Chapter 14

“Terminal cancer?”

Sophia stared at Jayden in shock, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Isn’t this all just a setup you orchestrated with him to fool me?”

His anger flared. “This is not an act! Sophia, stop being so self-absorbed! You’ve imposed baseless accusations on Joshua for years, forcing him to bear the weight of your presumptions. Now, he’s finally decided to divorce you. Why can’t you let him go?”

His furious shout echoed through the ward. I could hear it but was powerless to respond. My vision blurred as pain coursed through my body, sharp and unrelenting, pushing me to the brink of unconsciousness. If I survived this, she would finally agree to the divorce.

She staggered back, struggling to steady herself. She looked at me lying on the hospital bed, her face pale and overwhelmed. She stammered, “I didn’t know… I really didn’t know his illness was real…”

“Stay away from him!” Jayden bellowed, blocking Sophia’s attempt to approach me. He turned to the doctors rushing in and barked, “The patient is vomiting blood and semi-conscious. Prepare for emergency treatment immediately.”

Nurses entered swiftly, wheeling me to the operating room. As the stretcher passed through the doorway, Sophia’s panicked voice followed: “How could this happen? I saw the medical record—it said it was just gastrointestinal bleeding. How could it be terminal cancer?”

As I was wheeled into the operating room, she trailed closely behind, only to be stopped by two nurses at the door. “This is the emergency room. Outsiders are not allowed inside.”

Desperation was etched across her face, and she grabbed one of the nurses’ arms, clinging to her last shred of hope. “He’s only in his twenties. How could he have terminal cancer?”

“We need to prepare for surgery. Please don’t interfere with our work,” the nurse replied urgently, shaking off her grip. With a firm expression, she closed the operating room doors.

Sophia stood frozen at the door, staring blankly at the glowing red indicator light. Her mind churned with confusion and disbelief. How had things come to this? All she had wanted was to teach Joshua a lesson by locking him up for a while. How had it spiraled into such a catastrophe? The harsh words she had flung at him—words filled with cruelty and indifference—suddenly felt like they had come back to haunt her.

“If his condition is real, what was that medical report about?” She turned abruptly toward the ward, her hands trembling. “Could it be another lie?”

Just then, a nurse exited the operating room, hurrying toward the blood bank. Sophia stepped into her path. “How much does getting you to play along with this act cost?” she demanded.

The nurse’s expression hardened. “The patient is in critical condition. Please don’t delay our efforts to save him.”

With that, the nurse sidestepped her and hurried off, leaving her rooted to the spot, her mind spinning. The nurse couldn’t fathom why this alleged family member would rather cling to suspicion than accept the truth, even as the patient hovered on the edge of life and death.

Sophia stared after the nurse’s retreating figure, her heart aching with an unfamiliar, piercing pain. For years, she had told herself that Joshua deserved to pay for what he had done, but now, with the consequences laid bare before her, why did it feel so unbearable?

Just then, a familiar voice called out from a distance, urgent and worried, “Sophie, are you okay?”

Chapter 15