Chapter 3

However, in the next moment, Ethan turned to Lorne and said, "Lorne, are you hungry? How about I go home and make you my specialty, blueberry cheesecake?"

Hearing this, my breath caught in my throat.

Because I only liked sweet flavors.

Ethan had perfected this dish for me.

He said he would make blueberry cheesecake for me for a lifetime, but now he was cooking it for another woman.

So be it.

After all... this wasn't the only promise he had broken.

I stared intently at their retreating figures until they disappeared around the corner.

I could no longer suppress the metallic sweetness in my throat, and I coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"At least Ethan and she are gone now."

I whispered, fumbling in my bag for a tissue to haphazardly wipe the blood stains from my body.

Just then, my phone suddenly rang.

I looked at the screen; it was my attending physician's number.

I pressed the answer button: "Miss Duke, why haven't you completed your hospital admission procedures yet?"

"Don't you know that the pain of late-stage lung cancer is beyond human endurance without medical intervention?"

"I know, I still have some things to take care of."I carefully opened the door, only to be greeted by a cloud of dust that sent me into a coughing fit.

It had been ages since anyone had been here.

I looked up at the large framed photo hanging in the living room.

In the picture, Ethan was down on one knee, slipping a diamond ring onto my finger.

It was taken the day he proposed to me.

"Darling, you're the only treasure in my life. I promise to keep you safe and happy for as long as I live."

"I swear I'll love you forever, until my last breath."

Every word of Ethan's promise was etched clearly in my mind.

But how could he have forgotten?

A bitter smile tugged at my lips as my eyes stung with unshed tears.

I gently took down the photo and cut out the part with me in it.

After carefully packing away the picture, I went to the nursery.

Looking at the cozy decorations all around, I felt overwhelmed with sadness.Ethan and I once had a child together.

At the time, we were both overjoyed.

Ethan especially spent every day online learning how to be a good father.

But then, I found out about Lorne's existence.

I also learned that the child in Lorne's belly was three years older than the one in mine.

I was completely devastated.

It was after that when I asked for a divorce and Ethan held me captive.

In my attempt to escape, I accidentally fell and bled heavily.

Meanwhile, Ethan was in another house, canoodling with Lorne.

By the time he rushed back to take me to the hospital, it was already too late.

I lost my right to be a mother forever.

I hate myself so much.

If only I had been more careful, or hadn't tried to escape at all, my sweetheart would still be with me.

The study, bedroom, living room...

I walked through each room, erasing all traces of my existence.

Just as I was about to leave, there was suddenly a noise at the door lock.

Ethan stumbled in, drunk.