"Terminal cancer?"

Sophia stared at Jayden in shock, her eyes filled with disbelief. "Isn't this all just a setup you orchestrated with him to fool me?"

His anger flared even hotter at her words. "This is not an act! Sophia, stop being so self-absorbed! You've imposed baseless accusations on Joshua for years, forcing him to bear the weight of your presumptions. Now, he's finally decided to divorce you. Why can't you let him go?"

His furious shout echoed through the ward. I could hear it but was powerless to respond. My vision blurred as pain coursed through my body, sharp and unrelenting, pushing me to the brink of unconsciousness.

If I survived this, she would finally agree to the divorce.

She staggered back a couple of steps, struggling to steady herself. She looked at me lying on the hospital bed, her face pale and overwhelmed. She stammered out an explanation.

"I didn't know...

The man running toward Sophia was Edison.

When he heard that Sophia had been staying at the hospital for two days to accompany Joshua, he dropped everything and rushed over.

He had always thought she didn't care about Joshua, but seeing this scene completely shattered that belief.

He stood beside her, slightly out of breath, steadying her trembling body with one hand.

"Sophie, are you feeling unwell?"

Hearing his familiar voice, she turned to look at him with reddened eyes. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.

His gaze darkened as he took in her state.

He had always believed that she hated Joshua. But what he witnessed today overturned everything he thought he knew.

Fear crept into him—fear that this incident would reconcile her with Joshua, jeopardizing everything he had worked to gain.

After a moment of hesitation, he feigned confusion and asked casually

"You and Jayden staged such a big act. Didn't you just want to make me feel sorry for you, pity your years of sacrifice, and then sign the divorce papers to give you your freedom?

"Joshua, I told you before that I won't divorce you! Unless you die, you will live in pain for the rest of your life to atone for what you've done!"

Sophia glared at me with anger, her tone cold and harsh.

I furrowed my brows, suppressed my anger, and explained again with a serious tone.

"Sophia, Edson's death has nothing to do with me. He jumped off the building on his own. Also, I didn't lie to you. I really do have cancer."

The woman standing by the hospital bed heard this and, as if hearing a joke, tossed a medical report at me, firing her accusations without restraint.

"You didn't lie to me? What is this report then? You're not going to say someone in the hospital has the same name as you, right?"

I reached out, trembling as I picked up the report Sophia threw at me, opening it carefully. I quickly saw the result—severe gastrointestinal bleeding.

Before I could read the rest, Sophia's mocking voice rang out again.

"Joshua, I really didn't expect that you would go so far just to divorce me! You really haven't changed at all over the years. You're still as sinister and disgusting as ever!"

Sitting on the hospital bed, hearing these words, I felt as though my heart had been pierced by a knife, pain radiating through my whole body.

I gritted my teeth, staying silent momentarily, then looked at her calmly.

"Since you already know, then when can we get a divorce?"

Her gaze darkened, and I cut her off just as she was about to speak. "We've been married for three years. You've been fooling around, cheating on me, insulting me the whole time, and even landied me in the hospital because of gastrointestinal bleeding.

"Sophia, being with you is too exhausting. Let's divorce, or I really fear I won't be able to live much longer because of you."

After I said this, the room fell into a brief silence.

After a while, Sophia's mocking laughter echoed through the room. "Joshua, since you're so afraid of dying, why did you push Edson off the building and stage it as a suicide?

"If it weren't for you, I would be living happily with him now. We would have had a little home and two lovely children! Instead, I'm here, searching the world for someone who resembles him!"

I looked at her with a bitter smile, suppressing my anger as I tried to explain the truth of that incident.

"I didn't push him off the building. He committed suicide! I was there that day because he texted me, asking me to come! Sophia, I liked you, but just because I liked you doesn't mean you can smear my name with all kinds of dirt!

"Also, I don't want to donate blood to your lover anymore. Let's divorce!"

Sophia's gaze shifted from anger to indifference and finally to disdain.

She said, "Joshua, if you don't want your company ruined, you better behave. Otherwise, your company, doctor friends, and mother will all go to hell with you."

I stared at her, unable to believe what I heard, and asked, "Sophia, I've done nothing wrong. Why are you doing this to me?"

"Who can prove that you didn't push Edson off the building?"

She looked at me quietly, and her words were like the whispers from hell—cold and venomous. "Someone who would go so far as to collaborate with doctors and even hospitals to stage a show for divorce—how sin-free can they be?

"Joshua, if you're wrong, admit it!"

I looked at her radiant smile, and the suffocating feeling in my chest grew stronger.

Just as I felt like I couldn't breathe anymore, I gasped, trying to calm myself, attempting to suppress the blood in my throat.

Sophia saw this and mocked me even more.

"Joshua, it's a shame you didn't enter the entertainment industry. Otherwise, you could've won an Actor's Guild Award for your family!"

I suddenly pressed my hand to my mouth, the needle in my hand pulling out, the tip turning outward, and blood began to drip onto the white blanket, bright and noticeable.

I covered my mouth and coughed. And with the cough, it felt like my stomach was tearing open, causing pain to spread through my body again.

When I felt the sticky sensation on my hand, I froze for a moment, instinctively covering it to keep Sophia from seeing.

She didn't notice anything strange, continuing to stand nearby, mocking me.

"Joshua, an evil person like you will live long. Edison's health isn't good, and he still needs your blood. You'd better live a few more years, or what will he do?

"Oh, by the way, he invited me to dinner tonight. You can be discharged from the hospital and come with me."

Her cold, mocking words were like a sharp blade stabbing deep into my heart, and I could no longer control my emotions.

"Ugh!" I couldn't suppress the blood rushing to my mouth, and I vomited a large mouthful of blood.

The pain spread through my body again, worse than before.

I saw Sophia freeze for a moment, her eyes full of confusion as she looked at me.

She stared at me in shock, murmuring, "Why... Why did you suddenly vomit blood?"

I opened my mouth to answer, wanting to tell her that I hadn't lied to her, but for some reason, I couldn't speak a word when I opened my mouth. Instead, more blood poured out.

The blood kept coming, and the white cup quickly turned red.

I might really be dying.

My consciousness began to fade, and my eyes slowly grew heavy.

"Sophia, will you feel even slightly sad when I die?" I thought.

"Joshua, what do you want to eat for lunch?" A familiar voice suddenly rang out. At first, Jayden's voice was calm, but his tone changed immediately when he saw the scene in the ward.

He rushed over in panic, questioning Sophia as he ran.

"Sophia, are you not satisfied until you torture him to death?"

After saying this, he pressed the emergency button by my bed repeatedly. "Joshua, don't sleep. Don't be afraid. I'll save you. I won't let you die!"

Hearing this, Sophia stumbled to my bedside, reaching out as if to grab something, but couldn't bring herself to touch anything.

"What happened to him? Why is he suddenly like this?"

He yelled at her in despair, the expression on his face was one I rarely saw—complete abandon. 

"Didn't you hear he has terminal cancer?"

"Terminal cancer?"

Sophia stared at Jayden in shock, her eyes filled with disbelief. "Isn't this all just a setup you orchestrated with him to fool me?"

His anger flared even hotter at her words. "This is not an act! Sophia, stop being so self-absorbed! You've imposed baseless accusations on Joshua for years, forcing him to bear the weight of your presumptions. Now, he's finally decided to divorce you. Why can't you let him go?"

His furious shout echoed through the ward. I could hear it but was powerless to respond. My vision blurred as pain coursed through my body, sharp and unrelenting, pushing me to the brink of unconsciousness.

If I survived this, she would finally agree to the divorce.

She staggered back a couple of steps, struggling to steady herself. She looked at me lying on the hospital bed, her face pale and overwhelmed. She stammered out an explanation.

"I didn't know... I really didn't know his illness was real. I..."

"Stay away from him!" Jayden bellowed again, bloc

Chapter 14