Chapter 1

The day I was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer, my wife was hosting a pool party for her high school sweetheart.

In the shimmering blue water, the two of them were locked in a tight embrace, kissing like the world was ending.

She had captioned the photo, "Forever and always."

My finger slipped and I accidentally liked the post. Within seconds, it was deleted, and my wife was calling to scream at me.

"Caden, will you literally die if you stop stalking people for one second?"

"Hudson just got back to the States. Do you have to be such a buzzkill?"

I hung up without saying a word and sent her a draft of our divorce papers.

01.

By the time Sylvia got home, the pain in my stomach was agonizing.

She peeled off her soaking wet bikini and whipped it right into my face.

"Stop playing dead. Get up and wash this!"

"I don't feel well..." My face was as pale as a sheet, but Sylvia's mockery didn't stop for even a heartbeat.

"Not feeling well? I bet your heart just feels a little sour, doesn't it?"

"I was just welcoming Hudson home, and you had to stare at his Instagram like a creep. You made me look pathetic!"

"I'm going out to dinner with him another day. Are you going to try and eat him alive then, too?"

Sylvia was relentless. My face went even whiter as I reached for my meds on the table with a trembling hand.

She swiped them onto the floor before I could touch them.

"Say something! What are you faking now?"

I looked at the stomach pills scattered across the hardwood. Suddenly, the will to argue just vanished.

I looked up at her and asked, "Sylvia, do you even remember what day it is?"

"What day? What could it possibly be?"

"Can you stop being so dramatic for once? Always obsessing over this anniversary or that milestone. It's exhausting!"

Suddenly, my phone lit up. It was a notification from the hospital to pick up my lab results.

Sylvia's expression shifted for a split second, but her impatience won out.

"Is this all because I didn't go to the hospital with you for your check-up? Get over yourself."

"Fine, I'll go with you next time. Happy now?"

"Just make sure my bikini is spotless. I'm meeting Hudson for another swim soon."

Sylvia headed to the bedroom.

I stared at the crumpled, expensive swimwear and let out a dry, bitter laugh.

I quietly picked up the pills from the floor and swallowed them dry.

Six years of marriage and nine years of loving her couldn't stand a chance against her first love moving back to town.

Fine. If I can't hold onto this love, I'll just let it go.