Falling for a Stand-In

I went abroad for a year, telling Marcus Gray that I was going for further studies. In truth, I'd gone abroad to seek treatment for my illness.Unfortunately, miracles were a rare commodity. A year later, the doctor gave me my final verdict—that I wouldn't make it past the next three months.I sat on a sidewalk in Dorwen and calmly accepted reality. I'd always been decisive—since I couldn't change the fact that I was going to die, I knew I had to make things clear to Marcus. I wanted us to spend whatever time I had left together.I believed he would feel the same. However, I had to sit in the chilly outdoors and call him five times before he answered. He sounded angry on the other end of the line."Haven't you had enough of this? Are you there to study or have fun? Do you have that much free time on your hands?"With that, he hung up on me. The sound of the dial tone pierced my eardrums, and I stiffened.This wasn't the first time Marcus had spoken to me like that. We'd already b

"To think you're wearing trash that I've discarded. Only beggars would want other people's leftovers, Janae," I said.A crisp slap rang out, and my face burned.Marcus looked at me, then at the hand he'd used to slap me. His gaze was shifty; he didn't dare meet my eyes.Janae, who'd looked aggrieved, secretly shot me a smug look. She was showing off to me. She said, "Don't get mad at Ms. Granger because of me, Mr. Gray. I'm just a stand-in…"Ha. She knew her place, didn't she? Honestly, I wanted to applaud her performance. She acted like she was swallowing her grievances to win Marcus' pity.He fell for it hook, line, and sinker. His chest heaved with rage, and he glared at me, his confidence boosted by Janae's words.Then, he pointed at me and snapped, "You've completely lost your mind, Renee! Do you realize how unbecoming your behavior is? You're like a shrew now, not a proper lady! You disgust me!"Marcus' words were hurtful, but I took them all in without protest. I clenched

That was the moment my love for Marcus died, and I gave up on him. I could clearly see the man who'd once loved me more than life itself slowly walking away from me.I ripped the contract he'd mailed to me to pieces before throwing them into the trash can outside the building. I'd stopped crying, but the wind still made my face hurt as it froze my salty tear tracks.I called Reuben and told him the truth about my condition. He practically flew over to the company to pick me up and take me home.I didn't have much time left, and a letter with my last words, now in its fourth version, was becoming simpler. I stuffed it into the shirt of a stuffed toy on the couch.I didn't think there was any point in leaving a letter because no one would read it. The words I wrote would only serve to make me sadder.I listed the things I wanted Reuben to do on my behalf—he promised he would only read it after my death. The only problem was that I no longer had the strength to even hold a pen proper

The room erupted in shock as soon as the words were out of Reuben's mouth. Then, there was a loud crash—Mom had collapsed on the floor.The wail of an ambulance siren wound around the high-rise buildings. Reuben got in with the medical personnel while the Gray family members sent off the guests and reporters.Marcus stood alone, his eyes bloodshot and wide with shock. Beside him, Janae seemed frightened by his reaction. She shook his arm and asked, "Mr. Gray, what's wrong? Don't scare me!"His eyes were unfocused, and his chest heaved violently. Then, he shook Janae off and ran to the door. She screamed and wailed behind him, but that did nothing to slow him down.Marcus hurried to the hospital, only regaining a hint of his rationality when he saw Reuben waiting in the corridor. He grabbed Reuben by the collar, his eyes red as he trembled all over. "Where's Renee?""She's dead," Reuben said calmly, unable to hide his fatigue.Marcus shook his head, breathing so rapidly that he co

It was particularly quiet in the suburbs, and the villa was as dark as always.Marcus curled up in a corner of the couch—it was a habit we shared. He could no longer shed tears as he stared blankly at a wall."I can sense your existence here, Renee. Just sitting here makes me feel at ease and secure," he mumbled. Then, his gaze focused as he stared at a stuffed toy on the couch.My heart jolted. The stuffed toy was one that he and I had gotten custom-made when we'd first gotten together. It was one of a pair—one looked like him, and the other like me.We'd each taken the toy that looked like the other. At the time, he'd said that it was a way for us to curb our longing for each other. Now, it seemed it was all he would have left.The toy he held was the one that looked like me. I'd lost the one that looked like him, so I'd stolen his instead.Marcus looked at the stuffed toy, and a few tears leaked out of his dry eyes again. He rubbed the stuffed toy before pausing and pulling ou