Realization hit us both, and for the first time, I understood why my heart sped up and surged every time she was near.
“I have Chase’s heart…” I whispered.
Tears pricked her eyes as she let go of my hand. “I can’t believe it,” she whispered. “Chase was an organ donor, but I never thought…” her words trailed off, looking lost and broken again. Then that look of devastation was wiped away, and a smile took over her lips. “He brought us together… fate really did bring us together, Nicholas.”
I wasn’t sure how to feel in that moment. Were the feelings I had for Ruby even real, or were they Chase’s feelings taking over? But her blue eyes captured me once again, and I knew deep down in my soul, that she was meant for me.
“Yes, I believe he did.”
“He wanted me to be with you,” she whispered. “It’s the only explanation.”
The doctor looked uncomfortable, but then he said, “Donors are to remain anonymous, but if you want confirmation, I can look up the record and make sure for you both, with your permission of course, Miss.”
“There’s no need,” I quickly said, not wanting to know for sure. “I can feel it in my soul. I think this was Chase’s heart.”
Ruby nodded. “Yeah, I don’t need to know either. I heard it beat inside your chest… I think that’s why it made me fall asleep so easily. The familiarity of it was calming.”
Frowning, I looked toward the window, disturbed and a little hurt that life was playing out this way.
“Can you give us a minute, Doctor?” she asked.
“Sure. Call me if you need anything.”
The doctor exited the room just as Ruby took my hand. “This doesn’t change anything, Cap. Whether or not Chase’s heart is inside your chest, it doesn’t change my feelings for you.”
I wasn’t convinced. I saw the hope in her eyes, the way she looked at me as if I had answered all her prayers of keeping Chase alive.
“I love you, Ruby. I’m not sure when it happened, but it did.” My eyes met hers, and she frowned when she saw the devastation in them. “But I’m not going to replace him for you. If this is really his heart, I don’t want that to be the reason you stay with me. That would break me.”
She wiped away a few stray tears. “I can assure you, it’s not, Nicholas. When I ran away, I did so because I was convinced that I was better off dead than living in this world. I stood on the edge of a cliff, holding Chase’s ashes, ready to jump and end it all. I asked God to give me a sign, to sway me from that decision… and he did.” She brought out her phone, showing me a picture of two adorable kittens.
“These two little guys were stranded on the cliff below me. The black one is a little boy that I named Thorn because I pulled him out of a thorny bush. That little white one is a girl. I named her Seraph. I thought angel was too literal, so I named her Seraph instead… it means saintly. When I saw them, all my thoughts of suicide subsided, and I instantly started thinking of you. How disappointed you would be in me, and how I never wanted to disappoint you again. I climbed down, and couldn’t get back up, until an officer arrived who pulled us all to safety. They lost their mother and siblings on that cliff, but I gained a purpose. Finding them gave me a new outlook on life, and Icould see a future for the first time since Chase died…” She took my hand and kissed the back of it. “That future is with you.”
I wanted to believe her, but was she saying all these things because she now knew a piece of her husband was sitting inside of me? I could’ve probably went my whole life without ever knowing whose heart kept me alive.
“Please, Cap. I know you’re thinking the worst right now, but you have to believe me. I fell in love with you. YOU! Not the heart inside your chest, but the soul and heart you gave me before we ever knew where that heart came from. Don’t give up on me now. Please. I need you…”
Sighing, I let out an exhausted breath. “I’ll never give up on you, Ruby. Ever.”
She bent down and gave me the sweetest kiss, one that I felt deep inside the very soul she was so attached to. Without hesitation, I met her pout, allowing our tongues to move and dance with each other.
When she finally pulled away, her head pressed against mine and she smiled. “I love you, Cap.”
“I love you too, Ruby.”
My brothers re-entered the room, grinning like idiots when they saw us together.
“Someone’s feeling better,” Scales joked.
“You’d feel better too if a beautiful woman was kissing you awake like Sleeping Beauty,” Fish countered.
Zodiac came to a stop in front of me. “Glad to see you awake, Brother. You scared us.”
“I scared myself,” I said with a laugh. “It’s hard going through life knowing that the organ that keeps you alive could fail at any moment.”
They all nodded.
“Where’s Leo?” I asked, looking around the room for my best friend.
