#41 The fate's cruel game

Sometimes you feel like you're floating outside your body and watch everything that happens from above. As much as I tried, I didn't find any words to describe the numerous emotions coursing through my body.
At first, I thought Sebastian was lying to me, but his serious face made me reconsider. His accusing stare and the blame I sensed in his voice were genuine, making my entire body ache.
I placed my hand on my chest, feeling the beating of that heart which wasn't mine.
Was it really Olivia's?
How was this even possible?
What cruel game did fate plan for us this time?
"That… It's impossible, Sebastian!" I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
"No, it's not! It's the truth! She died, so you can live!" Sebastian roared.
His angry voice made me wince while I felt unable to breathe. I lost my balance and stumbled backward, but Sebastian was quick to catch me.
"Let me go!" I yelled, breaking free of his grasp the moment I regained my composure.
For once, he did as I said, and a small sigh escaped my lips. I walked to the sofa and sat, running my hands through my hair.
"You can't accuse me of killing her! That is impossible!" I blurted out, breathing hard.
Sebastian took a few steps closer to me, but he remained standing. He took a deep breath and then explained to me, "Olivia had a severe brain trauma besides all the other injuries. The doctors performed many surgeries, including a craniotomy to save her brain. However, they failed, and she was declared brain dead…"
A shaky breath left my lips as I felt the pain radiating from his body. Sebastian hadn't explained to me what exactly happened after that accident, and I could have never imagined something like this…
"She was registered as an organ donor, and that's why the doctors had to proceed with another surgery and follow the transplantation protocols. Her heart was beating, yet they removed it and gave it to you!" Sebastian said with a voice that was dripping venom.
These words hurt me more than anything he had done to me before. His accusations made my soul bleed and my heart ache. This man, who claimed to love me only a few days ago, was now blaming me for such absurd things.
I didn't have anything to do with her death. Thus, I couldn't let Sebastian accuse me of something I wasn't responsible for. I knew all too well what brain death means and who can become an organ donor. That's why I am beyond and eternally grateful for the second chance I was given.
"Brain death is an irreversible condition when the brain has no longer any functions. The person cannot breathe on his or her own accord, and that's why a life support machine is needed. For as long as the patient is supported with the medical ventilation, his heart keeps beating. However, when the life support stops, the heart also stops. Olivia was dead before the surgery for the transplant took place. Her brain wasn't working. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't feel, she couldn't think. She wasn't just sleeping; she was gone…"
"Stop talking! I don't want to hear about all these bullshits!" the billionaire hissed.
"It's the truth, Sebastian. As painful and ugly it may be, it's the truth…"
The man glared at me as if I was the cause of all his pain and misery. And for a second, I thought he was right…
"How did you find out?" I asked since none of us had uttered another word.
"When you told me about the transplant, you mentioned the date of the surgery. It's the same date Olivia died. I read on your medical file that you had the transplant at the same hospital, and I found it very weird. Then I asked Nickolas, but he refused for yet another time to tell me…" Sebastian explained.
How could Nickolas be involved in this odd situation?
"What do you mean? What Nickolas has to do with all this?" I asked, gazing at him with wide eyes.
Sebastian shook his head as an ironic smile formed on his lips. "He overheard a conversation and saw the face of one of the possible recipients. As much as I begged him, he never gave me a description nor a name."
A gasp escaped my lips, and I fell back on the couch like a lifeless doll. Nickolas knew such a crucial thing for all this time, and he hadn't revealed anything to us!?
"Nick saw me, didn't he?" I stammered.
"You should ask him yourself. He never replied to me, but I do believe it was you. Besides, why do you think you were hired to work for me in the first place?"
That question caught me off guard. My mind traveled back to the answer Tonia gave me when I asked her that very same thing. Sebastian's previous secretary told me that I was the perfect candidate for the job.
But what if Nickolas told her to hire me?
What if this was another cascade of devilish coincidences?
"I believe this isn't our main problem. We can ask Nick whether your accusations are correct some other time… Since your brother didn't confirm that information, then who did?"
Sebastian looked at me with his dark grey eyes while a ghost of a smile formed on his lips. "I had to ask for a few favors, make some generous donations, and pull some strings, but eventually, I learned that piece of information I desired so much…"
Of course, money and power can do anything in this world…
"So, all these past few days, you knew or suspected all this, yet you didn't tell me anything, right?" I inquired after a few long moments of silence.
Sebastian sighed and ran his fingers through his brown hair. "It wasn't certain, and I didn't want to upset you."
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "You didn't want to upset me?" I echoed his words.
"You're pregnant with my child. I can't risk hers or your life," Sebastian replied in an indifferent tone.
That answer pissed me even more. I didn't magically give birth to my child, and my condition was even more critical than before…
"I'm still pregnant, but you seem just fine to anger me and accuse me of things I hadn't done!"
"You live because she died!"
"That's true!" I exclaimed suddenly and stood up from my seat.
Sebastian was taken aback by my sudden outburst.
"I live because she died. I live because she made a lifesaving decision when she was still alive. I live because she was an organ donor. Olivia didn't only save my life, but she saved or changed the lives of many other people. You should be proud of her and admire her…" I told him, glaring at him.
Sebastian just stared at me without saying anything. He was breathing hard and seemed to be thinking about my words.
"You know very well what my life was before that transplant. I would have died if she wasn't a donor," I added in a calmer tone.
"I don't care! She didn't deserve to die!" Sebastian snarled.
I felt like a stream of cold wind went through me, and my body went numb.
Did he realize how much his words hurt me?
"Neither did I deserve to die! As selfish as it sounds, I desired a normal life. I craved to experience everything I'd lost up until that moment," I breathed out as tears ran down my cheeks.
Without waiting for his reply, I turned around and walked back into the bedroom we've been sharing the past few weeks. I pulled out a duffle bag and threw some of my clothes inside.
"What are you doing?" Sebastian growled from the doorstep.
"You don't care about me! So, why do you bother to ask anything that concerns me?" I retorted, zipping the bag close.
"Evelyn, where the fuck do you think you're going?" he hissed, and I felt his glare piercing holes into my back.
"Away from you and your toxic behavior!"
This time I looked up just in time to see his surprised expression.
"You can't leave me," the billionaire warned me.
"Watch me," I mouthed as an ironic laugh escaped my lips.
I grabbed my bag and walked towards the door, but he gripped my arm, forbidding me from taking another step.
"Sebastian, I need some time to clear my thoughts, and you need to sort out your feelings. I'm really tired of all this! I don't wanna be with a man who's in love with a dead woman. I can't love a man who's accusing me of killing his lost love!" I said, boring my eyes into his.
He had to make a decision because I couldn't live in the shadow of another woman. A woman who had died, yet her heart was still beating inside my chest. This must be the biggest irony in the whole world.
Who would believe this crazy story of ours?
"Evelyn, I said some things while I was angry, but…"
I abruptly interrupted him, bringing my index finger to his lips. "No, Sebastian, you meant every single word you said. You're still angry and mad, but you're also afraid of losing your heir. You never loved me; you don't care about me. You're just afraid of losing your only chance to start a family."
Sebastian lowered his gaze and loosened the grip around my arm.
I seized the opportunity and broke free of his grasp. However, my feet came to a halt after I took a few steps away from him. I turned on my heels and faced him once again.
"You don't care about my pregnancy when you made me angry, jeopardizing my much-needed peace. You don't give a fuck about my feelings when you accuse me bluntly of killing her. You don't care that I was given this chance to live! You'd prefer it was her the one who survived, not me…"
A sharp pain pierced my back, and I moved my free hand on top of my belly. A small groan escaped my lips, and I closed my eyes as the sudden pain faded away.
"Evelyn, what's wrong?" Sebastian asked, with a hint of concern lacing his voice.
My eyes fluttered open just in time to watch him closing the distance between us with two strides.
My words stopped Sebastian's hand mid-air before he had the chance to touch me. "I don't regret falling for you, nor loving you with every living cell inside my body. However, I deeply regret assuming that you could change. I thought I could save you and lead you towards the light. But you don't want to save yourself, Sebastian." My voice was void of any emotion why these words left my lips. The running tears on my face were the only sign of the sorrow suffocating me.
As these words fell off my lips, I turned around once again and walked away from him.
"You can't leave this house, Evelyn," Sebastian yelled.
"Save your threats, Sebastian. You can't harm me, nor take my child away from me. I don't want to be near you, and you can't force me this time…" I hissed without sparing him another glance and stormed out of the loft.
I didn't exit the elevator at the garage but on the ground floor. The doorman opened the gates for me and hailed a taxi after I asked him to do so. Usually, Sebastian or one of his men would drive me wherever I needed to go. However, now I wanted to do nothing with Sebastian or his employees.
The billionaire had fucked up everything for good this time…
I don't remember giving the address of my parents' house, nor the drive there. My brain replayed everything that had been said between Sebastian and me. I couldn't realize how he had the guts to accuse me of something so despicable. I wanted to live, but I wouldn't have done anything close to what he believed in order to survive...
Protocols and procedures ensured Olivia was a suitable donor and I was the appropriate recipient. The medical team wouldn't have done the transplant if Olivia wasn't brain dead.
I could understand the pain and sorrow he felt. Sebastian accused himself of something he couldn't have foreseen, and now, he tried to blame someone else so he can feel better. But I wasn't the one to be blamed, in the first place! I had nothing to do with her death, yet she was the reason I was now alive...
My hands caressed my baby bump, and I smiled when I felt my daughter moving. I had to find a way to calm my nerves because my daughter's life could be in danger otherwise. Naomi told me to rest and relax, yet I had done all the opposite things. My blood pressure must have reached the sky during my fight with Sebastian.
I could feel my eyes burning from all the unshed tears, but I refused to drop even one of them. I focused on my breathing and the light movements inside me until we finally reached our destination.
It'd be an understatement to say that my parents weren't surprised when they saw me at their doorstep. However, what caught them completely off guard was my outburst. Because I burst into uncontrollable sobs when the front door closed behind me…
My mother held me in her arms and tried to calm me down. They kept asking what happened, but I couldn't talk. I just managed to murmur that the baby was okay and tell them I had a fight with Sebastian.
I promised myself this would be the last time I'd allow myself to cry for my baby's father. He didn't deserve my tears nor my love.
An idea was slowly forming inside my mind, but I needed to rest and clear my mind before deciding what I'd do next.
Exhausted from all the crying, the fights, and the emotional struggle, I fell asleep in my mother's arms. It was a restless slumber filled with nightmares and accusations. My entire body was in pain, my soul was bleeding, and my heart was shattered. I thought I was in Hell, but the upcoming days were going to be even worse than I imagined…