Chapter 3

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Cassidy got up to make breakfast. Kate hadn't slept well either. The stomach pain had woken her several times during the night. Afraid that Cassidy would worry, she endured it in silence. When breakfast was ready and Cassidy called her to eat, Kate pretended she had just woken up. Cassidy had no appetite. While Kate ate, she packed the items she would need for a hospital stay. After breakfast, Kate went back to the bedroom. She was just about to call for Cassidy when she saw her sitting on the bed, crying. Her eyes were red and swollen. Kate sighed and turned away. Tears fell uncontrollably down her cheeks too. … Once they finished preparing, Cassidy carried a duffel bag in one hand and held Kate's arm with the other as they headed out. As soon as they stepped out of their apartment building, Cassidy was stunned to see the familiar Maybach parked outside. The driver got out of the car and walked toward them respectfully. "Ms. Sherman, Mr. Archer asked me to pick you up." Cassidy took in a deep breath. Her first instinct was to refuse. The December morning was bitterly cold. The moment a gust of icy wind blew past, Kate shivered. Her immune system had weakened, so she couldn't stand outside in the cold for long. Besides, since the car was already there, refusing would be awkward. The driver would have trouble explaining it when he went back too. Cassidy thanked him politely. The driver put their luggage into the trunk and asked, "Where are you headed, Ms. Sherman?" "Jervia General Hospital." "Got it." After they had been driving for a while, Kate asked, "Cass, who sent the car?" Cassidy pursed her lips and replied, "It's Zoe's older brother." Kate smiled faintly and said, "Oh, so it's Zoe's brother. Are you still in touch with her?" Back in high school, Zoe had come over to their place for dinner several times. She was cheerful, talkative, and very polite. Every time she came, she made Kate laugh heartily. So, Kate had always liked her very much. Cassidy replied, "Yes. She'll be back in the country soon." After graduating from high school, Zoe had gone abroad to study. A few days earlier, she had messaged Cassidy to say she would be returning soon. "I like her. When she comes back…" Kate's voice trailed off. She had wanted to say that they could invite her over for a meal. But the moment she remembered she had cancer, she swallowed the rest of her words. Noticing the shift in Kate's mood, Cassidy gently squeezed her hand to offer silent comfort. A while later, Cassidy opened her Cash App and saw that Stefan hadn't accepted her transfer from last night. He had replied with a single message, "Don't worry about the fare." Cassidy stared at her WhatsApp chat history with him. Under normal circumstances, they rarely talked to each other. Their previous message was from three months ago, when she had her birthday. Stefan had texted, "Happy birthday." Cassidy had replied, "Thank you." Before that was New Year's Eve. Similarly, he had messaged, "Happy New Year." And she simply texted back, "Same to you." Now, she typed, "Thank you for sending the driver." After thinking for a moment, she added "Stefan" at the beginning. Then, she deleted it and replaced it with "Mr. Archer" to make it sound more polite. Cassidy sent the message and exited the chat window. Then, she saw the contact pinned at the top. Her breath caught. She hadn't had time to deal with Isaac on WhatsApp last night. Cassidy had saved him as "Darling" in her contacts. Now, it felt ridiculous. She had originally wanted to block Isaac. But when she thought of Kate's illness, she hesitated. She and Isaac had been together for two years. Over those two years, she had taken meticulous care of him and worked three jobs for his sake. Even if it were just a pet one had raised for two years, they would still feel some attachment to it, right? Last night, she had heard that he casually spent 300 thousand dollars on a bag for someone else. If she asked him for money now, would he lend it to her? … After Cassidy finished handling Kate's hospital admission, she thought it over again and again before finally sending Isaac a message. "Text me when you wake up. I need to talk to you." Isaac didn't respond until it was 2:30 pm. "Hey, babe. I went to a classmate's birthday party last night. We stayed out late. Everyone was there, so it would've been awkward for me to leave early." At this point, Cassidy's mind was filled with thoughts of how to raise money for Kate's treatment. She had already gone numb to Isaac's lies and deception. She walked out of the hospital room into the hallway to call him. It was obvious that Isaac had just woken up. His voice was low and husky as he called her "babe." In the past, Cassidy had loved the way he called her name sleepily after he woke up. After learning the truth, now all she felt was disgust. "Isaac Slater." She addressed him by his full name in a serious voice. He replied languidly in a playful voice, "What's wrong, babe? Why aren't you calling me darling? Are you mad because I went home late last night? I'm sorry. I promise it won't happen again. Don't be mad at me, okay?" Cassidy took a deep breath, having made up her mind. She mustered all her resolve and asked, "Isaac, can you lend me some money?" Isaac hadn't expected that. He fell silent for a few seconds before saying, "Why are you suddenly asking me for money? You know… You know I come from a poor family. I don't really have any money…" Cassidy felt a pang in her heart. She said with difficulty, "Isaac, my mom is sick and urgently needs money. Can't you lend me some? I can write you an IOU. I'll definitely pay you back." Isaac went silent again, seemingly deep in thought. Cassidy didn't speak and just waited for his answer. Each second felt endlessly drawn out. Finally, Isaac spoke again. However, his reply plunged her into icy despair. "Babe, is this some kind of test? If I had money, I'd definitely give it to you. Forget lending, I'd give you everything I have to spend. But I really don't have any money right now. This joke isn't funny at all. Even if you want to test me, don't joke about Kate's health." Cassidy closed her eyes. A single tear slid down. Even now, Isaac was still pretending to be poor. He mentioned Kate so lovingly like she was his own mother, but he was unwilling to lend Cassidy a single dollar. Her hand trembled as she held the phone. "Isaac, if you won't lend me money, then at least pay me back the money I spent on you." Over the past two years, she had spent about 30 to 40 thousand dollars on him. She hated herself for being such a poor judge of character and for being so blinded by love. Cassidy had scrimped and saved to spend money on Isaac. She had worn the same down jacket for three years and never bought a new one. However, she had bought him a down jacket worth over 1,000 dollars without hesitation because she was afraid he'd be cold. How ridiculous. The moment Isaac heard she wanted her money back, he demanded incredulously, "Babe, what do you mean? Are you seriously asking me to pay you back? Why?" Cassidy let out a hollow laugh. "I just suddenly feel like it's all meaningless." "Have you gotten tired of me?" Isaac had the audacity to sound hurt. "Yes," Cassidy said flatly. "Did I do something to make you angry? Tell me. I can change. Don't leave me. I'll do anything you want. I can't live without you," Isaac begged humbly. "Is that so?" Cassidy could hear the sarcasm in her own voice. "Then give me one million dollars." Isaac thought he had misheard. "What? One million? You know I don't have that kind of money, babe. You've made up your mind to break up with me by demanding that, haven't you? Cassidy felt completely dead inside. "Was it fun, Isaac?"