“Mrs. Ashford, Bianca needs a heart transplant. We need you to come in for a compatibility test.” “Okay.” “It’s a match. Are you absolutely sure you wish to proceed with the donation?” “I’m sure.” On the day of the surgery, he knocked the last cake I’d ever bake for him to the floor. “Get out. Bianca’s in surgery today. Don’t bother me.” He never knew the heart for his lover was mine. The anesthetic crept cold through my veins. Before the dark pulled me under, I heard his tender voice through the surgical curtain. “Don’t be afraid, Bianca. When you’re well, we’ll marry.” It’s fine. This life. I owed it to his sister anyway. When the heart monitor flatlined, he finally asked where I was. The doctor pointed next door. “The donor. Would you care to see?” He scoffed. “A corpse? Why waste my time?” But, Lucas, when you learned that corpse was me, why did you lose your mind? Raina’s POV Today was my fourth wedding anniversary with Lucas Ashford. Instead of him, I got a call from his law firm, from his lead counsel, Mr. Preston. “Mrs. Ashford, Mr. Ashford is being sued by Miss Bianca White for unlawful restraint. As his legal spouse, your presence is required.” I tightened my grip on the phone. Another one of Bianca’s games. In four years, this had become routine. Another performance to prove who really owned him. But I still went. I was Lucas’s legal wife. This was my duty. In the law firm’s top floor conference room, the air conditioning hummed too cold. Through the glass door, I saw Bianca White before I entered. She was complaining, her tone caught between a boast and a grievance. “Mr. Preston, don’t you think he went too far? He kept me locked on his private island for three days and nights. I couldn’t leave.” The nearby assistants didn’t even blink. One leaned over and murmured to the intern beside her. “This isn’t a lawsuit. It’s a lover’s quarrel. Mr. Ashford indulges her completely. It’s a game. She’s making a scene just to have the wife summoned and forced to watch.” The intern caught on at once. “So that’s why they called Mrs. Ashford? Following protocol?” “Exactly. To rub her face in it.” Those not-quite-whispers pierced me, one after another. I pushed open the door and sat down on a sofa in the corner. Before long, Lucas arrived. He wore a black custom-tailored suit, bringing a frigid chill with him as he entered. The temperature in the entire conference room seemed to drop several degrees. But when he saw Bianca, all that ice instantly melted. He reached up and gently stroked the top of her head, his movements tender. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have locked you up. Have you forgiven me?” Bianca pouted. Lucas pulled out a velvet box from his pocket and opened it. A pink diamond brooch lay quietly inside. “I won it for you at an auction a few days ago.” He pinned the brooch to Bianca’s chest. “Don’t be angry anymore, okay?” Bianca looked surprised and delighted, but still wouldn’t look at him. Lucas pulled her into his embrace and tilted his head to kiss her. Throughout the entire process, I was like a transparent spectator, forced to witness my husband’s intimacy with another woman. Lucas, holding Bianca, finally turned around and noticed me in the corner. His gaze swept over me, and he paused briefly. Bianca leaned against him. “Lucas, I had Mr. Preston notify her to come. You’re not upset with me, are you?” “It’s fine.” Lucas said flatly. Those words stabbed into my heart like a sharp blade. Four years ago, it wasn’t like this. Back then, Lucas’s sister, Isabel, was my best friend in the world. I used to be afraid of him too. But later I discovered that while Lucas was cold to everyone else, he showed me a tenderness that others couldn’t imagine. He would remember my period and have hot drinks and heating pads ready in advance. He built an elaborate shelter for the stray cats under my dorm building, just because I’d casually mentioned feeling sorry for them. Whenever I went out, he’d always find excuses to stay by my side, protecting me completely. Little by little, I let my guard down. We were passionately in love for two whole years. During those two years, I was the princess Lucas cherished in the palm of his hand. But a sudden disaster shattered all that beauty. After our wedding, Isabel and I went shopping when we encountered an armed robber. In the chaos, Isabel used all her strength to push me away, screaming at me. “Raina, run! Go get help!” I turned and ran. I hadn’t gotten far when my stomach suddenly erupted in unprecedented pain. The pain made everything go black, and I lost consciousness. When I woke up again, the world had changed. Two pieces of devastating news hit me simultaneously. First, the doctor told me I had stomach cancer. Terminal stage. Second, Isabel had fought back and been stabbed to death by the vicious criminal. I didn’t even have time to process the sudden catastrophe before I was engulfed by Lucas’s overwhelming hatred. His eyes bloodshot, he gripped my shoulders tightly, roaring his questions at me. “Why didn’t you save her? Why were you the only one who ran!” Looking at this man who had just suffered the pain of losing his sister, how could I bear to tell him that his wife wouldn’t live much longer either? I couldn’t let him bear the double blow of losing both his sister and his wife simultaneously. So I chose silence. And my silence, to Lucas, was confirmation. From that moment on, all the love in his eyes transformed into hatred that would consume everything. To punish me, he found Bianca-someone who resembled me slightly. He took all the affection he’d once given me and lavished it on that replacement, multiplied. I placed my hand on my abdomen. It was still flat, but inside, the cancer cells had already spread throughout my body. Three days ago, I received my latest test results. The doctor looked at me and pronounced my final sentence. “Mrs. Ashford, I’m very sorry. You have a month at most.” One month. That’s fine. This endless torment would finally be over. Isabel, wait for me. I’ll come to confess to you very soon.
Raina’s POV A fire-red sports car stopped arrogantly in front of me. The window rolled down, revealing Bianca’s face wearing a victor’s smile. “Get in.” She said sweetly from the driver’s seat, not bothering to hide her gloating. Lucas didn’t look at me, just commanded. “Get in. Don’t make me say it twice.” I got in. In that cramped space, every inch of air made me feel suffocated. The car started, speeding along the riverside road. Suddenly, a ball rolled into the middle of the road, and then a child ran out after it. Bianca panicked and jerked the steering wheel, mistaking the gas pedal for the brake and stomping down hard. The sports car charged straight toward the guardrail along the river. In the instant before impact, I clearly saw Lucas lunge forward. Using his own body to shield Bianca in his arms. From beginning to end, he didn’t spare me a single glance. After the tremendous crash came the cold and darkness of plunging into water. Freezing river water poured madly through the shattered car window, flooding my nose and mouth. My heart went utterly cold in that moment. Before completely losing consciousness, the last scene I witnessed was Lucas smashing open the car window. Holding the unconscious Bianca, swimming desperately toward the surface. When I woke again, I was in the hospital. “Why hasn’t she woken up yet?!” It was Lucas. My heart trembled involuntarily. The doctor tried to explain. “Mr. Ashford, Mrs. Ashford’s unconsciousness may not only be due to drowning. Her physical condition-” Before he could finish, a nurse’s anxious voice interrupted. “Mr. Ashford! Miss White is awake and crying everywhere looking for you!” The hospital room door opened, and Lucas’s tall figure appeared in the doorway. Our eyes met as I’d just opened mine. He turned without hesitation toward Bianca’s room, not sparing me another glance. I slowly closed my eyes. That’s fine. It’s better that he doesn’t know about my illness. Otherwise, he’d probably just sneer “serves you right,” then complain that I was dying too slowly and offending his sight. I handled my own discharge procedures. Returning to that empty villa, my heart was as calm as stagnant water. I began calmly arranging my affairs for after death. I first went to the old photo studio on the corner that had been there for decades and took a portrait for my funeral. In the photo, I wore a clean white shirt and smiled. I went to select the plainest white ceramic urn for myself. Holding that small urn, imagining myself finally curled up inside it, I actually felt incredibly peaceful. Finally, I took a taxi to the cemetery. In front of Isabel Ashford’s grave, I set down the white roses I’d brought. “Isabel, I’m sorry.” “I’ll be coming to join you very soon.” “Raina.” I stiffly turned around. Lucas stood in the distance, also holding a bouquet of white roses. And beside him, intimately holding his arm, was Bianca.
Raina’s POV Lucas stepped forward and kicked away the white roses in front of the grave. “How dare you show your face here?” “Get lost! Don’t defile my sister’s place!” I supported myself against the gravestone and slowly stood up. “I just wanted to visit Isabel.” “Visit her?” Lucas acted as if he’d heard the world’s greatest joke. “What right do you have to visit her?” He suddenly lunged, slamming me back against a nearby tree. His hand closed around my throat. “Why didn’t you save her back then? Why did you let her die alone so miserably!” His roar was raw, his eyes bloodshot. The air vanished at once. My breath was stolen piece by piece. Death’s shadow fell, but I only felt release. I gave up struggling and slowly closed my eyes. Dying by his hand might also be a form of repayment. Just as my consciousness began to fade, the grip on my neck suddenly loosened. Lucas released me, his chest heaving violently. I leaned against the tree trunk, coughing severely. Bianca walked up sweetly and took Lucas’s arm. “Lucas, it’s so hot here in the sun. Let’s go. Don’t waste time on such a vicious person.” Lucas gently placed the white roses before the grave and didn’t look at me again. “Oh, my foot hurts so much.” Bianca suddenly cried out delicately. Lucas immediately crouched down in front of her, naturally lifting her onto his back. He walked down the cemetery steps steadily, one step at a time. Watching that familiar back, my heart felt like it was being cut repeatedly with a knife. Lucas used to carry me like this too. That time they went to pray at the church, and the long stone steps made my legs go weak. I stubbornly refused to walk, so he indulgently crouched down and carried me on his back. He walked very steadily, step by step, whispering promises in my ear. “Raina, I’ll carry you for a lifetime.” At the time, Isabel was teasing us from the side, laughing at our sweetness. The promise still echoed in my ears, yet now another woman rode on his back. I silently followed behind them. Lucas placed Bianca in the car, then turned back to see me, coldly ordering. “Get in.” When I didn’t move, he impatiently added another sentence. “Every second you stay here disgusts me.” I got in the car and sat in the back seat. Inside the car, Bianca deliberately pressed her entire body against Lucas. “Lucas, I want…” Lucas hit the brakes and stopped the car at a deserted riverside viewpoint. He turned to me and said. “Get out.” I couldn’t believe what was happening. “Get out.” His voice was full of violence. I trembled as I pushed open the car door and got out. As soon as I steadied myself, the car door behind me slammed shut and locked. Then that fire-red sports car began to shake violently in a rhythmic pattern. On the silent viewpoint, a woman’s deliberately suppressed yet seductive moans and a man’s heavy breathing clearly penetrated the car window, torturing my eardrums one sound at a time.
Raina’s POV Tears poured from my eyes, immediately dried by the river wind. The first time with Lucas, he was so careful, his movements gentle and restrained, afraid of hurting me. The cherishing and love in his eyes almost melted me. But now, just a few meters away from me, he indulged with another woman, rough and direct. Just to vent the most primitive desire. I don’t know how long passed before the car window finally rolled down. Bianca leaned lazily against the seat back. Her face flushed with post-coital satisfaction, she signaled that I could get in the car. I pulled open the car door. That heavy smell inside the car made my stomach churn with nausea. “Lucas, what if I get pregnant?” Bianca said. Lucas started the car. “Then have the baby. We’ll have a daughter as adorable as you.” Have a daughter. Those words hit like a thunderbolt. We’d once passionately discussed our future children too. He said if we had a daughter, she must be like me. He’d spoil her into the happiest little princess in the world. But he also said that his most beloved would always be me, his big princess. Those promises that once made my heart sweet with joy now sounded as distant as something from a past life. Bianca leaned sweetly against his shoulder, cooing. “Then we’ll have to keep trying hard when we get home.” Back at the villa, Lucas and Bianca threw all caution to the wind. On the living room sofa, in front of the bathroom mirror, on the study carpet-everywhere bore traces of their indulgence. Those lewd sounds continued day and night, tormenting me like a curse. And I could only lock myself in my room, repeatedly tortured by the excruciating pain of cancer. Each time the pain struck, I could only bite down hard on the blanket, spitting out blood tinged with a metallic sweetness. Inside the door was the silence of approaching death. Outside the door was unbridled pleasure. I left my room to get water and saw Bianca wearing an apron, busy in the kitchen. Lucas sat at the dining table reading the newspaper, the scene absurdly peaceful. Bianca saw me. “Eat with us.” Lucas didn’t look up. “Don’t be ungrateful.” A table full of charred, unidentifiable objects. Yet Lucas calmly ate, even indulgently telling Bianca. “It’s delicious.” The first time I cooked for him. It was just as terrible, but he ate every dish clean. Then he gently ruffled my hair and said I was the most amazing girl in the world. I forced myself to take a bite of food. My stomach immediately churned. A metallic sweetness I could no longer suppress, I rushed to the bathroom and vomited violently into the sink. The white ceramic was instantly stained with glaring blood. Bianca followed me in. Seeing this scene, her eyes immediately reddened. “Raina, what do you mean by this? I worked so hard making that food, and you hate it this much? Are you deliberately putting on a show for Lucas and me?” Lucas rushed over hearing the commotion. His expression darkened instantly. He quickly stepped forward, pulled Bianca into his arms, and soothed her gently. “Since you hate eating so much,” He spoke. “Then go hungry for a few days and reflect properly.” “Someone, lock her in the basement.”
Raina’s POV Two bodyguards responded and stepped forward, grabbing my arms and roughly dragging me toward the basement. Cold, damp air rushed at me, mixed with the moldy smell of dust. I didn’t even have the strength to struggle. The excruciating pain in my stomach and the ice in my heart left me nearly unconscious. I was thrown inside without mercy. From beginning to end, Lucas never looked at me once, just held the pitifully crying Bianca in his arms and turned to leave. In the darkness, I curled up on the cold floor. For two full days, not a drop of water or food. Hunger and stomach pain took turns torturing me, wearing away the last bit of my life force. It wasn’t until the third day, the eve of Bianca’s birthday party, that the basement door finally opened. Lucas had someone release me. He looked down at my miserable state from his height. “You’ll personally organize Bianca’s birthday party. If anything goes wrong, you know the consequences.” I nodded. The birthday party was extravagantly arranged. The entire villa was decorated with flowing lights, and guests gathered. Halfway through the party, Bianca walked up to me with a wine glass, looking seductive. “Raina, today’s my birthday. Where’s your gift?” Undisguised provocation glinted in her eyes. “I didn’t prepare anything,” I answered. Bianca noticed the necklace around my neck. It was the only keepsake my mother had left me. “Then give me that,” Bianca’s tone was matter-of-fact. “I really like it.” I immediately protected the necklace at my chest. “Not this.” “Why not?” Bianca’s eyes immediately reddened. She looked grievously at Lucas, who had rushed over. “Lucas, I just wanted a birthday present.” Lucas’s gaze went cold. “Give it to her.” He commanded me. “This is what my mother left me…” My voice trembled uncontrollably as I begged him. When my mother died, I cried until I couldn’t breathe. It was Lucas who held me tightly, promising over and over in my ear that he’d always be with me, that he’d love me well in her mother’s place. But now, this same man was personally taking away my last remembrance of my mother. Lucas lost patience and directly signaled to the bodyguard beside him. “No! Don’t!” Two bodyguards pinned me down firmly. I could only watch helplessly as that thin cord was torn off and fell into Lucas’s hand. He personally put it on Bianca, even praising her gently. “It suits you perfectly.” He took Bianca’s hand and returned to the center of the party. I collapsed to the floor. I had to leave this suffocating place! But as soon as I stood up, I was blocked by several of Bianca’s friends. They dragged me to a deserted corner. Vulgar insults accompanied punches and kicks, raining down on me. “Shameless bitch, occupying the position of Mrs. Ashford and refusing to let go!” “Bianca wanting your things is your blessing, and you dare refuse?” I curled up on the ground, giving up all resistance and calls for help. It hurt. It hurt so much. But how could physical pain compare to even one ten-thousandth of the pain in my heart? When another kick landed hard on my abdomen, I jerked my head to the side and vomited up a large mouthful of blood. That glaring red instantly frightened those women who’d been kicking in a frenzy. Just then, a cold voice sounded above their heads. “What are you doing?!” It was Lucas.
Raina’s POV Bianca’s friends turned pale with fear, hastily explaining. “Mr. Ashford, it has nothing to do with us! She vomited blood on her own!” Bianca rushed over, grabbing Lucas before he could step forward. “Lucas, don’t let her fool you! She did it on purpose, using a blood pack to act, trying to ruin my birthday!” Lucas’s advancing foot paused. He looked at me curled up on the ground. “Since she loves acting so much, let her act to her heart’s content.” He turned to the bodyguards. “Throw her in the pool in the back yard. When dawn comes, fish her back out.” That night was early winter. The nighttime temperature was already close to freezing. A bodyguard couldn’t help but warn. “Mr. Ashford, this could kill someone.” “If she dies, she dies.” Lucas responded indifferently. Two bodyguards roughly dragged me to the back yard and threw me into the freezing pool. Bone-chilling cold instantly enveloped me. Suffocation and excruciating stomach pain struck simultaneously. I struggled in the icy water. While Lucas and Bianca embraced intimately under the lights. After that night, I was fished out. But I had only one breath left, burning with fever. I was thrown back into my room, left to fend for myself. In the following days, my illness grew more frequent. Vomiting blood became routine, and my consciousness often slipped into confusion. During one bout of severe pain, my memory returned to five years ago, to that moment when he would still feel sorry for me. Instinctively, I grabbed my phone and dialed that familiar number. Just like every time I felt terrible before, crying as I spoke. “Lucas… I feel awful…” On the other end, a long silence. Just when I thought he wouldn’t respond, Lucas’s voice came through the receiver. “What’s wrong?” I suddenly realized what a ridiculous thing I’d done. I hung up in a panic, buried my head in the blanket, and cried silently while gritting my teeth. Finally, I swallowed a handful of painkillers and fell into a drowsy sleep. I don’t know how long passed before a basin of cold water was dumped over my head, shocking me awake from unconsciousness. Bianca stood by the bed, looking down at me. “I found a man for you. So you can see what another man feels like. How’s that?” As she spoke, a greasy-looking man walked in from the hall. He leered at me as he approached the bed. I scrambled back in panic. Just as his grimy hand was about to grab me, I shoved him away with all my strength. And I ran. I burst out of the room and slammed straight into a solid chest. It was Lucas. Bianca threw herself against him, sobbing as she began her story “Lucas, I can’t believe it…she had a strange man in her room. How could she do this to you?”
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