Chapter 2

"I heard her crying on the phone yesterday, begging someone to find a specialist appointment. Late-stage breast cancer. She only has a few days left to live."

"Don't worry, once that old hag is dead, I'll buy you a big diamond ring!"

Jade excitedly hugged Damien and kissed him several times. "Really? Then let her die quickly! I want an 18-carat diamond ring!"

"Alright, let's curse her together so she dies faster!" Damien cooed in an indulgent tone.

Then came a series of sticky, heavy breathing.

I stood outside the door, my chest aching so much I could barely breathe.

He said the company went bankrupt. I didn't blame him. When we were so poor we could barely put food on the table and couldn't even afford our child's tuition, I still didn't blame him.

But not only was the bag he gave me fake, even our wedding ring was fake. Yet he could give my cousin five thousand dollars without batting an eye.

I rushed around everywhere to save him, but he couldn't wait to fantasize about life after my death with another woman.

I gave ten years of my youth, only to receive a deception in return!

That night, I sat alone in the empty living room waiting for Damien to come home.

If he was willing to be honest with me, I could give him one more chance.

After all, our daughter is still young. She can't be without a father.

But I sat on the couch waiting until dawn, and he never came back.

It wasn't until the next morning when I returned home from grocery shopping.

Opening the door, I found Damien sprawled on the couch, his face flushed red and reeking of alcohol. He looked like he'd just finished a wild night out.

My cousin was sitting next to him, intimately caressing his chest. Seeing me return, she hurriedly stood up. "Sis, you're back." Her clumsy movements betrayed her, as if I'd almost caught them in the act.

I ignored her and looked at the numbers above Damien's head. They had changed to fifty-five thousand.

In one night, he'd blown through fifty-five grand.

Yet to save him, I'd only borrowed a hundred grand from my parents, and my daughter's tuition was just a thousand bucks!

I coldly stared at the unconscious Damien on the couch. "Where did you go last night?"

Seeing my displeased expression, Damien sobered up a bit.

"I was out late with a client. Why are you interrogating me? It's like you think I've done something to wrong you!"

He lied through his teeth without batting an eye.

Seeing I didn't believe him, he quickly changed the subject. "Darling, I know all about your situation. I called Jade over, let's discuss this together."

My cousin immediately chimed in: "Sis, I heard terminal cancer can't be cured. Those doctors telling you to get treatment are just after kickbacks. They're so heartless!"

Even in the late stages of cancer, there's still hope for survival, but Jade had just handed me a death sentence.

A cold smirk tugged at my lips.

Damien immediately sat down beside me, feigning deep emotion as he grasped my hand. "Don't blame your sister for being blunt. She's got a heart of gold beneath that sharp tongue. She's just looking out for you, afraid you'll suffer needlessly if the treatment doesn't work."

"Even with surgery, the survival rate for late-stage cancer is very low. Especially since you're already frail, there's no way you could endure the torture of chemotherapy."

Seeing that I didn't respond, Damien fidgeted for a moment before finally blurting out, "I'm already up to my eyeballs in debt. You can't expect me and our daughter to sell the house and live on the streets just to pay for your treatment!"

I raised my head and stared at him intently. So in his eyes, I – his wife of ten years who had shared his bed – was worth less than these material possessions.

Remembering how just yesterday I had been begging everyone for help with his illness, I couldn't help but find it laughable.

Under my burning gaze, Damien's face flushed red. "It's not that I'm stingy. I just think it's purely throwing money away to suffer. What if the treatment doesn't work, and we lose all our money too?"

My cousin also wiped away tears beside me. "Sis, if you pass away then, with the family in so much debt, Daisy won't even have money for school in the future."

"Let the living suffer, and you won't rest easy in your grave either!"

I watched their coordinated performance with cold eyes, then raised an eyebrow and asked Damien, "Honey, if you were the one who got sick, would you refuse treatment too?"