Chapter 3

"What's that supposed to mean?" I shot back.

His knuckles went white on the steering wheel. "Were you ever completely honest with me?"

I froze. I was just about to ask what he meant when a sharp pain twisted through my stomach.

I stumbled out of the car and ran toward the rest stop, only to vomit blood.

My reflection in the mirror looked deathly pale, my cheeks hollowed out.

No amount of makeup or bright red lipstick could cover up how sick I looked.

I wiped the cold sweat off my face, clutching my stomach and dragging myself back.

I knocked on the window. "Can we turn around? I need to go to a hosp—"

"Just go home by yourself today." Samuel didn't even look up from his phone. His brow was tightly furrowed. "Something came up at work. I need to deal with it right now."

I glanced at his screen. The chat was open with Evelyn. "Samuel, I can't make it back alone. I'm really not—"

Samuel rolled up the window, shutting me out completely.

I tried to take a step forward, but the world tilted violently.

A metallic taste rushed up my throat. Pain knotted my stomach, and I collapsed on the pavement, curled up, everything fading into darkness.

*****

When I woke up, the air reeked of disinfectant.

Someone at the rest stop must've taken pity on me and brought me to the nearest hospital.

My mother had called me over a dozen times, worried sick. "Lil, didn't you say you'd be here by seven? Is traffic bad?"

"Mom, don't worry." I blinked against the burning in my eyes. "Something urgent came up at Samuel's company, so we had to rush back. We... probably can't make it home today."

"As long as you two are safe," my mother said, finally letting out a sigh of relief. "Your dad and I know you're busy. It's fine—come home next time for Christmas."

My nose burned even harder as I listened to my mother ramble on.

In my last relationship, I was young and stubborn, convinced that my ex was the only one for me.

My parents had worried themselves sick over me. So when Samuel started pursuing me later, they didn't dare trust him too quickly.

It wasn't until I lost the baby—when Samuel stayed by my side every single day, got turned away again and again, but still showed up with his heart in his hands—that my parents finally softened. His sincerity wore them down, and they allowed him into my life.

At the wedding, my mother cried until her eyes were swollen.

When my father placed my hand into Samuel's, his eyes went red, too.

"Don't worry," Samuel had said, "I swear I'll make Lily happy for the rest of her life."

I never imagined that, just seven years later, we'd end up like this.

After calming my mother down, I hung up and went to pick up my test results.

The moment I opened them, I was stunned. I gripped the papers until my knuckles turned white. It said I had stage IV stomach cancer.

*****

I didn't know how long I walked after that. I just kept going, craving the cold wind on my face—it was the only thing keeping me clear-headed.

When I finally got home, I was surprised to see a familiar figure.

The second Samuel saw me, he shot up from the couch and grabbed my arm hard. "Are you done making a scene?"

I frowned at him.

He slammed a stack of photos onto the table—every single one I'd already seen on my phone.

"Lily, what exactly do you want?" he demanded. "You had someone follow her, record her, and even lay hands on her just to force my hand? If you've got a problem, take it out on me."

Evelyn must've been worried I'd spill that she'd reached out to meet me, so she threw a bomb to cover her tracks.

She'd known she was being photographed all along. No wonder the angles in those pictures looked so conveniently intimate.

I didn't have the strength to argue. All I wanted was to lie down and sleep.

But Samuel yanked me back, eyes bloodshot with anger, looking at me like I was some unforgivable criminal.

A sharp pain shot through me. I grabbed the cabinet to stay upright. "Evelyn plays her cards pretty well..." I managed to say.

Samuel, stung by my laughter, practically ground my shoulder bone to dust with his grip. "Lily, you have no business looking down on her like that.

"Someone like you, always sitting on a high horse, would never think you were the one in the wrong, would you?

"That look on your face makes me sick. Just like your folks."

He was gritting his teeth, his face nearly contorted with rage.

I froze for a long moment, then straightened up and slapped Samuel hard across the face.

His head snapped into the shadows.

"Don't you dare talk about my parents." I was shaking all over from the pain.

"Don't dare? Or do you just think I'm not fit to mention them?" Samuel suddenly gave a laugh, the red print on his cheek sharp and obvious. He grabbed my wrist, squeezing tight, stopping me from landing another hit. "Lily, all these years, that's what you've been thinking, isn't it?"