Tristan kissed the back of her hand with indulgent tenderness. "Don't worry—I've taken care of it. Coincidentally, the heart that matches your father's is from Meredith's brother. I arranged the surgery this afternoon."
My hand trembled; the phone almost slipped from my grasp.
"That's great—oh, by the way, my brother is just doing an internship. Why don't you make him your assistant?" Hillary's voice was sweet and bright.
Without hesitation, Tristan agreed. "Sure."
"But..." She lowered her lashes, feigning just the right touch of worry. "Meredith's mood has been all over the place lately. What if she gets impulsive and divorces you?"
Tristan tightened his arms around her and answered with absolute certainty, "Don't worry. She's been with me for seven years—she can't live without me. But if she dares make things hard for you again, you don't have to endure it. Protecting yourself comes first."
"Got it..." she purred.
I stopped listening after that. A heavy weight pressed against my chest—not just grief, but the bitter sense that seven years of my life had been wasted.