Chapter 1

When I regained consciousness, several doctors were gathered around my bed. They looked at me with grim expressions.

"Ms. Griffin, your lungs are severely burned. You have at most one month left to live," one of the doctors said.

I glanced around the empty hospital room and asked quietly, "Does my family know?"

The doctor was silent for a moment. "They're in another patient's room."

The room fell quiet. I nodded and didn't ask anything further.

After a while, I said, "Keep this a secret for me."

After the doctors left, I called to arrange a death care service for a month later. The moment I hung up, Leon Sinclair pushed the door open and entered.

"Are you awake? How are you feeling?" he asked.

I hummed in response.

"Madison, the wedding date is coming up soon," Leon said. "As you know, the Sinclair family is about to choose an heir, and the condition is that the heir must be married.

"But in your current condition… you're not fit to be my wife. For the sake of both families, we've decided to let Juliette marry me in your place."

"We?" I asked.

"Yeah, your parents and Marcus all agreed," Leon answered.

I turned my head. Only then did I notice that my parents and my older brother, Marcus Griffin, were standing in the doorway, peering in.

I turned back and said coldly, "But the reason I ended up like this was because of you—"

Before I could finish, Leon gripped my hand. "Madison, don't blame me. Juliette has a heart condition. I remember the last time she rode just a roller coaster and ended up in the emergency room.

"This time, it was a car accident. If I hadn't saved her, she would have certainly died. You may have been burned, but at least you survived."

He was right—I had survived. But I only had at most one month left.

I turned away. "Fine. I understand. Just do what you guys say."

Leon sighed in relief and motioned for my family, who were waiting outside, to come in.

Mom looked at Dad with a smug expression. "You said Madison would never agree, but she's changed. She's not as cold-hearted as she used to be."

Marcus laughed. "Don't worry. Juliette is easygoing. She won't mind even if you become Leo's mistress."

Leon growled in a low voice, "Stop talking nonsense! Once Madison gets better, everything will go back to the way it was."

The voices around me blurred together as I buried myself under the covers, exhausted.

For someone with only a month left to live, many things no longer mattered, including my family and my fiance. If Juliette Griffin liked them, I could give them all to her. I couldn't take them with me anyway.

I organized all my assets and named Juliette as the recipient, planning to hand them over someday.

After some time, I was discharged from the hospital. Leon came to pick me up.

Juliette was sitting in the passenger seat, so I took the chance to hand her the transfer documents. The moment she read through them, her eyes went wide. "What? Ten million dollars? Where did you get this much money? A-And you're giving it all to me!"

The money had come from secretly selling my paintings, but now, it was nothing more than worthless paper to me.

I didn't explain, only letting out a small laugh. "Consider it a wedding gift for you."

When Leon heard my words, he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "That's only—"

Juliette cut him off, "That's wonderful! Madison, thank you!"

Juliette clutched the documents happily throughout the drive, while Leon remained silent.

After the car stopped, I realized we weren't home but at a bridal shop. Today was the day they came to pick out Juliette's custom wedding dress.

Juliette said cheerfully, "Don't worry, Madison. We won't be long."

"Don't worry about me. Take all the time you need," I replied.

After I finished speaking, I wheeled myself into the store. Leon frowned and gave me a complicated look.

Inside the shop, while Juliette was in the fitting room, Leon couldn't help but ask, "Madison, are you doing this to spite me? I told you many times that the title of Mrs. Sinclair will still be yours once you recover. You—"

I interrupted him, "You're overthinking. I'm just a little tired."

Just as Leon was about to say more, Juliette complained to him, "Leo, I've tried on so many, but I still haven't found anything I like."

When I heard her words, I waved the manager over and asked him to bring out the wedding gown I had customized.

As soon as Juliette saw it, her eyes lit up. "I love this one."

"It's yours," I said softly.

Leon scowled. "No. You spent a month designing that."

He was right. I had handpicked every bead and every inch of fabric on that gown myself. Unfortunately, I would never get to wear it.

Juliette seized the moment and put on a wounded expression. "I'm only marrying Leon in your place. How could I wear your custom dress?"

I patted her hand. "It suits you better than me now. Finding something you like isn't easy. You should cherish it."

Even after everything I said, Juliette kept up the act. "I'll make sure to clean it and return it to you after I wear it next Friday."

I glanced at the calendar. Next Friday happened to be the last day of my life.

What a coincidence. I hoped I could hold on until then and witness everything before I closed my eyes.

I no longer exposed Juliette's acts like I used to. No one would believe me anyway. They would only accuse me of being too jealous and of lying.

But soon enough, everyone would see who she truly was. They would begin to think back on my existence and my suffering. In the quiet of the night, they would regret everything they had done to me. By then, I would already be gone.

That was my plan for revenge.