03
On the way home, he kept explaining, “Arya, I’ve even spent money on your treatment and sold 20% of my company’s shares. Why can’t you forgive me?”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“But I’m beyond saving now.”
I picked up a torn pair of stockings that Ruby had left in the backseat.
“Thomas, I don’t understand. You’re obsessed with Ruby. I’m the one asking for a divorce,
even offering to walk away with nothing, and you’re still not happy? Why are you still holding or
I wasn’t sure if it was the stockings I found or if my words hit a nerve, but his hands on the
steering wheel started shaking.
“I’m not happy, Arya. I admit I have some kind of obsession with Ruby, but she’s never replaced you in my heart. You’re still angry with me because of Ruby, aren’t you? I swear, I’ll never be alone with her again. I won’t cross any boundaries…”
Thomas said a lot more after that.
But I didn’t believe a word of it.
I didn’t know why he refused to divorce me. I only knew that when I was almost dying in t hospital, he left me behind, holding Ruby and walking away without a second glance.
I knew that all the times I forgave him only led to more heartbreak.
I
I knew he remembered Ruby’s period but couldn’t even recall our wedding anniversary.
D
it?”
It was clear who mattered more.
Even when I got cancer, he didn’t have the patience to even check up on me…
“Arya, rest tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll take you abroad to find the best medical team. How about
He just got home and immediately pulled me into a tight embrace, refusing to let go no
matter what.
I smiled. “Okay.”
But deep inside, I thought once he fell asleep, I would leave.
He won’t divorce me, but I can’t keep wasting time. With only three months left, I don’t want to
waste another second for him.
“Arya, where have you been? Come back soon, you’re so sick. Don’t make me worry. It’s been
week; why haven’t you called back? Arya, I miss you so much. I haven’t slept for days; I can’t
eat without your cooking; my stomach hurts so badly…”
Thomas sent me a series of messages.
In the past, when he complained of stomach pain, even in the middle of the night, I would
immediately get up to make him soup.
Now, I just glanced at the messages and turned off my phone without a second thought. My heart felt nothing.
I was numb. Maybe that was just how it was.
“Arya, most of the people who come to this hospice to give up treatment are elderly. Why
aren’t you seeking treatment anymore?”
I was lost in thought when Noah Coleman, the caregiver, spoke. I then turned around.
I gave a bitter smile. “Because there’s nothing left to hold on to.”
Noah sighed, unsure how to comfort me, and handed me a peeled orange slice.
He looked a bit like Thomas and was the youngest caregiver at this hospice.
Sometimes, when I looked at him, I would think of the past Thomas.
Luckily, when death approached, little things like love and resentment didn’t matter much anymore. I spent my days counting the falling autumn leaves outside the window. As long as Thomas didn’t show up in front of me, my life was peaceful enough.
But I didn’t expect this last bit of peace to be taken from me when he found this small–town
hospice.
“Arya, I really know I was wrong. What do I need to do for you to come back with me?”
Thomas looked at me with tear–filled eyes, almost begging.
In just seven days, he had lost so much weight. His deep eye bags made him look exhausted
and pitiful.
I frowned, losing patience. “I’ve already made myself clear. I will never go back. Thomas,
seven years of taking care of you, please stop fighting with me, a dying person, alright?”
He looked down, too heartbroken to speak.
Ruby, standing beside him, grabbed his arm. “Thomas, did I make Arya upset? Maybe I
D
14.05 Mon, 27 Jan
G
.
འuÜy,。tuTiu“U Do|u□ ད དད་ ་ ་, འུ་ A་ J་ J༑ཐ ་ ད་ ་་ ་ ་ ་,
should go back first…”
ད ད ད དུད ད ད་,3, ། ༤༔ ད ད ད ་་ ཉད ༑ ད་ ༑ ད ་་་༑ ་དད་༑་ དའ ་
She blinked her tear–filled eyes at me. “Arya, Thomas wasn’t sober when he found you, I was afraid something would happen if he came alone, so I followed him. If you’re mad, then blame me; don’t be angry with Thomas, okay? There’s nothing between Thomas and me. I’m his friend and assistant; everything I’ve done is just to make him happy.”
I clenched my fists, barely holding back the disgust rising in my chest.
Ruby had made the word b*tch so real.
She’d gone abroad to study at any cost, only to realize too late how good Thomas had been to her. She knew he was married but still shamelessly threw herself at him.
Thomas neglecting me had to be her doing.
But at that moment, I didn’t care about any of that.
I walked straight to her and took off my ring, placing it in her hand. “You don’t have to try so hard, pretending to be all sweet and understanding. If you want to be his wife, I can let you be right now.”
Ruby froze, unsure how to react.
She desperately wanted that but still cared about her image in front of Thomas. Before she could make up her mind, Thomas snatched the ring from my hand, tears filling his eyes as he
looked at me.
“Arya, please don’t do this. I’ll give you anything you want. I don’t expect you to forgive me. I
just want a chance to make it right; please come back with me and get treatment…”
Before he could finish, I interrupted impatiently.
“How many times do I have to say it? Thomas, I’m just dying! Before my cancer got worse, I
asked you for money, but you didn’t give me any. Isn’t this where we ended up because of your
own choices?”
