Chapter 3 The Man Behind the Factory

I wondered, 'Am I really worth less to her than Callum, a man she has only just met?'

Back when Sienna went out to negotiate business deals, she often drank until she could barely stand. I felt sorry for her, so I forced myself to drink every day, slowly building my tolerance until I could take those drinks for her.

Every time she needed a deal closed, I drank until the world spun. Afterward, she would sit by my bed, hold me, and cry until she could barely breathe.

But now, when I tried to protect her again, she only thought I had embarrassed her.

I still tried to pull her away, but Callum walked up to me with a glass in his hand. "Didn't you want to drink?"

He smiled coldly. "Fine. I'll let you."

The next second, he poured the entire glass over my head.

The liquid was ice-cold as it ran down my face and soaked into my clothes, but it was nothing compared to the cold spreading through my chest.

Even trembling, I still reached for Sienna.

Yet, she shook me off and threw herself into Callum's arms. Then, she stood on her toes and kissed him on the lips.

Everyone watched me like I was the night's entertainment. They laughed, clapped, and cheered. "Bravo, Callum! Sienna and you are a perfect match!

My heart felt as if it had been split open. Then I tasted blood in my mouth.

A second later, I turned and ran out like a madman.

I did not make it far.

My strength gave out, and I collapsed on the side of the road.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed.

My body felt weaker than before. During the emergency treatment, I vaguely heard the doctor say I had, at most, one month left.

I tried to face death calmly, but the only thing I was still worried about was Sienna.

Suddenly, the hospital room door was shoved open.

Sienna stormed in and threw a jacket straight at my face. "Asher, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

I had no idea why she was so angry. I reached for her hand helplessly, but she pulled away as if my touch disgusted her.

"You ran off in front of everyone, and now they're all laughing at me," she snapped. "They're saying I chose a coward for a boyfriend. And you actually have the nerve to hide here in the hospital?"

She had no idea that I did not have much time left.

I thought, 'Every day I have left with her is already precious. Why would I hide from her?'

"Sienna," I explained, "I wasn't hiding from you. I'm really sick."

For a second, something flickered in her eyes, but it vanished almost immediately.

She let out a cold laugh. "You're still lying to me? You're usually so healthy. You barely even catch colds. How could you suddenly be sick?"

I knew she was angry. All I wanted was to calm her down.

With trembling hands, I reached for the expensive climbing gear beside me and carefully held it out to her. "Sienna, you like climbing, right? Then go for it. I bought this for you. I even got it in your favorite color, purple."

Sienna lowered her eyes to the gear in my hands. There was no joy on her face.

She took it, then threw it hard onto the floor.

"Asher, do you think I don't know what you can afford? You expect me to believe you bought gear this expensive? Stop trying to fool me with cheap knockoffs."

She used to love purple more than anything.

Once, to make her happy, I spent all my savings creating an entire sea of purple flowers for her. I decorated every flower by hand, and by the time I finished, my fingers were covered in cuts.

Back then, she threw herself into my arms and promised she wanted to be with me forever. Now, it seemed she no longer even liked purple.

That climbing gear had cost me my health.

Sienna did not care, but I did.

I struggled to climb out of bed and pick it up, but my body had no strength left. The moment my feet touched the floor, I fell beside the bed.

Sienna watched me fall. She did not help me. Instead, she stepped on the gear.

Before I could say anything, Callum called her.

Sienna answered with excitement and agreed to go climbing with him somewhere else.

I dragged myself forward and wrapped my arms around her leg, making one last attempt to keep her there. "Sienna, let me go with you, okay? If you go out with him alone, I'm afraid you'll be in danger."

She kicked me hard in the chest. There was not a trace of pity in her eyes. "What can you even do? All you know is to use cheap little things to coax me."

She had never called my gifts cheap before.

In the past, even when I cooked her a simple meal, she treated it like something precious.

I had already tried my best to give her the best gift I could.

I clung desperately to her leg, hoping to wake the woman she once was. But all I received were kicks in return.

She wanted nothing more than to push me as far away as possible.

In the end, my face was covered in blood, and Sienna left the hospital room without looking back.

Since I did not have much time left, there was no point wasting it in the hospital.

I completed the discharge paperwork alone.

When I had just returned home, a former coworker from the chemical plant called me.

He told me the plant had no real safety measures. To cut costs, the factory had allowed chemical exposure levels to exceed the legal limits by a terrifying amount.

What they had done was no different from murder, and the man behind that chemical plant was Callum.