apes97
Perth and Film were inseparable-high school sweethearts who dreamed of growing old together. But everything changed the day Film's car crashed and she never woke up. Kept alive by machines, her body lingered, but her soul had already begun to drift. With broken hearts, her family made the painful decision to let her go-and honor her wish to give life to someone else.
That someone is Santa-a boy born in Thailand, raised in the Philippines, and living with a failing heart since childhood. When he receives Film's heart, he's given more than a second chance. He's given the heartbeat of a girl he once knew, long ago, who once made him a promise.
Haunted by grief, Perth can't understand how someone else is breathing because Film is not. When he meets Santa, rage clouds his sorrow. But what begins with bitterness slowly softens into something else-something confusing, something terrifying, something that feels like love.
But Santa isn't sure what's real. Does Perth love him, or just the heart that beats because of her?
The Heart That Stayed is a tender, emotional story of grief, healing, and the unexpected places love takes root. A story about letting go, and learning how to live again-with a heart that still remembers.