LOGINFor seven years, Anna Reed loved her husband with everything she had. But Noah Reed never chose her. No matter how hard she tried, his heart always belonged to one woman. Clara. His first love. His weakness. The woman he could never let go. Then Anna’s world shattered. Stage four brain cancer. Six months to live. Terrified and heartbroken, Anna reached for the only person she wanted beside her. Her husband. But Noah never came. Again, he chose Clara. That night, Anna collapsed in pain and blood. Still, Noah chose Clara. Again. Again. And again. Something inside Anna finally broke. The woman who spent seven years begging for love stopped begging. Stopped crying. Stopped fighting. She decided to disappear from Noah’s life forever. Only after losing her did Noah discover the cruel truth. The wife he ignored was dying all along. Now regret is eating him alive. But when a man realizes her worth too late… Can love still survive?
View MoreThe hospital smelled of antiseptic.
Cold.
Silent.
Lifeless.
Anna Reed sat in front of the doctor, her fingers tightly gripping the edge of her chair.
Her palms were sweating.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
The doctor’s expression had changed the moment he looked at her scan results.
That expression terrified her.
It was the kind of face doctors made when they didn’t know how to say something terrible.
Anna forced herself to speak.
“Doctor…”
Her voice shook.
“Please tell me what’s wrong.”
The doctor sighed.
He removed his glasses slowly and placed them on the desk.
Then he looked straight at her.
“Mrs. Reed… I’m sorry.”
Anna’s heartbeat stopped.
Three words.
Just three words.
But they shattered something inside her.
The doctor slid the scan results toward her.
“There’s a tumor in your brain.”
Anna stared at him.
Her lips parted.
But no sound came out.
The doctor continued.
“It’s malignant.”
Her breathing became uneven.
No.
No.
This had to be a mistake.
Her voice came out as a whisper.
“What… does that mean?”
The doctor hesitated.
Then he said the words that destroyed her world.
“Stage four brain cancer.”
Silence.
The room spun.
Anna felt as if someone had ripped the ground from beneath her feet.
She stared at the doctor blankly.
She heard his voice.
But his words felt far away.
Like she was underwater.
Stage four.
Cancer.
No.
No.
This couldn’t be happening.
Not to her.
She was only twenty-six.
She was healthy.
She didn’t smoke.
She barely drank.
How?
How?
Tears burned her eyes.
“There must be a mistake.”
Her voice cracked.
The doctor’s face softened.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Reed. We ran multiple tests.”
Anna shook her head.
“No…”
Her hands trembled violently.
“No…”
The doctor lowered his voice.
“The cancer has progressed too far.”
Anna’s chest tightened.
She could barely breathe.
She forced herself to ask the question she feared most.
“How long?”
The doctor went silent.
Anna stared at him.
Her heart pounded.
She already knew the answer would destroy her.
Still…
She needed to hear it.
“How long do I have left?”
The doctor looked down.
Then back at her.
“Six months.”
Anna froze.
Six months.
Just two words.
But they crushed her.
Her world ended in two words.
Six months.
She had six months left to live.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Her body shook.
She covered her mouth, trying to stop herself from breaking apart.
But she couldn’t.
Everything hurt.
Everything.
The doctor handed her tissues.
“Spend time with your loved ones.”
Loved ones.
Anna thought of one person.
Noah.
Her husband.
The man she had loved for seven years.
The man she married three years ago.
The man who never truly loved her.
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
Even now…
Even now, Noah was the first person she thought about.
Funny.
Painful.
Pathetic.
Anna laughed bitterly through tears.
The doctor looked at her with sympathy.
“Do you want to call someone?”
Anna shook her head.
“No.”
Her voice was small.
Very small.
“No… I’ll go home.”
Anna walked out of the hospital like a ghost.
The world outside was alive.
Cars moved.
People laughed.
Life continued.
Everything looked normal.
But her world had ended.
She stood by the roadside, holding the medical report with trembling hands.
Stage four brain cancer.
Six months.
Her vision blurred again.
She wanted to scream.
She wanted to cry.
She wanted someone to hold her.
She wanted Noah.
Without thinking, she reached for her phone.
Her fingers shook as she dialed his number.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
No answer.
Anna swallowed.
She called again.
Ring.
Ring.
No answer.
Tears gathered in her eyes.
She called a third time.
This time…
The call connected.
Relief flooded her chest.
“Noah…”
But a female voice interrupted.
“Hello?”
Anna froze.
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
She knew that voice.
She knew it.
Her blood ran cold.
Clara.
Clara Hayes.
Noah’s first love.
Anna’s breathing stopped.
Why was Clara answering Noah’s phone?
Silence filled the line.
Then Clara spoke again.
Her voice was soft.
Sweet.
Mocking.
“Oh.”
She laughed quietly.
“Anna.”
Anna’s throat dried.
“Why are you answering Noah’s phone?”
Clara chuckled.
“Because Noah is in the shower.”
Anna’s heart dropped.
The world went silent.
Noah.
In the shower.
Clara.
Answering his phone.
Anna felt sick.
Her fingers trembled harder.
“Noah is busy right now,” Clara said casually.
“Call later.”
The line went dead.
Anna stood frozen.
Still holding the phone.
Still staring ahead.
Her face had gone pale.
Her entire body felt numb.
Then tears fell.
One after another.
Uncontrollably.
She laughed.
A broken laugh.
Even now.
Even today.
The day she found out she was dying.
Noah still chose to hurt her.
Anna slowly lowered the phone.
The medical report slipped from her hand.
It fell to the ground.
She didn’t pick it up.
She just stood there.
Broken.
Completely broken.
A cold wind blew past.
But Anna felt nothing.
Her heart had become numb.
After a long time, she bent down and picked up the report.
Her eyes landed on the words again.
Stage four.
Six months.
Anna wiped her tears.
Then something changed inside her.
A strange calm settled over her.
No crying.
No screaming.
No begging.
Just silence.
Deep silence.
She looked at the sky.
Then whispered softly.
“Six months…”
A bitter smile touched her lips.
She had spent seven years loving Noah.
Seven years.
She gave him everything.
Her love.
Her loyalty.
Her heart.
And what did she get?
Loneliness.
Coldness.
Neglect.
Pain.
Anna closed her eyes.
When she opened them again—
Something inside her had cracked.
Maybe this was enough.
Maybe she was tired.
Maybe she had loved long enough.
She whispered to herself.
“Noah…”
A tear slipped down her face.
“This is the last time.”
Then Anna turned and walked away.
Slowly.
Quietly.
Toward the end of everything.
Miles away, inside a luxury penthouse—
Noah Reed stepped out of the shower.
Tall.
Cold.
Handsome.
Water dripped down his chest.
He grabbed a towel.
Then noticed Clara sitting on the bed.
She smiled.
“Noah.”
He frowned.
“Why are you holding my phone?”
Clara smiled casually.
“Anna called.”
Noah’s expression hardened.
Clara tilted her head.
“She sounded desperate.”
Noah’s eyes darkened.
Clara stood and walked toward him.
“You know…” she said softly, “she calls too much.”
Noah said nothing.
Clara wrapped her arms around him.
“You promised to spend today with me.”
Noah’s face remained unreadable.
But his voice was cold.
“I did.”
Clara smiled.
Satisfied.
Noah looked at his phone.
Three missed calls.
From Anna.
His thumb hovered over her name.
For a second.
Just one second.
Then he locked the phone.
He put it aside.
And chose silence.
He chose not to call back.
He chose Clara.
Again.
Far away, Anna sat alone in her car.
Silent tears rolled down her face.
She stared at her wedding ring.
Then slowly…
She removed it.
Her hands trembled.
But she did not stop.
The ring sat in her palm.
Cold.
Lifeless.
Just like her marriage.
Anna stared at it.
Then closed her fingers around it.
Her voice came out broken.
Soft.
Barely audible.
“I’m tired, Noah.”
A tear fell.
“I’m so tired.”
She leaned back and closed her eyes.
For the first time in years,
Anna stopped hoping.
And somewhere deep inside her heart…
Love began to die.
A bitter frost held the valley in its icy grip as dawn broke gray over the frozen fields. The biting northern wind whistled through the high pine trees, rattling the glass panes in the farmhouse kitchen. Long icicles hung like sharp dagger blades from the wooden eaves, dripping slowly whenever the weak morning sun peeped through the thick winter clouds.Inside the warm kitchen, the iron stove crackled bright, radiating a deep, comforting heat. The rich aroma of boiling cornmeal porridge and fried salt pork filled the room. Sarah stood at the long oak table, her hands busy wiping down the flour board, while William sat near the hearth, using a short drawknife to shape a new oak handle for his snow shovel.Noah sat on the low wooden bench by the back door, pulling on his thick leather work boots. His eyes turned toward Zero-Zero, who stood near the woodbox, easily lifting two heavy forty-pound oak logs with one arm and sliding them neatly into the stove. Zero-Zero moved with quiet, flui
The morning air blew bitter and raw over the valley, carrying gray snow clouds that hung low over the mountain peaks. A sharp frost had locked the farm in iron silence overnight, freezing every pump handle and wooden latch tight. High on the eastern ridge, old pine trees creaked under the weight of thick blue ice.Inside the kitchen, the big iron woodstove crackled hot, sending up the rich, comforting scent of frying salt pork and boiled coffee. Sarah stood at the long oak table, her hands light with flour as she cut dough into thick biscuits for the baking pan. Across the room, William sat by the window, pulling heavy grease onto the leather seams of his work boots with a short wooden brush.Noah leaned against the dry pine cupboard, pulling his wool mitten tight over his fingers. His eyes turned toward Zero-Zero, who sat on the low wooden bench by the back door, quietly replacing a broken iron tooth on the hand-drag harrow. Zero-Zero moved his tools with steady, gentle skill, settin
Night returned to the valley with a vengeful, snapping frost that turned every puddle of melted slush into thick sheets of solid black ice. The warm wind was completely gone, replaced by a bitter southern draft that rattled the wooden shutters against the farmhouse wall. High above the snow-capped ridge, a bright silver moon hung in the clear night sky, casting long, blue shadows across the quiet farmyard.Inside the cozy kitchen, the big iron stove glowed a rich cherry red. The sweet scent of boiling oat porridge and dried apple tea filled the warm air. Sarah sat at the head of the oak table, her tired hands carefully mending the frayed cuff of Luke's woolen sweater with a small bone needle. Across from her, William sat with a heavy iron lantern between his feet, using a sharp stone to trim the charred wick for the night checks.Noah leaned against the dry pine timber in the corner, lacing up his heavy leather boots. His eyes rested on Zero-Zero, who sat on the low wooden bench by th
Midday brought an unexpected warm breeze blowing up from the southern valley, softening the heavy winter snowpack. By early afternoon, thick icicles hanging from the farmhouse roof were dripping rapidly onto the flagstone porch. The sudden rise in temperature turned the packed snowdrifts into heavy, waterlogged slush, creating dangerous mudslides along the narrow mountain ridges.Inside the kitchen, the iron stove burned low. Sarah stood at the long oak table, cutting thick slices of fresh whole wheat bread and filling a large wooden basket with wrapped sandwiches of cold roast beef. William sat near the back door, using a iron needle and heavy waxed thread to repair a torn leather work glove.Noah leaned against the counter, zipping his wool-lined canvas coat. His eyes turned toward Zero-Zero, who stood near the woodbox, easily stacking heavy forty-pound oak logs three at a time with effortless control. Zero-Zero moved with calm, steady precision, his dark hair damp near his temples.
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