Ethel let out a cold laugh and walked right up to me.

"So you're the mistress Nathan's been keeping on the side?"

The arms that had been clinging to Nathan slowly loosened. Every trace of warmth drained from her face, replaced by undisguised contempt.

"Sarah, right? Nathan told me all about you."

"And for the record, I'm not the mistress here. Sure, I have feelings for Nathan, but you've already moved on and started a new family. Why shouldn't I take my place beside him?"

"If you ask me, you're the real other woman."

She stepped closer, leaning in until her lips were inches from my ear.

Her voice dropped to a whisper, so quiet it could shatter a heart.

"The one who isn't loved... is the real other woman."

Daisy heard every word. She thrust out her small hands and shoved Ethel as hard as she could.

But she was just a child. There was barely any force behind it.

Yet Ethel crumpled to the ground, her head striking a rock.

A sharp cry rang out, and Nathan's hand shot forward, shoving my daughter to the ground.

But Daisy's voice didn't stop.

"My mommy is NOT the other woman! You're a bad lady! I won't let anyone bully my mommy!"

The skin on Daisy's palms was scraped raw.

I crouched down to help her up, but Nathan's gaze cut toward me, his brow furrowed.

"Sarah, is this how you've raised your child?"

"Stupid. Pathetic. Disgraceful."

Something inside me finally broke. My stomach churned, bile and bitterness rising all at once.

Blood crept up my throat, hot and metallic, threatening to spill past my lips.

I pressed my hand against my abdomen, sweat rolling down my forehead from the pain.

Daisy gently rubbed my back, her small voice tight with worry.

"Mommy, are you feeling sick again? Get up. I'll take you to the hospital."

Before I could open my mouth, Nathan reached out and shoved Daisy to the ground a second time, his face flushed crimson.

"Sarah, whose bastard is this? She's already learned how to lie?"

"And what's with this innocent act you keep putting on? You've been sick this long and still haven't gotten better? Shouldn't you be dead by now?"

"Ethel may have been blunt, but was she wrong?"

"You've already started a new life. Am I not allowed to find someone new?"

I couldn't hold it back any longer. Blood surged from my throat and splattered across the ground.

My face went ashen. My lips turned white.

Nathan scooped Ethel into his arms and walked in the opposite direction.

Daisy looked at the rocky path, then gripped my arm tight. In the next second, she let go and ran after him.

She dropped to her knees in front of Nathan with a heavy thud.

Her small hands clutched at his legs, tears streaming down her face.

"Mister, please, can you save my mommy? She's really, really sick. She needs to go to the hospital right now."

"Please. If she doesn't get to a hospital, she's going to die."

My daughter, on her knees, begging.

My tears fell one by one, hitting the dirt.

I raised a trembling hand toward her.

"Don't beg him..."

Nathan let out a cold scoff, turned, and pushed Daisy aside.

His arms tightened around Ethel.

"Why should I save another man's wife?"

"And—" He glanced back at me with a thin smile. "Sarah, you really think this little stunt is going to work on me?"

"Putting on a show with your own daughter?"

"Sarah, you really are pathetic."

"You managed to drag yourself all the way into these mountains. Don't tell me you can't drag yourself back out."

He turned away with Ethel in his arms and walked off without another word.

In the distance, he pulled out his phone, made a call, and disappeared from sight.

Daisy turned back to me. Her eyes locked onto my face, and the tears spilled instantly.

"Mommy... your nose is bleeding!"

It seemed my time was running out.

I gathered every last ounce of strength to sit up, then waved my daughter into my arms.

I stroked her hair gently and said, "In a little while, Mommy's going to sneak into their house. When I do, I need you to go back and bring the doctor here to find me."

She lifted her head, choking back sobs, and asked me why.

I pulled a few strands of hair from my pocket and pressed them into her small hand.

"Take these to the doctor and have him run a DNA test against yours. If they find my body, make sure the results get to Nathan Henson."

She didn't understand, but she nodded along anyway.

After a few minutes, I pushed her away from me. "Go to the hospital! Find the doctor!"

She let go of my hand reluctantly, then turned and ran out through the mountains.

I forced myself to stand, leaning against the trees along the way as I stumbled into the villa.

On the table, I spotted a phone number scrawled on a piece of paper.

Nathan's.

I pulled out my phone and dialed.

Before I could even speak, his voice came through, laced with confusion.

I clenched my fist instinctively. I was going to give him one last chance.

"Nathan, I'm dying..."

Silence stretched on the other end. When he finally spoke, his tone was dripping with mockery.

"Sarah, I know you've hated me for the past ten years, but don't you think this is a bit much?"

"Everyone told me you were discharged after a couple of days. How could you possibly still be sick after all this time?"

"Your illness cleared up a long time ago, didn't it."

I let out a long, slow breath. He scoffed.

"Sarah, I know the reason you came looking for me is because you never got over us. So how about this—you come live with Ethel and me. The three of us, together."

"Your husband, your daughter—leave them all behind. Just be with me."

"Ethel just said she wouldn't mind."

I nearly laughed from the sheer absurdity. I lowered the phone and hung up without another word.

I braced myself against the wall, my head swimming, my vision blurring.

I was seconds from collapsing.

For ten years, I had been holding on by sheer willpower. All of it for the sake of raising our only child.

But now, none of it seemed to matter anymore.

I knew Nathan had always had feelings for me. Ethel was younger, someone he'd met later. But that was exactly why I'd come. It was the only way to make sure Daisy would have a safe place to live.

I slipped into Nathan's bedroom. On his desk, a framed photo of the two of us still sat there, from the life we used to share.

Now, it only made me sick.

I crawled into the closet and never came back out.

The stale, trapped air made it harder to breathe. Slowly, my knees buckled against the closet door and I slid to the floor. My fingers twisted into one of his shirts, gripping the fabric tight, and then a mouthful of blood surged up my throat.

This time, everything went dark.

Not long after, Nathan came home with Ethel.

Ethel draped her arms around his neck. "Nathan, are you really going to bring her here to live with us?"

He chuckled. "Why so jealous? She's just a woman."

The two of them laughed without a care in the world.

The next second, Daisy burst through the door with the doctor right behind her.

"Where's my mom?"

Nathan's expression hardened the moment he saw Daisy. His brow furrowed into a deep scowl.

"Figures. Someone else's little brat. Not an ounce of manners."

"Is that what your mother taught you? Barging into someone's home without permission?"

The doctor pulled Daisy behind him, still catching his breath.

"Where is Sarah? Her condition is critical. If she doesn't get to a hospital now, she's going to die!"

Nathan let out a cold laugh and spread his arms wide.

"You really think Sarah's here?"

"She's probably curled up in some other man's bed right now."

Daisy couldn't hold back any longer. She burst into tears, a wail tearing from her throat.

The next second, the closet door swung open, knocked loose by my head.

I fell forward, drenched in blood, and landed at Nathan's feet.