Chapter 2

The crash of my bedroom door being forced open snapped me out of my thoughts.

Before I could react, a slap landed across my face. My cheek swelled almost instantly.

"Felicity, have we been too easy on you? You actually locked the door and refused to come out!" Dad's furious voice rang in my ears.

I stayed where I was, numb, with no desire to move.

"Robert, what are you doing? Feli still has to get her makeup done." Mom ordered a housekeeper to bring an ice pack for my face.

See? From beginning to end, neither of them cared whether I was in pain.

"Feli, come on. We need to get downstairs and do your makeup. We're running out of time."

I let her pull me out of the room, repeating the same thing to myself.

Just this once. After today, I'd finally be free.

Once the party began, I stood onstage looking out at the guests below, my stomach churning uncontrollably.

"Today, I have an announcement to make. My daughter will be marrying the heir of the Carter family, Nathan Carter, three months from now. We hope you'll all join us for the wedding!"

I watched the man walking toward me from the crowd, and for the first time that day, I felt something stir inside me.

Nathan Carter, my boyfriend of two years.

Other than Grandma Martha Spencer, he was the only person who had ever truly cared about me.

I still hadn't told him about the stomach cancer. He'd probably cry when he found out.

The last time I'd accidentally cut my finger, he'd cried for ages. Who would've guessed that someone who seemed so cold and aloof could be such a crybaby in private?

"Feli, are you happy?" Nathan asked with a smile, curling his finger around mine.

"I am."

But I couldn't bring myself to smile.

Of course, I was happy. I was finally going to marry the man I loved most.

But I was going to die soon. I couldn't do that to him.

A party like this always came with endless networking. After we stepped offstage, Nathan went to greet some business associates.

I found a quiet corner and sat down by myself.

Maybe I was too far out of the way, and the lighting was too dim for them to notice me. Or maybe they knew I was there and simply didn't care.

"Look at Felicity. You think she'd be living like this if Elina were still around?"

"Exactly. Someone like her isn't good enough for Nathan."

"Did you see how happy she looked up there? Everyone knows today is Elina's birthday. She's nothing but a replacement."

I knew those girls. They had been Elina's little entourage. Whenever Elina bullied me, they were always part of it.

"Oh, right. Those photos. Send them to Nathan and see if the Carter family still wants a daughter-in-law like her. Hahaha."

My hands clenched into fists.

The photos!

They still had copies!

The photos had come from a hidden camera Elina had planted in my bedroom years ago.

When I'd discovered it, I'd told Mom and Dad, but they hadn't believed me. They thought I was lying.

Before I could get the photos back, Elina died. I'd thought I'd never have to worry about them again.

I never imagined these girls would still have copies.

I stepped out of the shadows. "Give me those photos!"

Nathan absolutely could not see them.

"Oh, look who it is. Elina's little replacement." The girl in front laughed. "You want the photos? Too bad. Come take them if you can."

I lunged at her, and we started fighting.

But with late-stage cancer ravaging my body, how could I possibly overpower someone healthy? It didn't take long before I was losing.

The commotion quickly drew everyone's attention.

Mom and Dad motioned for the security guards to separate us.

"Mr. Spencer, Felicity just attacked us out of nowhere! You have to do something!"

"Elina was always so quiet and gentle. Felicity is nothing like her. She's so violent!"

The girls twisted the truth as they complained to my parents.

"I didn't. They were—"

A slap cut me off.

"You ungrateful child! You attack someone and still refuse to admit you were wrong? Is this how we raised you? You're an embarrassment!" Dad glared at me furiously.

"Take Felicity back to her room," Mom ordered the staff.

My lips parted, but in the end, I said nothing.

I hadn't eaten all day, and my stomach began cramping again. I sat on the edge of my bed, clutching my abdomen as cold sweat poured down my body. Then I couldn't hold it back anymore and rushed into the bathroom.

I threw up violently. The water in the toilet turned red.

Weak and exhausted, I dragged myself back to bed.

There was no way I'd have the strength to sneak downstairs and make myself pasta tonight. I might as well sleep. Once I was asleep, I wouldn't feel the pain or the hunger.

"Feli, what do you think of this one? It's beautiful. You'll look amazing in it."

"Come on, Feli. Go try it on for me."

I looked at the excited man in front of me, unsure how to tell him that I was going to die soon.

"Nathan, I..." No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't force out the rest.

"Feli, what's wrong? Don't you like this one? Or are you not feeling well?"

"No. It's beautiful." In the end, I still couldn't tell him. I took the wedding dress and went into the fitting room.

Forget it. I'd tell him next time I had the chance.

Even if I could never actually marry him, getting to try on wedding dresses with him still made me happy.

"Nathan? Earth to Nathan." I waved a hand in front of his face.

Nathan suddenly stood and pulled me hard against his chest. "Feli, don't leave me again. Please don't leave me again," he murmured.

I wrapped my arms around him and gently patted his back, but I couldn't make him any more promises.

I don't want to leave you either, Nathan.

"Feli, you don't look well today. Do you want Mom to take you to the hospital?"

Maybe I looked so pale that they'd finally noticed something was wrong.

"No," I refused.

The report confirming my late-stage stomach cancer was sitting right there on my vanity. If they paid even the slightest bit of attention to me, they would see it.

"As long as you're fine. I've invited a spiritual adviser to the house today, and we can't delay this." Mom immediately relaxed.

Today was the anniversary of Elina's death. It was also one of the most important days of the year for the Spencer family.

Every year, they held a memorial ritual for their precious daughter, believing their prayers would bring her peace and happiness in whatever came after this life.

Ridiculous, wasn't it? But they believed in it.

The ritual required a close family member to kneel for three days while painstakingly copying out prayers by hand, and that family member was me.

For the past two years, I'd obediently gone along with it, doing everything I could to make them happy.

This year, I didn't want to.

"Feli, how dare you! She was your own sister!"

"Feli, just do what they ask." Nathan had come too. For the past two years, he'd always stayed by my side through this.

"No!" I shook my head firmly.

"Feli, you've become more and more disobedient lately." Mom frowned deeply.

This was only the second time I'd refused them. The old me would never have dared.

"Then I'll have someone tear down Grandma's old house."

My hands curled into fists. Slowly, I bent my knees and knelt. Grandma's house was the only thing she'd left me.

The three days were agonizing. By the time I finally stood up, my stomach lurched violently again. I coughed up a mouthful of blood. My body gave out beneath me.

"Feli!"

"Get the car! We're going to the hospital!