He took care of me day and night,

patient to the point of reverence.

Little by little, I got better.

I began to imagine the future.

I wanted to marry him.

But he refused.

Until one night, after a business dinner,

he drank so much that he vomited blood from a gastric hemorrhage.

I stayed by his bedside the entire night.

When dawn came, his eyes were red as he finally agreed to marry me.

But my family opposed it.

So I made a deal with them.

As long as Barry succeeded in his career,

the price I would pay

was never stepping back into the family again.

I gave up my status.

I gave up my career.

I gave up my last retreat.

At the time, I thought we would love each other forever.

He would achieve everything he wanted,

and I would be the place he returned to.

But I never imagined this.

Not long after the wedding,

his career took off in leaps and bounds.

He founded his own company.

And the young women around him

only grew more numerous.

At first, he still tried to hide it.

Later, I argued.

I fought.

I broke down.

To keep him,

I chose to retreat again and again.

But my retreat

only earned his complete recklessness.

Until today.

I was finally tired.

My mother asked me,

“Do you regret it?”

I asked myself the same question.

When I didn’t answer for a long time,

my mother’s voice remained calm and resolute.

“In seven days, I’ll book your flight.”

“That man…

it’s time you married him.”

I murmured a low “Mm,”

and hung up the phone.

The receiver fell silent.

The next second,

my stomach felt as if it were violently clenched by something,

spasming fiercely.

My vision went dark.

With the last bit of consciousness I had,

I pulled the car over to the side of the road.

My fingers trembling,

I dialed an emergency number.

Before I could finish speaking,

my consciousness cut out completely.

When I opened my eyes again,

I was already lying in a hospital bed.

The sharp pain in my stomach had been temporarily suppressed,

leaving behind only a hollow, dull, aching sensation.

The doctor stood by the bed,

hesitation written all over his face.

“Your family…”

He paused.

“They didn’t come?”

Then he hesitated again.

“Your condition…”

“I know my condition.”

I interrupted him.

My voice was so calm

that even I found it unfamiliar.

“At this level of pain,

there’s no strength left for sorrow.”

The test report was handed to me.

Stomach cancer.

And it had already metastasized.

Beyond medical help.

I stared at that thin sheet of paper

and suddenly smiled without a sound.

How ironic.

Back then, to cure Barry’s chronic gastritis,

I sought out an old traditional Chinese doctor

and secretly learned from him.

I filled pages upon pages of notes,

changed recipes endlessly,

and cooked medicinal meals for him every day.

Eventually,

his stomach healed.

And now,

I was the one who would finish paying this karma for him.

In a way…

it was a complete ending.

The doctor prescribed painkillers

and told me there was no longer any need for aggressive treatment.

I nodded,

as if he were talking about someone else.

As I passed the nurse’s station,

a few nurses whispered among themselves.

“The patient in Bed 7 is really lucky.

Almost died on the road.”

“They called his husband for help.

Not a single call got through.”

“Good thing a kind passerby stopped,

or he really wouldn’t have made it.”

I lowered my head

and glanced at the admission bracelet on my wrist.

“Bed 7.”

The words pressed coldly against my eyes.

If I had died just like that…

Would he regret it?

In this world,

aside from Barry,

the only person I still knew

was his brother.

Suddenly,I really wanted to go and say goodbye to Osiris.

Osiris lived in the most upscale medical care center in the city.

Our parents passed away early.

It was he who dropped out of school

and single-handedly raised Barry.

Later, in a construction accident,

he lost one leg.

With the compensation money,

Barry managed to finish his education smoothly.

From that day on,

he never allowed this older brother

to work again.

When Barry’s career finally took off,

he arranged for Osiris to live here.

Well fed. Well cared for.

And completely cut off from the world.

Over the years,

Barry’s new lovers came one after another,

and he was often nowhere to be found.

Whenever that happened,

I would come visit Osiris.

He was my family.

And also the only friend in this world

with whom I could still speak the truth.

I knew he had lost his temper more than once

over Barry’s absurd behavior.

He truly treated me as family.

“Get out!”

The moment I reached the door,

Osiris’s furious roar burst out from inside.

Along with the shouting,

nutritional supplements and gift boxes

were hurled violently out of the room.

“Barry, let me tell you!”

“In our family,

there is only one daughter-in-law, and that is Chloe!”

“If you bring these shameless things in front of me again,

are you trying to drive me to my death?”

“What has Chloe ever done wrong to you,

that you treat her like this?”

“You will regret it!

You think just because you’ve got some dirty money,

you can afford to lose all your dignity?”

I stood outside the door,

my feet feeling as if they were nailed to the floor.

Keira hid behind Barry.

Seeing him get hit by the flying boxes,

her eyes reddened.

Suddenly, she stepped forward.

“Brother, Barry and I are true love.”

“They haven’t had feelings for each other for a long time.”

“Barry respecting you

doesn’t mean you get to interfere with his freedom.”

At this point,

she hardened her heart and raised her voice.

“Besides, Barry and Chloe are already divorced!”

“Chloe even wished us well!”

Barry reached out to cover her mouth,

but it was already too late.

Osiris clutched his chest in fury,

gasping for breath.

His remaining leg could no longer support him.

He collapsed heavily back onto the bed.

“Get out…”

“All of you, get out!”

“Brother! Are you okay?”

Barry rushed forward.

“Don’t be like this. I actually came this time

to invite you to my wedding with Keira…”

“She treats me really well.

Why can’t you at least try to—”

Osiris finally caught his breath.

The anger drained away,

leaving only a lifeless gray behind.

“Barry.”

“I don’t want to see you anymore.”

“I failed to teach you properly.

I have failed our parents.”

“Brother, don’t say that.”

“Calm down first.

I’ll come see you again in a few days.”

Barry pulled Keira along and walked out.

When he lifted his head,

he met my scrutinizing gaze head-on.

He wanted to dodge,

but it was too late.

He could only stand there awkwardly, stammering.

“How… how much did you hear?”

“You came to see my brother too?”

“I was just trying to stabilize his condition.”

He hurried to explain.

“You know depression can’t handle stimulation.”

“The wedding is just part of the treatment.

It’s all fake.”

“Don’t worry.

You’re the only one in my heart.”

“You’re my real wife.”

Before his words had even settled,

Keira had already hooked her arm through his,

speaking in a sweet, coaxing tone.

“Brother,

the wedding venue is basically ready.

Let’s go check it together.”

Suddenly, I didn’t understand.

If that was the case,

why was he still lying to me?

Why did he still insist

on maintaining that illusion of loving me?

I didn’t say another word.

I pushed past them directly.

My foot went out of control

and kicked over the gift boxes scattered all over the floor

as I walked straight into the ward.

Osiris kept apologizing to me.

Again.

And again.

Saying he hadn’t raised Barry well.

Saying the Gu family had failed me.

By the end,

his eyes were red.

I comforted him with a few words and didn’t stay long.

Before leaving,

I quietly placed the diagnosis report on the bedside table.

I hoped that by the time I came back,

he would at least be mentally prepared.

After walking out of the medical care center,

I wandered aimlessly.

This world had never belonged to me.

I had stayed here for seven years.

Everything I gave

was Barry.

In the end,

I couldn’t even find a single friend

who had nothing to do with him.

Before leaving,

there seemed to be no one left

worth saying goodbye to.

I walked along the road,

all the way into the city.

As the painkillers wore off,

it felt as if an invisible hand inside my stomach

was tearing and kneading it over and over again.

The next second,

a mouthful of blood surged up my throat without warning.

I didn’t even have time to dodge.

I bent over,

and the blood splattered straight onto the ground.

My fingers trembling,

I rummaged through my bag for medicine.

Instinctively,

I stepped into a hotel by the roadside,

wanting to find some water to swallow the pills.

But the moment I looked up,

I froze.

This was the hotel

where Barry and I had gotten married.

The lobby was crowded.

Staff members hurried back and forth,

arms full of props, flowers, and documents,

constantly moving toward the outdoor wedding lawn.

I stood at the edge of the crowd.

Through the gaps,

I saw Barry standing at the very center.

And Keira.

The scene was so familiar

that my heart tightened painfully.

Almost the exact same setup.

Even the placement of the flowers and string lights

was no different from that year.

Only the bride

had changed.

Compliments from the staff never stopped.

Barry had his arm around Keira’s waist.

He lowered his head slightly,

his gaze gentle.

Keira looked up at him,

shyness impossible to hide on her face.

The next second,

he bent down and kissed her deeply, without restraint.

I stood outside the crowd,

as if I had been pressed into a belated old dream.

How long had it been?

How long since he last looked at me like that?

How long since we had linked arms intimately in public?

Back when we were first together,

he loved to tiptoe in a crowd

and steal a kiss from me.

Like a child who had gotten away with something.

Later…

When did everything start to change?

The person in his eyes

was no longer me.

A staff member carrying a folder passed by me,

then suddenly stopped.

“Aren’t you… Miss Chloe?”

His voice wasn’t loud,

but it was clear enough.

The next second,

he instinctively turned his head toward Barry,

his expression complicated.

Barry followed the sound.

The moment he saw me,

his brows knitted together.

Keira rushed over first

and shoved me hard.

I was too weak.

My body staggered,

and I nearly fell.

“Stop pretending to be weak. It’s useless!”

“My brother just doesn’t like you anymore!”

“You’re already divorced.

Why won’t you let us go?”

“We’re truly in love,

and you’re stalking us!”

“You act generous and affectionate on the surface,

but inside you’re filthy and twisted!”

Her voice was sharp and piercing.

More and more staff members gathered around.

At that moment,

the pain in my stomach exploded violently.

My vision began to blur.

Everything around me turned hazy.

Relying purely on instinct,

I hurriedly pulled out a painkiller

and shoved it straight into my mouth.

“Chloe.”

Barry finally spoke.

But his tone grew increasingly impatient.

“I’ve already told you.

I’m only doing this to cure her.”

“I promised you.

Once Keira gets better, we’ll remarry.”

“Now you see her sick,

so you pretend to be ill too,

running in front of me to take medicine.”

“Don’t you think that’s a bit too deliberate?”

“You weren’t like this before.”

“You really disappoint me.”

The surrounding gazes cut like knives.