7 This Is Not a Recycling Bin

Over the next two days, Anna deliberately lingered near the teddy bear, casually dropping suggestive remarks from time to time. Sometimes she would suddenly cover her mouth and rush away, and when she returned, there would still be suspicious traces of blood at the corner of her lips.

Every day, Anna received updates on Stell latest victories. No wonder she had not seen Lucas at all. He had been busy accompanying Stell.

Escape rooms, skydiving, clubbing.

Those were the games young people liked to play.

She was only three years older than Lucas. She should have been a carefree young lady herself.

But Anna was not like Lucas, the precious golden boy cherished by the Caldwell family.

Her scumbag father, who favored his mistress and neglected his wife, stopped pretending the moment her mother died.

He brought the mistress family home immediately. If it were not for her maternal grandfather influence, she would not have been sent abroad. She would have been kicked out of the Whitmore family altogether.

Her grandfather favored sons over daughters. To survive in that cold, loveless family, she had to shed all girlish softness.

No one loved her, so she would respect herself, rely on herself, and climb upward with her own ability. She would prove to the old man that she was no worse than the idiot son of that mistress.

Even if her boyfriend of three years cheated on her, she had no time to waste on him.

Stell finally could not hold back and took the initiative to call her.

The moment Anna saw the number, she knew why.

She deliberately held a potted plant in front of the teddy bear, turned on speakerphone, trimmed the stems, and answered the call.

The voice on the other end was arrogant.

“Old woman, you are really good at keeping your cool. Do you think pretending not to know will keep the peace? You have never slept with him, have you? Do you know how many positions he used with me last night?”

Holding the flower stems, Anna let a tear slide down her cheek. Her voice sounded desolate.

“Do you really like him?”

The other woman froze, clearly not expecting this approach.

Her confidence faltered in the next second.

“Of course. We have known each other for a year. I flew here just for him. You saw those photos and videos, did you not? You and him are not compatible. He and I are the same kind of people.”

“I know. I have terminal cancer. I will not be able to stay with him much longer. If you truly love him, will you take my place and take good care of him?”

Silence followed.

The woman who usually chewed gum with arrogance now looked completely stunned.

“What terminal illness?”

“Colon cancer. Late stage. I will not live past this month.”

“I am sorry. I did not know…”

“It is alright. He does not know yet. Can you help me keep this a secret?”

They talked for a while. With just a few sentences, Anna tricked the woman into adding her contact, turning them into so called best friends.

The woman believed every word.

A few minutes later, Anna saw a post from the contact she had saved as Little Idiot.

“Little Idiot: I am really a terrible person.”

Anna smiled coldly. Another fish had taken the bait. That woman would probably wake up at night slapping herself in regret.

She set the phone down, finished trimming the last stem, and gazed sadly at the petals.

“What a pity. Such beautiful flowers. I will never see them again.”

That same day, Lucas came home early.

It seemed Stell conscience had awakened. Thinking she posed no threat, she wanted him to spend more time with Anna.

Anna wiped the corners of her eyes.

“You are back.”

Even Lucas noticed something was wrong.

“Anna, why are you crying again?”

Anna dabbed at her tears.

“I just suddenly thought of my mom.”

Knowing her mother had passed away early, he felt a pang of pity and hugged her.

“Do not cry. You still have me.”

He did not even change his clothes. The scent of perfume still clung to him, making Anna nauseous. She pushed him away.

She looked at him with deep affection.

“Lucas, have you not always wanted to travel with me? Let us go to San Diego tomorrow, alright? I want to see it. They say it is the closest place to the sky.”

“Tomorrow?” He frowned. “I have to go back to New York.”

“Is it something important? I took time off just for this. Can you come with me?” Her voice was unbearably humble.

Lucas patted her head.

“Yeah. Something urgent at home. Be good. I will be back in two days at most. Stay home and wait for me. When I get back, not just San Diego. I will go anywhere with you.”

“Okay…”

The man who claimed to love her not only sought excitement behind her back, he was now rushing back to New York for a blind date.

What did these three years mean to him?

Fortunately, she had never been a naive innocent woman.

Instead of wallowing in sorrow, she would turn anger into strength and take her revenge properly.

She behaved obediently. Too obediently.

It made Lucas increasingly uneasy.

When he went to the bathroom to wash up, he suddenly noticed bloodstained tissues in the trash bin.

His heart skipped. Then he remembered her mentioning her period a few days ago and dismissed the thought.

That night, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep. In his dreams, he kept seeing Anna crying silently.

Only when he saw her still asleep before leaving did he finally relax.

Standing by the bed, Lucas spoke gently.

“Anna, I will be back soon.”

There was no response. He turned and left.

He did not know that the moment he left, Anna got up, washed, and pulled out her suitcase. She took one last look at the home that had carried three years of memories with him.

Putting the filth aside, he had given her three years of stability and happiness. Even if it was fake, she had truly smiled, even imagined a future with him.

Standing at the entryway, Anna murmured softly.

“Goodbye, Lucas.”

She quietly closed the villa door.

Her assistant was already waiting outside. Together, they headed to the airport.

Anna put on sunglasses, applied fiery red lipstick, and stepped forward in high heels, cool and striking.

“Everything arranged?” she asked calmly.

“Do not worry. By the time Lucas looks for you, there will be no trace left.”

“Good. I will raise your pay when we get back to New York.”

“Thank you, boss.”

At the airport, just as Lucas was about to board, his phone rang with an unfamiliar number.

“Hello, are you Anna family member?”

Lucas eyelid had been twitching all morning. His heart pounded as he replied.

“Yes. This is him.”

“She has late stage cancer. The doctor suggests she not give up treatment…”

Lucas phone nearly slipped from his hand. He shouted hoarsely.

“What did you say? What happened to her?”

People around him turned to look. He did not care. After hearing the full explanation, his face turned deathly pale as he hung up.

His fingers were icy as he grabbed Lorenzo wrist, his lips trembling.

“I… I have an emergency. I need to leave.”

Lorenzo stood tall and composed. A trace of displeasure crossed his face as he reminded him in a low voice.

“Do not forget. Today you are meeting the Whitmore family woman. This is not a joke. It is a marriage alliance.”

“I know, but I have something more important right now. Please help me explain things to the Whitmore family…”

Before he finished speaking, he turned and ran, stumbling as if the sky were falling.

The moment Anna arrived at the airport, she saw Lucas running out in panic. In his haste, he even tripped and fell.

The assistant could not help asking.

“Lucas actually cares about you. Are you really going to be this ruthless?”

Anna shot him a look.

“When he was sleeping with other women every night, why did you not say he cared about me?”

The assistant immediately shut up.

“Wrong is wrong. This is not a garbage collection center. Let us go.”

The surprise she left him would be enough for him to digest for a long time.

With that, she pulled out the SIM card and tossed it casually into a trash bin.

Everything about Miami would be discarded cleanly.

Unable to reach her, Lucas rushed to the company first, only to learn that she had resigned as CEO.

Right. She must be at home.

He sped back, threw open the door, and called out her name.

“Anna. Anna…”

The living room was empty, cleaner than ever.

He ran to the master bedroom. The bed was neatly made.

On the bedside table lay the ring he had given her and the property deed.

His hands trembled as he pulled out the MRI and biopsy reports from the bottom.

When he saw the diagnosis, malignant tumor stage four, tears finally broke free, dropping one by one onto the reports.

He fell to his knees, pounding his head like a maddened beast.

“How could this happen? What have I done? I am sorry…”

“Anna, where are you?”

“Anna. Anna. Pick up the phone. Please pick up.”

“I was wrong. Come back, alright?”