Chapter 3

• The morning after the dinner party, Audrey woke up with an excruciating pain in her abdomen.
• It was a different kind of pain, so unlike the dull ache that she was used to. No. This was more than that. It felt as if countless knives were stirring in her organs, making every breath get accompanied by a tearing sensation.
• She struggled to sit up, intending to search for painkillers.
• But then she noticed how her skin had an abnormal waxen yellow hue, and when she turned to look at herself in the mirror from where she sat weakly on her bed, she saw how even the whites of her eyes were tainted with a faint yellowish tint.
• Audrey curled in the corner of the bed; her entire frame was wracked with shivers. Having given up on getting some painkillers, she reached out to grab her phone. But she could barely muster any strength for such a simple task.
• Her fingertips slipped on the screen several times before finally succeeding in dialing Simon's number.
• "Simon... I'm in so much pain... My skin is turning yellow..."
• Audrey’s voice was weak, and every word took immense effort to utter.
• On the other end of the line, Simon's tone immediately turned anxious. "Audrey, don't move around. I'm arranging an ambulance to pick you up. You need to go to the hospital for a check-up right away!"
• After hanging up, Audrey leaned against the headboard and stared at the ceiling, but her consciousness was starting to slip through her fingers.
• In a daze, her mind went to the time when she was happy with Jasper.
• Back then, whenever he saw her uncomfortable, he would stay by her side, not even going to work.
• But now?
• Audrey was extremely sick, but he was probably still entangled with Vanessa.
• Finally, the siren of the ambulance blaring loudly reached her ears just as she was on the verge of blacking out.
• When the medical staff lifted her onto the stretcher, she managed to open her eyes and catch the sight of Jasper's car pulling into the compound.
• He got out of the car, frowning at the sight of Audrey being carried out. He wasted no time and walked over to them, asking the medical staff, "What's going on?"
• The medical staff then urgently replied, "Mr. Goldland, Mrs. Goldland is in critical condition. We need to get to the hospital immediately!"
• Jasper hesitated for a moment, seemingly surprised by the severity of the situation.
• But it was only a moment.
• He took out his phone and made a call to his assistant. "Help me postpone the morning meeting by an hour. I need to go to the hospital first."
• On the ambulance, he sat next to Audrey but didn't even glance at her. He was too busy constantly replying to messages on his phone, and Audrey could see the name that kept popping up on his screen. It was Vanessa.
• At the hospital, Simon was already waiting at the emergency room entrance.
• The test results came back quickly, indicating bile duct obstruction caused by pancreatic cancer. This meant Audrey was required to have immediate biliary stent surgery to relieve her symptoms, or there would be a risk to her life.
• "There are risks involved in the surgery, so we need a family member to sign the consent form,” Simon explained as he handed the surgery risk disclosure form to Jasper.
• Jasper took the documents, gave the words on the paper a quick scan, and then picked up the pen to sign his name.
• After the surgery, Jasper got ready to leave. It was then that his phone rang.
• Audrey was on the hospital bed, faintly hearing his voice as he said, "Vanessa, what's wrong?”
• Several seconds ticked by before he spoke again. “Okay, I'll be right there. Don't worry."
• After hanging up the phone, he walked to the bedside. "There's an emergency at the company. I have to go. The nurse will just call me if anything happens.”
• Not a single word of concern was uttered for Audrey. She was left with a cold feeling in her heart as she simply watched Jasper’s figure hurrying to leave.
• The light in the room was harsh as it shone on her, making her feel lonelier than she was used to.
• At that moment, Simon walked in, and he was looking at her with eyes full of sympathy. "Audrey, although the surgery was successful, and it temporarily relieved the obstruction problem…”
• He paused as if his next words were hard to utter. Then, when he continued, it was with a grim tone. "Your condition has reached the terminal stage, and you don’t have much time left anymore.”
• CHAPTER FOUR
• Audrey had known about her condition for a long time, but when Simon said it out loud, her heart sank.
• However, she quickly calmed down and said to Simon, "Simon, I understand. Please give me the organ donation documents. I'll sign them now."
• Simon nodded and took out the prepared documents from his bag.
• Audrey carefully read through them, making sure all the terms met her requirements, especially the clause about keeping the donor's information confidential. Once done, Audrey solemnly signed her name.
• "Simon, please make sure that the recipients and their families do not know my information," she emphasized again.
• "Don't worry, I will." Simon took the documents and carefully put them away.
• After Simon left, she took out her phone and organized the evidence she had collected on Jasper and Vanessa. This included recordings, photos, and chat records, and they were all neatly arranged, encrypted, and stored in a cloud drive.
• Audrey also wrote an email and set it to send at a scheduled time, with the recipient being the disciplinary department of Jasper's company.
• After doing all this, she rested on the bed, looking at the night sky outside.
• Although her body was still aching faintly and her heart was filled with despair, she felt incredibly calm and composed.
• On the fifth day after the surgery, Audrey dragged her body back home, even though she hadn’t fully recovered yet.
• When she pushed open the door, she unexpectedly saw Jasper sitting on the living room sofa, with a thermos in front of him.
• "Back already?" He stood up, sounding flustered. "I had the kitchen stew some chicken soup. Drink it while it's hot."
• Audrey looked at the chicken soup he was offering her and felt nauseous.
• He then approached her. "I'm going to the seaside city next week to discuss a resort project. I'll take you with me."
• "No need." Audrey bypassed him and went straight to the bedroom.
• "It's by the sea. It'll be good for your recovery." He then added, "Vanessa has to go too. She's been involved in the project's early stages."
• Audrey almost burst out laughing.
• But she chose not to bring up their affair. Instead, she just said lightly, "My body isn't fully recovered yet. I won't go."
• "You have to go." His tone became firm. "You're Mrs. Goldland. It's only right for you to accompany me to business events."
• She looked at his unquestionable gaze, knowing that it was useless to refuse again, so she just nodded.
• The next morning, Jasper hurried off to a meeting at the company, leaving his spare phone on the coffee table in a rush.
• Audrey was going to have her assistant deliver it to him, but when she picked up his phone, the screen suddenly lit up.
• It was a message from Vanessa, saying, "Baby was very good today, just misses you a little."
• Audrey’s heart sank, but she still opted to open Instagram.
• It was then that she saw how his chat thread with Vanessa was full of their intimate conversations.
• As Audrey continued to scroll down, she even saw several of Vanessa's pregnancy test results.
• The last menstrual period happened to be when they were on a business trip to Zurich!
• There was also a folder named "Baby Plan," containing Jasper's contract for buying a seaside villa for Vanessa, an appointment slip for a private maternity hospital, and even a detailed pregnancy care plan, with each item clearly marked.
• Turns out, he was not only cheating but also having a child with another woman.
• All the tenderness and care he never gave Audrey, he gave it all to Vanessa.
• Audrey’s hand that was holding the phone shook uncontrollably as her tears fell like beads off a broken string.
• The pain in Audrey’s stomach hit her again, more intense than before the surgery. She curled up on the couch and passed out from the pain.
• She didn’t know how long it took, but she slowly came to.
• After wiping her tears, Audrey then saved all the evidence to the cloud and called her lawyer.
• "Attorney Brown, I want to make a will,” she said with a voice that was unusually calm.