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Chapter 1 The Lie Finally Cracked

Seraphina's POV"Wow, Summer, your boyfriend's voice is amazing. He really spoils you."The operations director sitting beside Summer was the first to break the suffocating silence in the private dining room.Summer flinched so hard that her phone nearly slipped from her hand and crashed onto her plate.She scrambled to hang up. Her fingers trembled so badly that it took two tries before the call finally disconnected."Um… My boyfriend just likes using nicknames."With her head lowered, Summer spoke so softly she was barely audible. She did not dare look in my direction."What's there to be embarrassed about? We're all adults here."Leo from Human Resources chuckled, but his gaze kept darting between Summer and me.I picked up my glass of warm water and took a small sip. The water had long since gone cold. As it slid into my stomach, it stirred the familiar dull ache waiting there."Yeah, that's nice." I set down the glass and looked at Summer's pale knuckles. "Mr. Brooks is

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Chapter 2 The Last Straw

When I pushed open the front door, the living room was completely dark.I did not turn on the lights. Instead, I made my way to the couch and sat down in the darkness.Darkness felt safe. At the very least, it spared me from looking at all the familiar things around me.At two in the morning, the electronic lock at the front door beeped.Conrad stepped inside, carrying the faint scent of alcohol and the chill of the night air. He switched on the living room light and visibly froze when he saw me sitting on the couch."Why are you sitting in the dark? Couldn't sleep?" He kicked off his shoes as he spoke casually."I couldn't sleep." I watched him hang his suit jacket on the coat rack."How did things go in Valoria?" I asked the question lightly.Conrad paused for half a second. "Pretty smoothly. Just had meetings back-to-back all day. I'm exhausted."He walked over and automatically reached out to ruffle my hair. I tilted my head away. His hand froze in midair. A faint crease a

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Chapter 3 The Commission He Gave Away

The atmosphere in the conference room felt strangely tense during the next morning's executive meeting.Conrad sat at the head of the table, flipping through the quarterly reports in front of him.Summer sat at the far end of the long table. Around her neck hung a sparkling pink diamond necklace. Her makeup was flawless today, and she looked positively radiant."I've made some adjustments to next quarter's project assignments." Conrad closed the report and swept his gaze across the room. "The renewable energy account currently handled by Seraphina will be transferred to Summer."The room fell silent.I had spent three months on that account. Countless sleepless nights. Endless rounds of negotiations. More late-night drinking sessions than I could remember, to the point where I had ended up sick more than once.I had finally secured the client, and the contract was nearly ready to be signed. Now, with one casual sentence, he was handing it to someone else."Mr. Brooks, isn't that

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Chapter 4 The Report He Never Saw Coming

Conrad clearly had not expected me to change the subject so abruptly. He paused, then walked over to his desk and opened his calendar."Next Wednesday? I have an executive meeting in the morning, but my afternoon is open for now."He looked up, curiosity flickering in his eyes. "Why? What's going on?""Nothing major." I slipped my hands into my coat pockets, my fingers unconsciously tracing the edge of the pill bottle inside."I need to go to Riverdale Central Hospital. They need a family member's signature on some paperwork."Legally, he was not my family. But for a very long time, he had been the only family I thought I had.Conrad visibly relaxed. A faint smile even appeared on his face. "The hospital? What, you finally decided to get that minimally invasive procedure for your stomach polyps?"He still thought I was the Seraphina from last year, the one whose worst diagnosis had been mild gastritis."Sure. I'll go with you Wednesday afternoon."He agreed so easily, as thoug

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Chapter 5 The Truth He Refused to Believe

Conrad's eyes locked onto the words on the report.The living room was eerily silent. His fingers tightened around the paper without him realizing it, crumpling the edges with a sharp crackle."Advanced gastric adenocarcinoma…" He read the words under his breath. Then he let out a short laugh. "Seraphina, you're really running out of ideas."He tossed the report back onto the coffee table, his voice dripping with ridicule. "What won't you do to pressure me into marriage?"In his mind, I would always be the woman who would do anything to keep him. Anything.He pulled out his phone and dialed my number from memory.A cold automated message answered, "The number you have dialed is currently powered off."The smile faded slightly from Conrad's face. He walked to the bedroom and shoved the door open.One side of the closet stood partially open. A few of my clothes were missing. But every designer handbag he had bought me remained exactly where it belonged. Every piece of expensive

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Chapter 6 The Moment He Lost Her

Third-Person POVThe nurse's words slammed into Conrad like a freight train.A sharp ringing filled his ears. The world around him blurred, doubling at the edges."Say that again," he rasped. "What stage?" His voice sounded dry and unfamiliar, even to himself.The nurse frowned and turned the computer monitor slightly toward him. "Advanced gastric adenocarcinoma with extensive abdominal metastasis."She glanced at him with open disapproval. "Sir, her condition was this serious. Didn't any of her family ever pay attention?"Conrad stared at Seraphina's name on the screen.For the first time in years, the confidence and certainty he prided himself on cracked beyond repair."Was she… alone when she came here?" He heard the tremor in his own voice echo through the hallway."Yes." A young doctor passing by paused and joined the conversation. "I was in the office that day."The doctor shook his head. "She was in so much pain she could barely stand. Her forehead was covered in sweat

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Chapter 7 Too Late for Regret

Clara's fingers stopped moving across the keyboard. Slowly, she looked up.Taking in the man standing before her—bloodshot eyes, unshaven face, clothes in complete disarray—a cold laugh escaped her lips. "Who exactly are you putting on this heartbroken act for, Mr. Brooks?"She stood and met Conrad's gaze without flinching. "Where Seraphina is has nothing to do with you.""I'm her boyfriend." The words came through clenched teeth."Boyfriend?"Clara suddenly grabbed a stack of scrap paper from her desk and hurled it at him. Sheets exploded through the air. One sharp edge brushed across Conrad's cheek, leaving a thin red line behind."And you actually have the nerve to call yourself that?"Her entire body trembled with rage. "Conrad, do you remember when she spent an entire year eating stale bread with you because you couldn't afford anything else?"Tears filled her eyes. "She ruined her stomach helping you survive. Back then, what did you promise her? You said you'd give her a

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Chapter 8 Your Act Cost Me My Life

"Seraphina, will you come back with me?"Conrad kneeled beside the bed, gripping my cold fingers tightly with both hands.His voice was hoarse beyond recognition. Tears fell onto the white bedsheets, leaving dark circles of moisture behind."I've already fired Summer. I've transferred all the company's shares into your name. I've contacted the best cancer specialists in the world. We'll go to Vandalia, to Helvia. They can cure this. They have to be able to cure this!"He rambled on, throwing out every bargaining chip he thought could fix everything.I let him hold my hand. I did not struggle. Even my breathing remained unchanged.The sea breeze drifted in through the window, lifting my thin, brittle hair."Conrad." I finally spoke, my voice soft. "You're blocking my view of the sunset."Conrad's entire body stiffened. He looked up at me in disbelief.The eyes that had once been filled with nothing but him now held only a barren stillness.There were no accusations. No hysteri

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Chapter 9 Let's Not Meet Again

Conrad's plan to buy back a life with money ultimately failed.The team of top cancer specialists he had hired from around the world reviewed my medical records and test results. Without exception, every one of them shook their heads."Mr. Brooks, the patient's organs are already in complete failure." The attending physician stood outside the room, his tone heavy."At this point, any aggressive treatment would only increase her suffering. You should prepare for the end. Realistically, she only has a few days left."Conrad leaned against the cold wall and slowly slid to the floor. Covering his face with both hands, he let out muffled sobs.He had accumulated a fortune worth hundreds of millions. He had gained the power to decide the fate of countless people. Yet he could not buy back even a single day of my life.Inside the room, the periods when I was awake grew shorter and shorter. Most of the time, I remained in a deep sleep.Conrad never left my bedside. Again and again, he u

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Chapter 10 A Lifetime Without Redemption

My funeral was simple. That was Clara's decision."She hated noise when she was alive. Don't let a bunch of fake mourners stain her final journey."Holding my urn in her arms, Clara looked coldly at Conrad, who stood before my headstone.He was dressed in a suit, but he had become painfully thin. His eye sockets were sunken, and dark stubble covered his jaw.A light rain fell from the gray sky.He carried no umbrella. Cold rainwater ran down his hair and into his collar. His eyes remained fixed on the black-and-white photograph on the headstone.In the photo, the woman named Seraphina Nightingale still wore her gentle smile. But she would never again answer when he called her honey."You can leave now." After placing a bouquet of balloon flowers in front of the grave, Clara turned to him and gave the order coldly.Conrad did not argue. Slowly, he crouched down and traced the engraved letters on the headstone with trembling fingers."Seraphina, I sent Summer to prison." He spok

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