Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I was just an unnamed cannon fodder in the original book. Experiencing a fleeting taste of genuine affection had already exceeded my wildest expectations.

I had no right to be greedy.

Behind everyone's back, I secretly booked a one-way ticket to a scenic coastal town.

If I was truly destined to die, I wanted to draw my last breath somewhere beautiful.

I decided to say one final goodbye to Pierce. But the moment I pushed open the door to Sylvia's private suite, I saw the two of them wrapped in an intimate embrace.

"Be good, Sylvia. Take your pills so your fractures can heal faster."

The delicate woman in his arms pouted, turning her head away in playful defiance.

"I don't want to. Once I get better, you'll leave me again. I can't bear to be apart from you."

He affectionately pinched her nose.

"As long as you want me around, I will stay right by your side."

Sylvia let out a soft huff.

"I don't believe you. What if that sick wife of yours starts throwing another tantrum?"

Pierce's brow furrowed, but he offered no defense.

Just as a foolish flicker of hope sparked in my chest, Sylvia suddenly began to thrash in distress.

"Just let me go! I can't stand watching you play the devoted husband to another woman!"

Pierce immediately panicked, tightening his grip on her shoulders.

"Don't do this! If you hate seeing her, I won't visit her room during your recovery. Your surgical stitches were just done―don't tear them open..."

Under his endless patience and gentle murmurs, Sylvia's tantrum slowly subsided.

She drifted off to sleep against his chest.

Watching this tender scene unfold shattered the last shred of my self-delusion. Under the crushing weight of heartbreak, my frail body gave out entirely, and I collapsed toward the tiled floor.

"Gia!"

Pierce's frantic shout erupted behind me, his eyes wide with sheer panic.

I didn't want his touch, but I had no strength left to pull away.

I slumped limply into his arms, coughing up a fresh mouthful of crimson blood that splattered across his pristine white shirt.

Seeing the blood, his entire frame began to tremble.

"How did this happen? Your vitals were completely stable before I stepped out..."

How foolish he was. My condition had never stabilized.

I had merely exhausted every ounce of my energy putting on a brave face so he wouldn't worry.

Now that my heart was dead, there was no point in keeping up the performance.

I took the envelope the nurse handed to me and shoved it directly into his hands.

"Sign it. Give me back my freedom, and take yours."

His hands shook as he pulled out the document. The moment he read the bold header, his eyes widened in utter disbelief.

"A divorce? Are you out of your mind!"

Both physically and emotionally, this was the moment I needed him the most.

Without his wealth, I could never afford the astronomical medical treatments required to keep me breathing. That was precisely why he felt so confident I would never walk away.

He never imagined that I had already made peace with surrendering my life.

I had no desire to waste words on a man who broke his sacred vows. I simply pointed a limp finger toward Sylvia's bed.

"Once you sign those papers, no one will stand between the two of you. You can take care of her openly without any guilt. Isn't that what you want?"

He grabbed my freezing fingers, his voice tight with desperation.

"Gia, it's not what you think! Sylvia and I are just lifelong friends. I only said those things to calm her down so she'd take her medicine. None of it was real!"

Whether it was real or fake no longer mattered to me.

All I knew was that I needed to escape his suffocating presence.

I would never forget that freezing night when my body shut down in the empty ward while my husband coddled another woman in his arms.

What reason was there to drag out this doomed marriage any longer?