I woke up to the sound of crying.

Not gentle crying.

The dramatic kind.

The kind people performed when they wanted attention.

“She tried to hit him,” Chloe sobbed somewhere near my bed. “She scared your son so badly, Damian. And then she suddenly collapsed like she was the victim.”

My eyelids felt heavy.

Every part of my body ached.

“She has cancer, apparently.” Chloe gave a soft, disbelieving laugh. “Honestly, I think the diagnosis is fake. Maybe she bribed the doctor just to make you pity her.”

A long silence followed.

Then Damian spoke coldly.

“I don’t care if she’s dying.”

My fingers twitched weakly against the blanket.

“She ruined my chance to be with Sophia,” he continued. “I’ll never pity her for anything.”

His voice became quieter. Crueler.

“She can spend the rest of her life begging for love I’ll never give her.”

Relief.

Not sadness. Not fear.

Cancer.

I had cancer.

For some reason, the thought didn’t terrify me.

It felt comforting.

Like finally seeing the exit door after years trapped inside a burning building.

Maybe this horrible life was ending.

Maybe I could finally rest.

I opened my eyes slowly.

The hospital lights hurt immediately.

Chloe stopped crying the second she noticed I was awake.

Damian stood beside the window with one hand in his pocket, still wearing yesterday’s black dress shirt. His expression remained completely indifferent.

“You’re awake.”

I looked at him silently.

“You have cancer,” he said flatly. “But don’t start expecting me to waste my family’s money treating you.”

His tone sounded more annoyed than concerned.

“You can try calling your precious brother instead.” He sneered slightly. “Although if he actually cared about you, he wouldn’t have rather handed me the project just to shove you into my house and make my life miserable.”

I lowered my eyes quietly.

Damian continued mercilessly.

“You’re honestly impressive in one way.”

His gaze moved over me coldly.

“No matter where you go, you become someone else’s burden.”

My chest tightened faintly.

Not because his words hurt.

Because deep down, I had heard variations of them my entire life.

Worthless. Troublesome.

Damian checked his watch impatiently.

“I have a meeting.”

Of course he did.

Business mattered.

Mistresses mattered.

I never mattered.

He walked toward the door without another glance at me.

But before leaving, he paused briefly.

“Oh,” he added casually, “don’t die in my house. The media attention would be annoying.”

Then he left.

The room became quiet.

For three seconds.

Then Chloe started laughing.

Not loudly.

She crossed her arms and looked down at me like I was something pathetic stuck beneath her shoe.

“I genuinely didn’t know people like you existed.”

I didn’t answer.

“I almost feel bad for you now.” She tilted her head. “Your husband abuses you. Your son hates you. Your brother abandoned you.”

Her smile widened.

“And you’re too stupid to even fight back.”

I stared blankly at the hospital blanket.

Chloe walked closer.

“I heard your adoptive parents didn’t even let you finish high school.” She laughed lightly. “Honestly, I don’t even feel threatened by you anymore.”

Her voice dripped with superiority.

“You’re not qualified to be my rival.”

Silence filled the room.

Then a man’s voice spoke calmly from the doorway.

“She’s right.”

Chloe froze.

I looked up slowly.

A tall man stood outside the hospital room wearing a charcoal-gray suit. Several bodyguards stood behind him.

My adoptive brother.

Elias Sterling.

CEO of Sterling Group.

The man who inherited everything after my biological parents died.

The same man who once looked at me across a desk and called marriage a “good opportunity.”

Chloe recovered first.

“Oh— Mr. Sterling, I didn’t realize—”

Elias walked into the room without even glancing at her.

“Because she would never see you as a rival.”

Two bodyguards suddenly grabbed Chloe from behind.

She screamed instantly.

“Wait— what are you doing?! Let go of me!”

They forced her roughly onto her knees.

Chloe looked horrified. “Do you know who I am?!”

Elias finally looked at her.

Cold eyes.

Emotionless eyes.

The kind that made powerful men nervous.

Then—

Slap.

The sound echoed across the room.

Chloe’s head snapped sideways violently.

I stared in shock.

She stared too.

Completely frozen.

Elias flexed his fingers once before speaking calmly.

“Stop screaming inside a hospital, idiot.”

Chloe’s face turned pale immediately.

“You— you hit me?”

Elias looked genuinely uninterested.

“My sister may not fight you,” he said evenly, “but that doesn’t mean you’re qualified to humiliate her in public.”

Chloe’s breathing became shaky.

“You can’t treat me like this. Damian won’t allow—”

Elias interrupted smoothly.

“The resources funding Damian Vale’s newest project came from me.”

The room fell silent.

Even Chloe stopped moving.

Elias continued in the same calm tone:

“If my sister remains Mrs. Vale, the board of directors won’t allow Damian to remarry.”

His gaze turned colder.

“But if she disappears…”

A faint smile touched his lips.

“Do you really think a replacement mistress can climb very far?”

Chloe’s expression cracked completely.

For the first time since meeting her, she looked scared.

Actually scared.

Elias crouched slightly in front of her.

“Go tell your master something for me.”

His voice remained soft.

That somehow made it worse.

“I will make him pay for everything he’s done to her.”

The bodyguards dragged Chloe out while she screamed furiously.

The hospital room became quiet again.

Elias stood up slowly and adjusted his cuffs.

Then finally—

He looked at me.

Neither of us spoke.

I hadn’t seen him in almost four months.

He still looked exactly the same.

Perfect posture.

Like someone carved him out of ice instead of flesh.

“You look terrible,” he said finally.

I almost laughed.

Instead, I asked softly, “Why are you here?”

“Because you collapsed.”

“That never mattered before.”

A brief silence followed.

Then Elias walked toward the hospital window.

“You have late-stage cancer.”

His voice stayed emotionless.

“The doctors estimate less than a year without treatment.”

I looked down quietly.

“One year…” I repeated softly.

Strangely enough, that sounded peaceful.

Elias turned back toward me slowly.

“You’re not upset.”

“I’m tired.”

The answer came out more honestly than expected.

For the first time in years, my mask slipped slightly.

“I think…” My throat tightened faintly. “I think I’m finally too tired to keep trying.”

Elias stared at me for several seconds.

Then his jaw tightened almost invisibly.

“You’re still a Sterling.”

I smiled weakly.

“No,” I whispered. “I was never really one.”

Something dark flashed briefly through his eyes.

Anger?

Regret?

I couldn’t tell.

But it disappeared quickly.

“You’ll receive treatment.”

“I don’t want it.”

“That wasn’t a question.”

His tone became colder instantly. Familiar. Authoritative.

The same tone he used in boardrooms.

The same tone he used when arranging my marriage.

I looked at him quietly.

“Why?” I asked.

Elias frowned slightly.

“Why what?”

“Why save me now?”

The room fell silent again.

Outside the hospital room, I could hear distant footsteps and nurses talking softly.

Life continued normally.

Meanwhile mine had already started ending.

Elias loosened his tie slightly before answering.

“You’re my sister.”

I looked away immediately.

Because somehow those four words hurt more than cruelty ever did.

If he truly saw me as his sister—

Why had nobody saved me sooner?