Chapter 2

The next afternoon, Emily came to my hospital room to apologize.

The moment I saw her face, all carefully made up to look innocent, I instantly wanted to turn her away. Every time she showed up, nothing good followed. "No, I don't want to see her," I said.

Jonathan sat by my bed, holding my hand, his voice soft and coaxing. "How can you not see her? You're my wife, and I can't let you keep suffering. She has to swallow her pride and apologize to you today."

I lowered my gaze.

Before all this, I would have been moved to tears. I would have thought he was my hero and that he had my back. Now all I felt was nausea.

But now, all I felt was a wave of nausea churning in my stomach.

People in our circle always called Jonathan a gentleman. They said he treated everyone the same as a doctor, rich or poor. Even when it came to family matters, they claimed, he kept things fair and never played favorites.

But he wanted to have both Emily and me, and ended up making a fool of himself.

Emily walked up to my bed, biting her lip, and handed me a glass of juice. "Anna, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have messed with that toxin. I made this kiwi juice myself. Have a sip and forgive me, okay?"

The glass was brimming with bright green liquid, giving off a sweet and sour scent.

I didn't take it. I was severely allergic to kiwi. One sip and my throat would swell shut.

Jonathan knew that. And Emily definitely knew it too. If she could get her hands on such a rare neurotoxin, finding out my allergies would be child's play.

Jonathan winked at me. "Anna, drink it. Relax. I've got adrenaline and allergy meds ready to go. I won't let anything happen to you.

"Be good. I made her come apologize, so she's not happy about it. Of course she would act up. Since she's swallowing her pride, don't sweat such a trifle."

I almost laughed out loud. I nodded knowingly and reached out to take the glass of kiwi juice.

With Jonathan looking relieved, I flicked my wrist and poured the entire thing onto Emily's face.

Green juice dripped down her hair, covering her eyes. She screamed, totally stunned, looking like a soaked cat.

Jonathan shot up, his usual calm face twisted with rage. "Anna, have you lost your mind?"

Maybe knowing I was dying finally made me see things clearly. I was done with all the bullshit I'd put up with over the years.

I grabbed a tissue, wiped my hands, and gave a small smile. "I told you, I don't need an apology. Next time you all want to do this whole fake peace-and-love routine, leave me the hell out of it. It's disgusting."

Jonathan stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

He was furious and didn't come to the hospital to see me for days.

That evening, the nurse came by with the usual blue shot. She looked at me, like she wanted to say something but held back.

After she finished the injection, she finally spoke up. "Mrs. Foster, Professor Foster hasn't come by, but he calls every day to make sure I see you get your shot."

She looked at me with envy. "He said the poison Emily gave you is so strong, you can't miss a single day of the antidote. You're still the one he cares about most."

I gave a wry smile. Yeah. He was terrified I'd die.

I really wondered what his face would look like when he found out that his own medicine, his own orders, were the ones killing me.

I wanted to laugh, but then that iron taste rushed up my throat. A mouthful of thick black blood splattered across the white sheets.

The nurse let out a shriek, dropping the tray to the floor.

My vision went dark, and I passed out.

So that was it. The original neurotoxin, plus that deadly poison missing the neutralizer. Both were tearing through my bloodstream, and my organs were already failing. I doubted I had even a month left.

*****

When I woke up, it was late at night. The room was dim, lit only by a yellow wall lamp. Jonathan stood at my bedside, looking frantic, about to check my eyes.

He hadn't taken off his lab coat, and his shirt underneath was wrinkled. He'd clearly sprinted straight from the lab.

He froze, caught off guard when he saw my eyes suddenly open.

Then he pulled his hand back. The worry vanished from his face and turned into annoyance.

"Anna, since when do you pull this melodrama routine?" He laughed coldly and tugged at his tie. "I told you, there's no way my antidote could be wrong.

"If you wanted me to come see you, you could have said so. Why bite your tongue to fake blood?"

I pulled my hand under the covers, turned away, and said flatly, "If you don't want to be here, then leave. No one asked you to stay."

My heart was racing. That was close. He nearly checked my eyes. If he had, he would have seen that the poison was already attacking my nervous system.

My words stung him, and he softened. He put a hand on my shoulder, his tone turning gentle again. "Alright. Still throwing a fit? It's really not a big deal. If you can't stand Emily, I won't let her bother you anymore.

"Didn't you always want to go to Silverlake and see the ocean? I'm taking a week off next week. Let's go together, okay?"

My heart fluttered. Silverlake was my hometown, where the director of the orphanage was buried. Before I left this world, I wanted to go back and pay my respects.

With my back to him, I gave a small nod.

What a shame. He couldn't make the trip with me.

The morning we were supposed to leave, the whole town was hit by a rare mass drug poisoning incident.

Jonathan had just loaded the suitcase into the trunk when his phone started blowing up with calls from the hospital.

He hung up, guilt written all over his face. "Anna—"

I gave him a knowing smile. "It's okay. Lives matter. Go take care of it."

I didn't let him see me off. I called a cab to the airport and never looked back.

Jonathan was a doctor. Getting pulled away for emergencies was part of his life. I never held it against him.

Putting other people's lives ahead of mine was how it should be.

But I never saw this coming.

But I never expected that everything else could come before me, but Emily always came first.