Brought Home to Be a Heart Donor のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 8

I decided to gamble.Ezra might have a razor-sharp tongue, but he was undeniably observant. More importantly, he seemed to have nothing but contempt for my so-called family.I dropped the helpless act and looked him straight in the eye. "Dr. Thatcher, when can I be discharged?"His expression was unchanged. "We'll keep you under observation for two more days. If everything looks fine, you can go home."I took a deep breath, lowered my voice, and held his gaze. "What if… someone requested a heart transplant? How long would that patient have to stay under observation?"The moment I asked that, I could clearly see the surprise in Ezra's eyes.The air in the hospital room froze. I held my breath, terrified that he would expose my act and send me right back into the wolves' den any minute.After a few suffocating seconds had passed, the cold professionalism returned to his eyes behind his glasses. "Ms. Gardner, a heart transplant is a major organ procedure. It's governed by extremely

Ezra's hand froze midflip."What's wrong?" he thought. "There's nothing wrong with that, of course."Out loud, he said, "Unconventional, but effective.""At least it's better than crying helplessly and waiting to die," he continued in his head.Without another word, he walked out of the room.Over the next two days, I could sense a drastic change in Victor. He started visiting me more often.Sometimes, he would only sit there quietly, looking like he had a million words to say, only to swallow them back.Carl came by several times to test the waters about my discharge. He even hinted at transferring me to a private recovery facility with so-called better conditions.Every time, Victor quietly stopped him. "Mr. Jenkinson, Eloise's condition is still unstable. Dr. Thatcher also said she shouldn't be moved right now. There's no need to rush.""I need to find out the truth about that tune first," he thought. "If Mia…"He even avoided everyone else and secretly slipped a note into

That afternoon, Mandy came to see me. She looked completely out of it, as if her soul had been siphoned away. I looked at her swollen, bloodshot eyes and softly asked, "Mom, what's wrong?"She forced a smile. "Nothing. I'm just worried about Mia."I lowered my gaze. "Mom, I had a dream last night—from when we were little. I think there was a woman who used to visit Mia all the time. Dad even argued with her…"Mandy's head cocked up. "What woman?""I can't really remember. I just feel like Dad treats Mia differently, almost like he cares about her more than he cares about you."I watched her shifting expressions before carefully adding, "And I've always thought Mia looks like a carbon copy of Dad."Mandy's hand jerked abruptly. The glass she was holding nearly slipped from her fingers. She stared at me. Shock gave way to suspicion, and in the end, the suspicion slowly hardened into a frightening realization.That night, I pretended to be asleep. Through barely opened eyes, I watc

I heard the rest of the truth in Ezra's thoughts and couldn't help but smile. "Dr. Thatcher, your thoughts are a lot more honest than your words."The tips of his ears turned red, though his tone remained stiffly cold. "Could you not abuse that mind-reading ability of yours?""Could you tell me the truth for once, then? Why did you help me time after time?"Ezra was silent for a long time. Finally, he sighed. "I was just curious at first. Frankly, I was amazed by your ability to be schemed against by your entire family. Later, I just couldn't bear to watch anymore."You were terrified out of your mind, yet you had to keep pretending you were fine."He paused. When he spoke again, his tone was noticeably softer. "In the end, I just felt heartbroken for you. You hadn't done anything wrong, yet the people who were supposed to protect you ended up hurting you."I looked at Ezra, who was always saying one thing while thinking another, and felt a warm feeling spreading through my stoma