- 18 hours ago
He Begged Me For My Heart
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00My husband fell to his knees in the middle of our crowded dinner party.
00:03His eyes were red and desperate.
00:05Bella needs your heart, Kathy. The transplant surgery is tonight.
00:09The room went dead silent. I stared at the man I had loved for a decade.
00:14Barry, I only have one heart.
00:17I'll hire the best surgeon. We'll get you an artificial heart. You'll be fine.
00:21I am six months pregnant.
00:23We can try for another baby, but we can't lose Bella.
00:27Happy April Fool's, Professor Van.
00:29Bella, his 21-year-old undergrad student.
00:34Her eyes sparkled with feigned innocence.
00:36I was just joking. We aren't a match at all.
00:38I can't believe you actually begged your pregnant wife to die for me.
00:41Our friends actually started laughing.
00:44Damn, Barry. That's one hell of a prank.
00:46Good thing she didn't ask for my heart or I'd be on the operating table by now.
00:50Everyone was laughing except me.
00:55I stood quietly in the crowd, pulled out my phone,
00:58and scheduled an abortion for the next morning.
01:01Everyone knew Professor Vance was a protective husband.
01:06Three years ago, he hospitalized a colleague just for making an off-color joke about me.
01:12Sensing the danger, Bella's playful smile vanished.
01:15I'm so sorry, Professor. It's April Fool's. I was just being stupid.
01:21Kathy, please don't be mad. You can yell at me if it makes you feel better.
01:25Come on, Kathy. She's just a kid.
01:27Yeah, Barry. She's your best student. You literally dedicated your new book to her.
01:31Don't make a scene over a stupid prank.
01:33He didn't pull away from her touch. Instead, he raised a hand and gently wiped a tear from Bella's cheek.
01:39Don't ever joke about your health again, Bella.
01:41Then, he turned to me.
01:43Sorry, Kathy. I just panicked. I should have checked the hospital records before asking you for a favor.
01:48A favor. Giving up my own heart? Murdering our unborn child so his precious student could live?
01:54To him, that was just a favor.
01:57But this was typical Barry. Whenever it came to Bella, he lost all sense of reason.
02:04Last Christmas Eve, he drove 800 miles in the middle of the night, just because Bella texted him about period
02:10cramps.
02:13She's fragile, Kathy. I was worried something might happen to her.
02:16He had sighed, as if I were the unreasonable one.
02:20But when I sat up all night, five months pregnant, waiting for him, he didn't care.
02:26When the pregnancy caused violent vomiting, painful swelling, and clumps of my hair to fall out, he didn't care.
02:32Creating life is hard, Kathy. Just deal with it until the baby is born.
02:37His study. The place where he poured five years of blood and sweat into his groundbreaking medical thesis,
02:43only to put Bella's name on the very first line of the acknowledgations.
02:47An undergrad with no real academic talent. I only found out about it when I saw it on the news.
02:53Bella might not be my brightest student, but she is certainly the most resilient.
02:58I'm grateful she came into my life. She gave me the courage to keep going.
03:04I snapped back to reality. The living room was buzzing with laughter again.
03:07Barry was pouring Bella a glass of sparkling water, smiling down at her like she was the center of his
03:11universe.
03:12I didn't throw a glass. I didn't even shed a single tear.
03:14Pulled out my phone and silently scheduled an abortion for tomorrow.
03:19Barry didn't care about our child, so I was going to give him a life without me.
03:25The sound of shattering porcelain echoed through our penthouse.
03:29Just have the maid clean it up.
03:30I dropped to my knees, my trembling hands desperately trying to piece together the painted shards.
03:36It was the vase we handcrafted together in Florence on our honeymoon.
03:42He once swore we would treasure it for the rest of our lives.
03:47Stop it, Kathy.
03:49He sighed, grabbing my arm and pulling me up.
03:52It's just a cheap vase.
03:54He glanced at my swollen Demi.
03:56Are your pregnancy hormones making you hysterical again?
03:59I tried to convince myself he was just being a practical man.
04:03Until that night, when I brought him coffee in his study.
04:06There, sitting perfectly centered inside a locked custom-made glass display case,
04:10was a $5 plastic pen from the campus book door.
04:13A gift from Bella.
04:14I grabbed a heavy paper pottock, smashed the glass case,
04:18and threw the pen straight into the trash can.
04:23Barry lunged past me like a madman.
04:25He deg through the garbage with his bare hands to rescue it,
04:29cradling the pen like it was a million-dollar diamond.
04:32Look at yourself in the mirror, Kathy.
04:34You're acting like a lunatic.
04:35Swear to God you don't have feelings for her.
04:37Swear it on your life.
04:38Fine.
04:39Yes, I have feelings for her.
04:40But we haven't slept together, and we never will.
04:42So stop playing the damn victim.
04:44He walked over and brushed my hair back.
04:46His tone was chillingly calm.
04:48Kathy, we have been together for 11 years.
04:50The passion is gone.
04:51Honestly, kissing you feels like kissing my own hand.
04:54I regret marrying you so young.
04:56Bella is vibrant.
04:57She cries at stupid romantic movies and feeds stray cats.
05:00I used to do all those things, too.
05:03Before your coldness drained life out of me.
05:05But when she does it, it's adorable.
05:07She makes my heart race.
05:09You will always be Mrs. Vance.
05:10Nobody is taking your title.
05:12But you have to accept that my heart belongs to her.
05:14He skipped my ultrasounds to take Bella to Hawaii.
05:17I swallowed the pain.
05:19I tried to just be a numb incubator for his child.
05:22But tonight, watching him on his knees, begging to harvest my organs for her, something in me finally snapped.
05:27The heartbreak vanished.
05:28Now, there was only disgust.
05:30This marriage wasn't just over.
05:31It was dead.
05:34Kathy, I'm so sorry.
05:35Bella sniffered.
05:36But behind her fake tears, a triumphant smirk flashed in her eyes.
05:39Come on, Kathy.
05:40Bella just has no filter.
05:41Hell, remember?
05:42Remember when she got drunk and sobbed about wanting to marry Barry?
05:45The room instantly went dead silent.
05:47Wait, I didn't mean she says stupid things.
05:49You and Barry are rock solid.
05:51It's okay.
05:52I don't blame you.
05:53Barry and I are getting a divorce anyway.
05:55Congratulations, Bella.
05:57Consider him my early wedding gift.
06:00Kathy, enough!
06:01You can beg on your knees for me to gut myself for her.
06:04But I can't ask for a divorce?
06:06It was an April Fool's joke.
06:07Bella apologized.
06:09Stop throwing a tantrum and embarrassing everyone.
06:11Kathy, you're pregnant.
06:13Don't stress the baby.
06:14Yeah, look how mad Barry got at Bella earlier.
06:17He clearly cares about you.
06:19He wasn't defending me.
06:22He was mad because Bella joked about her health.
06:25Stop causing a scene.
06:26If you don't care about your dignity, don't ruin Bella's reputation.
06:30Fine.
06:32My lawyers will send the divorce papers on Monday.
06:35I turn to leave.
06:36Kathy, punish me, not Barry.
06:39He just wanted me to be healthy.
06:41You tested your place in his heart and you won.
06:44You should be thrilled.
06:45Kathy, don't forget your mother is receiving her cancer treatments at Vance Medical Center.
06:50I froze.
06:51My throat tightened.
06:53The man I loved for a decade was using my dying mother as a bargaining chip.
06:57I was just joking too, Bella.
06:59I don't blame you.
07:01Oh, thank God.
07:02I was so terrified I was causing trouble for Professor Vance.
07:07The twisted circus finally ended.
07:10Barry, playing the role of the doodal husband, drove me home.
07:18The silence in the Maybach was suffocating.
07:21I had to say that to snap you out of your hysteria.
07:24I'm not cutting off your mother's treatments.
07:26He tried to touch my thigh.
07:28I flinched away.
07:29Look, as compensation, I'll clear my schedule tomorrow to attend your ultrasound.
07:33Get along with Bella.
07:36I meant what I said, Barry.
07:38Barry, I'm divorcing you.
07:40The car was dead silent.
07:42That's the seventh time you've threatened divorce since getting pregnant.
07:45You need new material, Kathy.
07:47Before I could answer, his phone rang.
07:50He glanced at the caller ID and suddenly slammed his foot on the brakes.
07:54Get out!
07:54Bella is having a severe medical episode.
07:57I have to go!
07:58I looked out the window.
08:00Outside, a terrestrial thunderstorm was raging.
08:03I opened the door and stepped into the freezing rain.
08:06He sped off, leaving his six-month pregnant wife in a midnight storm
08:09for a woman who just made a phone call.
08:12The next morning at the hospital,
08:14Mrs. Vance,
08:15given your history of uterine trauma,
08:18terminating at six months carries catastrophic risks.
08:21If we proceed, you will likely never conceive again.
08:25I stared at the paper.
08:26To support Barry's early career,
08:29I overworked myself and lost our first baby at two months.
08:33He had held me, sobbing, promising we'd have another.
08:37It took six years, six years of painful IVF injections
08:41and daily prayers to get this baby.
08:43And now, it meant absolutely nothing.
08:47Kathy?
08:49Are you here for your ultrasound alone?
08:52Barry is at the pharmacy picking up my middle.
08:54He really overreacts.
08:56It's just normal period cramps,
08:57but he insisted on rushing me to the ER.
09:00Right on cue,
09:01Barry hurried around the corner with a pharmacy bag.
09:03Kathy, leave her alone.
09:05She is recovering.
09:06Stop harassing her.
09:07As I brushed past his shoulder,
09:08Barry froze.
09:10Something about my dead silence made him panic.
09:13Wait, where are you taking my wife?
09:15Sorry, sir.
09:16Patient confidentiality.
09:18Where else?
09:19Just a boring pregnancy checkup.
09:21Come on, Barry.
09:23You promised me a movie.
09:24I stayed in the hospital for two days recovering.
09:27Eighteen missed calls.
09:29Three texts.
09:30Stop throwing these tantrums, Kathy.
09:32You're making me despise you.
09:34I'll buy you designer bags from Europe as an apology.
09:37How was the ultrasound?
09:38Is the baby okay?
09:39Meet me at my lawyer's office tomorrow at 9 a.m.
09:41to sign the divorce papers.
09:43Fine.
09:44But don't you dare use your pregnancy or morning sickness as an excuse to back out tomorrow.
09:49The next morning, 9 a.m., Barry's Maybach pulled up 30 minutes late.
09:53He stepped out, adjusting his expensive Rolex with an irritated sigh,
09:57clearly preparing to lecture me.
09:58But the second his eyes landed on me, he froze.
10:01His arrogant posture shattered completely.
10:03Kathy?
10:06Where?
10:06Where is the baby?
10:08Two days ago, while you were making out with Bella in the back of a movie theater,
10:12I was in surgery, ending the pregnancy.
10:14You aborted our baby?
10:16He was six months along, Kathy.
10:18He was fully formed.
10:19How could you be so cruel?
10:20Let's just go sign the papers.
10:22Kathy, why didn't you talk to me first?
10:24He was my child, too.
10:25Yes.
10:26He was your child, too.
10:27And yet you didn't show up to a single prenatal appointment.
10:30I was alone at the 12-week heart rate scan,
10:32alone at the 20-week anatomy scan,
10:34alone at the 4D ultrasound.
10:36So what gives you the right to call him your child now?
10:38I was overwhelmed.
10:39The lab has been incredibly busy lately.
10:40No, Barry, you weren't busy.
10:42You had time to take Bella to the movies.
10:44You had time to wait while she got her nails done.
10:46You just didn't have time for your wife and unborn child.
10:50Even so, you had no right to play God and end his life.
10:54Barry, don't forget.
10:54You gave up on him first.
10:56You were the one who got on your knees and begged me to kill him
10:58so you could save your precious Bella.
10:59That was a joke, Kathy.
11:00I didn't mean it.
11:01I was excited about this baby, too.
11:03I bought a designer crib yesterday.
11:04I hired a contractor to build the nursery next week.
11:06I even bought the parenting books you mentioned.
11:08I was reading them last week.
11:09It's too late.
11:09He's gone.
11:10It's okay.
11:12We can heal.
11:13We can try again.
11:13There is no we anymore.
11:15Right.
11:15We're here to sign the divorce papers.
11:17The legal process moved quickly.
11:18We had signed a prenup ten years ago,
11:20and I wasn't asking for a single cent of his fortune.
11:23There was nothing to fight over.
11:25The moment I walked out of the law firm,
11:26I could finally breathe.
11:28There was no breakdown.
11:29No screaming.
11:30No tears.
11:31I got back into the passenger seat of his Maybosh.
11:33He drove me to the penthouse one last time so I could pack.
11:36The car was silent.
11:39The moment I stepped into the house,
11:41I noticed a pair of fluffy pink bunny slippers by the front door.
11:45They weren't mine.
11:47Bella's lease ended.
11:48She's just crashing here for a few days.
11:50She isn't getting along with her roommates,
11:51so she didn't want to go back to the dorms.
11:53I walked straight into the master closet.
11:55I had been gone for only two days,
11:56but my clothes had already been pushed to a dark corner.
11:59Rows of Pactel dresses and designer skirts had taken over more than half the space.
12:03She shops a lot.
12:03Don't mind it.
12:04I said nothing.
12:05I simply folded my clothes and packed them into my suitcase.
12:08After clearing out my side of the closet,
12:10I went into the bedroom for the rest of my things.
12:13The room looked exactly the same as when I left.
12:16Just as I zipped up my bag and turned to go,
12:19Barry stepped forward and held out a small velvet box.
12:22Inside was a carved jade pendant.
12:25He had given it to me after my first miscarriage.
12:27He had even flown to a remote Buddhist temple in Asia to have it blessed for me.
12:31I don't want it anymore.
12:33Throw it away or keep it.
12:34I don't care.
12:36His hand froze.
12:38A muscle in his jaw twitched before he slowly drew the box back.
12:45I didn't care to look at him.
12:49I dragged my two cases into the living room.
12:54Do you want to get dinner together?
12:57No, thank you.
13:00Where are you going?
13:01I'll drive you.
13:05No need.
13:06I already called an Uber.
13:08He opened his mouth as if to argue,
13:10but nothing came out.
13:12In the end,
13:14he lowered his eyes
13:15and helped me wheel my luggage to the door.
13:19Just then,
13:20the front door opened.
13:22Bella walked in.
13:25Kathy,
13:26you're finally home!
13:27Panic flashed across Barry's face.
13:29He stepped between us at once.
13:32Bella, go to your room.
13:34Why?
13:36Didn't you say yesterday that since Kathy is pregnant,
13:39she'd come back sooner or later?
13:42Oh my God.
13:44Barry, I'm so sorry.
13:46I didn't know Kathy hated me so much that she would...
13:50This is all my fault.
13:51I'll leave right now.
13:52She broke into sobs,
13:53her whole body shaking.
13:55Barry rushed to the kitchen.
13:58He came back with her medication and a glass of water,
14:01helping her swallow the pills while rubbing her back.
14:17I took hold of my suitcases and stepped into the hallway.
14:21Just before the elevator doors closed,
14:24I looked back one last time.
14:27Bella was buried in Barry's arms,
14:29crying into his shirt.
14:31But from the angle he couldn't see,
14:33she tilted her head and gave me a cold smirk.
14:36I looked back without expression.
14:40The door clicked shut.
14:42Barry didn't look up.
14:43He continued to pat Bella's back,
14:46his mind a million miles away.
14:48Professor Vance, I'm so sorry.
14:50I truly had no idea Kathy would even consider.
14:56How is the apartment search coming along?
15:00I'm looking.
15:01I promise I'll move out as soon as I can.
15:06Get some rest.
15:07I'm going out for a walk.
15:08Can I come with you?
15:10Please?
15:11Barry Vance almost never said no to Bella.
15:14But this time,
15:15he shook his head without a moment's hesitation.
15:20The truth was,
15:21he had walked into the lawyer's office this morning
15:24with a very different plan.
15:25His intention was to take me home.
15:28He had even worn the charcoal gray suit she loved
15:31and spent extra time styling his hair.
15:34He knew how desperately I cherished this baby.
15:37He had never,
15:38not for a single second,
15:40considered that I would rip out the very foundation of our marriage,
15:43our child,
15:45just to escape him.
15:46I was done with him.
15:48Barry walked aimlessly down the tree-lined
15:50campus path we used to stroll along every evening.
15:53Barry,
15:54haven't seen you and the lovely Kathy
15:56on your evening walks lately.
15:58Is everybody all right?
16:00Kathy has been ill.
16:02She's resting at home.
16:03You two are the most devoted couple
16:05I've ever seen on this campus.
16:08I still remember,
16:09back when you were just a new hire,
16:11you let Kathy help out in your lab.
16:13Remember that jealous punk Derek?
16:15He started a vicious rumor that Kathy,
16:18an outsider from a state school,
16:20was only there because she was sleeping with you.
16:23You nearly tore him apart in the faculty lounge.
16:26The university was going to suspend you
16:28for professional misconduct.
16:30But then Derek suddenly dropped the whole thing.
16:34It was Kathy who saved her career,
16:36you know.
16:37The old professor waved goodbye and continued his way,
16:40leaving Barry Vance standing completely still on the pavement,
16:44frozen in time.
16:45He had known Derek had dropped the complaint.
16:47He had assumed it was because his threats had worked.
16:50He never knew I was involved.
16:52Now he knew why the delic gold necklace I never took off
16:55had suddenly vanished from my neck.
16:57He squeezed his eyes shut.
17:00A single hot tear escaped and slid silently down his cheek.
17:04Darkness began to fall.
17:06He sank onto a park bench and pulled a cigarette from his pocket.
17:10He rarely smoked because I hated the smell.
17:13He only ever allowed himself one
17:15when the exhaustion and pressure became underbearable.
17:18His phone buzzed.
17:20It was Bella.
17:23Barry, the doctor said my condition is getting worse.
17:26I'm so scared I won't get a heart in time.
17:30Then I guess that's your fate, Bella.
17:33The line was silent for a full two minutes.
17:36Where are you?
17:37Let me come pick you up.
17:39It's getting late.
17:39We should go home.
17:40Let me be clear.
17:42You are staying in the home Kathy and I shared.
17:45It is not your home.
17:48He hung up the phone.
17:51He crushed the cigarette butt and threw it in the trash.
17:55Then he pressed the icon he knew by heart.
17:58He just wanted to ask me if I had settled.
18:01To just...
18:02hear my voice.
18:05The call went straight to voicemail.
18:08Barry Vance spent the entire night on that park bench.
18:12As the city lights blurred and consciousness faded,
18:16he found himself falling back in time.
18:19Back to when he was 17.
18:22He was on the rooftop of their high school.
18:25A girl in a crisp school uniform was walking slowly toward him.
18:29It was me.
18:33Barry?
18:34Skipping evening studies again?
18:36It's okay.
18:37I won't mark you absent.
18:39Consider it a thank you for feeding the stray ginger cat this morning.
18:42Is something wrong?
18:43Why are you sitting on the ledge?
18:45That question jolted him back to the present.
18:48He woke up with a gasp, drenched in a cold sweat.
18:52He had forgotten.
18:54If she hadn't appeared on that rooftop 12 years ago,
18:57he would have stepped off that ledge and disappeared from the world.
19:00He had grown up in a battlefield,
19:01a home where his parents' marriage was a constant screaming war,
19:05and he was the primary amputation.
19:07He was tired.
19:08So tired of a life that felt pointless and gray.
19:11He was ready to end it.
19:14And then I appeared.
19:15Back then, I was his only light.
19:17You will marry the woman we have chosen for you!
19:20He was the fiancé who,
19:21when his parents threatened to disown him for marrying beneath his station,
19:24walked away from the entire Vance family fortune,
19:26took me to a courthouse,
19:27and eloped.
19:28Everyone who knew them knew one thing.
19:31Barry Vance loved Kathy more than his own life.
19:34So, when did it all change?
19:36He couldn't remember.
19:37He just knew that one day,
19:39he woke up and realized he was bored.
19:41Talking to me felt like a chore.
19:43Holding my hand felt pointless.
19:45Kissing me felt like nothing.
19:47Come on, my friend.
19:49That is the infamous ten-year itch.
19:51You've been together too long.
19:52It's perfectly normal.
19:54Want me to set you up with someone new?
19:56Just for a little fun?
19:58Barry had refused without hesitation.
20:00To avoid their hollow interactions,
20:02he started burying himself in work,
20:04staying at the university lab all night, every night.
20:07It was during those long nights that he first truly noticed Bella.
20:11She was an undergraduate in his research group.
20:13She was diligent,
20:15always the last one to leave the lab,
20:17even though her experiments were a constant, frustrating failure.
20:22Professor Vance,
20:24am I just terrible at this?
20:26Yes.
20:26Your results are the worst in the group.
20:29Bella let out a small, wounded cry.
20:31The tears started flowing,
20:32and soon she was gasping for air,
20:34clutching her chest.
20:35It was only then that he learned about her severe heart condition.
20:38From that moment on,
20:39he felt a strange sense of responsibility for her.
20:42He started paying more attention.
20:44The day he realized he was developing feelings for Bella,
20:47he spent the entire night on our penthouse balcony,
20:50drinking himself into a stupor.
20:53At 4 a.m.,
20:54I padded out onto the balcony
20:56and sat beside him,
20:58wrapping a blanket around his shoulders.
21:00What's wrong?
21:02Is something bothering you?
21:04You haven't held me like this in so long.
21:07You've been working too hard, haven't you?
21:10You need to rest.
21:10That brief connection, however,
21:13wasn't enough to change the course he was on.
21:15After a couple of days,
21:17Bella got drunk one night
21:18and sobbed that she wished she could marry him.
21:21In that moment,
21:22for the first time,
21:23he regretted marrying so young.
21:25I'm nauseous when I'm hungry,
21:26and I'm nauseous when I eat.
21:28It feels like hot oil is crawling up from my stomach
21:30and getting stuck in my throat.
21:31I can't swallow it down,
21:32and I can't throw it up.
21:34Every time the morning sickness hits,
21:35I get so dizzy.
21:36If I open my eyes,
21:37the ceiling spins.
21:38If I close them,
21:39I feel like I'm going to lose my mind.
21:40Hey, are you even listening to me?
21:42Every pregnant woman goes through this.
21:44If you can't even handle this,
21:45how are you going to be a mother?
21:47The wife's eyes filled with fresh tears of anger and helplessness.
21:50She stomped her foot in frustration,
21:52but said nothing more.
21:54Barry quickened his pace.
21:55He was seeing himself in that man.
21:57He remembered the time I had curled into a ball on the sofa,
22:00my face pale with the pain of contractions,
22:03begging him to just stay with me.
22:05And what had he said?
22:06My presence cannot alleviate your physical pain.
22:08Pregnancy is inherently difficult.
22:10It will be over once the baby is born.
22:12I cried, too.
22:13And he, annoyed by my tears,
22:15just closed the door to his study and left me alone.
22:17The memory hit him.
22:18He staggered,
22:19his eyes suddenly burning with tears.
22:21When he finally got back to the penthouse,
22:23he was shocked to find Bella waiting for him in the living room.
22:25She had clearly been there all night.
22:28Barry, you're finally back.
22:30I was worried about you.
22:31I found an apartment last night.
22:33I'll move out today.
22:34Okay.
22:35Then he walked past her and went into the master bedroom.
22:37An explicable sense of loss settled over him.
22:40He took a shower and went to work.
22:42He discovered that if he kept himself busy,
22:44he could almost pretend that nothing had changed.
22:47For three days and three nights, he was a machine,
22:49shuttling between the university lab and the Vance Medical Center,
22:53working until his eyes were black with exhaustion.
22:55Driving home on the third night, he thought,
22:57for the first time, that he might be able to sleep.
23:00Then his phone rang.
23:01It was the medical center.
23:02Mr. Vance, this is just a courtesy call to inform you
23:04that your mother-in-law was discharged from our care this morning.
23:07Your wife signed the papers and picked her up.
23:08Yes.
23:09The second he hung up, he called his personal assistant.
23:12Find out where my wife went.
23:14Now!
23:14On my second morning in Los Angeles,
23:16I opened the door of my new apartment
23:18to find a figure slumped on the floor in the hallway.
23:21I jumped back in fright before my eyes adjusted to the dim light.
23:24It was Barry.
23:27Kathy, I can't let you go.
23:28It's normal to feel this way after a breakup, Barry.
23:30You're just not used to it.
23:31You'll be fine in a few months.
23:32No, it's not that.
23:33I love you, Kathy.
23:34It's always been you.
23:35Eleven years.
23:35You can't just throw that away, can you?
23:37Please, just give me one more chance.
23:39I'll resign from university.
23:40I'll cut Belle out of my life completely.
23:41I'll do anything.
23:42But we've been together for too long, Barry.
23:44There's no novelty left, is there?
23:46I'm sorry.
23:47Yes.
23:48You should be.
23:49If you have any decency left, you will stay away from me.
23:52The sight of you makes me sick.
23:53I turned and walked to the elevator without a backward glance.
23:56Today was my first day at my new job.
23:58I didn't have time to waste on him.
24:00My new life in Los Angeles was wonderfully, dizzyingly busy.
24:03I rarely heard anything about Barry.
24:05I only knew through a mutual friend that he had indeed resigned from his professorship
24:08to focus solely on running the Vance Medical Center.
24:10I never thought I would see Bella again.
24:12One day, she was waiting for me outside my office, looking so frail.
24:15She told me Barry had abandoned her.
24:18Her heart condition had worsened.
24:20But now she had no money for treatment.
24:22She had come to me as a last resort.
24:25You want me to give you money?
24:26You want me to pay the medical bills for someone who destroyed my marriage?
24:30If you hadn't insisted on a divorce, he never would have left me to try and win you back.
24:34I could have had the best doctors, a new heart.
24:36And now I can't even afford my medication.
24:39This is your fault!
24:41You should have known this would happen the day you placed all your hopes on a man like him.
24:44You have no one to blame but yourself.
24:46He would have loved me!
24:48If I had just met him before you, I would be his wife!
24:50I would have everything!
24:52I'm gonna make you disappear from this world!
24:54Before I could react, she pulled a small knife from her pocket and lunged at me.
24:58I sidestepped her clumsy attack, grabbing her thin wrist and easily twisting the blade from her grasp.
25:04In her weakened state, she was no threat at all.
25:06Defeated, she collapsed to the ground, sobbing hysterically until she hyperventilated and passed out.
25:11I watched, my expression cold, as I turned and walked away.
25:14Three years after I left Barry, I fell in love again.
25:16I met him through a business partnership.
25:18Leo was a gentleman, funny and kind.
25:19With him, I lived a life I had never dreamed of.
25:21We went skydiving.
25:22We bought last-minute tickets to Iceland just to see the northern lights.
25:25I was so indelirately happy.
25:26The memories of my past life faded until they were nothing but a distant fog.
25:29He had a simple, beautiful wedding.
25:31He promised, with tears in his eyes, to love only me for the rest of his life.
25:35A lifetime is a long time, but for the first time, I was excited to live it.
25:40Years later, at a business gala, I heard a familiar voice softly called my name.
25:44Kathy.
25:46Honey.
25:46I looked up.
25:47It was Leo.
25:48He was standing a few feet away, holding our daughter's hand.
25:51A wide smile broke across my face.
25:53I'm sorry, my husband and my daughter are waiting for me.
25:55Ready to go home?
25:57Mommy, I missed you.
25:58Grandma said Daddy and I could come surprise you.
26:03Mommy, I missed you too, my love.
26:05Sophie was the daughter Leo and I had adopted.
26:07We adored her more than words could say.
26:10I squeezed her chubby little cheek.
26:12It was spring in Los Angeles.
26:13For the first time in years, the world felt warm again.
Comments