Chapter 1

"Mrs. Gregg, you have terminal cancer..." My face was pale as I asked the doctor, "What did you say?" The doctor pressed his arm over my medical records and enunciated every word clearly. "Mrs. Gregg, your uterus was not completely cleared when you had an abortion two years ago. Then, you had an infection and that caused the cells in your uterus to become cancerous..." I interrupted him tearfully, "How much time do I have left?" "The cancer cells are spreading. You have at most three months to live..." I could not hear anything else the doctor said. My mind buzzed loudly and the words "three months to live" reverberated in my head... That night, at the Gregg villa: I sprawled out on the bed like a dead dog, burying my head in the pillow. My heart was filled with sorrow. The person who had been intimate with me earlier was my husband, Dixon Gregg. For three whole years, he would do what he wanted to do and leave with a cold expression on his face every time he visited the villa. He would never say anything to me from the beginning to the end. Just like today, he had changed into his suit after emerging from the bathroom and was about to leave. I called out his name softly. He pursed his thin lips and looked at me indifferently. When I looked at his indifferent gaze, everything I wanted to say to him became stuck at my throat. In the end, I croaked, "Take care." I could hear the car being started downstairs. I got out of bed to stare at the black Maybach downstairs and called Dixon. He picked up and asked impatiently, "What's the matter?" Dixon and I had been married for three years. There was someone he liked when he married me, but my father-in-law threatened him with the life of that woman and forced him to marry me. He resisted, but in the end, he was forced to give up the woman he loved and marry me instead. For three years, he treated me coldly and cruelly. Even when he was with me, he would think of another woman. Her name was Gwen Worth. I remember that I was just fourteen years old when I fell for Dixon. It was the beginning stages of love. When you like someone, you place that person in your heart. Back then, he was the piano teacher for the class next door. Even now, I still do not know why I fell for a random man seven to eight years my senior. Perhaps it was because he was handsome and spoke softly and warmly, or perhaps it was because the first time I heard him play the piano, he played the last song that my mother played for me before she passed away. I could not tell you what the reason was. That year, I followed Dixon around for several months until he left the piano class and I could not find him anymore. I did not even get to ask him for his name. In the years that followed, I could not find the man who had played the piano. Then, the Director of the Gregg family went to Shaw Corporations and asked me to be his daughter-in-law... The Shaw family was very wealthy and the most powerful family in Wu City. I was born into the Shaw family. Before I met Dixon, my parents died in a plane crash. Their bodies were never recovered. I suddenly became the most powerful person in Wu City. And it was at the loneliest and saddest point of my life when I met the warm Dixon Gregg. We had met a few times before and he knew that I had been following him around. However, he treated me as an ordinary student and had never been bothered by my presence nor tried to chase me away. At night, he would say to me gently, "Little lady, it's time to go home or your parents will worry. It's dangerous to travel alone at night." My heart felt warm when I thought of the past. I felt that Dixon was warm and considerate back then. I closed my eyes. My biggest regret was agreeing to get engaged to Dixon three years ago after being asked by Dixon's father. I had not wanted to because there were so many families who had wanted to join forces with the Shaw family through marriage. But Mr. Gregg had shown me a photo. When I saw that familiar face, my heart twisted forcefully and I started to feel anticipation. Because that was the man I had thought of every day and night. I took a bold gamble. I bet that Dixon Gregg would marry me. I wagered that even if our marriage was devoid of love, we would treat each other with respect and civility. I bet that he would take care of me and show concern to me as a fit husband would. It should not have been like this, with him humiliating me at every turn. Two years ago, he even ordered someone to get rid of the child in my belly. He did not even care about my dignity or the anticipation I felt. He spoke to me viciously in front of the doctor and said, "Caroline Shaw, you're not fit to bear a child for me." Dixon Gregg hated me. He hated me so much that he got rid of our child! He had forgotten... He had forgotten that little girl who had once followed him around day and night. To him, I had used the power of the Shaw family to force his father's hand, to become his wife, and to force the woman he loved away. To him, I was an unforgivable sinner. I kept thinking of what had happened in the past. Perhaps I had been silent for too long. Dixon warned me darkly, "Don't challenge my good nature. You know that I have no patience for you." I came back to my senses and forced down the pain I felt in my heart. I said softly with a laugh, "Dixon Gregg, let's make a deal."