Chapter 3

And with those words, Giles was about to leave when Sue kicked my broken phone away.

Smiling, she threw me another with a broken screen.

"Mr. Smith, thanks for buying iPhones for everyone in my family," she bragged. "And since Ms. Singer just broke hers, she can have my niece's old phone."

Giles nodded in approval. "You're so kind. I wouldn't be so distressed if Vivian were half as mature as you are. How can I ever repay you?"

Sue giggled, scratching her head. "No way—it's only right. And you've already bought me a big house that my whole family has moved into."

As they left happily, they completely ignored me. I stayed on the floor, unable to make a sound because I was in too much pain.

My other colleagues could have walked around me, but they either walked over me or stamped on my body if they could.

After all, no one liked me because I was too straight-laced.

And with Giles harassing me however he could, they simply followed his example.

The only one who was kind to me was the janitor, Mrs. Carr.

Once the others were gone, she was sniffling as she painstakingly helped me up, even taking me to the hospital.

She smiled wryly as she told me, "You have to eat no matter how much work you have to do. Just look at how pale you are... isn't that hypoglycemia?"

I smiled at her gratefully, but quietly said, "No, it's late-stage stomach cancer. The doctor told me it's already metastasized and there's no saving me."

Mrs. Carr's smile stiffened, and she sighed as tears welled up. "And you're still so young..."

At that moment, I couldn't even mourn because I was in too much pain.

Fortunately, after we arrived at the hospital, she didn't take a number for me. I simply waited until she left and stayed in my seat, resting for a while.

However, as I was about to leave the hospital, I heard a familiar voice coming from a room.

"Please, Mr. Smith. It's just a minor fever—I don't have to be admitted. You're wasting so much money."

I paused outside the door and looked inside to see Giles peeling an apple for Sue. "Better safe than sorry. It'd be bad if it's something serious, and it's only right that I take care of you when you've worked so hard for the company. So don't worry about anything and rest."

Sue accepted his doting care with aplomb, but said, "I'm really fine... It's Ms. Singer whom you should be worried about. I mean, is she sick? She fell over just from a little push. Maybe you should bring her here instead."

Giles snorted in disdain. "She's healthy as an ox. What could happen to her? It's all lies."

Outside, I smiled in exasperation.

Sue only had a small fever and he was getting paranoid over it, getting her a VIP ward and even having specialists examine her.

On the other hand, I had terminal cancer and had lost so much weight I could keel over at any moment, but to him, it was all lies.

Such was the difference between the one who was loved and the one who was not.

Shaking my head, I fought off my bitterness and was about to leave when Sue spotted me.

Turning pale, she plucked the needle out of her own wrist and rushed over, dropping to her knees in front of me.

"You were following us, weren't you?!" She bawled. "Please, Ms. Singer! We have done nothing wrong! Mr. Smith was just taking me to the doctor! Don't get the wrong idea!"

When Giles turned toward us, I was sent stumbling, my nose bleeding instantly.