Spare Part Wife: Liver For His Mistress

as beating a frantic, uneven rhythm against her ribs, a physical hammering that made her breath hitch in her throat. This was Per Se. This was their third anniv

ineral tang of the Hudson River drifting up from the city below. It was a sce

er asked, his voice a hushed reverence as

le on her face. She reached for the stem of her cry

le. He covered the rim of his glass with a hand that

void of the warmth that used to make Jad

for a fraction of a second before he bowed and re

s until they popped. Jada swallowed hard, her throat dry. She reached across the pristine white tablecloth, her hand trembling sl

ips grazed

away sharply, as if s

ada retracted her hand, curling it into

ed. "What is it? Is i

ung open. It wasn't the sommelier. It wasn

idn't recognize. The stranger wore a suit that cost more than her college tuit

table and placed a thick, bound document right in the center, displacing the delicate floral arrangement of white

large room. "Okay. This is... new. Is this a divorce settlement,

se the alternative was that this was real,

ally looked at her, with eyes that were

cal consent

English words, but strung together, they formed a sen

otic. He flipped the heavy document open to a page flagge

NT COMPATIBILI

red, but one name stood out, typed in bold, uppercase

HAZEL L

d to drop away, leaving Jada s

ze

00 AM to find Darius on the balcony, the glow of his phone illuminating a fac

n't be

's dying, Jada. Her liver is failing. We've exhausted the national regist

ight of his desperation c

y compatible mat

ar plexus. "Compatible?" she whispered, the word feeling foreign in her mo

ce. The ex-girlfriend. The 'one who got away.' The woman whose nam

ice dry and devoid of empathy. "The lab calls it a perfect six-antigen match. The odds of t

a repeated, her

o had insisted on comprehensive genetic testing before their wedding for 'insurance p

ike a physical blow. It w

s a h

t them fall. She gripped the edge of the table until her knuckles

r?" she asked. Her voice wa

checked his watch, a dismissive gesture that said

ver regenerates. You'll be ba

Jada screamed, the sound

hair screeched backward, toppl

s fumbling with the clasp. "I am not a spare part. I a

door, her legs f

ouch her, but his broad body blocked the ex

" Jada

n didn'

e of terrifying calm. He walked around the table, his footsteps heavy on

ated. His tone had shifted. The coldnes

forcing her to look up at him

he only outcome I will acc

face for the man she loved, but he wa

r voice shaking. "But if you do, you lo

f something crossed his eyes-pain?

ing down to her ear. "Or I cut off the

he sound was w

e best facility in the state, receiving experimental Alzheimer's treatme

breathed. "She has no

r is necessary," D

ure horror. He was holdin

e wine glass-the one Darius had

Jada grabbed the crystal flu

at

sion. Shards rained down onto the carpet. Red wine

, Jada pushed past a stunned Harriso

e other patrons. She ran into the waiting elevator and slammed

began to s

't chasing her. He was standing in the doorway of the priva

w he h