Chapter 12

Hayden's feet were rooted to the ground, and his mind went completely blank. Slowly, he turned back toward William. Gathering a sliver of clarity amidst the chaos in his mind, Hayden rasped, "Say that again." William sighed heavily. "Both of your bone marrow donations were from Jacqueline. Three years ago, she signed a three-year agreement to serve as a field doctor to pay for your surgery. She lost her right arm there. "The prosthetic couldn't give her the precision she needed to perform your second surgery, so she came to me for help. But I had already lost one of my eyes, and I couldn't perform delicate operations anymore. So, she gave me one of her corneas. "She did all of that for you. And yet, here you are, about to marry another woman. As her mentor, it breaks my heart to see this." Hayden could no longer keep his expression composed. Confused, he asked, "Why didn't she tell me?" Then, almost instantly, he started denying everything in disbelief. "No. That's not true. It w