For five years, I sold my blood to pay for my husband’s treatment abroad. He recovered, but lost his memory. He mistook his caregiver for his girlfriend and wanted to return home to marry her. I tried everything to awaken his memories, but all I ever got was one cold response: “I don’t know you.” Until I was diagnosed with heart failure, with only a week left to live. I finally chose to let go and went to say my final goodbye to him. But then I heard the caregiver leaning against his chest, asking in a coquettish voice: “Zachary, isn’t it a bit wrong for you to pretend to have amnesia just to marry me and deceive your wife?” My heart seized. The diagnosis in my hand crumpled into a ball. Disdain flickered in Zachary Knight’s eyes. “Vivian and I have been tied together since childhood. I’m sick of it.” “Besides, you gave yourself to me last week. Even if the sky falls, I’m going to marry you.” Watching the two of them pressed intimately together, waves of dizziness washed over me. So when Zachary proposed and swore I’d be his only woman for life, it was all just a joke. The announcement came over the speakers—the flight back home was beginning to board. Zachary wrapped his arm around Veronica Stone and headed to the queue, not forgetting to whisper sweet nothings. “As soon as we get back, we’ll get married immediately. I’ll give you the most luxurious wedding of the century!” A sharp pain stabbed my chest. I remembered when Zachary and I got married—it was during the most difficult time of his startup. The diamond ring was fake, the wedding dress was the cheapest available, and there wasn’t even a wedding ceremony. After slipping the ring on my finger, Zachary pulled me into a tight embrace, his eyes red. “Vivian, I’m sorry you had to settle. When I have money, I’ll give you the grandest wedding!” The ringing of a phone interrupted my memories. Zachary stepped aside to answer it. I quietly followed. The voice of Zachary’s assistant came through the phone. “Mr. Knight, in the first year of your illness, you pretended to go bankrupt and forced your wife to work to earn money. But I found out she’s also been selling blood this whole time. I’m afraid her health…” Zachary cut him off impatiently. “It’s her own fault for coming to the hospital every day to see me, making it impossible for me to spend time alone with Veronica!” “I pretended to go bankrupt to give her something to do, so she wouldn’t be idle all day and ruin my plans!” The assistant spoke again. “But Mr. Knight, selling blood continuously for five years can cause severe anemia, and if it’s more serious…” “Anemia can be fixed with supplements, can’t it? It’s not going to kill her, is it?” Zachary’s voice was ice cold. “Your only task right now is to prepare properly for my wedding with Veronica!” The call ended mercilessly. My legs nearly gave out beneath me. The dense needle marks on my arm reminded me how laughable I’d been all these years, hiding my blood donations from Zachary to keep him from worrying. Veronica suddenly let out a delicate cry. Zachary immediately rushed over, his face full of concern. Veronica looked aggrieved. “I accidentally pricked my finger with my brooch. It hurts.” Zachary lifted her hand and kissed away the bead of blood. Then he carefully fastened the brooch for her. His movements were as gentle as if handling a priceless treasure. “Veronica, from now on I’ll handle these small things. I’ll never let you shed another drop of blood.” The familiar words reminded me of our youth. I’d scraped my knee and it bled. Zachary was disinfecting it for me, and I gasped from the pain. He looked so distressed, swearing earnestly: “Vivian, from now on I’ll protect you and never let you get hurt again!” Over a decade had passed in the blink of an eye, and that boy who only had eyes for me had vanished with time. After watching Zachary lead Veronica onto the plane, I bit my lip and found the nearest blood donation center. After collecting enough for a plane ticket, I dragged my weak body to the ticket counter. “Hello, I’d like to buy a ticket home.”
When I reached the familiar villa entrance, my key wouldn’t open the lock. I had no choice but to ring the doorbell. Veronica answered the door. She yawned before speaking slowly. “Zachary kept me up too late last night. In a bit he’s taking me to try on wedding dresses. What do you need?” I bit my lip. “This is my home! Get out!” “I think the one who should leave is you!” A Maybach pulled smoothly into the courtyard. Zachary stepped out of the car, his cold gaze locking onto me. My eyes stung. “This villa—you bought it with the first money you made from your startup.” “When we moved in from our rental apartment, you said this was our love nest, and I was the only mistress of this house.” Zachary’s eyes flickered, then turned cold. “I told you, I don’t know you at all. The only mistress here is Veronica.” He walked past me. Lowering his head, he placed a kiss on Veronica’s lips. “Let’s go. No matter how expensive the wedding dress, I’ll buy it for you. I’ll make you the most beautiful bride.” I dug my nails into my palms to keep the tears from falling. Veronica glanced at me, her eyes hiding a provocative smile. She wrapped her arms around Zachary’s neck, speaking affectedly: “Thank you, honey.” The corners of Zachary’s mouth lifted involuntarily. I stood frozen in place. On our wedding night, Zachary had been just as happy when I called him “honey,” pestering me to say it over and over. When I got tired of his pestering, I casually asked if he’d be this delighted if any woman called him that. Zachary had cupped my face very seriously. “Vivian, I’m only happy because it’s you. If it were anyone else, I’d just feel disgusted.” “You’re the only one in my heart. From childhood until now, you’ve always been the special one.” But it seemed I wasn’t so special after all. Looking at the villa that held seven years of memories between Zachary and me, I bit my lip and rushed inside. Zachary’s angry voice chased after me. “Vivian Clark! How dare you!” I headed straight for the master bedroom. The wall where our wedding photo had hung was empty. The closet was filled with Veronica’s clothes, while mine were carelessly tossed in a corner. I picked up a photo frame that had been placed face-down on the nightstand. I was smiling brightly, and Zachary had his arm around me, his face full of affection. “You bumped into Veronica and made her twist her ankle! Apologize to her right now!” Zachary, who had followed me in, was holding Veronica in his arms like a princess, glaring at me furiously. I held the photo up in front of him. “You say you don’t know me—then how do you explain this photo?” He hesitated for a moment, but still insisted stubbornly: “I have no memory of it. I would only take photos like this with Veronica.” “Stop changing the subject! Apologize to Veronica now!” I suppressed my heartache and pulled a silver bracelet from the drawer. Inside the bracelet, our initials were engraved. “On my eighteenth birthday, you gave me this bracelet. You also said you’d grant me any request.” “Now, I want you to honor that promise. Stop pretending to have amnesia.”
Panic was written all over Zachary’s face. Veronica smiled bitterly and made as if to leave his embrace. “Zachary, put me down. My foot isn’t that bad.” “But maybe we should cancel next week’s wedding…” “No!” Zachary’s voice shot up abruptly. He held Veronica even tighter. “I told you, even if the sky falls, I’m going to marry you!” He turned with a darkened expression to look at me. “I don’t understand what promise or amnesia you’re talking about! All I know is that Veronica is my fiancée!” My heart ached so badly I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t help bending over, pressing my hand to my chest. Zachary was relentless. “Who are you putting on this act for? Don’t think pretending to be sick will let you get away with hurting Veronica!” Cold sweat broke out on my forehead. I gritted my teeth. “I didn’t push her! Besides, her ankle isn’t even swollen—she’s the one pretending!” Zachary instinctively glanced at Veronica’s ankle, which showed no signs of injury, and hesitated. “Zachary, my foot hurts so much, I can’t move it at all. Do you think it could be a more serious fracture?” Veronica squeezed out two tears, and instantly Zachary couldn’t care about anything else. “Don’t worry, I’ll take you to the hospital right away! Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you just like you once took care of me!” My vision darkened in waves. I called out to Zachary. “Take me to the hospital. I can’t hold on much longer…” Zachary looked at me, his face full of shock. “Why is your face so pale? Your lips have no color at all!” Even breathing was becoming difficult. Zachary stood frozen, torn with indecision. Veronica was crying, her face covered in tears. “Zachary, my foot hurts so much. If we delay any longer and I need an amputation, I won’t be able to be your bride!” Zachary hesitated no more and turned to leave. I used all my strength to shout: “If you don’t take me to the hospital now, you might never see me again!” Zachary turned around, a mocking smile on his lips. “You seem pretty energetic to me. You traveled all this way just to be my wife.” “Are all con artists as dedicated as you? Your acting skills deserve an Oscar.” With trembling hands, I pulled the diagnosis from my bag. “I’m not lying to you…” But Zachary didn’t even look. He carried Veronica and strode out the door. I stumbled after them. “Zachary! I have heart failure. I won’t live past this week. Just look at it once and you’ll know I’m not lying…” I finally managed to shove the medical report into Zachary’s hand just before they got in the car. He didn’t even spare it a glance, tossing it aside carelessly. “Keep up the act! I’m telling you, this trick won’t work on me! I’ll deal with you later for pushing Veronica!” The car door slammed shut mercilessly. The Maybach sped away. The medical report now bore a tire mark. My body collapsed. I could no longer hold on, and my consciousness plunged into complete darkness.
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