for my routine check-up.

After the examination, the doctor's face was incredibly grim.

"Miss Brandt, your heart has reached its absolute limit. You need surgery immediately."

"I heard Mr. Chapman purchased an artificial heart for you. You need to contact him to have it delivered right away."

My heart trembled. I gripped my phone, hesitated for a long time, and finally dialed Burke's number.

Before the line could even ring, a hand snatched the phone from my grip and slammed it onto the tile floor.

It shattered into pieces.

I turned. Burke stood there, his eyes bloodshot, glaring at me with raw hatred.

He grabbed my jaw, his fingers digging in with bruising force.

"Isla, when the hell are you going to let me go?"

"Are you really this pathetic? We've been apart for less than twenty-four hours, and you're already stalking me to the hospital?"

His grip was so tight I couldn't speak. Tears welled in my eyes, spilling over.

"I... didn't..."

He let go of me as if I were toxic, pulling out a wet wipe and scrubbing his hands with deep disgust.

"I came for my regular check-up. I wasn't following you," I whispered, trying to catch my breath.

But my explanation only seemed to feed his rage.

He swung his hand and slapped me across the face. Hard.

"Still lying!"

"If you weren't stalking me, how did Melanie get clipped by a car in the parking lot? She saw you, Isla. She said she saw you."

The force of the blow knocked me to the floor. My vision spun.

My chest tightened, a crushing weight cutting off my oxygen. I gasped for air, reaching a trembling hand toward his blurred figure.

"I didn't... my chest... it hurts..."

A flicker of panic crossed Burkes face. He took a half-step forward, as if to check on me.

But then his phone rang. Melanies whimpering voice echoed from the speaker.

"Burke... the doctor says my leg is broken. I have to get a cast. It hurts so bad..."

Thinking of Melanies supposedly bloody injury, the panic in Burke's eyes instantly crystallized into cold indifference.

He turned away, leaving me on the floor without a single backward glance.

When I opened my eyes, the harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital ceiling blinded me.

The doctor looked down at me with deep pity.

"Miss Brandt, your heart is failing. We need to perform the transplant now, or else..."

Or else I would die.

A bitter smile touched my lips. My phone was smashed, and even if it weren't, Burke had made it clear he never wanted to see me again.

I slowly shook my head and closed my eyes.

Suddenly, the door to the patient room was kicked open. Burke strode in, his expression cold as stone.

Two burly security guards grabbed my arms, hauling me out of bed and forcing me onto my knees on the cold floor.

"You're getting bolder, aren't you? First you try to ruin Melanie, and now you're going after her family."

"Isla, did I not warn you to leave them alone?"

He forced my head down, his frigid gaze boring into mine.

I didn't struggle. I just looked at him, my voice flat and hollow.

"I didn't do anything. I won't confess to something I didn't do."

A flash of irritation crossed his eyes, followed by a harsh sneer.

"Still playing innocent? Let's see how long you can keep it up."

He pulled out his phone and pressed play on an audio recording.

"Melanie thinks she can do whatever she wants just because Burke is protecting her? Let's ruin her. Ruin her entire family. Let's see how smug she is then. Just do it, I'll cover the fallout. I'll transfer the five hundred thousand dollars once it's done."

The voice on the recording was unmistakably mine.

My eyes widened in horror. I shook my head frantically. "That's not me... that isn't..."

Burke didn't listen. He turned to his guards.

"Since she has so much free time to scheme, she doesn't need to stay in this hospital. Take her."

I was dragged out of the hospital and locked inside the empty Chapman manor. Guarded by heavy security, I couldn't leave.

Burke walked up to me, looking down at me as if I were a piece of trash.

"Isla, you will stay here until Melanie's surgery is complete."

"If you try another stunt, you can kiss that artificial heart goodbye."

He turned to the guards. "Watch her. Don't let anyone in."

I lay on the cold hardwood floor, silent, watching the heavy oak doors slam shut.

The suffocation was worse now. My heart was giving out. I crawled across the floor, searching for my emergency medication, but Burke had left it behind at the hospital.

Exhausted, I let my eyes close, letting the darkness take me.

At midnight, a guard shook me awake.

"Miss Brandt, Mr. Chapman ordered me to give you this."

I forced my eyes open. It was a small, beautifully decorated cake.

Every year on my birthday, Burke would bake me a cake. He never missed a year, each one unique.

I had assumed this year would be different. Looking at the little icing figure in a ballgown, memories of our childhood flooded my mind.

For a brief, foolish second, I thought the sweet, protective Burke had come back.

My heart gave a painful flutter. I dragged myself to the landline on the wall and dialed the number I knew by heart.

After several agonizing rings, the call connected.

"Burke? It's my birthday. I was wondering if you..."

A young, breathless, purring female voice interrupted me.

"Who is this? Stop ruining our night."

I heard Burke chuckle, a low, husky sound, before he leaned in to kiss her. The wet, intimate sounds of their kissing filled the receiver.

After what felt like an eternity, his voice drifted over, lazy and uncaring.

"Don't worry about it, babe. Just a wrong number. Hang up."

I swallowed the rest of my words.

I opened the cake and forced a few bites down my throat. My tears dripped onto the frosting, making it taste bitter and salty.

The next morning, a bucket of freezing water was dumped over my head. I sat shivering, gasping from the shock.

Melanie stood over me, tilting her head to show off the dark purple bruises on her neck. She smiled triumphantly.

"You called last night, didn't you, Isla?"

"Too bad Burke didn't have time for you. He was a little occupied taking care of me."

The sight of those marks made my eyes burn, but I forced myself to look straight at her.

"I did. So what?"

Melanie let out a soft laugh and leaned down, whispering in my ear.

"I'm going to make sure Burke never pities you again. And I'm going to make sure you never get that heart transplant."

Before I could react, she grabbed my hand and pulled it toward her chest, throwing herself backward with a dramatic scream.

She fell hard against the marble edge of the console table.

Blood began to pool beneath her dress.

Melanie turned deathly pale, clutching her stomach and crying out in agony.

Suddenly, a massive force threw me aside. Burke rushed into the room, scooping Melanie into his arms, his eyes blazing with pure hatred as he looked at me.

"Isla, how can you be so evil? Melanies baby was her only chance to harvest the stem cells for her leukemia treatment!"

"Since you killed her child, you will pay her back with your own bone marrow."

My vision went black, and a high-pitched ringing filled my ears.

I couldn't hear what he was saying anymore.

My silence only fueled his rage. He ordered the guards to hoist me up and drag me out to a private medical facility.

It was only when they strapped me down onto the cold operating table that my mind cleared.

"Burke, what are you doing?"

"I told you, Isla. You killed Melanie's baby. You owe her your marrow."

I stared at him in utter disbelief as the heavy, cold needle pierced my spine.

As the paralysis crept through my limbs, I felt the sickening slice of the scalpel, felt them extracting the marrow from my bones. The agony was a white-hot iron, keeping me painfully conscious even as my body tried to shut down.

Am I dying?

Panic rose like a tidal wave. With the last of my strength, my fingers found the small silver bell on my wrist and shook it.

"Chime."

Burke glanced at me. But he looked away immediately, turning his back on me to comfort Melanie.

The bell slipped from my limp fingers, shattering on the tile floor, just like the love I had carried for him my entire life.

I closed my eyes, letting the darkness pull me under.

In the fading light of my consciousness, I heard the doctor's terrified voice.

"Mr. Chapman... her heart has stopped."

I felt my spirit detach from my broken shell, hovering in the cold, sterile air of the operating room. I watched my own heart stop on the monitor, a flat, green line accompanied by a long, continuous beep.

I saw the doctor panic, saw Burke's shoulders stiffen. A sudden, sharp dread flickered in his eyes.

"What do you mean, stopped?" he muttered.

Before the doctor could answer, Melanie grabbed his sleeve, her voice dripping with irritation.

"Shes probably faking it again, Burke. I saw her yesterday, perfectly fine, and she pushed me so hard. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have lost the baby and had to undergo this emergency procedure anyway. If you feel bad, what will your mother say?"

Hearing Melanie's whimpering complaints, the brief panic in Burkes eyes dissolved into cold skepticism.

He turned away from my lifeless body, barking into his phone.

"Tell Isla to stop playing these cheap games. Once she's done throwing her tantrum, tell her to prepare for the wedding."

Then he turned to his assistant. "Get the artificial heart delivered to her room. I believe her scheduled surgery is in a couple of days."

I watched him carry Melanie out to his car, cradling her gently. They drove back to his villa, but before they could even step inside, his phone rang again.

It was the courier delivering the artificial heart.

The assistant answered, and his face drained of all color. He handed the phone to Burke with a trembling hand.

"Sir... the courier says... Miss Brandt is dead."

"That's impossible!" Burke roared, knocking a vase off the entryway table. It shattered into pieces.

Melanie hid a small, triumphant smile, whispering softly, "Burke, calm down. The delivery guy is Walter, right? He's been loyal to the Brandt family for decades. He and Isla are probably just trying to trick you."

But Melanie's words couldn't quiet the roaring in Burke's ears. The dark premonition in his chest grew until it was suffocating.

Before he could even make a move to leave, the front doors of the villa were slammed open.

Mrs. Chapman burst in, flanked by security.

She strode up to her son and delivered a stinging slap to his face.

"Do you have any idea what you've done? Isla is dead!"