Chapter 1

"Ms. Wynn, are you sure you want to buy an uninhabited island? It's in the middle of nowhere. There's no running water, no electricity, no cell service. Once you go out there, you'll basically be completely cut off from the world."

"I know," Evelyn Wynn replied softly, her gaze dropping to the medical report in her hand—the one confirming her cancer. A strange calm loosened her shoulders.

"Don't worry. I won't be living there for long. How soon can we finalize the paperwork?" she asked.

"Give me a moment. I'll check."

Papers rustled faintly through the phone's speaker as Evelyn's thoughts drifted.

No one would have believed she was diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer a month ago. The cancer had probably started seven years earlier, when she was juggling sales calls by day and taking care of Daniel Hayes after his car accident at night.

Back then, Daniel had been right in the middle of his career breakthrough. To help him establish himself in Riverton, she drank with every client until she was throwing up in the restroom. She slept less than three hours a night before dragging herself back to work. She worked all day, then rushed home to take care of Daniel.

Daniel had been so moved he could hardly put it into words. The day he was discharged, they went straight to the courthouse and got married.

To prove how much he loved her, he set his social media profile photo to a picture of her. Every day after work, he brought home lilies—her favorite flowers. Whenever he came back from a business trip, his suitcase barely had room for his clothes because it was stuffed with gifts for her.

Later, when their son, Noah Hayes, was born, their relationship seemed to grow even stronger.

Until the day her long-lost younger sister, Zoe Wynn, was suddenly found and brought back into the family.

Little by little, Evelyn realized the man she loved and the son she was so proud of had started to lean toward Zoe.

The funniest part was that on the very day Evelyn was diagnosed with late-stage cancer, Zoe got ahead of her and whipped out an oncology report first. The look in Zoe's eyes when she held it out had been openly taunting.

At that moment, Evelyn realized Zoe was faking it.

Evelyn had rushed to expose the lie, but all she received in return was a vicious slap across the face from Daniel. It was so hard that it split her lip.

"Evelyn, you've gone too far! Zoe actually has cancer! How could you pretend to have it? Do you really need to fight with her over something like this?"

Noah shouted, "Mom, you're horrible! I hate you!"

Her parents looked at her with disgust.

"We let it slide every time you fought with Zoe for attention, but this crosses the line. How could you say something like that?"

"You're always fighting with Zoe for everything. How is she the one who got cancer and not you?"

In that instant, Evelyn went cold from head to toe. It was as if she'd been pushed into a frozen cavern, with no hope of ever reaching the surface again.

Nothing hurt more than being stabbed by the people she loved most. Especially when the first ones to hurl accusations at her were her husband and the son she had carried for nine long months.

Something in Evelyn broke. She didn't have much time left anyway. If all they cared about was Zoe, then she would give them what they wanted.

"Ms. Wynn."

The voice on the phone pulled her back.

"I've checked everything. The transfer can be completed in 15 days."

"Alright. Pick me up in 15 days."

The words had barely left her mouth when a cold voice cut across the entryway. "Pick you up for what? Where are you going?"

Evelyn looked up and saw Daniel standing in the doorway in a perfectly pressed suit, his brows drawn tight. Behind him stood Zoe and Noah, their hands clasped together like the picture-perfect mother and son.

So, they'd gone to the hospital with Zoe today too.

Evelyn's gaze dropped. She was about to say it was nothing when Daniel strode forward and yanked the papers from her hand.

"Late-stage stomach cancer?" he read off the report.

Panic flickered through Evelyn. She didn't want him ruining her plans. She opened her mouth to explain, but Daniel's eyes were already filled with scorn. "Where did you buy this? It looks convincing, I'll give you that."

Evelyn's entire body went rigid.

Noah stuck his tongue out. "Mom's lying again. She's using cancer to make everyone feel sorry for her!"

"Noah, you can't talk about your mother like that," Zoe said in a soft, chiding tone.

Noah snorted. "But it's true. Mom's jealous of you, so she's pretending she's sick too. Grandma was right. Staying home as a housewife has fried her brain!"

The words hit like an open flame to Evelyn's heart.

Seven years ago, she destroyed her health by entertaining clients and caring for Daniel in the hospital. After Noah was born, the pain in her back and stomach never fully went away. Some days, she could hardly move.

At the time, both Daniel and Noah had been devastated for her, begging her to give up her job and stay home so she could focus on her health and the family.

Now, all of that had turned into a cheap insult, like she was rotting away on the couch until it made her stupid.

Evelyn drew a long breath.

It was a good thing she no longer expected anything from the two of them. Her heart still hurt, but it no longer felt like she couldn't breathe.