Chapter 7

Richard's expression twisted into a frown immediately. "This necklace is worth tens of millions of dollars. It's too expensive, Wynnie. Please don't buy such gifts for me willy-nilly next time." Tens of millions of dollars? All I needed was a million dollars for Eve's treatment, yet Wynnie refused to cough up that sum of money. But she was willing to fork out tens of millions of dollars just to please her lover. The sharp contrast of both incidents clashes against each other in my mind. Pain struck my core to the point that I found it difficult to remain standing. My body wavered to the side dangerously, causing Wynnie's expression to change drastically. She shook Richard off her instinctively before moving forward to support me. But now, every move she made only succeeded in making me feel nothing but disgust toward her. I took half a step backward right away. At the same time, I latched onto a nearby table in order to steady myself on my feet. Wynnie's hand froze awkwardly in mid-air. Her expression went cold as well. "What are you trying to do, Sebastian?" What was I trying to do? What could I do at this point? I really wanted to laugh mockingly in response, but I was in too much pain to do so. It hurt so much that the colorful lights of the bar failed to add a trace of color to my pallid cheeks. I took a deep breath in order to endure the strong pain wreaking havoc in my body. Then, I reached out to rip the necklace off Richard's neck. As a result, Richard's neck reddened because of my rough actions. The spot where the necklace's clasp rested was chafed as well. It hurt so much that Richard hissed in pain immediately. "Sebastian York!" I knew it. People would only reveal their true colors when they were in pain. I just tilted my head in confusion at the sight of Richard's dark expression. "Don't you like acting pitiful in front of Wynnie the most? Why aren't you acting now?" Richard clamped up immediately before turning to look at Wynnie. But Wynnie's eyes were glued on me. She never bothered sparing a glance at Richard. I stared into Wynnie's eyes as I continued slowly, "Wynnie, everyone else has the right to buy this necklace. Everyone but you." In the past, Wynnie had the right to possess the necklace because she was once my beloved. But now, she was nothing to me. A mixture of rage and embarrassment washed over Wynnie's senses. She shoved me against the wall immediately. Never had I seen her looking so enraged and violent. "How dare you, Sebastian York!" Finally, I broke out into a grin. "What's there to be scared of? I'm dying anyway." To think that things between me and Wynnie would deteriorate to this point. Served us right. But we weren't like this in the past. This necklace was still filled with the love we once harbored for each other. It shouldn't be sullied. Wynnie tried to snatch the necklace out of my hand. Unfortunately, she failed. Suddenly, she let out a bark of laughter. Then, she leaned in to whisper into my ear. "I'll give you the necklace. In return, you'll give me Eve's life." My eyes went as wide as dinner plates. I could only stare at Wynnie in disbelief. I knew very well that she could do everything in his power to prevent the hospital from keeping Eve as its patient. I could do whatever I wanted because of my short lifespan. But Eve couldn't risk it. She still had a chance to survive. Just as Wynnie was about to leave, I grabbed her hand immediately. In a quivering voice, I uttered, "I don't want the necklace anymore! Don't touch Eve!" "It's too late, Sebastian." Richard brought over a bottle of white wine he had somehow scrounged out of nowhere. He smoothly stepped between me and Wynnie, a wide smile on his face. "Don't spoil the mood, Sebastian. If I remember correctly, your alcohol tolerance is pretty decent, isn't it? As long as you finish off this bottle of white wine, we'll pretend that nothing ever happened tonight. What do you say?" My face grew paler at the sight of the wine bottle. Regular people couldn't withstand the backlash of drinking a full bottle of wine, much less a patient like me. Wynnie backed away from me. That was enough to prove that she had tacitly agreed to Richard's suggestion. I knew that I didn't have any other option. Hence, I accepted the bottle and wasted no time in guzzling down the wine. The scorching wine burned my esophagus all the way to the pits of my stomach. In just a matter of seconds, my forehead was coated with a sheen of cold sweat. Before I could drain the bottle, my stomach couldn't take it anymore. Crimson blood oozed out of my mouth and nose, soon coating my clothes and hands. My white shirt was instantly dyed bright red. Even though the bar was pretty dim, the redness was enough to ring alarm bells in everyone's heads. No one would've thought that I was already afflicted with stomach cancer. Before I passed out, I thought I could hear Wynnie's panicked voice. "Sebastian!" By the time I woke up, I was already in the hospital. Wynnie wasn't around. Ryan was the one who stayed by my bed. His expression seemed pretty normal, though the bruise blooming on the corner of his mouth as well as the injury on his brow looked pretty jarring. Upon noticing that I had regained consciousness, Ryan tried to smile at me, only to fail to do so. Instead, he covered the corner of his mouth while commenting, "It fucking hurts. Man, I shouldn't have fought him." "What happened?" "It's nothing. I just beat Richard up because I was pissed at him." Richard was Wynnie's favorite boy toy at the moment. Since Ryan, her own secretary, had beaten Richard up, he'd undoubtedly face the consequences later. Still, Ryan seemed pretty nonchalant after hearing my nervous inquiry. "The worst thing that can happen to me is me getting fired from Jakeman Group. As for you, Sebastian… Don't you have anything you want to tell me?" I had a feeling I knew what Ryan was referring to when I noticed the unusual moisture in his eyes. Then again, he was right. He must have found out about my actual condition after the doctor gave me a check-up in the hospital. "You know all about my illness now, huh?" Ryan's eyes reddened immediately. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? How dare you drink alcohol despite having stomach cancer! Sebastian York, just how suicidal are you?" "I wanted to die a long time ago." But Eve had yet to recover from her illness. I had yet to explore the world and see the sights for myself. In fact, I didn't even have time to visit my old mentor who had helped me out a lot. If not for those goals, I most likely would've taken my own wretched life a long time ago. Since the day I was born, I wasn't loved by anyone in this world. After I met Wynnie, I thought I was finally loved by one person in this world. Even though things had already progressed to this point, the fact that Wynnie once loved me still stood. I never regretted dating her. That was, until I spotted Richard wearing "Beloved". That was when I knew I was nothing but a joke this whole time. Wynnie and I had been married for eight years, for God's sake. She had never taken the initiative to gift me such a symbolic item during the time she loved me the most. Even if it turned out to be a lie, she still refused to give it to me. Now, she was more than willing to give Richard something that precious with both hands. I regretted everything, to say the least. What if I didn't choose to leave Wynnie's side just to help her out? What if I chose to stay and go through the darkest times of her life with her? Would the outcome be different? Clearly, my demeanor shocked Ryan. He stared at my calm expression, not knowing what to say. In the end, he could only repeat the things I already knew a long time ago. "The doctor said you can still live for a very long time if you choose to go through with the treatment. I'm going to find Wynnie right now." It seemed that Ryan was bent on resigning from his position as Wynnie's secretary. Even the way he addressed her had already changed. I stopped Ryan. "There's no need for that." If I were to get treated, I'd be granted an additional three years of life, at most. Not to mention, I'd have to go through intense torment and pain the whole time. Life wouldn't be as easy and freeing as the days I had been living so far. Besides, I didn't really care about my condition. On the contrary, Eve was my main concern. I got out of bed immediately so that I could visit Eve. I did promise her yesterday that I'd visit her, after all. Who would've known that the bar's incident would happen? Anyway, Eve would get mad at me when she saw me later. Even though I couldn't see Eve right now, I could imagine the way her cheeks puffed up out of anger.