When Joseph Belfort was at his lowest, he caught me lying in bed with another man.

Later, he made it big and married me in a wedding of the century. Everyone said he loved me more than life itself, but I knew he only did it out of revenge.

Every day, he brings different women home. He sleeps with them to my face, even telling me to serve them. I do as told as long as he pays me.

He's thoroughly disappointed in me and asks for a divorce. Then, he gives everything I once wished for to Yarra Quinton.

He doesn't know everything I did in the past was just a lie, though.

I'm about to die.

"Dr. Xanders, I want to live. Could you please extend the payment deadline for my medical bills?"

Dr. Lucas Xanders stared at me in shock. "The Belfort Group has assets worth billions. Mr. Belfort made it onto the list of wealthiest people years ago, and you're his wife. How could you be out of money?"

I let out a bitter chuckle. If I were still the Annabelle Lincoln of the past, Joseph Belfort would have spent his entire fortune to save me.

Yet, I betrayed him long ago.

Years ago, his father was swindled and left the family drowning in debt. He ran off with the last of their money, leaving behind an elderly mother and a child. His grandmother collapsed from the shock and was hospitalized. From then on, Joseph carried the weight of the entire family alone.

I was the only one by his side.

However, I was diagnosed with a hereditary disease. My mother begged me to break up with him, but I refused. I told her Joseph would never abandon me.

Yet, she said, "Do you want him to watch the person he loves most die before his eyes, just like you?"

How could I bear that?

I locked myself in a room, crying for days and nights, then finally told him it was over.

I told him his family was too messed up to give me a future and that I only liked wealthy people.

At the time, he didn't give up. So, I staged a scene with Edmund Brooks. When he came to beg me to get back together for the 99th time, he found me in bed with Edmund.

Later, he became successful, and the first thing he did was go to great lengths to marry me. I rejected him once, but he proposed again.

The whole city joined in, delivering flowers to my door. Even the billboards displayed his love for me, and drones flew over the city with declarations of love for many days. Everyone envied me.

Yet, he was only doing it to get revenge.

He threatened to bankrupt Edmund if I refused. He would also go after the people around me.

Everyone said he loved me to death and called me a fickle, heartless woman.

Only I knew the truth—he married me to get revenge.

Over the years, he brought countless women home. They would kiss, embrace, and do far more intimate things right in front of me.

I would only watch coldly, then quietly close the door.

He grew angry and once shoved me against the wall, demanding, "Don't you feel jealous at all?"

He didn't understand. I had been waiting to die.

Then, he brought home Yarra Quinton.

She looked exactly like me back then—the me who would never have betrayed him.

I knew then that he no longer loved me.

I told myself that was fine. I was dying soon anyway. Once I was gone, the pain would disappear with me.

I returned from the hospital and saw their clothes scattered on the doorstep.

It had always been like this, except now the woman was Yarra.

I packed my medical records and a will into a box. In this house, I'm probably as insignificant as the box itself.

The room was silent. It seemed their bout of intimacy had ended.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my emotions. I was preparing to enter and ask Joseph for some money.

In what used to be our marriage bed, only Yarra lay there now.

Her skin was exposed to the air, and the marks on her body were glaringly obvious.

"Are you looking for Joseph? He went out to buy egg tarts. I just casually mentioned it, and he rushed out immediately. You know how long the line is for those egg tarts. He used to do everything for you, but now you're just some leftover trash he hasn't thrown out of the house."

Joseph had always hated waiting in line.

For him to do something like that meant he must truly adore her.

Back when I loved a band, he saved up for six months just to buy me a ticket. When the sales booth opened, he lined up overnight to make sure he got one.

I saw the dark circles under his eyes and felt my heart ache for him. Yet, he had only smiled and said, "I hate waiting in line, but Anna, remember this: as long as you're happy, I'll do anything for you. In my eyes, you're always the exception."

His words echoed in my mind, but now, his heart belonged to someone else.

"He might take a while to come back. Do you want me to tell him anything?"

I was supposed to be the lady of this house, but in the end, it felt like I was the one who had intruded.

I forced myself to suppress the bitterness rising in my chest. "Tell him to give me 500 thousand dollars."

Yarra raised an eyebrow in surprise, then opened her phone, holding up an order.

"This is the dog tag Joseph bought for Coco a few days ago. It costs exactly 500 thousand dollars. You don't even have that much on you?"

It was laughable, really. The money spent on a dog's accessory was the same amount that could buy my life.

"Joseph has always been generous with me. Whatever I wanted, he'd give it to me. Sometimes, he'd transfer the money before I even asked," Yarra said.

She paused, then smirked. "You've been married so long, and he won't even give you 500 thousand dollars? Annabelle, you're truly more of a failure than a dog."

Yarra's wide eyes sparkled with amusement. She let out a light chuckle. "But don't worry, it's just a little money. I'll help you ask for it."

The phone connected almost immediately. It was unlike when I called and only heard a cold beep. As soon as Joseph heard it was me, his voice turned cold. "What is it?"

I lowered my voice, trying to preserve the last bit of dignity. "Joseph, I'm sick. Could you send me 500 thousand dollars?"

He sneered. "Annabelle, have you really lost all shame? Now you're pretending to be sick as an excuse? Are you planning to take my money and run off with another man? Back then, you were so proud, wanting to break up because I was poor. Did you ever think you'd be begging me for money one day?"

If I had known he would act back then, I would have just told him the truth—that my mother was dying and that, in a few years, I would be dying too.

I should have let him spend the rest of his life living in constant fear of loss.

"Fine! If you're not giving me the money, then forget it! I don't need your filthy cash!"

If Joseph ever found out that this money could have kept me alive a little longer, I wonder if he would regret it.

"I'd actually love to see you beg," he sneered. "I'll deal with you when I get back."

With that, Yarra took the phone and said coquettishly, "When will you be home? Oh, I just saw a necklace I love! It looks just like the one I missed out on last time, but it's so expensive. It's a million dollars."

Before she even finished speaking, the sound of a transaction notification chimed.

"Sweetie, just a million dollars? As long as it makes you happy, it's worth every cent," Joseph said affectionately.

Yarra sweetly blew a kiss into the phone, then turned to me with exaggerated sympathy.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry. I really didn't expect Joseph to love me this much, but you do look terribly sick. If you're willing to entertain me like a dog, maybe I'd consider lending you the money. After all, a human's life is slightly more valuable than a dog's."

She paused before continuing, "But once you take it, you should leave. You were just here first—he never really loved you. What's the point of holding on?"

Joseph had brought back many women, and almost every single one of them had said the same thing to me.

I never cared, but this time, the pain hit me like a knife twisting in my chest.

I laughed. "You want me to leave? Did you ask Joseph first? I am the woman he went through hell to marry. Do you think you get to decide whether I stay or go? If he really loved you that much, shouldn't he have divorced me and married you already?"

Yarra's face suddenly changed, and she snorted before throwing a glass from the bedside onto the floor, pressing her hand down on it intentionally.

Bright red blood trickled down her fingers, seeping into the glass cracks. She lifted her gaze to meet mine provocatively.

"Let's see whose side Joseph is really on."

I turned around. Joseph was standing at the door, looking anxious.

Joseph hurried over, his eyes filled with concern as he gently cupped Yarra's injured hand.

"Joseph, don't be mad," Yarra said softly, her eyes brimming with tears. "Anna didn't mean to. She just can't stand how well you treat me. She's jealous."

Once, Joseph had gone out of his way to make me jealous, but now that I was truly angry, he didn't care.

"Annabelle, what are you doing? Take your anger out on me, not Yarra. She's nothing like you. She's not malicious."

I suddenly found it a bit funny.

"Are you telling me not to touch her? Fine, give me 500 thousand dollars, and I won't cause any more trouble for her."

Yarra's eyes filled with tears as she cried. "I just want to be with Joseph. What's wrong with that? You're the one who hurt him. Let me love him. Annabelle, does his love mean so little to you? I'll give you a million dollars. Please, just never hurt him again."

Youth was a wonderful thing. Yarra could express her love openly. Even when her words sounded naive, no one would mock her.

Joseph's expression softened as he gently wiped away her tears.

If none of this had happened, would we have been like this, too?

"You haven't changed at all. You still love money more than anything," he said coldly. "Tell me, Annabelle. In your entire life, have you ever truly loved anyone?"

My heart tightened at the question. I used to love him more than anyone, but the one who knew the truth is long gone.

I avoided his gaze, answering casually, "Don't change the subject. Just tell me, are you going to give me the money?"

Joseph sneered coldly. "You want money from me? After you upset my precious Yarra, you expect me to help you?"

Joseph used to be poor, but he would spend everything on me, even when he barely had enough for himself.

I looked at his face, struggling to hold back the tears in my eyes and the pain in my chest. "What do you want from me?"

"Don't you think you owe someone an apology? Is this how your mother raised you?"

I clenched my teeth, forcing myself to keep my emotions in check. "Sorry. Is that enough for you?"

"What kind of attitude is that?"

Yarra gently pulled on Joseph's arm and whispered, "It's okay, Joseph. She didn't mean it. Besides, maybe her mother never taught her how to apologize."

Joseph stroked her head and affectionately said, "No, today she has to apologize to you. As long as I'm here, no one will bully you."

Then, he tossed a card in front of me. "Kneel and apologize. When my darling is satisfied, you can take the card and leave."

Yarra nestled into his arms, looking at me smugly.

I clenched my fists so hard that my nails dug into my palm, and warm blood began trickling down my fingers.

I didn't need the money anymore.

If death was the only way out, then so be it.

The pain in my heart and body blended, and I said nothing more as I turned and left.

Behind me, I heard Yarra's sultry voice. She claimed Joseph truly loved her, and she would never treat him the way I had.

The sound of clothes tearing echoed again, and their heavy breathing seemed to press against my ear.

I stood at the door for what felt like forever until the sounds stopped, and my heart sank into a suffocating silence.

During our years apart, I had hand-made a gift for him every year on his birthday.

However, looking at those things now, I suddenly felt disgusted.

I searched through the room, trying to find everything that once belonged to me, only to realize how little there really was.

Back when we first started dating, I jokingly asked Joseph to buy me a huge mansion with a hot spring. Yet, he built exactly that for Yarra and named it Springville Manor.

He once looked at me with eyes full of passion, telling me he would give me the most beautiful jewelry in the world. Later, he bought Yarra countless pieces instead.

Half of the villa belonged to her, filled with the gifts Joseph had given her. Every dream we once had had become reality, only with a different person.

The heart-wrenching pain spread through my limbs, as though every blood vessel in my body was being gnawed at by ants. I curled up on the floor, and my mind slowly drifted back to the past.

There was a day when I was incredibly unlucky. I was scolded by my boss at work, and it started to pour heavily on my way home. By the time I finally made it back, I was drenched, and that's when I realized my period had started.

I cursed my boss while continuing to work overtime. Eventually, I began to lose consciousness.

When I woke up, I saw Joseph sitting in front of me, holding a bowl of oatmeal.

He said he had sent me a message, but I hadn't responded. Worried that something might have happened to me, he rushed over.

We were so poor back then, and it was hard to find a cab. He ran in the rain for hours to get to me.

I stared at that bowl of oatmeal, crying uncontrollably.

He ended up with a fever for three days after that.

I asked him why he was so foolish, and he looked at me seriously and said, "Anna, you are my reason for living. As long as you're okay, I can keep going."

That was just an ordinary bowl of oatmeal, but I've never eaten anything as delicious since.

"Joseph, it hurts so much. Can you make me some oatmeal?"

The scene in front of me grew increasingly blurry, and a sharp pain surged through my body. It felt as though my muscles were being twisted into a knot. Soon, I broke into a cold sweat and couldn't help but cry out in agony.

Before my consciousness faded completely, I faintly heard Joseph's voice beside me.

I thought I must have caught a fever from the rain and was just having a nightmare.

Joseph loved me so much, and I kept telling myself he could never be with someone else.

When I woke up, everything would be fine again.