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I'm staggered by the boldness of her question. "Normally, yes."
"Are you ashamed of it?" She sits next to Christina.
I lower myself into a chair opposite them. "Not at all." I know my voice is trembling. I had imagined the evening in my mind all afternoon as I rode the train into the city. This particular scenario, of Coral's mother launching, without any small talk, into a conversation about her daughter's heart, wasn't what I anticipated at all.
"You're a very lucky young lady." She takes a heavy swallow from a glass of red wine. "If it wasn't for us you'd be dead."
I cringe at her words. How dare she? How does she expect me to respond to that? For a brief moment I wish I had asked Alexa to come with me. "Excuse me?" I ask hoping that by some small and unexpected miracle I misheard her cold and insensitive words.
"If my Coral hadn't died that night, you wouldn't have made it." The words spill out of her with very little discernable emotion.
I move my gaze from her face to Christina's and I'm instantly struck by how gleeful she looks. She's nodding in agreement. I feel as though I've stepped into a lion's den and I'm their bait.
"I would have stayed on the donor list until another heart was available," I whisper.
"Your dad said you were on the list for months."
Christina's mention of my father so casually bites into me. I silently wonder how long he's been in contact with them. He knew I was meeting them tonight, why didn't he warn me they were vultures who would instantly be circling my heart?
"I was sick for a long time," I offer. I feel vulnerable and exposed. Sharing details of my illness with them feels like too much. It's obvious, by the first five minutes of our time together, that who I am matters little to them. It's Coral's heart to them.
"Now you're fine because of my daughter." Faye empties her wine glass in one quick gulp and I watch silently as Christina reaches over to refill it without any prompt.
"I'm very grateful." I try to sit up straighter.
"You should be," Christina spits back. "If Zander hadn't killed her, you'd be the one in the ground."
The words are so bitter. I don't respond. I stare into her face. He's marrying her. He's choosing her over me. This spiteful, mean woman is going to walk down the aisle and he's going to promise to love her forever.
"I'm sorry I'm late." As if on cue, I feel his hand lightly brush my shoulder as his voice greets me from behind.
"That’s typical for you, Zander," Christina snaps. "Sit down. We were just getting started."
Chapter 8
"What did I miss?" He lowers himself into the chair next to me. I watch Christina's face as he sits. They don't acknowledge one another at all.
&
nbsp; "We were just telling her how grateful she should be to us." Faye motions for a waiter. "You took so long to get here, Zander. I think my blood sugar is dropping. We need to order."
I clench my fist on my lap at her mention of my need to be grateful yet again.
"Sadie is very grateful," he offers as he reaches to fill both of our glasses with wine. "We've talked about Coral a lot."
"Why didn't you tell me that you found her?" Christina hisses in a hushed tone as her gaze is locked on him. "How long ago did you talk to her?"
"Not long." He nods at the waiter as he finally approaches.
I order and sit in stunned silence watching the three of them casually order their dinners. I can smell Hunter's cologne. The table is tucked into such a small, cramped space that his leg is pressed against mine. I know I should pull it away but it's offering me comfort and a sense of stability right now. As much as I know that Hunter has lied to me, the cruelty that these two women have exhibited is disorienting me to the point that I'm unsure whether I can even make it through dinner.
"When Zander?" Christina asks as soon as the waiter takes his leave.
"When what?" He swallows half of the wine in his glass in one swift movement. I stare at his hand as he lowers the glass to the table. That hand. It's the hand that cradled my face, and held mine and brought me so much pleasure.
"When did you find her?" She enunciates each word in between clenched teeth.
"Recently," he offers. "How was the train? Did you get in on time?" He shifts his entire body so he's facing me directly.
