Chapter 3
Maybe I was completely dead inside, or maybe it was a last burst of life before the end, the monitors beside me showed my vitals slowly stabilizing.
The young nurse beside me wiped the sweat from her forehead and reassured me. "Mrs. Finn, we'll do everything we can to find you a new donor. You're going to be okay."
Just then, the door to the room swung open.
Charles rushed in, his white coat still damp and carrying the heavy scent of rain.
That was when I realized it was raining outside.
Charles shoved the nurse aside without a word. "Lily! Where's Sophie?"
I was stunned by his question. "Why should I care where your darling protégé is?"
What a joke.
She stole my heart transplant slot, and now Charles was here, acting like it was my fault.
Seeing my stubborn, unyielding attitude, Charles pushed past the nurse and gripped my shoulders tightly. He fixed his gaze on me, watching my face turn paler by the second. "Lily, this is life and death; we can't afford for you to be selfish.
"Sophie has finally gotten the chance for a heart transplant. It has to be something you said to her that made her sneak away."
"What nonsense are you spouting?" I snapped.
Charles shoved his phone under my nose.
On the screen was a cute selfie of Sophie, and her sixty-second voice message sounded so pitiful. "Hey Charles, I've thought about it. I'm giving the slot to Lily.
"I don't want to be the reason you and Lily fight. treat this as my last bit of stubbornness. Don't try to find me anymore."
Charles's eyes were bloodshot, his fingers digging into my shoulders so hard it felt like they might break the skin. "If anything happens to her, you'll pay for it. I swear.
"You're going to come with me and apologize to her! Beg her to come back for the surgery."
I wasn't afraid of death, so his threats meant nothing to me.
I said flatly, "Whatever, suit yourself."
Of course, Sophie wouldn't dare go through with the heart transplant.
I had realized what was happening.
Charles kept saying all the test reports were normal, but my body didn't lie.
And the head of the hospital's testing department was none other than Sophie, Charles's insider.
She was the one who swapped our test reports.
"Relax, your precious protégé's going to be fine. She's probably..." I started.
But before I could finish, a heavy slap landed hard across my face.
The doctors and nurses rushed to pull Charles away, and the young nurse from earlier quickly stepped in front of me.
She gritted her teeth and said, "Mr. Finn, your wife is in no condition for this. Please, let her rest."
Charles looked a bit disheveled and let out a cold laugh. "How much did Lily give you to take her side?
"I've seen her medical reports. Her little act might fool amateurs like you, but I'm confident in my own expertise."
He shoved the nurse aside and pulled me along by the shoulders, forcing me out of the room.
After my episode, I was so drained I couldn't resist anymore. "Charles, mark my words; you'll regret this."
Charles paused for a moment, but he didn't spare me a glance.
Worried about disturbing the other patients, he pulled me outside the hospital.
The rain pelted down on me, and I shivered.
Charles took off his coat and draped it over my shoulders, but I didn't feel a trace of warmth.
He clamped my hand in his grip and started a video call with Sophie.
When the call connected, Sophie, her cheeks flushed, paused in surprise as my face appeared on the screen.
Almost immediately, her eyes grew teary. "I'm sorry, Charles. I didn't mean to cause you trouble."
Charles's grip tightened, leaving a bruise on my wrist.
He said, his voice full of concern, "I'm having Lily apologize to you herself. Sophie, be good and come back for the surgery."
Then he shot me a warning look. "Lily, this is a matter of life and death. You can't be so selfish."
I could feel myself getting feverish.
Beyond the curtain of rain, the face on the phone screen, Sophie looking guilty yet slightly defiant, was barely visible.
"Hurry up and apologize. As I said, once Sophie's surgery is done, we can finally get back to our lives." Charles tried to manipulate me. "Isn't having a baby with me what you've always wanted?
"Lily, admit you were wrong! Someone's life is on the line here."
My ears were ringing, and I couldn't make out a word he was saying anymore.
I had no idea how much time had passed, but in the end, it was Sophie who finally gave in. "Charles, come pick me up."
Charles's grip suddenly loosened, and I dropped to the ground.
Charles raced through the downpour, sprinting straight for the parking lot.
"Charles, let's get a divorce," I said.
I didn't know if he heard me; his silhouette kept getting farther and farther away.
My phone buzzed with a text from Charles.
He was clearly in a rush; his message was full of typos.
[Don't be stubborn. You'll always be my wife.]
The medical team rushed out and crowded around me, working frantically to resuscitate me. Someone noticed my phone kept lighting up with notifications and assumed Charles was trying to contact me.
Someone used my finger to unlock the phone, but when they saw what was on the screen, they were stunned.
The screen was flooded with photos Sophie had sent, countless pictures of Charles and her together.
[Lily, you know, right? You've been sick for so many years, and all it took was me telling Charles your test results were normal; he went ahead and canceled the specialist appointment you'd been waiting six months for.]
My mind was fading, but those words on the screen pierced right through me, sharp as needles.
[There was only one dose of that special medicine in the whole city. I smashed it, and no one blamed me.]
Memories spun through my mind like a carousel.
A few years ago, the hospital finally got its hands on a special medicine for my condition. I was thrilled, but then they said it had to be given to someone in greater need.
Even though I felt a pang of regret, I was still glad.
At least a life was saved. That was something.
But...
I was wracked with violent coughs, frothy pink foam bubbling out from the corners of my mouth.
[I hate you. What makes you think you deserve to be Mrs. Finn? Because you were here before me?]
The final voice message buzzed in. The young nurse's finger hovered over the screen, trembling, before she finally pressed play.
Sophie's voice, dripping with fake sweetness, filled the hospital room. "Bet you didn't know that, did you?
"You and Charles were actually expecting a child. I found out from your medical records. I told the doctor to prescribe something to end the pregnancy.
"Charles knew all along, and he never once blamed me."
All I could hear was the ringing in my ears.
The year we got married, I had a miscarriage.
I always thought it was my own carelessness, and I was so scared Charles would be devastated that I never told him.
Turned out he knew everything.
Pathetic!
A tear fell onto the back of my hand; the nurse next to me was crying.
The alveoli in my lungs had burst from lack of oxygen, and my throat couldn't produce a single sound.
The bond of childhood sweethearts, that boy who once promised he'd become a doctor to cure me...
Every little thing, every single moment...
All that happened yesterday died with yesterday.
I gripped the young nurse's hand tightly. "Help me, call the number pinned at the top of my contacts."
As soon as the call connected, hearing that familiar voice brought me a sense of relief I hadn't felt in so long.
"George, I messed up. Please, save me," I pleaded.