Chapter 4

But my call wouldn't go through. Wade had blocked my number.

Undeterred, I dialed his number a total of 300 times. Like a trapped beast, I threw myself against the cage again and again until I was battered and bleeding, yet I still couldn't break free.

The doctor kept pumping me with drugs, and my vitals slowly leveled out.

Martha pointed at the doctor in front of us. "You must've made a mistake. Mrs. Cox is going to live a long life!" Then, she took me to another hospital.

…

For three days straight, I consulted countless doctors, but every one of them gave me the same answer. There was no way to treat me. All I could do was rest, and only then might I live to see the arrival of spring.

The very first day I regained consciousness, I had texted Wade. "My heart condition hasn't gotten better. The other doctors told me my days are numbered."

At long last, on the third day, he replied. "Dr. Wilson literally said you're fine; stop lying, Stella. I know you're upset because I'm keeping Cecilia company. I get it.

"However, I promise you're the one I love. I only see Cecilia as my younger sister. For the rest of my life, my wife will only ever be you."

Wade insisted that Dr. Wilson was reliable. Yet, Dr. Wilson had long since dropped off the face of the earth.

It took me three days to unearth everything about Dr. Wilson. He was Cecilia's dearest friend. The two of them had studied abroad at the same university, and he had been Cecilia's most passionate suitor.

Seven years ago, when Cecilia insisted on becoming a humanitarian doctor, Dr. Wilson had accompanied her. However, he repatriated shortly after, and that was when he started making a conscious effort to get close to Wade.

At the time, Wade had searched for Cecilia like a madman for three years. He had pushed himself to the absolute brink, leaving his body battered and his heart severely damaged. His attending physician back then was Dr. Wilson, while his psychologist was me.

"Dr. Wilson has been deceiving you, and now the con artist has gone off the grid. You might be completely in the dark about this, but Dr. Wilson and Cecilia are far from innocent."

I took photos of the blood I had coughed up over the last three days, the diagnostic reports from over 30 doctors at other hospitals, and everything I had found out about Dr. Wilson, and sent them all to Wade.

Yet, he merely replied, "Oh, come on, don't use AI. Dr. Wilson and I are old friends, and he doesn't know Cecilia. I trust him. Now isn't the time to be jealous, Stella."

"I'm not jealous. I'm telling you the truth! Also, I suspect Cecelia hasn't lost her memory at all. Her innocence is all an act!"

I didn't buy for a second that a lone doctor had the nerve or ability to harm me and make a clean getaway. If Wade wasn't the one pulling the strings behind the scenes, then it could only be Cecilia.

"That's enough! I forbid you to slander Cecilia!" Wade fumed. "I'm going to block you for now so you can focus on resting. Martha will look after you while I'm away. Remember not to show your face in front of Cecilia or me again."

I tentatively sent, "Honey." Yet, my message wasn't delivered.

Wade didn't believe me; he believed Cecilia. Hence, I spammed him.

"Why won't you believe me?"

"Wade, you've been lying to me this whole time!"

"I don't want to love you anymore."

"I hate you!"

Unfortunately, my messages weren't delivered.

The pain reached a level that I could no longer endure. I swallowed all of my painkillers.

The doctor had advised me not to, but it hurt too much. It hurt so badly.

"My heart hurts so much, Wade," I thought to myself.

I coughed up more and more blood, staining the message where Wade had promised to spend the rest of his life with me. Snow carpeted the entire world in a bitter, unyielding cold.

I smiled through my tears as I thought, "I can't live to see three months from now, Wade. I'm going to die this winter."