Chapter 3

I stared at the two metallic liquids in the bowl in utter disbelief. It felt as though my decade-old marriage had turned out to be nothing but a complete lie.

"How is that possible? They're supposed to be gold; she told me they were gold when she gave them to me!"

Witnessing the state I was in, Nora bit her tongue and went quiet.

Just then, my phone rang. I answered it, only to hear the doctor's stern voice. "Hurry over! Your mother-in-law's condition has deteriorated. I'm afraid she doesn't have much time left!"

My pupils contracted in a heartbeat. I told the clerk to keep my accessories there for the time being and dashed outside to hail a cab.

As soon as I hailed one, Nora climbed in after me. "I'm going to expose your lies right here, right now, and see how you ever trick anyone again!" she declared.

I couldn't be bothered to waste my breath on her. Once we arrived at the hospital, I rushed into the ward. Lillian was lying on the bed. Her breathing was faint.

Nora stopped dead in her tracks at the door. It never even crossed her mind that I'd been telling the truth. "No way… How could it be?"

I couldn't care less about her reaction. I rushed to the bedside and tightly gripped Lillian's hand. "I'm here, Lillian!"

Lillian shook her head slightly and looked me in the eye. "My daughter has failed you, Trist. After I leave Earth, divorce her. I'll leave all my money to you."

I shook my head violently. Tears cascaded down my face in an instant. I desperately called out her name, but her hand still slipped from my grasp, and she went completely still. The very next second, the monitor let out a sharp, piercing sound, blaring like a funeral dirge.

I slumped over her hospital bed and bawled my eyes out, as if I were pouring out all the grievances I had endured over the years. I only regained my composure and left when the doctor came over and pulled me away. They asked me to leave so they could send Lillian to the morgue.

Nora walked up to me. Her face was filled with guilt and remorse. "I'm so sorry, Tristan. I had no idea you were telling the truth. I thought…"

I took one cold look at her. "What, that I'm exactly the kind of person Elena says I am?"

She lowered her head. "I'm terribly sorry, Tristan. This is on me. I—"

I gazed at her with contempt. "What good will your apology do now? Do you have any idea what your dear friend is doing right now? She's playing a game with that first love of hers!"

Nora pressed her lips into a thin line and fell silent.

"You're both cut from the same cloth. Now, get out of my sight!"

"I'll get Elena here first, Tristan. At the very least, she should see her mother one last time," Nora forced out. With that, she dialed Elena's number.

However, Ethan Bennett was the one who answered. "What do you want with Elena? She's occupied right now."

Nora took one look at me before responding, "Put her on the phone. I have something important to tell her!"

Ethan couldn't be bothered. "You can just tell me whatever it is. Elena can't come to the phone right now."

Nora's forehead creased. "In that case, tell her that her mother's dead, and she needs to get to the hospital right now!"

"Who the hell are you? Are you out of your mind? Did that bastard Tristan put you up to this? Tell him to cut it out. Elena doesn't have the time or the energy to deal with him!"

Right then, Elena's faint, distant voice echoed on the other end of the line. "Who's on the line?"

Ethan responded, "It's someone Tristan hired to trick you."

"Give me the phone!" Elena snatched it. "Tristan, have you no shame? Enough's enough!"

Nora closed her eyes. "Elena, it's me, Nora. Your mother passed away!"