No Mercy for Turncoats

In the second year of my marriage to Maisie Summers, she took a male intern from her company as her kept lover.His name was Dash Archer. He wore semi-rimless glasses, always sported trendy hairstyles, and had strikingly handsome looks. He was exactly Maisie's type. Besides me, he was the man who had stayed by her side the longest.My friends said he looked a lot like me when I had just entered the workforce. That was probably why Maisie felt differently about him. In fact, it was entirely possible that she had developed feelings for him.The first time I saw Dash was the day my condition worsened. I had gone to the hospital for a follow-up that day. The doctor, Robin Carson, frowned and told me that my condition had deteriorated since my last visit. I had to choose between undergoing chemotherapy or getting injections of a special drug.To me, chemotherapy meant being locked away and waiting to die, but the special drug was insanely expensive.I had money in my bank account tha

I dreamed of the time when Maisie and I were still in love.We had just graduated from college back then and squeezed into a tiny rental apartment. We were poor, but even our ordinary life held bits of quiet happiness.That day, I received my first paycheck, which was just 1,500 dollars a month. The first thing I did was buy her favorite macarons and barbecue chicken wings.I always remembered how happy she was that day. A single 30-dollar box of macarons was enough to make her happy all day.She took my hands, her eyes curving into crescents as she beamed. "Since you're so nice today, I'll make you your favorite honey-glazed chicken wings too."As she cooked, she kept talking about the future. She said if we worked hard for a few more years, we would have enough money to get married. Once we were married, we would start a family right away and she would be a stay-at-home mom while I provided for us.I held her from behind and rested my chin on her shoulder. "We'd definitely be

Grandma held up the little outfit in her hands and waved it at me. "Look. I'm getting things ready for you and Mae. This will come in handy once you're married and have a baby."Tears instantly welled up in my eyes. To avoid disappointing her, I could only lie to her. "It's too early for that, Grandma."She shook her head. "I'm old. I can die anytime, so I have to prepare ahead of time. Oh, and why didn't Mae come with you today?"My chest tightened. A few tears slipped out and fell onto my pants before I could even stop them.Grandma used to adore Maisie. She had even hiked all the way up to a church on a mountain summit, just to pray for us and get protective charms for us.Back then, she said, "You're lucky, kid. I wouldn't have gone all the way to pray this hard if it weren't for Mae. I don't need you two to be rich. I just want you and Mae to be safe."Grandma had made us carry the charms everywhere to ensure our safety, but she had forgotten all about that now.Three yea

Dash got on top of me and rained punches down on me. For a split second, I felt like I was just one step away from death, but I refused to give up and die just like that.I thought I would die from cancer—I had never imagined I would end up being beaten to death by the man I hated most.When Dash's fist slammed into my abdomen, I coughed up a mouthful of blood."Get away from him!"Maisie's face turned deathly pale with fright. She slapped Dash hard and pulled me into her arms, panic written all over her face. She frantically wiped the blood off my face. Her voice quivered as she called out, "P-please don't scare me, Tristan. Call an ambulance—now!"…In a daze, I overheard Maisie talking to Dr. Carson. He said, "Tristan could have extended his life with the special drug, but he called me earlier and said he didn't want any more treatment. After being beaten so badly, he doesn't have much time left. Don't put him through any more stress. Let him spend his final days in peac

My condition worsened the next day, and my heart stopped without any warning.When Maisie hysterically screamed for the doctors to save me, I finally had my answer—she would feel sad and cry when I died.Still, knowing the answer didn't make me feel any happier.The doctors fought with everything they had and dragged me back from the brink of death.Maisie's hair was a tangled mess as she knelt in front of my bed. "This is the first time in my life I've begged anyone, Tristan. I beg you—hold on a little longer and live just a few more days, alright?"I was on a ventilator and couldn't speak, so I traced the word "grandma" into her palm with my finger.For fear that she wouldn't understand, I used every last bit of my strength to write it again and again.She suddenly stood up and announced, "You can see her when you get better, so stay with us! Do it so you can see Grandma Eleanor again!"After saying that, she ran out.I stared up at the ceiling in despair. Was Maisie tryin