The moment the call connected, the shrieking began.

"Pearl, you wretched woman! The laundry's still on the floor, and you want us to starve? I heard you're sick. Well, the Lord works in mysterious ways. Get back here and sign those papers already. Stop clinging to this family like a parasite."

I held the phone a few inches from my ear and kept my voice soft. "Mom, I'm on my way home. Let me cook you all something nice. After all, there won't be many chances left."

After I hung up, I went straight to the luxury boutiques.

The sales associate took one look at my clothes and let her lip curl. "Ma'am, we operate on an allocation basis. We don't accommodate browsers who aren't here to purchase."

I said nothing. I simply pulled out the black authorized-user card.

"I'll take every color. Except green."

Her eyes lit up like a slot machine hitting jackpot, and a syrupy smile spread across her face. "Of course! Just one moment, I'll have everything prepared for you right away."

The card reader beeped again and again.

Each transaction would ping a notification straight to Thaddeus's phone.

I could picture his face.

But this was only the beginning.

I was going to make his last three months feel like an eternity of despair.

I stepped out of the store with shopping bags swinging from both hands and drew a long, deep breath.

Thaddeus, you wanted a divorce. Here's my parting gift.

One you'll remember for the rest of your life.

On the way home, I had the driver pull over at the market.

The doctors said late-stage pancreatic cancer patients couldn't tolerate greasy, sugary, hard-to-digest food. It would cause excruciating pain and accelerate the disease.

I picked out the thickest slab of pork belly I could find, then added two pounds of leaf lard.

The butcher grinned at me. "Buying all this fatty meat, miss? Got something special going on at home?"

I nodded. "A celebration, actually."

Sending my dear husband straight to his maker.

I pushed open the front door, and a gray slipper came flying at my face.

I sidestepped. It cracked against the doorframe and shook loose a puff of dust.

Mrs. Gilbert Sr. sat cross-legged on the leather sofa, cracking sunflower seeds. Shells littered the floor around her like confetti.

"Oh, so you can dodge now? Out gallivanting all day, and you still have the nerve to show your face?"

Her eyes slid sideways to my shopping bags. The logos were turned inward, but the weight of the paper, the texture of those bags, gave them away.

"What did you buy?" She shot to her feet. "Did you use my son's money on medicine again? Not one cent goes to you, you hear me? That's money my boy earned with his own sweat. It's for his future child."

I twisted my wrist and pulled the bags out of her reach.

"Just some supplements for Thaddeus." I lowered my gaze, let my voice go quiet. "The doctor said... there isn't much time left. I wanted him to eat well."

The words isn't much time left landed, and a flicker of delight crossed her face before she could smother it. She spat on the floor for show. "Bad luck! If you're going to die, hurry up and do it. Don't drag this family's fortune down with you."

She dropped back onto the sofa and crossed her legs. "Since you're on your way out, you should cough up that fifty thousand dollar dowry. I said from the start you weren't worth that price. Now we're losing the money and the wife."

A bitter taste rose in my throat.

Thaddeus had taken that fifty thousand the day after our wedding. Part of it went into his investment account. The rest had been transformed, almost overnight, into the rosewood furniture she was sitting on and the gold bangle glinting on her wrist.

And what had I gotten?

"The money's with Thaddeus," I said, setting my bag down by the shoe rack.

"Liar!" She spat a sunflower shell onto the floor with venom. "Thaddeus says you've been hiding a secret stash. This divorce is happening today, no more stalling! Paulette is carrying a Gilbert heir, so you'd better clear out and make room."

The study door opened.

Thaddeus walked out with a stony expression, still wearing the shirt I'd ironed for him the night before.

He didn't look at me. Just tossed the papers onto the coffee table.

"Sign it."

I walked over and picked them up.

It was a divorce agreement. The house belonged to the husband. The car belonged to the husband. The savings belonged to the husband. The wife would leave with nothing, forfeiting all rights to marital property.

Not a single crumb left for me.

"Thaddeus," I said, looking at the man I'd spent three years of my life with. "I'm leaving. Does that make you feel even a little sorry?"

He let out a contemptuous laugh, then settled onto the couch beside his mother and lit a cigarette. Through the haze of smoke, his face looked warped.

"Sorry?" He flicked ash onto the floor. "The only thing I regret is not dumping you sooner." His eyes dragged over me with undisguised disgust. "Everything you own isn't worth two hundred bucks. You couldn't even afford to embarrass yourself in public. Paulette is young, beautiful, graduated from a top university, and most importantly, she can give me a son. And you? You've been taking up space without producing an heir, and now you've got a terminal illness on top of it. What am I supposed to do, wait around for you to die and then arrange the funeral?"

Mrs. Gilbert Sr. chimed right in. "Exactly! The Gilbert family line has been passed down for generations. It will NOT end because of you!"

Watching the two of them, mother and son, I felt strangely calm.

Late-stage pancreatic cancer. His reproductive function was already gone. What pregnancy was Paulette Fox carrying?

A man like Thaddeus Gilbert. Someone could sell him out and he'd count the cash for them.

"Fine. I'll sign."

I picked up the pen and held it above the paper.

A flash of wild elation crossed Thaddeus's eyes.

"But I have a condition."

His expression curdled instantly. "On what grounds?"

"I want five hundred thousand dollars in cash. The moment I sign, I walk out that door and you'll never hear from me again. Otherwise, I'll die right here in this house and turn it into a place no one will ever want to live in."

Mrs. Gilbert Sr. sneered. "You think your life is worth five hundred thousand?"

As if a life could be measured in dollars.

Thaddeus pressed a hand on her arm, his face dark and menacing as he stared at me. "Pearl. Are you threatening me?"

"It's a transaction. Five hundred thousand buys you a lifetime of happiness and a birth certificate for your son. You're telling me that's not worth it?"

His jaw worked silently. I could practically see the calculations ticking behind his eyes: She's only got three months left anyway. The money goes out, but she won't live long enough to spend it all. Once she's dead, it comes right back to me.

"Deal!" The word squeezed through his clenched teeth. "Your turn. Sign. Now."

My phone chimed.

Five hundred thousand dollars. Deposited.

I checked the balance notification, then signed my name in one clean stroke.

Pearl Cobb. The ink was still wet.

From this moment forward, there was nothing between Thaddeus Gilbert and me but a debt to settle.

Mrs. Gilbert Sr. snatched up the agreement and clutched it to her chest like a trophy.

"What's the rush?" I rolled up my sleeves and headed for the kitchen. "Let me cook one last meal. For old times' sake. A peaceful parting."

Thaddeus frowned, ready to refuse, but then glanced at his watch and changed his mind. "Make it quick. Paulette's coming for dinner. I don't want her seeing you here."

I stepped into the kitchen and shut the door behind me.

The sound of their laughter cut off like a switch.

I unwrapped the fresh pork belly and the blocks of lard I'd bought earlier.

This farewell dinner would be anything but bland.

Thaddeus's favorite dishes, every single one of them, now served a different purpose entirely. Braised pork belly, glistening in a ruby-red glaze of caramelized sugar, swimming in rendered fat and heavy sauce. Deep-fried pork intestines, deliberately left pungent, fried until the outside shattered and the inside stayed tender. And a whole pot of lard-crackle tofu soup, rich enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Every dish loaded with fat, protein, and sugar.

For a late-stage pancreatic cancer patient, this wasn't a meal. It was poison.

When the aroma filled the apartment, Paulette Fox arrived.

From behind the kitchen door came a syrupy "Thaddy!" followed by Mrs. Gilbert Sr.'s fawning laughter, dripping with approval.

I carried the dishes out.

Paulette was wearing the latest Chanel, carrying a gift bag of high-end supplements, draped against Thaddeus's chest like she belonged there.

The moment she saw me, her nose wrinkled. "Oh my, that grease smell is intense. What on earth did you cook, Pearl? It's so heavy and oily. How is Thaddy supposed to eat any of this?"

Her eyes blazed with provocation.

Thaddeus caught the scent of braised meat, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

In the early stages of pancreatic cancer, appetite vanishes. But his had been misdiagnosed as gastritis, and the only thing he'd been taking was antacids. What he felt now was a sick, gnawing hunger that wouldn't quit.

"Perfect timing. I'm starving." He shoved Paulette aside and dropped into a chair, chopsticks already snatching up a chunk of braised pork belly. "Mm. Not bad."

Mrs. Gilbert Sr. shuffled over, shoveling food into her mouth between insults. "The jinx actually has a shred of decency. Figured she'd serve us a proper meal before she crawls off to die."

I watched Thaddeus wolf down the food, shoveling it in like a man possessed. To me, he looked like a pig being fattened for slaughter.

I turned and pulled a bottle of high-proof liquor from the cabinet.

"Thaddeus, let's have a drink." I filled a glass to the brim. "A toast to your newfound bachelorhood. And to Paulette, of course, on the joyous news of her... little bundle."

Thaddeus grabbed the glass, his face already flushed. "At least you know your place."

He tipped his head back and drained it. As the liquor burned its way down, his brow creased, and his hand drifted to his upper abdomen.

That was his pancreas screaming.

I poured myself a glass of plain water.

Cheers, husband.

This meal is your last.

The atmosphere at the table was strange, but lively. Thaddeus ate with gusto. The braised pork was already gone.

Paulette, eager to play the role of devoted woman, kept piling fatty intestines into his bowl.

"Eat more, Thaddeus. Build up your strength so you can take care of me and the baby." Her voice was syrupy sweet, but her eyes kept sliding toward me, glittering with triumph.

Mrs. Gilbert Sr. had her mouth stuffed full of meat and still managed to berate me. "Look at how thoughtful little Paulette is! And look at you, standing there like a wooden post. You can't even pour a drink properly!"

I picked up the bottle obediently and filled Thaddeus's glass.

"You're right, Mom. I've always been the slow one." My voice was soft. My eyes were empty. "Thaddeus, have another. High proof cuts through all that grease."

He was already half-drunk. The alcohol had stripped away whatever restraint he had, leaving nothing but swagger.

"Pour it! I'm in a great mood today!" He knocked it back in one gulp.

The moment he set the glass down, something shifted.

The flush drained from his face in seconds, replaced by a waxy pallor. Cold sweat beaded along his hairline and slid down his temples.

Thaddeus let out a low grunt. His chopsticks clattered to the floor.

Both hands clamped over his abdomen. His entire body curled inward.

"Thaddeus, what's wrong?" Paulette jolted, her soup spoon splashing into her bowl.

Mrs. Gilbert Sr. held out a chicken leg. "Son, don't go scaring your mother like that."

He couldn't speak. A wet, gurgling sound rose from his throat, and white foam seeped from the corners of his mouth.

The pain was as if a fist had reached inside him and was wringing his organs like a rag. Pancreatic cancer compounded by acute pancreatitis, ignited by alcohol. The agony was the medical equivalent of being flayed alive.

"It hurts... God, it hurts..." The words ground out through clenched teeth. His body listed sideways, and he toppled off the chair, crashing to the floor and dragging it down with him.

"Murder! She's killing him!" Mrs. Gilbert Sr. shrieked, jabbing a finger at me, her eyes bulging red. "It was you! You poisoned the food! You're trying to kill my son!"

She snatched up the empty liquor bottle and hurled it at me.

I stepped aside. The bottle shattered against the wall, glass scattering across the floor.

"Mom, we all ate the same food. How come he's the only one who's been 'poisoned'?"

I looked down at Thaddeus writhing on the floor, my gaze cold and clinical. Then I pulled out my phone. "Let's call an ambulance first. Wait too long, and it might be too late."

The ambulance arrived quickly.

Mrs. Gilbert Sr. wailed and beat her chest. Paulette stood to the side, dabbing at her tears. And I stood apart from all of it, calm as a stranger passing through.

The hospital they took Thaddeus to happened to be the very one where he worked.

After they wheeled him into the emergency room, Mrs. Gilbert Sr. collapsed onto the floor, slapping her thighs and howling. "My poor boy! My poor, poor boy! Cursed with a wife who's a walking death sentence for the whole family!"