After I was forced to donate two hearts, my husband went crazy with remorse

"It’s just one heart, what's the big deal? Why are you being so selfish?" Ben had my wrist in a death grip. "You were born to keep your sister alive. That’s your whole purpose, right?"

“But I want to live too! If I don't have a heart, I’ll die!” My voice was trembling, barely above a whisper.

Ben's face tightened for a split second, but then it hardened. “You've got two! You can spare one, you'll be fine! But Sarah, she dies without it. She has no other option."

He yanked me towards the pre-op room, ignoring my pathetic attempts to pull away.

"I only have one heart left, Ben!" I pleaded desperately. "Didn't you read the report? The tests came back clear!"

He just scoffed. "Who knows what you did behind my back, what you paid the lab to fake? You bought them off to change the results!" He was convinced I'd bribed the lab tech.

“No, Ben, I had surgery when I was a kid. I already donated one!” My eyes were burning with unshed tears.

"Enough, okay, Ashley? It's just about saving your sister, why are you being so stubborn?” He cut me off, all harsh and loud.

"No, you don't get it. My heart is inside *you*." I wanted to scream it, get him to see.

Ben wouldn't listen. He stormed towards the room where Sarah was prepped for surgery.

The other doctors in the room, they just froze, staring at us.

One of them spoke up, “What is this, some kind of sick joke?”

Another added, "Your sister is fighting for her life, and you're over here spouting cheesy pick-up lines to her boyfriend!”

They didn’t know we were married. See, only our immediate families knew. Everyone at the hospital thought Sarah was Ben's girl. And Ben? He never corrected them. He kind of liked it, I guess.

“Yeah,” someone else chimed in, “you’d think she’d be more worried about her sister than trying to steal her boyfriend.”

“He’s way too good for her, that’s for sure. Her heart’s wasted on her.”

Hearing them talk about me like that, I wanted to yell the truth, to make them see. “Actually, I’m…”

But Ben had come back, grabbed my hand tight, cutting me off. “Today, you're giving her your heart. Sarah's already in surgery. You're next."

He shoved a bunch of papers at me. “I’ve already signed everything, just get on the table.”

In the operating room, I saw Sarah, looking all weak and pitiful. Everyone was showering her with sympathy, like she was some saint.

“Don’t worry, sis,” she whispered, “Ben’s going to make sure I live a long and healthy life.” She didn't correct them when they called her my "sister-in-law". She just gave me this smug, knowing look.

The other doctors were all falling over themselves to tell her how brave she was, how terrible I was being.

Ben finished smoothing over Sarah's feathers, then, without a word, he practically threw me onto the operating table. He ordered the anesthesiologist to knock me out, and then I was fading away.

As he gently brushed a stray hair from my face, Ben murmured, “It’s okay. You’ll make it. I promise.” His mentor had...