Husband was tormented by a brain tumor, enduring terrible pain. Before the surgery, he tenderly held my hand and said: “The house in Coastal City and 500,000 in savings are all for you. You and our son can have a good life in the future.” I thought he was confused from his illness, mistaking our child for a daughter. Besides, our family was already deep in debt from his medical expenses. How could we possibly have a house and 500,000? Then, a look of longing appeared on his face, one I had never seen before, as he earnestly said: “Sophie, I loved you in this life. I have no regrets in death.” The nurse wheeled him into the operating room, and the red light turned on. I repeated his words, dazed, and collapsed to the ground. Sophie wasn’t even my name. After the surgery, my husband suffered from cognitive confusion. In simple terms, he mistook me for Sophie. 1. The corridor outside the operating room was filled with families of patients. An elderly lady kindly helped me up. “Child, that white dress must be expensive, don’t get it dirty.” It was then I realized I was wearing the dress Daniel had given me. We had been married for eight years, and this was the only piece of clothing he had ever given me. I had always hesitated to wear it. This morning, in a flurry, I had randomly grabbed something from the closet, not expecting it to be this. My daughter told me that Dad, who usually disliked shopping, had searched the entire shopping street to pick out this dress. When he gave it to me a few days later, he looked downcast, as if handing me a piece of cabbage. I thought he just struggled to express himself and didn’t pay much attention. Although it was a bit short and the waist was loose, I still treasured it dearly. I thanked the elderly lady and found a spot to sit down, but my mind was filled with Sophie’s name. Sophie was Daniel’s college classmate. In the graduation photo, she stood in front of him, both smiling brightly. That graduation photo was framed and placed beside our wedding photo on the bedside. Daniel often stared at the photo, lost in thought. I never knew if he was looking at me in my wedding dress or someone else. I had never met Sophie. I only heard her name mentioned at a gathering for Daniel’s classmates, where everyone looked at him knowingly and laughed. Perhaps they had a passionate romance during college, which is why he subconsciously said such things before the surgery. But what about the house and savings? To buy the house we currently lived in, we had spent all our savings. Even the 150,000 surgery fee was something I had borrowed 80,000 from my parents to gather. Why did Daniel say there was another house in Coastal City, along with 500,000 in savings? Was he confused and imagining things, or did it actually exist? I sat there dazed for six hours until the nurse pushed Daniel out after the surgery. The doctor informed me that the tumor had severely invaded the brain tissue, and there might be some aftereffects. “We can’t accurately judge the specific symptoms. You need to be with him 24/7 to prevent any accidents.” The anesthesia still hadn’t worn off completely. Daniel lay peacefully on the hospital bed, a faint smile on his lips, as if he saw something beautiful. To care for Daniel, I had taken a week off in advance, and our daughter was already sent to her grandparents. According to the doctor, what he said before entering the operating room might have just been ramblings from brain damage. Thinking this way, much of my unease faded away. Although Daniel lacked affection, he handed over his entire monthly salary, making him a responsible husband and father. Even if he mentioned Sophie, that was all in the past. Just then, Daniel’s phone pinged with a message. A contact named Teacher Harris said there would be a parent-teacher meeting for sixth-grade class two tomorrow at 2 PM, hoping parents would attend on time. Sixth grade? But our daughter was clearly only in fourth grade, and her homeroom teacher’s last name was Hill, not Harris. I wanted to open the message to ask what was going on. Though we had met through introductions, after all these years of marriage, we had been respectful toward each other. I never thought to check his phone. But this was different; the teacher’s message couldn’t have been sent in error. To unlock it, I tried his birthday, our daughter’s birthday, and finally my birthday, along with our wedding anniversary. None of them worked. The input box on the screen trembled, and the phone locked me out. After the lock period, I attempted to unlock it using his fingerprint. But he hadn’t set up a fingerprint password, only facial recognition. I was too exhausted to stand, so I leaned against the chair beside the bed. The person on the bed had an utterly ordinary face, and life seemed to hold no special elements. Had he truly betrayed me? Was he having an affair with Sophie? Was that sixth grader his and Sophie’s child? Overcome by both physical and mental exhaustion, I leaned back in the chair and fell asleep. When I woke up, Daniel was gradually coming to. Seeing me, his eyes lit up, and his smile widened. “Sophie, you finally wore the dress I gave you. It looks beautiful.” 2. I was momentarily at a loss for how to react, my body stiff as I sat there. But Daniel’s joy was evident; his gaze never left me. “Sophie, I just had a long dream. In the dream, we got married and had a child.” “I was afraid it was fake and couldn’t dare to open my eyes.” “But now you are right in front of me, wearing that white dress like before.” Daniel’s tone grew more excited, and a tear rolled down his cheek. He struggled to move his left hand, placing it over mine. Upon feeling my skin and warmth, he trembled with excitement. “It’s real; everything is real.” The nurse saw Daniel wake up and called the doctor to check on his recovery. Daniel still remembered the doctor’s last name was Lin and the nurse’s name. Dr. Nelson asked him a few questions about what happened before the surgery, and Daniel recalled everything clearly. Finally, the doctor glanced at me and casually asked, “What about Grace White? Do you still remember Grace White?” To the doctor, it seemed like a simple question. But Daniel frowned, as if he had never heard of her. “Grace White? Who is she?” Dr. Nelson paused writing the medical record, looking at me with a complex expression. “Think carefully again.” After hearing the doctor, Daniel looked at the ceiling, as if trying hard to search his brain for something. A few seconds later, he finally found the answer but looked at me with apology first. “Sophie, don’t mind me.” Daniel answered Dr. Nelson in a very small voice: “Grace White was my blind date from eight years ago.” He hurriedly explained: “It was arranged by the elders, and I couldn’t refuse. I only had dinner with her once and never contacted her again.” Before the surgery, Dr. Nelson had told me that some patients with damaged brain nerves might activate a self-protection mechanism. To alleviate their pain, they would treat their most desired subconscious things as reality. And those things that had once hurt them and caused them torment would miraculously disappear. It turned out that our eight years of marriage had been the things Daniel wanted to forget the most. The nurse silently handed me a tissue. Only then did I realize that my face was already covered in tears. Daniel grew anxious, ignoring the doctor’s obstruction, trying to sit up to wipe my tears. “Sophie, don’t be sad.” “I swear, that Grace whatever is not even a fraction of you. I have no connection to her at all.” “If I had known it would hurt you, I would have never met her.” It felt as if someone had injected poison into my heart. My chest tightened, and I couldn’t breathe. The concern on Daniel’s face was something I had never seen before. Even when I had a severe hemorrhage during childbirth, he had remained calm as if he were an outsider. It turned out he wasn’t calm but indifferent. “Sophie… Sophie…” Daniel broke free from the nurse and sat up frantically, and the bandage on his head began to ooze blood. I raised his phone, pointing it at his face. The moment it unlocked, I snatched the phone back and rushed out of the hospital room. The house in Coastal City, 500,000 in savings, and that sixth-grade son. For eight years, Daniel had treated me like a fool, keeping me in the dark. Today, I had to uncover the truth. 3. I stood in the corridor between two buildings and opened Teacher Harris’s chat. Scrolling through the history messages, I learned that that sixth-grade boy was named Kevin Garcia. In addition to various notifications, there were also transaction records for clothing fees and material fees that Daniel had paid for Kevin Garcia. Daniel was very concerned about Kevin Garcia’s academics. Every time exam results came out, he would chat with Teacher Harris at length. But he hardly ever worried about our daughter, Garcia. I continued searching for Kevin Garcia’s name in his Snapchat, and a profile picture of a snowy mountain popped up. Daniel hadn’t saved her contact, and the chat box displayed her name: Jade Snow. Their exchanges about Kevin had thousands of messages. Jade Snow mentioned that Kevin had a fever, and Daniel replied that he would drive over immediately. Kevin wanted to go to the amusement park, and Daniel explained he would take a day off tomorrow to accompany him. These times, Daniel had told me were for overtime work and socializing, and he couldn’t return home. Jade Snow often showed concern for Daniel’s health, urging him not to eat greasy food and to take walks more often. Daniel would send some photos for her to comment on. Their conversations were more intimate and casual than that of an average couple. Daniel Wilson didn’t save her contact. The chat window showed her Snapchat name, Jade Snow. They mentioned that Kevin Garcia’s chat history had over ten thousand messages. Jade Snow said Kevin had a fever, and Daniel replied that he would drive over right away. Kevin wanted to go to the amusement park, and Daniel said he would take a day off tomorrow to take him. In Daniel’s words, this time was for overtime work and socializing, so he couldn’t go home. Jade Snow often checked in on Daniel’s health, reminding him not to eat greasy food and to go out for walks. Daniel would send her some photos for her feedback. Their conversation was even more intimate than that of an average couple. There were countless messages from Daniel transferring money to Jade Snow, with each amount in the thousands. He handed over his salary to me every month, so how could he have so much money? I found his bank card linked to Snapchat, and indeed, there were two cards I had never known about. No wonder Daniel had been with the company for ten years, earning a salary of 6,000 that had never increased. It turned out bonuses and performance pay were being used for something else. All these years, he had always complained about being poor in front of me. I never had the heart to blame him and even left him 2,000 for living expenses. All household expenses were deducted from my salary first; he wouldn’t even spare money to buy a bottle of toner. Going through his chat records with Jade Snow, Daniel never mentioned his brain tumor, and he rarely even talked about headaches. The most recent chat was from yesterday. He said he would be very busy these days and asked Sophie to take care of herself and Kevin. “The house is yours. The quarterly bonus from the company is about to arrive, so keep an eye out for it.” That was the last message Daniel sent. Opening Jade Snow’s Moments, she was either practicing yoga or traveling, seemingly not needing to work, enjoying a leisurely and comfortable life. Her face looked almost unchanged compared to her graduation photo. An absurd thought struck me. Daniel and Sophie were the real loving couple, while I was merely his live-in housekeeper, and I even had to contribute living expenses. Eight years of tolerance and endurance, eight years of time and energy, had resulted in Daniel forgetting and resenting me. What’s more ridiculous is that he even treated me like Sophie, putting on that nauseating display of affection. After enduring ten minutes of cold wind, a nurse finally found me. She said that aside from not recognizing me, Daniel was fine. “Dr. Nelson was afraid of agitating the patient, so he didn’t tell him you are Grace White.” “Ms. White, if you don’t want to stay in the hospital, I suggest you find a 24-hour caregiver. The patient is still very weak and needs someone around.” The nurse seemed to predict that I wouldn’t take care of Daniel personally anymore. I saw my reflection in the glass window. My long hair was messily tied back, and my thin face had particularly prominent dark circles. The ill-fitting white dress made me look even more fatigued and ridiculous. For the past six months, I had been running between the hospital and the company to treat Daniel’s illness, hardly having time to eat. I thought that once he recovered, we would return to being a simple but stable family. Unfortunately, Daniel didn’t think so. Eight years of effort were like Daniel’s brain tumor, already removed and discarded.
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