Chapter 1: The lonely woman

JADE

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Ederson. There’s nothing more we can do. You should contact your family and say your goodbyes,” Doctor Declan says.

My chest feels hollow. Not because of his words, but because the people who are supposed to care for me have vanished months ago. My husband hasn’t come since he dropped me off at the hospital. Not even once.

No calls. No texts. No messages in the dead of the night. My mother-in-law? Nothing. And my own family? They all disappeared. It’s as if I have faded out of existence.

I try convincing myself they are busy. Probably work. Life. Responsibilities. But how busy can someone be to forget their own sick daughter… their own dying wife?

My fingers tremble as I borrow Doctor Declan’s phone again.

My love, it’s Jade. Please… come. I need to see you. Something urgent came up. And I miss you.

The message delivers. Daniel receives it. He reads it. And he doesn’t reply. He has stopped picking up my calls or replying to my texts for a while now.

I stare at my reflection on the black screen. A young bald woman. Cheeks sunken. Skin pale as paper left in the rain. I’m almost twenty-five, yet I look decades older. One year of marriage has hollowed me out.

“Ovarian cancer,” Doctor Declan told me six months ago. Stage three. Last month, they removed my womb.

Children were the only thing I had ever dreamed of. A house filled with laughter. Tiny socks scattered across the floor. A little hand gripping mine. I wanted to be a good mother. To give them what I never had. Now… that dream is gone.

Only one person shows up to visit me. Barbara Kent, my best friend since childhood. She is my anchor in this endless storm. 

As I lie upright in bed, staring at the sun through the open window, Barbara walks in, wearing all white. A diamond ring sparkles on her finger. That wasn't there before. She smiles the moment she catches my eye. I can’t help but smile back.

“My dearest Jade,” she whispers, hugging me gently, careful of the IV lines. “How have you been?”

“You’re engaged?” My voice cracks, thin from treatments.

Barbara smiles softly. “I didn’t want to tell you while you were sick.”

“Right. Because engagements are medically dangerous to cancer patients. My being sick doesn't stop us from sharing each other’s joy. I’m happy for you. And I mean it. Who’s the lucky man?”

She laughs. “No one you know.”

“You’re smiling too much. Are you sure I don’t know him? Is it Eddy?”

Barbara shakes her head shyly. “Maybe you know him. But that doesn’t matter.” She looks around. “I see Daniel still hasn’t visited. I’ll talk to him. And your family. They should come see you too.”

“Today's our first anniversary. But I'm spending it all alone, I guess.”

Barbara grabs my hand firmly. “You’re not alone. I’m here.”

I blink my tears away, forcing a wry smile. What could I have done without her?

When my mother-in-law heard about my sickness, she told me a woman without a womb is no woman at all. And my own mother told me to my face that I’m useless to my husband.

Barbara slides some papers across the bed. Insurance documents from work. Zenovar Industries wants me out. They’re replacing me. I don't bother to read them. My hands tremble but I sign the documents anyway. 

Barbara leaves shortly after. I’m alone again. There is nothing much to do in a hospital. I know every patient, every visitor, every doctor, and nurse. Even the cleaners. I know them all by name.

Daniel. My mind circles him. I lie back, watching time crawl. We used to be so happy before we got married. Where did it all go wrong? Was it something I did?

Pain stacks my body. I groan, holding my side. The cancer has spread. My organs are failing. Doctor Declan said I have just a week or less. But all I can see is the life I never got to live with the man I love more than anything. 

Even if he hasn’t come to visit, I know it must be for a good reason. Daniel hates hospitals. Maybe he’s too scared to see me the way I am. And my family? Maybe they avoid the hospital because it hurts too much. Maybe they’re grieving in their own way.

I don't have much time left. I should go home and see everyone instead. I have a gift in store for them. Once they hear about it, they’ll be twice as happy. 

The nurses won’t let me leave if I tell them. So I change my overalls and put on my clothes that have been lying in the closet like a decoration.

Night has fallen by the time I slip out of the hospital. The wig I’m wearing makes it almost effortless. Barbara got it for me the day they shaved my head, but tonight is the first time I’ve ever worn it. 

Ha ha! It’s ironic. I finally look alive just in time to die.

I take a taxi home. But the house is loud before I even step inside. There is music, laughter, glasses clinking. I walk through the open gates unnoticed. Could it be a surprise for me, I wonder. 

I’m so happy I refused to believe Daniel could have forgotten our anniversary. Maybe he planned to come for me at the hospital. My heart soars as I reach the porch—only to see the front door wide open, champagne bursting into the air inside.

Gold balloons. Then a banner that says, “Congratulations on your engagement Daniel & Barbara.” I stop breathing. I pause at the corner where no one can see me, frozen in place.

Barbara and Daniel stand before my entire family. Barbara in the same white dress, Daniel holding her waist possessively. My mother, father, and brother clapping. My mother-in-law screams for joy, shouting, “Finally!”

The music stops. My legs tremble as I take another peek. Then I step back behind the hallway wall, gasping for breath. The next voice  I hear is my husband's.

“To seven years of patience,” he toasts.

Barbara laughs. “I didn't expect her to last this long with the dosage.”

My heart slams painfully. Dosage? What are they talking about?

My mother chimes in, “The fake cancer diagnosis was genius. Removing her womb solved everything. Who would’ve known she’d finally accept defeat?”

My father scoffs. “Fifty million dollars waiting in that trust. And now that she’s signed the next-of-kin documents, once she dies, it’s automatically yours, Daniel. I mean, ours.”

Daniel smirks. “All because she trusted me. I kind of feel bad for her.”

Barbara leans into him. “You never loved her anyway. You just needed access.”

Daniel’s voice turns colder. “She was always just an investment. So kind, quiet, loyal, and obedient. Children would have been a complication. That’s why I had her womb removed. I didn’t even want kids with a woman like her.”

I feel the world tilt. It can’t be. The constant headaches, the stomach pain, and dizziness, were all poison? Fake cancer.

My womb. My children… gone. Everything was planned. I don’t want to believe it. My eyes well with unshed tears. I hold them back. 

The trust fund; Fifty million dollars. They knew about it. But how? Seven years ago… that’s when I met Daniel in college. Then it hits me: It was Daniel’s plan. He had known about the trust fund from the beginning. But how did he find out?

My hands tremble violently as the realization crashes on me like a tidal wave. I stumble backward, overcome by fear. A vase crashes. Silence falls in the living room.

“Did you hear that?” Barbara asks.

I try to run but it’s too late. My brother Mason appears from behind and grabs my arm. He pushes me inside like a lamb to a slaughterhouse.

“Look what I found,” he says proudly.

They all gasp, “Jade?”