Chapter 1 She Has Less Than Six Months to Live

"End-stage left ventricular failure. Without a transplant, you won't survive more than six months." The doctor's words kept echoing in Elaine Shelton's ears. It was the height of the rainy season, and the endless night rain seemed as if it would never stop. In the dim bedroom, a breeze lifted the sheer curtain by the floor-to-ceiling window. Raindrops spattered the dark leather couch. Elaine sat blankly at the bedside, shivering slightly before snapping back to her senses. Night had fallen. She had been sitting here the entire afternoon again. She got up and walked over to close the window. The moment the fine rain touched her pale arm, a searing pain shot through her chest. When she returned to the bedside, she picked up a pen and signed her name on the divorce agreement. She tucked them into a drawer along with the diagnosis slip bearing the words, "End-stage left ventricular failure". Since she was dying, she might as well grant them their wish. The door was suddenly kicked open with a loud bang, rattling the entire room. A tall figure stormed in. In the blink of an eye, he was standing right before her. "Sky…" Elaine barely managed a single syllable before her weightless body was lifted off the ground and roughly thrown onto the bed. Skylar Frey pinned her down, ripping off her nightgown with brutal force. His voice sounded like he wanted to rip her apart. "You vicious bitch!" It was the first thing he had said to her all week. When Thea Lancelot, who had vanished for three years, returned to the country a week ago, Skylar threw divorce agreement in her face and walked out. The lights in the room were off. In the dim lighting, Elaine couldn't see the expression on his face clearly. However, she could feel the feral fury burning in those dark eyes that had always been so cold. A sudden, tearing pain shot through her body, deepening the dull ache in her chest. Her mouth fell open as she struggled to breathe, her voice barely a whisper. "Skylar, I'm tired. Can we not do this?" His fingers clamped around her throat, squeezing until there was no room left for air. "Isn't this exactly what you wanted? Three years ago, it was you who incited my grandma to drive Thea out of the country and lock her away, wasn't it?" A metallic tang rose up in Elaine's throat. She forced herself to swallow it back, refusing to let the blood spill out. Shaking her head weakly, she rasped, "I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't do it. Thea left on her own." "You pushed my grandma to drive Thea away just so I'd marry you. Elaine, I'll make sure you pay for making a fool out of me and for hurting Thea!" Skylar abruptly pulled away. Once he was done dressing himself at an unhurried pace, he yanked her up and flung her onto the floor. His whole body radiated with an icy chill as he turned to leave. If Thea weren't still lying alone in the hospital, he would surely kill this venomous woman himself right then and there. Elaine hit the ground with a heavy thud, agony exploding through every nerve. Staggering to her feet, she forced back her tears and said, "Whether you believe it or not, I've never once hurt Thea in all these years." Skylar turned back and shot her a look of pure disgust. Despite the stifling summer heat, his voice was as frigid as ice. "Sign the divorce agreement and get out of here. If I see you again after today, I'll make your life a living hell." Elaine collapsed back onto the bed, her chest twisting with pain. Yet she let out a soft, bitter laugh. He wanted to divorce her all because of a few groundless words from Thea. Her fingers clutched the bedspread tightly as a chill spread upward from the soles of her feet. "If I told you I only had six months to live, would you still want a divorce?" Skylar's brows furrowed deeply. He strode closer, grabbing her throat in a fierce grip and pulling her up. In the deep darkness of the night, Elaine's body swayed uncontrollably. The moment he released his grip with a frown, her body crashed heavily to the floor again. She could no longer hold back the blood in her throat. It came gushing out, staining the beige bed sheet. In the dim light, the scene looked deeply eerie and sorrowful. Skylar sneered, his eyes brimming with sheer disgust. "Six months? Elaine, even if you dropped dead right this second from some terminal illness, I still wouldn't spare you a single glance!" Elaine raised a hand and wiped the blood from the corner of her lips. She finally lost all hope and said, "Fine. Let's get divorced, then." The door slammed shut behind him with a violent bang. He left without the slightest hesitation. Elaine sat slumped by the bed, staring blankly. She didn't even know when her tears had started falling. All she could hear was her own laughter, chilly and full of despair. She wanted so much to tell Skylar that she was suffering from end-stage left ventricular failure, a terminal disease that carried a mortality rate even higher than many cancers. But he simply didn't care anymore. The spasms in her chest grew worse. Gasping for breath, she dragged herself to the bedside, rummaging for her pill bottle and shaking out a few. The mug of water on her bedside table had long gone cold. She reached for it with some effort and swallowed the pills. Cold sweat drenched her body, leaving her shivering violently. Elaine hadn't eaten all day, and the gulp of cold water made her stomach churn so violently that she dry-retched for a long moment. She didn't even have the strength to go downstairs and fix herself something to eat. Clutching the edge of the bed, she dragged herself back up. On that enormous bed, she curled up in a tiny corner, making it look even more empty and cold. A flash of lightning illuminated the entire room like daylight. For an instant, it exposed her bloodless, deathly pale face—so lifeless it seemed terrifying. When the pain grew nearly unbearable, Elaine slipped into a haze. In a daze, her mind drifted back to three years ago. After Skylar's car accident, he lay in a coma in the hospital for nearly a year. The doctors pronounced that recovery was unlikely, and he might remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. Yet, Elaine still stayed by his side day and night. That entire year, she'd barely slept a full night. Her health deteriorated rapidly under constant worry and exhaustion, accelerating her hereditary heart disease into the heart failure she faced now. Three years ago, she could still remember every word Thea had spat out in front of all the elders of the Frey family. "Marry a man in a vegetative state? Dream on. I'd rather marry some beggar off the street than a useless cripple like him!" Time flew by, and three years had passed. Now, with just one casual word and a single tear from his precious Thea, all the blame fell squarely on Elaine's shoulders. This night was longer than any other... It wasn't until three days later that Elaine saw Skylar again. For three days straight, Elaine had been vomiting violently. She finally dragged herself to the hospital to see a doctor. She had barely stepped into the hallway when a hand seized her wrist in a grip so tight it felt like her bones might snap. Before she could react, she was dragged into a ward and flung to the floor without the slightest mercy. Skylar's furious voice rang out. "Kneel before Thea!" Elaine gasped, clutching her heart in pain. When his bodyguards dragged her in, her tied-up hair was yanked loose, and half her coat was torn off. Now, her hair was a tangled mess, her clothes disheveled. She looked utterly wretched. She struggled to look up and saw Thea nestled weakly against Skylar's chest, weeping softly. Elaine felt her entire heart go numb. The sight before her barely stirred any emotion. "I've done nothing wrong. I won't kneel." Skylar gently patted Thea in his arms. With his other hand, he picked up a sonogram from the bedside table and hurled it at Elaine's face. "Thea's so pure and innocent. How could you stoop to such vile, filthy tricks?" Elaine lowered her hollow eyes to the paper fluttering down in front of her. It was a prenatal test report, showing a pregnancy at 13 weeks. A violent pain seized her chest. Thea was three months pregnant? Was she already carrying Skylar's child?