"Why aren't you the one who's sick."
"Why aren't you the one who's dying."
The man whispered the most hurtful words in the gentlest voice by her ear.
But he didn't know she was really dying.
Sophia clutched her abdomen tightly and struggled to climb off the bed.
Moonlight seeped through the window, highlighting the woman's pale complexion even more.
Familiar footsteps echoed from outside the door—it was John's.
Sophia didn't know where she found the strength, but she tightly grasped the doorknob and opened the door.
"John." Saying his name almost consumed all her energy.
John halted, turned around, and looked at the scantily dressed woman with a cold gaze.
"You're back. Did you eat?" Her voice carried a cautious tone of ingratiation.
A spark of light ignited in her beautiful eyes.
John's expression remained cold and distant as he turned to leave.
Seeing him like this, Sophia's heart felt like it had been pierced.
Sophia chased after him, grabbing his sleeve. Her lips were bitten until they bled, and the sharp pains in her abdomen made it hard for her to breathe.
"Let go!" John's eyes blazed with fury.
Sophia loosened her grip, daring only to hold onto a corner of his shirt.
"John, I'm in pain..." Her voice trembled. "It's too late. Can you take me to the hospital?"
If it were daytime, she wouldn't bother him.
"Where does it hurt?" John turned around and stared at her intently.
"My stomach." Beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
John glanced down at her hand covering her stomach and suddenly sneered. "Miss Sophia, your acting is getting more realistic every day. How long did you rehearse for this?"
He raised his hand and pulled his sleeve out of her grasp.
He grasped her jaw, "From the day you betrayed me, John vowed never to forgive you in this lifetime, unless..."
John flashed a cruel smile. "You die."
Sophia's blood seemed to freeze at this moment. She couldn't stop shivering, and John didn't look at her again, heading straight into the bedroom and shutting the door.
It felt like a knife was twisting in her stomach, causing Sophia to double over in pain.
She shakily reached for her phone and dialed 911.
Listening to the fading sound of the ambulance, John's expression remained cold. Sophia would stop at nothing to achieve her goals.
This was just another of her schemes to stay in the Jones family, considering the Thomas family was on the brink of bankruptcy.
She was the kind of woman who would switch sides when someone fell on hard times, so how could she bear living a hard life?
...
Sophia sat on a hospital bench holding her test results, her gaze falling lightly on the white wall.
The results were in—she had advanced colorectal cancer.
Sophia took a taxi to the hospital where Mia worked. Mia received her call and met her at the hospital entrance.
Sophia's eyes were red as she flashed a smile at him.
"Mia." She tightened her grip on the test results. "My test results are in. The doctor said I have advanced colorectal cancer."
Mia's face changed.
Her nose tingled, and she looked at Mia with pleading eyes. "Can you check me again? Maybe... they made a mistake?"
Mia was a doctor, a specialist in gastroenterology.
Sophia was wheeled into the exam room.
At 5 PM, the results came back, confirming the initial diagnosis.
Advanced colorectal cancer.
Sophia sat there in a daze, her lips trembling. "How long do I have?"
Mia squatted down, her bony fingers pressing on her shoulders. "Sophia, I'll save you."
"Cancer," Sophia's tears fell. "It's cancer."
Her illness was like her marriage to John—there was no cure.
The room was dimly lit as Sophia sat on the sofa without turning on the lights.
At midnight, car headlights pierced through the darkness and glass, casting light indoors.
Soon, the door opened, and John walked in.
He reached out to turn on the light, immediately noticing Sophia sitting there in silence.
He averted his gaze, untying his tie as he walked, preparing to go upstairs.
"John," she called out.
He didn't stop.
Sophia's fingers tightened, her nails digging into her palm. After a long silence, she raised her head, looking at his back with a smile.
"Let's get a divorce."
John finally stopped and turned around as she wished. His figure, backlit by the light, made him seem even more unfeeling.
Sophia's gaze traced his face. This was the man she had loved for ten years. Ten years of love had earned her his disgust and left her with a broken heart.
She shouldn't drag him down any longer.
"You can't go a day without causing trouble, can you?"
She was just playing hard to get.
Sophia stood up and pulled the divorce agreement from her bag. Her hand brushed against the painkillers inside, causing her eyes to widen momentarily.
Then she silently closed the bag and set it aside.
She walked over to John and handed him the divorce agreement.
It was already signed with her name.
She tried to hide her emotions. "You wanted to marry Emily, didn't you?"
She forced a smile. "I'll make it happen for you."
If she had known he liked Emily, she never would have married him.
Their marriage was forced and one-sided on her part.
John glanced at her signature and took the divorce agreement.
He pressed his tongue against his cheek and slapped the paper on her shoulder.
"Miss Sophia, true to your finance background." He leaned in, his eyes cold. "How much of the Jones family's fortune do you plan to take with you in this divorce?"
Sophia was momentarily stunned. She pressed her lips together and whispered, "I never wanted your money."
John said nothing, just stared at her coldly.
Three years ago, the Jones family faced a crisis when his father was imprisoned and all his businesses were sold to pay off debts.
At that time, he was penniless, and this woman who claimed to love him disappeared the next day after his ordeal.
Later, he heard she was seen everywhere with William.
The Browns were the ones who framed his father for imprisonment.
His father had been so kind to Sophia.
But she was just a woman who would sell herself for money. What couldn't she do?
And Sophia, who knows what she told her father, forced him to marry her.
"Get out," his eyes were filled with coldness.
He turned to leave, but Sophia stretched out her arms to block his path.
"Don't you like Emily? I'll make it happen for you. I'll sign an affidavit. I won't take a penny from you!"
"Yes, I like Emily," John said, his eyes narrowing and lips curling into a smile. "So I'll make a grand entrance for her to become my wife."
He squinted. "Not while I'm entangled with you."
The sound of the slamming door echoed as John entered the bathroom. Cold water cascaded down as he compressed his lips and clenched his fists.
Sophia turned around and picked up the divorce agreement from the floor.
The phone rang, and it was her mother crying on the other end.
Her father was seriously ill and had been hospitalized.
Sophia rushed over and learned from her mother that the Thomas family was going bankrupt, causing her father to suffer a severe illness.
Suddenly, she remembered John's words.
Divorcing him to take how much of the Jones family's fortune.
No wonder he said that. He must have known the Thomas family was going bankrupt.
Jennifer gripped Sophia's slender arms. "Sophia, go ask John. You're his wife. He won't refuse you."
"He hates me so much," Sophia said, her lips curling up in a bleak smile. "Why would he give me money?"
Jennifer slapped Sophia across the face. "Do you want to watch your father die? How useless are you?!"
Sophia's lips trembled as she looked at her mother with chilling eyes.
When the Jones family was in trouble, William approached her, saying he had evidence of her mother's infidelity. He also said that if she dumped John, he would give a large sum of money to help John pay off his debts.
She watched John struggle with his father's issues helplessly.
All she could do was worry.
At that time, she thought that as long as she could help John, it didn't matter if he misunderstood her.
She took the money from William to help the Jones family fill the financial hole.
She said harsh words and hurt John.
She never expected to cross paths with John again.
One day, John's father spoke with her. The man in the hospital bed struggled even to breathe.
He hoped she would marry John, saying he understood her predicament.
At that time, Sophia didn't agree.
But the next day, her family received a large sum of money from the Jones family.
Forced by his father to marry her, John hated her with all his being.
Sophia stepped out of the hospital room and swallowed a painkiller.
As she lifted her foot to leave, she noticed a woman in a hospital gown standing on the side.
The woman had very pale skin, with round and wide eyes, and a delicate nose and mouth.
Her name was Emily, the woman John now loved, and once her best friend.
Sophia averted her gaze and turned to leave.
"Sophia," Emily called out to her.
Sophia gritted her teeth and kept walking.
From behind her came the woman's laughter, "I heard the Thomases are about to fall apart."
She caught up with Sophia, standing right in front of her and said coldly, "What goes around comes around."
Sophia stared at her coldly and said, "Get lost."
Emily didn't get upset. Casually picking at her fingernails, she said, "You're pretty despicable, clinging to John even though he doesn't want you anymore."
Her eyes gleamed with triumph, "Did you know? John has been by my side these past few days."
"You want Mrs. Jones's position, don't you?" Sophia's lips tightened. "Tell him to come talk to me about a divorce."
Emily's eyes narrowed, "You don't think he's not divorcing you because he can't forget you, do you?"
Emily burst into laughter, "Sophia, you're so naive."
She leaned closer to Sophia, "He's only doing this to get back at you, to make you feel the same way."
"When he's tired of you, you'll be no different from trash." Emily whispered into her ear, "Oh yeah, he never even touched you, did he?"
Sophia's fingers tightened. She lowered her head and looked at Emily with a cold gaze.
"Do you know why?" Emily's fingernail slowly traced Sophia's cheek, "Because he thinks you're dirty. I heard that the money you used to pay off the Joneses' debts was actually the breakup fee you gave John, and also what your lover William gave you."