Chapter 1

Serenity's sultry figure was draped over my husband Zoran's body just before I was wheeled into the delivery room.

Her crimson lips brushed his ear as she whispered:

"Once she's gone in to have the baby, why don't we get a room at the hotel next door?"

Zoran didn't answer verbally, but his hands spoke volumes as they encircled Serenity's waist. The two began nuzzling each other right in front of me.

It was ages after I'd given birth before Zoran finally showed up, panting and covered in telltale marks, eagerly inquiring about my condition and the baby's.

Cradling our newborn, I smiled sweetly at him. "Zoran, darling, did you know you only have a week left to live?"

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Zoran scoffed at my words. "Melody, what kind of joke is that? There's no way I'm going to die in a week. I'm fit as a fiddle."

He thumped his chest, his muscular frame producing a dull thud.

I caressed our child's face. "Remember when I told you I'm from the Miao region? On our wedding day, I cast a voodoo curse on you. If I ever caught you being unfaithful, the curse would activate. You'll bleed from every orifice and die in seven days."

"Listen to yourself, you're talking nonsense again."Zoran laughed heartily. "Your family just lives in a remote part of the deep woods. Don't try to pull that Miao tribe stuff on me. Stop joking around."

"Besides, my heart has always been with you. It's never changed."

The last sentence he spoke grew softer and softer, until it was barely audible.

I remained silent, just staring intently at the mottled hickeys and scratch marks on his neck.

Suddenly, Zoran seemed to realize something. His expression stiffened as he touched his neck and buttoned up the top button of his shirt. "There are a lot of mosquitoes outside in the summer. I don't know when I got these bites. Don't worry about it."

"I'll go buy you something to eat," he said, then hurried off. It was quite a while before he returned with a few food items.

When I opened the bag, I saw it was all spicy cuisine, glistening with red oil.

"I can't eat spicy food right after giving birth."

Zoran's movements halted. He gave an embarrassed laugh. "I forgot for a moment. I remember you used to love spicy food before."

"You're mistaken. I've never eaten spicy food."

In the Miao region, raising venomous worms requires using one's own blood. To keep their blood pure, the tribe has always eaten bland food. There's no way I could like spicy food.

The one who actually loved spicy food was someone else. Recalling the scene I saw before entering the operating room, my heart filled with bitterness.

The hospital room suddenly fell into an awkward silence, the stillness broken only by the sudden ringing of a phone.

A sugary-sweet female voice came through from the other end: "Zoran, when are you coming back? I've been waiting for you at the hotel for ages."