Chapter 3

I told her everything, from what time I woke up and went to bed to what I ate for dinner each night.

Even during the years I spent abroad, I gave her those little updates every day.

She was the one who told me that was how couples were supposed to be.

Yet now, she was the one hurting me like this.

Sandra seemed to realize how cruel her words had been and quickly tried to comfort me. "I'm sorry, Theo. I'm just upset."

Struggling to keep my emotions under control, I said, "Let's get some rest. I'll use the guest room tonight."

As I reached the door, Sandra suddenly wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Don't go. Don't leave me alone."

I froze. For one fleeting moment, I thought Sandra might still love me.

And once again, my resolve crumbled.

She fell asleep holding me as she always did, but I couldn't sleep. I sat against the headboard, staring out at the darkness beyond the window.

I felt completely hollow inside.

Then Sandra suddenly rolled over.

Tears streamed down her face as she murmured in her sleep, "Shawn, please don't leave me..."

An invisible hand seemed to close around my throat, leaving me unable to breathe.

......

Sandra rarely talked in her sleep.

Her words took me back to our wedding day. Specifically when Shawn had stormed into the ceremony.

His face was twisted in pain as he kept murmuring, "Sandy, don't leave me."

Sandra had responded coldly, "Security, please escort him out."

After security took Shawn away, I saw her hands clutching the fabric of her wedding dress.

I assumed it was just wedding-day nerves.

But that night, she showed no interest in spending our wedding night with me.

I assumed she was shy.

Then she murmured in her sleep, "Shawn, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

That was when it finally hit me. Everything I'd believed was nothing more than what I wanted to believe.

Reality was cruel.

The next morning, Sandra got up early and went into the bathroom to get ready.

I was making the bed when she stormed out, her expression dark and her voice sharp with anger. "Where's my bracelet?"

Before I could answer, she shouted, "Theo Shaw, where is my bracelet? Who told you that you could touch my things?"

Her shouting left my ears ringing.

"It's in the drawer," I replied, rubbing my temples.

She immediately rushed to the drawer and grabbed the bracelet, clutching it in her palm as though it were her most precious possession.

The sight left me too heartsick to speak.

Shawn's cancer had changed Sandra completely.

It had laid her heart bare. She had never gotten over him, and she couldn't bear to let him go.

......

Every morning after that, Sandra made me breakfast before leaving the house.

I never asked where she was going, and she never told me.

She simply kissed me goodbye as usual and told me to wait for her to come home.

I secretly asked my assistant to find out where she went each day.

She visited the hospital every day and searched far and wide for specialists who might be able to save Shawn.

His cancer was, however, terminal. There was nothing anyone could do.

Every specialist gave her the same answer. They might be able to extend Shawn's life, but they couldn't cure him.

Each time Sandra heard those words, the despair on her face deepened.

One evening, I drove home from work as usual.

That was when I saw Sandra and Shawn in the yard.

Sandra was wearing a wedding dress, while Shawn wore a white suit.

He had grown so thin that the suit could only hang loosely from his body, and yet Sandra still gazed at him with nothing but love.

The setting sun bathed them in golden light as they held hands, their faces glowing with happiness.

A photographer captured the happy scene for them.

Shawn looked up and spotted me sitting in the car.

His eyes gleamed with triumph.

His expression seemed to say that I had never stood a chance against him.

After I lost our bet, Shawn had texted me and told me it was time for me to step aside.

But walking away would have meant giving him exactly what he wanted, so I told him I'd changed my mind.

He snapped, "Theo, you're such a sore loser.

"But even if you refuse to leave, Sandra only has eyes for me. All you'll do is keep making yourself miserable."

In that moment, I had to admit he had a point.