Chapter 5

As though sensing Tamara's gaze, Damien woke up. "How are you feeling, Tammy?" he asked. His voice was gentle, just like it used to be long ago. Tamara offered no reply, turning her head to hide the tears in her eyes. "Let's file for divorce, Damien." Tamara's tone was calm, void of any emotion. Suddenly, Damien lost his temper. "Tamara, what exactly happened? Don't you love me anymore?" "No." "You… You're now tainted, and nobody will accept you once you divorce me. I'm the only one who won't despise you. Don't you know that?" "Damien, it disgusts me to be with you. You're the filthiest one!" Tamara glared at him with equal ferocity but was struck by a coughing fit from being too worked up. She turned her face away, as though she had seen something unworthy of her eyes. Enraged, Damien pinned down her shoulders and turned her head to face him. "What did you say? Am I filthy?" "Yes, you are—" Before Tamara could finish speaking, Damien sealed her mouth with his. Violently, he tore off her clothes and undid his trousers. "What are you doing? Damien, get your hands off me!" "What if I refuse? Tamara, didn't you say that I'm filthy? Then I'll make you as filthy as I am!" That night, Damien forced himself on her. A storm raged outside, interspersed with thunder and lightning, as though echoing Tamara's injustice. She cried the entire time, but Damien ignored her, venting his desire on her body violently. When dawn broke, their naked bodies were covered in patches of blue and purple marks that they had left on each other. "Tamara Schmidt, you can't survive without me," Damien muttered. He believed he was the only one who could save her. In just three more months, they could undergo the exchange blood transfusion, and she would be his for the rest of her life. Exhausted after a night of agony, Tamara fell asleep, a single tear hanging from the corner of her eye. Damien, as though admiring a work of art, gently kissed her teary eyes before getting dressed and leaving the house. At noon, he brought Carol back home again, but Tamara didn't ask what they were doing, which irritated Damien. "You've been feeling down lately, so I've organized a cruise to help you relax. Carol is coming along to take care of you." Tamara didn't object, thinking it wasn't a bad idea. Her life was on a countdown, so she wanted to enjoy herself one last time. The cruise was relaxing and pleasant. Tamara ignored all of Damien's thoughts and actions and even disregarded Carol's provocation. But on the third day, Tamara saw Sarah's last keepsake for her—an emerald bracelet—on Carol's wrist. Hysterically, she demanded to know how Carol had gotten it. "Mr. Rayleigh gave this to me as a reward for taking care of you." "Take it off right now! That's not something a person like you should touch. Give it back to me—" Tamara demanded, but a coughing fit interrupted her. She tried to snatch the bracelet from Carol, but Carol slipped it off her wrist and toyed with it in her palm. Then, feigning carelessness, she let it fall into the sea. "You're a bitch!" As Tamara watched Sarah's keepsake vanish into the deep blue water, she abandoned all restraint and rushed toward the edge, ready to leap overboard to retrieve it. Just as her hands touched the railing, a pair of strong arms pulled her back. "Tamara, what are you doing? Are you trying to kill yourself?" "That was my mother's last gift. How could you give it away without my permission?" Tamara slumped to the floor, tears streaming down her face. In an instant, the light in her eyes went out. "I'm sorry, Mr. Rayleigh. I didn't do it on purpose. I wanted to remove the bracelet to return it to Ms. Schmidt, but the wind was too strong, and my hand slipped… I'm sorry. I can compensate—" "How are you going to compensate me?" Tamara hollered. Damien didn't blame Carol, since he was the one who had given her the bracelet. "That's enough, Tammy. It's just a bracelet. I'll buy any one you like once we get back." "They're not the same, Damien! Why are you doing this to me? Why…" … After returning from the cruise, Tamara changed. She no longer fought back and did everything Damien said. Worried that there would be trouble before the surgery, Damien decided to keep her at home. Every day, he brought her all sorts of rare jewelry—each piece so expensive it could have cost her kidneys. Every time, she accepted the gifts with a smile and carefully put them away as though she treasured them. Yet her smile lacked life, and she seemed like a soulless doll. Damien disliked her emotionless demeanor and kept testing her by acting intimately with Carol. Because of this, Carol grew bolder, openly mocking Tamara and walking all over her. One day, Carol accused Tamara of shoving her and even got Damien to back her up. While apologizing inwardly, Damien demanded that Tamara grovel and apologize to Carol. Tamara grew weaker by the day. Silently, she did as she was told, but eventually, she could no longer endure it and collapsed. Filled with anxiety, Damien rushed her to the hospital and secured the best doctor in the city. The doctor conducted a checkup, and just as he was about to report her condition, Damien received a call. "Carol, take care of Tammy for me. There's information on the kidnappers from last time. I'm going to handle it." "Don't worry, Mr. Rayleigh. I'll take good care of Ms. Schmidt," Carol said submissively. After he left, the doctor informed Carol that Tamara was in critical condition. Even with surgery, she didn't have long to live. Carol's eyes gleamed with delight. This was exactly what she wanted. "Ms. Schmidt is now pregnant, but her body is simply too weak to carry the baby." "Thank you. I'll tell Mr. Rayleigh everything." Upon hearing that Tamara was pregnant, a vicious look flashed in Carol's eyes. When Tamara awoke, Damien still hadn't returned, and Carol was seated by her bedside. "Aren't you curious?" Tamara stared blankly at the ceiling, her eyes dull and expressionless. "About what?" "Aren't you curious why Mr. Rayleigh isn't here to take care of you?" "No." Her nonchalance infuriated Carol. "You're no longer wealthy, your parents are dead, and your husband is cheating on you. How can you still act so high and mighty?" Tamara suddenly laughed. All Carol ever did was pull petty tricks, none of which meant anything to her. In the end, everything Carol did was for the sake of a man, and that made her seem especially pathetic in Tamara's eyes. "You're saying all this because you want me to admit Damien loves you and not me, right? But here's a reminder—don't fall for your own lies. Even if Damien is treating me this way, I'm the only one he loves." "You…" Carol snorted. "Tamara Schmidt, be stubborn all you want. Whatever the case, you only have one month to live. Do you really think Mr. Rayleigh won't fall for the person who stays by his side and comforts him after you're gone?" The words stung, but Tamara said nothing. Despite everything, she still loved Damien. But he had made mistakes, and she was about to die. All she felt now was regret. Thinking Tamara was finally angry, Carol's mood brightened instantly. While Carol was in the bathroom, Tamara quietly slipped out, disguised herself, and left the hospital. She walked out in a daze. Her escape was unexpectedly smooth, as though it were fate. At the same time, Damien had captured the kidnappers and was in high spirits. He wanted to undergo the blood transfusion with Tamara ahead of schedule and be with her forever. He believed she would be delighted and love him even more once she learned everything he had done for her. He told his driver to rush to the hospital so that he could share the good news with her personally. Unbeknownst to him, he would never see Tamara again.