Chapter 3
June was living it up in a cozy VIP suite, while I was crammed into a five-person ward. The whole place reeked, and the constant noise made my heart pound.
Back then, I called Roderick, hoping he'd at least move me to a quieter room, even if it wasn't VIP.
But all I got from him was a cold laugh over the phone.
He said, "You just can't stop acting, can you? Always trying to compete with June for my attention. If you want to keep fishing for my sympathy, go ahead.
"I'll be straight with you, I put you there on purpose. There are plenty of contagious diseases in that ward. If you're not afraid of dying, then stay."
I sucked in a sharp breath.
Those words sounded so strange, so scary.
By then, I was stuck with tubes everywhere, barely able to move. The nurses and doctors, all following Roderick's orders, seemed to go out of their way to make things worse for me.
They'd jab me with needles over and over, sometimes ten times before they got it right. The pain was so bad, I broke out in cold sweats.
When the IV started backing up, nobody even bothered to check on me.
All I got was cold, leftover food.
Every time I asked for anything, the nurses just gave me attitude and rolled their eyes.
She said, "Rich lady, huh? You think you're more precious than the rest of us?
"We're all patients here. Who do you think you are? This is what our hospital's got. If you can't handle it, just go home!"
I kept my mouth shut. All I wanted was to survive, more desperately than anyone else.
June, on the other hand, was pampered to the max, surrounded by luxury caregivers. Roderick wouldn't even bother to get me the cheapest help when I needed it.
"Roderick, besides the shortbread, I want some chicken soup too," June cooed, her voice dripping with sweetness.
Hearing that, I got a bad feeling in my gut.
I used to make chicken soup for Roderick all the time. June must've tasted it before, so of course she'd ask for it now.
Sure enough, Roderick gave June a soft, loving look.
"I'll have Samantha cook it for you," he said softly.
Then, his eyes went icy as he pulled out his phone and dialed my number.
It took forever to finally get through. Roderick jumped right to the point.
He said, "Samantha, I don't care what you're doing. Go home and make chicken soup for June.
"Have it delivered tonight, and make sure you apologize to her. If you don't, don't blame me for divorcing you!"
The person on the other side froze. Roderick didn't give them a second to react before he hung up.
His words were quite ironic.
Roderick didn't believe I was dying or having heart surgery. He even stormed into the operating room and took my kidney. After two surgeries, there was no way I'd recover faster than June.
However, I was nothiang to him. I could never measure up to June.
I used to do whatever Roderick wanted, always saying yes to everything. But this time, he wasn't getting a single response from me.
As for his divorce threats, I couldn't care less. He loved to use that against me, knowing I'd never actually agree. Every time I didn't play by his rules, he'd play the same old trick.
Even when he tried to take my kidney and I refused, he used the same manipulative words. It wasn't that I said no, it was just my body couldn't take it.
Honestly, it felt like Roderick just wanted me gone for good.
But he never believed me. Right after they knocked me out and cracked open my chest, Roderick barged in with his crew.
None of them bothered with surgical gowns or masks. They didn't care at all if I got infected.
For the first time ever, Roderick, usually swamped with work, spent the whole afternoon with June, ignoring every single call that came his way.
June was the only one who ever got this kind of special treatment. When we went out for our anniversary, he barely warmed his seat before a call came in and he just walked out, not even bothering to say goodbye.
June always made sure to get the best of her privilage.
Roderick kept coming up with topics just to make June laugh. He was always so serious and barely said a word around me. I never would've thought that he'd ever turn into such a chatterbox.
As the sky started to darken, Roderick grew visibly restless, checking his watch over and over.
When night finally fell and I was still nowhere to be seen, Roderick completely lost his cool.
He called me again and again, countless times, but I never answered.
Then he sent me a voice message, completely blowing up at me.
He said, "Samantha, getting bold now, huh? Is it really that hard for you to do one tiny thing?
"June's in the hospital because of you. Don't you forget for a second whose money you're spending and who's been supporting you.
"You just can't stop causing trouble, can you? This time, even if you crawl to me and beg, I'm still divorcing you for real."
So in Roderick's eyes, making chicken soup was just some trivial task.
Every time, I'd drag myself out of bed before sunrise to hunt for the best ingredients, and then spend hours simmering it, just so it would taste amazing.
Roderick's chest was rising and falling with anger, his eyes bloodshot from holding back all that rage.
June gave a smug little grin, then instantly switched to looking all sad and innocent, dropping her head.
She said, "Roderick, don't be mad at Samantha, okay? She's probably still mad at me. I won't have the chicken soup, alright? Maybe she's right. Maybe I really am just the shameless other woman.
"But Roderick, I really can't let you go. Even if Samantha wanted to kill me, I'd still feel the same way."
Roderick's eyes went wide in disbelief.
He said, "Samantha actually called you shameless? I told you, she wants you dead. She won't get away with this, not on my watch!"
With that, Roderick stormed out, his anger practically radiating off him.
June called after him, her voice trailing behind.