Chapter 1

"Ms. Schmidt, your health isn't looking good. It seems you've developed a chronic illness, and an exchange blood transfusion is the only cure. However, your illness was discovered too late, and you're already in the final stage. If it isn't treated immediately…" The doctor trailed off, staring at the pale Tamara Schmidt. "Just tell me directly what will happen." "If it's not treated in time, I'm afraid you only have three months left to live." After hearing the doctor's reply, Tamara crumpled to the ground like a deflated balloon. "This illness requires immediate attention. You should inform Mr. Rayleigh as soon as possible." At the mention of Damien Rayleigh, her husband of three years, Tamara felt her chest tighten. Forcing a smile, she said, "Thank you. I'll think it over at home. Please don't tell anyone about my visit today." After she finished speaking, she left the hospital with the critical condition notice. An hour earlier, Damien had walked away from Tamara for the 99th time because of his young secretary, Carol Laverton. That was when Tamara suddenly began to hear the thoughts in his mind. They had argued over a minor issue, and Damien had shattered Tamara's favorite porcelain tea set, causing her to break down in tears. "Is this tea set so important? Am I not more important than it?" Damien demanded icily, staring indifferently at the broken pieces on the floor. Tamara wanted to refute him, to remind him of his importance and explain that he could never be compared to a tea set. But then his phone rang. "Mr. Rayleigh, a pipe in my home burst, and my house is flooded. The goatskin carpet you gave me a couple of days ago is ruined," Carol sobbed on the other end of the line. "Don't worry, Carol. I'll be there in a minute." Damien hung up anxiously, his tone filled with tenderness and worry for Carol—a complete contrast to the coldness he had shown when he broke the tea set. Then, he left without looking back at Tamara, slamming the door behind him. The moment the door closed, Tamara suddenly heard his thoughts. She stopped in her tracks, no longer moving to go after him. "Silly Tammy, I won't leave if you'll just say something to make me stay. As long as you say the word, I'll even buy a new tea set with you." Tamara was shocked at first, but once she realized she was hearing Damien's thoughts, she found it oddly amusing. "Why aren't you coming after me yet? Tamara, I'll give you one more chance. I'm going to leave if you don't open the door and make me stay," Damien hollered in his head. "I'll give you another ten seconds. Ten, nine, eight…" Tamara was exhausted. Staring at the broken porcelain shards scattered across the floor, she no longer wanted to play the silly coaxing game she had played so many times before. Before Damien could finish counting, his phone rang again outside the door. As if confirming that the voice she had heard belonged to Damien, Tamara knew it was Carol calling. Damien ended the call as quickly as he could, as though he were hiding something. Then, he left in a hurry. When everything outside finally fell silent, Tamara opened the door to check. Just as she expected, no one was there anymore. Tamara was shocked that she could suddenly hear Damien's thoughts, and she had no idea why he kept testing her love for him. She simply couldn't understand it. They had started as childhood friends before getting married. But in their three years of marriage, so much had changed between them. In the first two years, Damien had spoiled Tamara to bits. Their marriage was a union of two influential families, and they were the golden couple—best friends since childhood with matching family backgrounds. To everyone else, they were a perfect match. Back then, Damien would get Tamara anything she wanted. He'd call in a guaranteed bid for her at an auction just because she had taken a liking to a sapphire jewel and wanted to customize a collar for her beloved cat. For her, he would search for various traditional craftsmen to custom-make a complicated and intricate hairpin, simply because she wasn't sure what would match her new dress. Even when Tamara casually mentioned that she wanted the stars in the sky, Damien spent an enormous amount of money to buy her a real star as her birthday present. At that time, everyone envied her, and people in their circle often said Damien was the perfect husband. Tamara once believed she would be the happiest woman in the world—until Damien hired a new secretary at his company a year ago. From that moment on, her life began to spiral downward. At first, Damien would tentatively test her to see if she truly loved him. He would often stay out late so that Tamara would anxiously call him repeatedly. He would deliberately say he didn't love her, just to see if she would feel hurt. Despite knowing she would be upset, he brought Carol home and acted intimately with her because he wanted to make Tamara jealous. Soon after, Tamara's family business went bankrupt due to huge losses. As a result, her father, Jerome Schmidt, suffered a stroke and became paralyzed. Together with her mother, Sarah Connelly, Tamara kept vigil at Jerome's bedside. But Damien accused her of not caring about him, and they had a huge argument over it. To spite her, Damien left and slept with Carol. When Carol later sent her provocative photos, Tamara demanded an explanation from Damien, only to be told that it was her punishment. Recently, Sarah had gone out to buy food for Jerome and was involved in a severe car accident. She passed away at the scene. Jerome's health had been improving, but when he heard the news of Sarah's death, his condition took a turn for the worse. In the end, he passed away as well. All of a sudden, Tamara's family was broken, and she was the only one left. At the funeral, Tamara was devastated, crying her lungs out in front of her parents' pictures. Damien held her, his eyes filled with sadness. "Don't cry, Tammy. From now on, I'll take care of you in your parents' place." Tamara gazed at him tearfully, feeling as though their relationship had returned to how it used to be. She wanted to believe Damien was a man of his word, but a phone call shattered that short-lived tenderness. "Mr. Rayleigh, I'm terrified. Hurry over to save me! T-They're trying to take my clothes off…" Carol whimpered over the phone. The call ended, and Damien left Tamara's side without a second thought. "Wait for me, Tammy. Carol is in great danger. I have to save her first." Tamara reached out to stop him from leaving, but he shoved her aside emotionlessly. She collapsed helplessly onto the floor, watching in despair as Damien rushed off to save another woman during her parents' funeral. That day, Damien mobilized everyone in his company and eventually found Carol in a dilapidated factory. Her kidnappers had already fled, leaving her tied to a chair. Her clothes and hair were in disarray, and she appeared to have been violated. Heartbroken, Damien removed his expensive suit jacket and placed it over her before carrying her to the hospital. While Damien and Carol were being intimate at the hospital, Tamara had passed out during the funeral from overwhelming grief. When she was sent to the hospital, Damien and Carol were in the ward next to hers, but Damien didn't visit her even once. Later, Tamara had a huge argument with him. "But Carol's life was in danger. What if something had happened to her?" Damien asked. "Did you really have to be the one to go? Damien, what happened to you?" Tamara choked out. However, Damien merely chuckled when he saw her getting mad. "Tammy, are you jealous? It's my fault, okay? I'm sorry. I'll stay by your side from now on." There it was again. Tamara's heart grew colder little by little. She wasn't going to forgive him again. The love she had for him since their teenage years seemed to disappear the moment Damien abandoned her for another woman during her parents' funeral. Damien's heart no longer belonged to her alone. Since that day, Tamara's health had deteriorated. She thought it was due to excessive grief over her parents' death. Today, Tamara's nose began bleeding right after Carol asked Damien to go to her again. Only then did she call a cab to the hospital. Since her family had gone bankrupt, she didn't even have the money for medical fees. Still, she didn't want to ask Damien for help, knowing he wouldn't offer it so easily. Did she only have three months left? If so, she wasn't going to love Damien anymore. As Tamara pondered this, a deep pain spread through her heart. She wondered whether it was caused by her illness or Damien. She decided to give up treatment, as she no longer had any attachments to this world. Besides, she missed her parents.