Chapter 8

My pleading echoed in the room, but all I got in return was Sophia's cold retort. "Call the police then!" Her voice faded as she walked away with the others. "Let me out! I have something important to do tomorrow! Sophia, if you don't want a divorce, just open the door first." I slumped against the door, talking endlessly until my voice grew hoarse. Eventually, I curled up in despair. She had always exploited my feelings for her. She knew I wouldn't call the police or expose her to public scrutiny, which emboldened her to act recklessly. However, she didn't know I was running out of time. I tilted my head back, trying to keep the tears from falling, but they streamed down anyway as I lowered my gaze. Before long, pain radiated from my abdomen, growing sharper with each wave. Clutching my stomach, I stumbled into the bathroom, dry heaving into the sink. Nothing came up. The pain spread, engulfing my entire body. Barely able to stand, I staggered toward the bed and collapsed onto it, curling up as darkness overtook me. The sharp ringtone of my phone woke me the following day. It was Jayden calling about my appointment at the hospital. Weakly, I reached for my phone and swiped to answer. His anxious voice filled my ear. "Joshua, where are you? Didn't we agree you would come to the hospital today?" I stared at the ceiling, my voice hoarse. "Something came up. I'll reschedule." There was a rustling on the other end, followed by Juliette's exasperated voice. "Joshua, your condition is severe. You need immediate hospitalization, or it will worsen even faster!" I let out a bitter laugh, my gaze fixed on the locked door. I wanted to go to the hospital to delay the inevitable. But right now, I couldn't even leave this room. When she heard no response from me, her voice grew sharper, nearly shouting. "Joshua, did you hear what I said?" "I'm a little busy today. I'll go to the hospital in a couple of days." It was a simple sentence, but I had to pause several times to catch my breath after saying it. Juliette, a renowned expert in cancer research, immediately detected something off. Her tone turned sharp as she asked, "Joshua, are you ignoring your treatment and trying to tough it out?" I stayed silent. She didn't stop mocking me. "Toughing it out is perfect for someone like you. You deserve to experience the full weight of suffering. Maybe you'll learn how to be decent in your next life!" "Juliette, that's enough," Jayden interjected, unable to hold back. "Whatever happened between you two is in the past. You're a doctor now. How could you—" She cut him off sharply. "So what if I'm a doctor? Doctors are human too. After how he treated me, this is karma catching up to him. He abandoned me for a worthless woman, and now he's dying. It's what he deserves!" Her words sliced through me, but I didn't argue. This was the burden I carried. The next second, Jayden's voice rang out, laced with impatience and barely contained anger. "Enough! Juliette, can't you see what kind of man Joshua really is? Do you even know the full story? Do you know what he's been through—" Before he could finish, I interrupted him, my voice harsh. "Jayden, don't bring up the past." "I—" Before he could continue, I cut him off again. "It's my fault. If I hadn't left Juliette back then, my life would've been a thousand times better." "Hmph! It's good that you know!" Juliette's haughty voice echoed, and I could vividly imagine her prideful expression, head tilted slightly upward, her eyes brimming with smugness. A moment later, Jayden sighed heavily. "She's gone." "Yeah," I muttered, closing my eyes against the exhaustion. The prolonged darkness in the room left me feeling disoriented. Jayden's low, muffled voice reached my ears. He said, "Joshua, when you left Juliette, it clearly wasn't your fault. Why didn't you explain it to her? Why did you just let her keep berating you like that?" I opened my dry, tired eyes, gripping my phone tighter. "You said she's doing pretty well now, and since I'm practically dying, there's no need for her to know why I left back then. This way, she won't feel sad about my departure." "Alright." Jayden then asked, "You're not someone who breaks promises. Did something happen today that kept you from making it?" I was momentarily stunned, then gave a wry smile as I searched for an excuse to brush him off. "I've been busy with the lawyer, drafting the divorce agreement. I have to finalize it quickly. If I don't, I might start hesitating again." My explanation left him silent. After assuring him I would visit the hospital in two days, he finally relented and hung up, but not without reminding me to take my medication. Once the call ended, I curled up on the bed, exhaustion washing over me. The pain in my abdomen flared again. I pulled the blanket over myself, willing sleep to come. For some reason, I suddenly felt the whole room turn cold, and a dull pain started to spread in my abdomen once more. Once I woke up, two days would have passed, and I could leave. … Two days later, the sound of a key turning in the lock broke through my haze. Groggy and disoriented, I turned toward the door just in time to see Sophia standing in the doorway, radiant and smug. She stood in the light, a smile playing on her lips, looking elated. I lay there in the dark, watching her as though she were a beacon of light, though I knew all too well that she was no longer my light. She flipped the light switch on, and the sudden brightness stung my eyes. "Joshua, what are you playing at now?" She frowned as she strode to the bed and yanked the blanket off me. The rush of cold air made me shiver. I instinctively curled up tighter, shifting away from her. For a fleeting moment, I caught the shock in her eyes. But before I could hope that it meant she was worried, her voice turned cold and filled with disgust. "Stop pretending, Joshua. Get up!" I looked at her weakly, opening my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I wanted to go to the hospital for my appointment, but my body was too frail and drained. Realizing something was wrong, Sophia suddenly bolted from the room, shouting, "Cade, call an ambulance!"