Chapter 1

My ex-boyfriend was at his poorest when I broke up with him.

Years later, he made a fortune, and used every trick in the book to marry me.

Everyone said I was his ultimate love, the wife he cherished above all.

But then, he started bringing different women home every night, shattering my heart, turning me into the biggest joke in our social circle.

Yet, I never cried, never threw a fit. I just lived quietly in the study, never disturbing his little games.

He’d get furious, kissing my lips savagely, whispering, "Aren't you jealous?"

He didn't know I was sick.

Every single day he was exacting his crazy revenge on me, I was silently counting down how many days I had left to live.

It was the third year of my marriage to Alistair, and he'd taken on a young, beautiful college student as his mistress.

Her name was Willow, pretty and pure, exactly Alistair’s type.

He'd kept her around for over half a year.

Aside from me, she was the woman Alistair kept by his side the longest.

My friends warned me to be careful, saying he seemed to be genuinely falling for Willow.

The first time I met Willow was on my birthday.

I'd been having nosebleeds since morning. After a check-up at the hospital, the doctor told me I probably only had until next spring.

I nodded gently, whispering, "It's okay."

I wasn’t afraid of dying, just a little afraid of pain.

I heard there was a really expensive medication that could make my final days more comfortable.

My debit card didn't have enough funds, so I went to Alistair's office to find him.

Coincidentally, Willow was there too. She'd just graduated and was working as Alistair's secretary.

Alistair was in a meeting, so I sat outside and waited.

Willow kept staring at me, secretly whispering to her colleagues, "Is that the boss's wife? She's so ugly, stick-thin, looks like she's about to drop dead."

"You all say I look like her, but where? I'm way prettier."

My reflection in the shiny glass showed my messy hair, a bulky puffer jacket.

She was right. I didn't look good. And I was dying.

A colleague pulled Willow aside, whispering, "That's because she's not wearing makeup. If she put on makeup, ten of you combined wouldn't be as pretty as her."

"And don't you dare provoke her just because the boss favors you."

"You have no idea how much the boss loves her. If you make her unhappy, he'll fire you, just watch."