Chapter 4

It was all because Faith didn't want me to have any time to myself. She couldn't stand the thought of seeing even the slightest trace of happiness or ease on my face.

"Ah..." I let out a long breath and quickened my pace, pushing my suitcase as I left.

At last, I was going to be free.

"Where are you going? Playing the victim didn't work, so now you're pulling this running-away-from-home act?"

I'd been a step too slow, and Faith blocked me in the courtyard.

That suffocating feeling came rushing back. I couldn't be bothered to say another word. I tried to walk around her and leave.

She grabbed my arm.

"Don't touch me!" I violently shook her off and turned to glare at her. "I told you. I've paid back everything I owed you. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other."

"Heh." Faith let out a soft laugh. "August, I've seen this little 'retreat to advance' trick countless times in business. You think I'm still that naive girl I was back then? That easy to fool?"

I'd heard variations of the same words countless times over these seven years.

Nevertheless, I still couldn't become immune to them. The bitterness in my heart was so overwhelming that I couldn't get a single word out.

"Enough. Stop pretending. You've already disappeared for seven days, made yourself look half-dead, and deliberately jumped into the water trying to drown yourself. After going to all that trouble, I'll let you have your way just this once."

She pulled a thick wad of cash from her purse and tossed it at my feet with an amused expression, as though she were doing me a favor.

"Pick it up, say 'Thank you, honey,' and I'll give you another few thousand."

Looking at the woman I'd shared a bed with for seven years and the undisguised mockery in her eyes, I thought it would hurt, but it didn't.

In that moment, I finally understood what it meant for a heart to die.

I met her gaze directly and finally asked, calmly, the question that had tormented me for seven years, "Faith, if all I cared about was money—if I married you just to get my hands on your family's fortune—then why did I endure seven years of hopelessness without leaving? Why didn't I take advantage of my youth and find another wealthy woman? Why stay with you until I'm practically on my deathbed?

"Whether you believe me or not, Faith, I was always sincere about you. But that's all in the past now."

After saying it, the knot in my heart slowly began to loosen. Without waiting for her response, I pushed my suitcase and continued walking away.

"If you weren't after my money, then what the hell were you after?" Faith's furious roar came from behind me.

I couldn't be bothered to say another word. I quickened my pace.

She suddenly chased after me, grabbed me by the hair, and yanked me hard to the ground. "I asked you a question! Why are you running? Answer me!"

Her eyes were red with rage, completely out of control.

But I no longer had the energy to wonder why she was angry. My already unstable condition flared up again. I curled up on the ground, trembling in agony, gritting my teeth but unable to suppress the pain in the slightest.

"Get up! Stop pretending! How could one fall possibly hurt you that badly?"

When she saw my face growing paler and the cold sweat covering my forehead, realizing I wasn't pretending, Faith finally panicked. She crouched down and reached out to lift me.

"Get away from me!" I pushed her away with all the strength I had and struggled toward my suitcase.

Like a clumsy but determined snail, I fought with everything I had to escape this place.

"Okay, okay. You win. August, whatever you want, we can talk about it. Just come to the hospital with me and get checked out, okay?" Faith's voice trembled slightly. Her movements had become much gentler as she cautiously came over to support me.

I instinctively recoiled and accidentally knocked over my battered suitcase. Its fragile plastic shell shattered, exposing the papers inside. The words on the medical diagnosis at the very top were visible.

Faith immediately lunged forward and picked it up.

The world fell silent for two seconds.

Then her hoarse, trembling voice rang out, filled with panic. "August, you... you really have a terminal illness? If it's really true, why didn't you show it to me sooner?"