Love Won't Overstay Its Welcome

It was the third year of Simone Nolan's marriage to Anthony Lancaster. Even after three years, she was still the envy of every woman in Avenport.

"Mr. Lancaster is so good to Mrs. Lancaster! He immediately ran a full-body checkup on her when she just coughed once."

"She did marry the country's best doctor, after all. I wish I'll be as lucky as she is in my next life!"

Simone smiled. She'd grown used to hearing the nurses say these things. She was about to go see Anthony for her routine prenatal exam when a heated argument from the room made her falter.

"Mr. Lancaster, are you sure you want to terminate Mrs. Lancaster's pregnancy later? This will be the third time!"

"I've told you this—no matter how many times it happens, Simone's pregnancies must be terminated."

Anthony's indifferent voice seemed to pierce Simone's eardrums. The color drained from her face; she could hardly believe what she'd heard.

"Why? She's always wanted to have your children." His assistant, Calvin Moss, sounded agitated.

Anthony fell silent for a while. When he spoke again, his voice was icy. "It's because I removed one of her kidneys and gave it to Winona in that surgery three years ago. She can't ever have children in this lifetime, or she and the baby will die together."

Simone's mind went blank at his words. All that remained in her ears was a piercing ring. She staggered backward and accidentally bumped into a vase by the door. It made a clear sound.

Anthony's sharp gaze cut toward the doorway. "Who's out there?"

Calvin stepped out to check, but he saw no one. "There's nobody outside, sir. Probably a stray cat."

…

Simone had no idea how she had left Lancaster Hospital. She stumbled along the street, and her world spun as she heaved with dry retches.

"Anthony Lancaster, so you really do love Winona Stone…" She slid to her knees and thought of the first time she'd met Anthony.

Four years ago, Simone's parents died in a car accident. She'd gone from being one of Avenport's pampered heiresses to an unwanted orphan. She and her sister, Thalia Nolan, had no choice but to rely on each other.

She started drinking day and night, landing herself in the hospital every few days. By the third time, the frosty attending physician took off his mask and frowned at her. He said, "There are plenty of ways to blow off steam when you're unhappy, Simone. There's no need to torture your body like this."

That was the first time she saw Anthony's face. He was so handsome that he'd stolen her breath.

He took her bungee jumping, skiing, drag racing, and rock climbing. They did every extreme sport she'd never dared to imagine.

At last, with every scream and release, she felt her withered heart come alive again.

At the same time, Simone fell madly and irrevocably in love with Anthony. She began to pursue him boldly and fervently.

She'd always had men eating out of her hand and was known as the woman of every Avenport man's dreams, yet that didn't seem to apply to Anthony.

When she leaned against a supercar in a red dress and tossed her hair with sultry flair, he walked right past without so much as a glance.

When she faked a stomachache and blocked him at his door, he simply called a driver to take her to the hospital.

When she brought painstakingly prepared home-cooked meals to the hospital, he only gave her burned hand a cool glance. "There's an ointment for burns in the drawer. I'm busy, so don't come again."

The repeated rejections had thoroughly deflated Simone's confidence… until she ran into Anthony at a banquet once. He'd been under the influence of a powerful aphrodisiac.

He was usually aloof and cold, but his face had been flushed with desire then. He'd kissed her without rhyme or reason.

That night, Simone shed all her armor and willingly became Anthony's antidote. After that, she started believing that Anthony loved her.

But the following day, when Winona rushed into their room in a panic and saw the disarray, she immediately ran off again. Her eyes were red. She ended up being abducted by a gang, violated, and left with a kidney disease.

After the incident, Anthony spent an entire day and night smoking. He drank countless bottles of liquor, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Simone was frantic. She couldn't read the emotions in his eyes, nor could she understand why Winona had reacted so fiercely.

In the end, Anthony hadn't said anything. He'd simply taken Simone to city hall to register their marriage.

At the wedding, she donned a wedding gown and made her way down the aisle to the man she loved. However, she was knocked down by a loosely hanging chandelier and rushed to the hospital.

Before surgery, Anthony had solemnly made a promise to her. "Trust me, Simone. You'll be fine."

He performed the operation himself, and it was a huge success. From then on, he treated her better and better. His care was meticulous and hands-on.

But Simone's health had declined sharply. She'd gotten colds, coughs, and hives one after another.

The once proud and vibrant heiress ended up bedridden year-round, even miscarrying one baby after another.

"I'm sorry, Anthony. I'm so sorry." She repented over and over in Anthony's arms, and he comforted her again and again. His own eyes were red-rimmed.

Simone had always thought her frailty was a lingering effect of the accident at the wedding. She would never have imagined that it was because Anthony had personally removed one of her kidneys and transplanted it to Winona.

How much of the redness in his eyes was due to guilt, and how much of it was out of love?

Simone no longer wanted to know. All she knew was that if she wasn't the person Anthony cared about most, then she would rather die than stay with him!

She contacted a lawyer and had a divorce agreement drafted. Her gaze landed on the final line, which read, "The marriage is dissolved due to irreconcilable differences."

Then, she signed her name, each stroke pressing deep into the page.

She said softly, "Anthony Lancaster, this agreement is our final goodbye."