Claire was a medical miracle, but miracles are expensive. Within two weeks, the "recovery" was overshadowed by a mountain of bills. Collectors called at all hours. The hospital was threatening legal action for the "unauthorized" removal of equipment.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYTRWHiCOW
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Julian sat in the kitchen, wearing three layers of wool sweaters and gloves. Even with the oven turned to 200°C, he was shivering. To him, the air felt like a liquid nitrogen bath.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW74Z2WjCBN
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Claire walked in, vibrant and glowing. She reached out to touch his shoulder, and Julian flinched.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwR3X9Pvxem
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"Julian, you're scaring me," she whispered. "You haven't touched me since I woke up. You’re acting like I’m a ghost."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfwQR2wnaW
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"I'm just... sick, Claire. I can't get warm," he lied.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPddtwyUjCs
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He felt the weight of the Obsidian Heart in his pocket. It was the only thing in the world that felt warm to him—a sickening, organic heat that pulsed against his thigh. He was drowning in debt, and he was losing his wife all over again because he couldn't stand to be near her "frozen" body.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUCW5NMOlE
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The Second Wish131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsL2SM9LMpO
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"I wish we didn't have to worry," Julian muttered, his teeth chattering. He gripped the Heart through the fabric of his pants. "I wish we had enough money to fix everything. To live the life we were supposed to have."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxqNuqv3VSI
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The Heart kicked like a dying fish.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI19lpDT8OE
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A sudden, sharp pain lanced through Julian’s temples. It felt like a needle being threaded through his brain, stitching and un-stitching his thoughts. He gasped, falling to his knees.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa18jqYPySe
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Flash.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpesi4L996Q
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The Golden Cage131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKPA3Ox0SJ
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The kitchen changed. The rotted floorboards were gone, replaced by Italian marble. The smell of dampness was replaced by the scent of lilies and expensive wax. Julian was wearing a tailored suit.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmv9YeIK1vO
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He looked at the table. A legal document sat there—a settlement from the trucking company. Ten million dollars. "We did it, Jules!" Claire laughed, spinning around the opulent room. She looked like a queen. "We finally made it. Remember when we talked about this? Back when things were hard?"131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkFv2lJxXo
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Julian looked at her. He looked at the beautiful woman in the silk dress. He felt the cold air hitting his skin—still freezing, still biting—but that wasn't the problem.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBtZiYL1iS
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He didn't know who she was.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBK5xa5ulfy
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He knew her name was Claire. He knew she was his wife. But the "Data" was disconnected from the "Feeling." He looked at her and felt the same thing you feel when you look at a stranger on a bus.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrc0LwBoMSb
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The Identity Debt131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJoT0p9LdsH
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The Heart had taken the Emotional Anchors.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDoE8mW311
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He couldn't remember their wedding day.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwU3d1wCheB
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He couldn't remember the car accident.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zsd6NtguC
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He couldn't remember why he had been so desperate to wake her up in the first place.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNX4naPcmfm
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He was a rich man living in a palace with a beautiful stranger. The money was there to "fix everything," but the "everything" it was supposed to fix had been erased from his heart.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDTzeGN1lR
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"Julian? What's wrong?" Claire asked, her smile faltering.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vvWigJVna
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"I... I don't remember," he whispered. He looked down at his gloved hands. He had the money, but he had lost the reason for the greed. He was a ghost haunting a life he no longer owned.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LD43XNYIp
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He pulled the Heart from his pocket. It was larger now. More swollen. The silver wires were almost buried under the expanding, blackened flesh. It was no longer a "recursive debt"—it was a host.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzCpZPMUrN
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1234 copyright protection127ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIAxhwGnZ8 尼131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQFLGBMckmX