Chapter 2

2.

Jace returned to the hospital.

His precious Willow was lying in the hospital bed, looking thin and pale.

Jace's heart broke for her. He rushed forward to pull her into his arms. "Willow, are you okay? Don't worry, I will find Nancy soon and make her save you!"

A flash of triumph crossed Willow's eyes, but she forced a look of guilt onto her face. "But Nancy is pregnant. How can I let her go through surgery for me?"

"It is just a mistake anyway. We will just terminate the pregnancy," Jace said, his handsome face full of cold indifference.

Willow hesitated, then said softly, "Well, once I am better, I will definitely find a way to pay Nancy back."

"Why would you reward a woman that wicked and stupid?" Jace grit his teeth at the mention of my name. "If she hadn't used her family's power to bully us back then, we would have been together long ago!"

"When I was at my lowest, you were the one who gave me the money to finish my degree. You are the only one in my heart! People like Nancy who use their status to crush others deserve to feel what it is like to be bullied!"

I wanted to laugh, but the sound died in my ghostly throat.

Jace claimed I forced him into marriage. But he was the one who chased me, whispering, "Nancy, I truly love you."

Jace said Willow supported him during his darkest times. But the anonymous donations he received after his parents died? Those came from me!

Willow Thorne was nothing but a liar who stole the credit for my kindness!

Willow lowered her head shyly to hide the flicker of panic in her eyes.

Suddenly, a man in a white lab coat burst into the room.

Seeing Willow and Jace embracing, his eyes burned with rage. "Jace Landon, are you even human?!"

"Nancy's mother is literally dying, and you are here playing house with this woman!"

The man was Silas Avery, my best friend.

On the day I married Jace, Silas had red eyes. He asked me, "Are you sure you won't regret this?"

When I nodded, he turned and left the country for years.

I never expected that after I died, he would be the one to come back and take care of my mother.

Jace sneered when he saw Silas's face. "I wondered who it was. Just Nancy's pet dog."

"The Vance family is gone. Why are you still protecting that shallow loser?"

"If Nancy's mother is dying, go find Nancy! As long as she gets rid of that mistake and gives us the marrow, I will pay for the old woman's treatment immediately!"

Silas froze. "But Nancy... she is already dead."

He was the doctor who had to sign my death certificate.

Jace's face changed instantly.

He stood up, walked over to Silas, and punched him squarely in the eye. "Did Nancy send you here to act, too?"

"I have heard enough of these pathetic lies!"

"Willow cannot wait any longer. If Nancy keeps hiding, I cannot guarantee what I will do to her mother!"

Silas held his bruised eye, his voice turning raspy. "Jace, you were married to Nancy for three years. Do you really hate her this much?"

"Look at the watch on your wrist! Nancy gave that to you!"

"Do you really not care about anything you shared?"

Jace stiffened, his gaze falling on his wrist.

It was a rugged, simple watch that didn't match his expensive suit at all.

I had given it to him when I was eighteen.

I had fastened it to his wrist myself and told him, "I bought this with the money I earned working part-time. You better take care of it."

Jace had smiled and ruffled my hair. "Don't worry. I will wear it forever."

Back then, the boy was full of life and had a heart full of sincerity for me.

Later, after my father took his own life, Jace took control of everything.

His personality changed completely. He burned every gift I ever gave him.

But for some reason, he kept this watch. Maybe it was just a habit.

Silas's words were like bleeding wounds, and for a second, Jace looked uncomfortable.

But that discomfort was shattered by Willow's sobbing.

Willow cried out, "Jace, you still love Nancy, don't you? I knew it. She is your wife!"

"If that is the case, just forget about me! Let me die!"

Jace panicked immediately. "How could you say that? Nancy is cruel and ignorant. How could I ever love someone like her?"

"The only reason I haven't divorced her is to get that marrow to save you! As soon as you are healthy, we will have our wedding!"

"As for this watch... it is just a piece of junk. It doesn't belong on my wrist."

With that, he unbuckled the watch and tossed it into the trash can.

Years of love were thrown away just like that.

It was just like the night I was dying in labor. Silas had stumbled through the streets to find Jace.

But Jace had left the house without a second thought because Willow called and said she was scared of the dark.

A dull, heavy pain filled my chest.

I suddenly felt a twisted sense of anticipation. I wanted to see Jace's face when he finally realized I was truly gone.

Would he laugh, or would he finally cry?