Love's Withering, Life's Countdown

The year my boyfriend is dead broke, I leave him. Later, he becomes a mafia boss and uses every means at his disposal to marry me.

Everyone says that I am the first love he can never forget, the wife he cares about the most. However, he then starts bringing home a different woman every night, making me a laughingstock.

Still, I don't cry or make a fuss. I quietly stay in my own room, never interrupting his affairs.

Elton Carter is furious. He pins me beneath him, kisses me harshly, and growls, "Aren't you jealous?"

He has no idea that I'm gravely ill.

He could buy half the city with violence, threats, and money. He could buy my freedom, my marriage… and each night bring a different woman home, oblivious to the truth.

Little does he know, I have just seven days left to live.

---

After Elton Carter did everything to make me his wife, he brought home a different woman each night. It wasn't until he met someone else that he finally began to settle down.

I first met Yvette White on my birthday, right after I had been discharged from the hospital.

My doctor regretfully informed me that I had only about a week left to live, which was shorter than I had anticipated. My time was even more limited than I had imagined.

While I wasn't afraid of dying, I feared the pain.

The doctor recommended a costly medication that could relieve my pain and buy me extra time. Each injection cost fifty thousand dollars, and a full seven-day course would come to three hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars...

For Elton, the Mafia boss, that amount was nothing—barely enough to cover the cost of one of his lavish banquets. But for me, it was an impossible fortune, a price I could never hope to pay.

To afford the treatment, I had to approach Elton for his help. It was then that I encountered Yvette, Elton's personal aide and the family's legal counsel at the Syndicate headquarters.

Yvette glanced at me with disgust and remarked, "So, this is Elton's wife? People say I look like her. I don't see how. She's hideous."

The floor-to-ceiling windows of the luxurious office reflected my figure back at me. My face was pale, a sickly blue tinge under my eyes, no makeup, wrapped in a bulky winter coat.

She was right. I didn't look my best. And, in fact, I was dying.Seeing myself like this, there was nothing left to be surprised about.

One of Elton's subordinates discreetly tugged Yvette's arm and whispered, "That's only because Mrs. Carter hasn't been well lately and hasn't been dressing up. Just a warning—don't go picking fights with her just because the Boss favors you right now.

"You have no idea how much he loves her. If you upset her, don't be surprised if he tosses you into the ocean to feed the sharks."

Yvette couldn't hide her skepticism as she rolled her eyes. She didn't think that Elton loved me very much.

She leaned in, her expression smug. "Ms. Johnson, what are you still doing here? Elton always sees me first, no matter how busy he is. He says that I'm more important than anything else."

Yvette flashed a smirk, deliberately skipping any formal address, that dripped with open provocation. Her bold, arrogant demeanor was a striking reminder of my younger self.

I couldn't blame her for being cocky. After all, Elton did treat her differently.

He had always surrounded himself with women. Each night, he brought a new face into his life. He used them like weapons to test me and provoke a reaction.

However, he never maintained long-term relationships. His longest relationship spanned two months, while the briefest lasted merely a few days before his interest waned.

Yet, Yvette was different. She was the only one who had remained by Elton's side for the longest time.

I looked at Yvette and offered her a faint smile. However, my words did nothing to protect her pride. I questioned, "If you're really that important, then why is Elton still keeping you as the other woman? As someone he can't even acknowledge?

"Instead of coming here to throw shade, maybe you should use that time to talk some sense into him. Tell him to hurry up and divorce me."

Yvette was still young, so her temper got the better of her. Her expression instantly changed as she snapped, "The one who isn't loved is the real third wheel! You're old and ugly. What makes you think you can compare to me?"

A subordinate quickly pulled Yvette away, worried that I'd be upset. However, I didn't care.

I had decided long ago that I wouldn't let Elton make me sad, and I wasn't going to fight over him with another woman because he wasn't worth it.