Chapter 9
Due to physiotherapy, I could walk slowly again.
The good news didn’t come alone, and Mom told me that I would get a kidney.
The donor was a man who had died of a heart attack.
Tears filled my eyes. Would I be able to be a healthy person again?
With worry, I was wheeled into the operating room and put under anesthesia.
When I woke up, the doctor told me the surgery was a success.
I cried with joy and kept saying thank you.
The universe seemed to know it had been unfair to me.
I’d been in the hospital for one month and was finally able to walk again. I wanted to go thank the donor’s family and pay respect to the donor.
But Mom refused to tell me who the donor was.
“Mom, just tell me what you’re hiding. I’ll find out anyway.”
Mom sighed. “Fine. It’s your business, and you’re an adult. I shouldn’t hide it from you.
“The kidney is from Antonio. He didn’t want you to know, because he was afraid that you’d refuse.”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
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Mom continued, “I didn’t tell you because I think he owes you that and I don’t want you to get emotional.”
I patted Mom.
“Don’t worry. I’m surprised, but as you said, it’s fair.”
Antonio gave me back what I deserved, but it could never offset the pain he had inflicted on me.
It was just our fate.
I didn’t say I wanted to give the kidney back to him. After all, he did owe
- me.
Mom said that Antonio was in the same hospital as me and asked if I wanted to see him. I shook my head.
I didn’t want to have any ties with him anymore.
But at night, I got a phone call from the hospital. “Ms. Parrish, Mr. Kaufman had acute rejection after the kidney transplant and lost consciousness many times. He keeps calling your name. Maybe he’ll be better if you can come and see him.”
I thought for a long while and agreed.
His ward was not far away from my former ward.
When I arrived, he happened to come to.
He looked skinny and haggard. When he saw me, his face lit up.
“You came. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to let you know…”
I looked at him calmly. It was weird. He was cruel when he hurt me, but
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he could give me a kidney to earn my forgiveness.
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“I’m here to tell you that I won’t be grateful for the kidney. It’s what you owe me.”
He forced a smile. “That’s how you think of me?
“Grace, I just want to make amends. I didn’t know it felt so bad to be taken a kidney. You must have felt so bad too, right?”
Yes, I felt bad physically and mentally back then.
In the bright light, I saw a tear in the corner of Antonio’s eye.
“It’s painful. Really.
“Grace, I owe you too much. My family broke Adela and me up.
“When I saw her again, she said that she wasn’t living well. I was guilty and bitter about the breakup, so I did many stupid things.
“I really regret it.”
I looked down and didn’t want to acknowledge that comment. If he had cherished me, he wouldn’t regret it.
Regret was meaningless.
“I’ve got to go. Besides, I’m not going to withdraw the charge. I want justice.”
Then, I left, not hearing Antonio say in a faint voice, “OK.”
We collected a lot of evidence and found all relevant perpetrators and
witnesses.
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Mom took me back home to deal with it.
As expected, the Kaufman family was in my way, and it didn’t go well.
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However, after Antonio bowed to her parents and said something to them, he let the police handcuff him and take him away.
When we were in the police station, he told the police everything while looking at me with sadness.
Because of the sufficient evidence and Antonio’s cooperation, everyone involved got a sentence.
However, Alaric was too young and didn’t do anything to me directly, so he didn’t get punished.
When it was done, Antonio mouthed, “Sorry.”
I had mixed feelings. When I walked out of the police station, I saw Alaric was waiting for me and refused to go with the Kaufman family.
“Why do you want to see that vicious woman? Look what she did to your dad!”
Alaric stared at me. “Mom, I have no Dad now… Take me away.”
With an injured look, he tried hard to hold back tears.
I glanced at him. “Alaric, you should know that you have to accept the consequences for what you’ve done.
“Go. And remember that I’m not your mom anymore.”
I turned around and left. When Alaric shouted “Mom” and cried, it began snowing.
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This winter was chilly.
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