Chapter 1

The day my attending physician gave me the critical illness notice, my wife Jane Hesler secretly mortgaged the house to the bank without telling me.

The money she borrowed was not for my medical treatment, but was transferred to her first love, Anthony Shane — all because he said he needed funds for his business.

I called her. "The house is for our daughter. You can't touch it."

Her voice on the other end of the line was full of anger. "If you'd been able to come up with the money, would I have had to mortgage the house? Anthony's business needs funding; what's wrong with me contributing some money as a partner? Let me tell you something. I can live a thriving life without you."

After hanging up, the doctor asked me with a grave expression, "Are you sure you don't want further treatment?”

I nodded, putting on a bitter smile. "Yes."

Chapter 1

From the moment I received the critical illness notification until I passed away, my wife Jane Hesler never showed up.

I drifted away from the hospital after my death. Only then did I learn what she was up to.

In a rundown photo studio without even a sign, she was wrapped in an intimate embrace with her first love, Anthony Shane.

The green-haired photographer with a cigarette dangling from his lips gestured at her. "Miss, move closer. Hey... Yes, yes. Hook your legs around the handsome man's waist. Your expression should be more alluring. Miss, you're not a little girl anymore. Do I have to teach you how to be sexy?"

Jane looked nothing like her usual androgynous self: she wore heavy makeup and wore a black halter dress with a deep V-neck. She was pretty much clinging to Anthony, changing her poses constantly as the photographer instructed her. She also smiled seductively at the camera.

I had to admit — Jane looked undeniably alluring and feminine.

However, she also seemed like a stranger because she had never shown such a feminine side in front of me before.

The rundown photo studio was damp and cold; rats were running in and out of the corners, and cockroaches were rampant on the yellowish walls.

Jane's fair skin was frozen red and even had goosebumps all over.

She was an extreme germaphobe. Normally, at home, she would wipe the glass of water I poured her with a wet wipe.

Now, she was willing to expose herself in this filthy environment for her first love, Anthony.

Anthony put his arm around her waist, smiling as he leaned close to her ear. His lips lightly touched her earlobe. "Babe, you're so beautiful that I can hardly contain myself. Gale Senna is blind. He has such a beautiful wife, yet he doesn't appreciate your beauty."

Jane chuckled, flicking her hair and revealing the blush behind her ear. "Don't mention him; it ruins the mood! He's like a wild boar that can't handle fine food. Being with him is like living in hell."

I was Gale, her husband of ten years. I treated her like a goddess, but she considered me a wild boar.

Jane's phone rang again; it was my mother calling her using my phone.

Since I arrived, my mother had called her more than a dozen times.

"Your phone keeps ringing; are you sure you don't want to answer it?" The constant buzzing was annoying Anthony; he pushed Jane away and asked with displeasure.

A flicker of panic crossed Jane's face, but her expression quickly darkened. "Gale's always like this, making phone calls even when there's nothing wrong, and then throwing a tantrum over a minor sickness! Don't worry about him, it's his usual routine; he's just testing whether I care about him."

I could not help but smile bitterly. I did not care whether she cared about me.

On the contrary, since the day I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, my biggest problem had been how to keep her from being too upset. I even told everyone around me not to tell her a thing because I knew her health was poor, and I did not want her to be upset in the slightest.

Pancreatic cancer was known as the king of cancers, with a five-year survival rate of less than 10%, and mine was already in its late stages.

Aggressive treatment might prolong my life for a while, but I refused.

Chapter 2

I worked hard for many years, but only saved two million dollars in savings and a house.

Although these assets were not insignificant, they could not buy my life. Thus, I chose to give up on treatment and decided to keep this money for Jane.

However, she transferred the two million dollars to Anthony without a word half a month ago.

"Why would he come to me asking for help if it was not necessary? His business needs funding; what harm would it do for me to contribute some money as a partner?"

I was so angry that I almost passed out. I asked her to go and get the money back.

She glared at me and refused to go home.

During the last two months of my life, she was busy helping her first love with his business.

Even when the doctor gave me the critical illness notice, she still did not answer the phone or respond to my text messages.

However, I received a text message about our house being used as collateral for a loan.

She even mortgaged our only house to the bank.

On the brink of death, I stared at the mortgage notification on my phone and dialed her number.

Enduring the double pain of physical and mental suffering, I told her in the calmest voice possible. "I'll forget about the two million. I'm leaving the house for Maya. Don't touch it."

When I made that call, I almost could not stop myself from telling her the truth. "Honey, come to the hospital quickly, I... I might not make it."

However, her furious voice came from the other end of the line. "Gale, if you'd been able to come up with the money, would I have had to mortgage the house? You're a businessman too; why can't you understand Anthony's difficulties?"

The sudden pain in my abdomen was nothing compared to the agony Jane's remarks were causing me.

I endured the pain and continued to persuade her. "Don't trust Anthony so much. If we lose the house, where will you and Maya... our whole family live?"

She scoffed. "Don't look down on me. Let me tell you something. I can live just as well without you."

Before, she disliked tiring work and socializing, preferring to stay home to play games and watch videos for the seven or eight years after our marriage.

Now that Anthony was back, she suddenly had a burning desire to be a career woman.

Every word she uttered felt like a knife stabbing into my heart. "If you're a man, stop being so petty! What's wrong with me helping Anthony? He needs encouragement and support right now!"

I thought, 'Haha. He just needs cash flow for his business, while I'm about to be killed by this illness.'

Suddenly, I did not want to say anything anymore.

After hanging up, I told the doctor, "I'm not getting treatment."

Since living was unbearable, perhaps choosing death would be easier.

What I did not expect was that my soul would remain in this world even if I died. I watched helplessly as she devoted herself to the man who had once abandoned her, providing him with money and effort in an almost humiliating manner.

She did not even have time to pick up our five-year-old daughter, Maya, from school.

Seeing her and Anthony embracing and kissing in front of the cameras, I felt a deep sense of sorrow for myself lying in the morgue.

Jane had no idea that the torment of illness in the past few years had left my business in complete disarray. That two million dollars and my only property were all I could leave her.

She probably had already forgotten how Anthony had dumped her and how she had desperately attempted suicide by cutting her wrists.

Ten years ago, Anthony abandoned his first love, Jane, without saying goodbye.

Outsiders would think it was just a normal breakup, but I knew it was because Anthony knew Jane had breast cancer.

His so-called breakup and leaving to pursue a better future was nothing more than a despicable excuse to shirk responsibility.

Unable to bear the blow of the breakup, Jane attempted suicide by cutting her wrists in her rented apartment, leaving a pool of blood.

If I had not received her farewell text message and rushed over because I sensed something was wrong, she might have died.

Chapter 3

She was my classmate.

We were both waiting backstage during a speech contest when I suddenly had appendicitis and started sweating profusely in pain. Without a word, she helped me go to the hospital and stayed with me until the surgery was completed.

Although she missed the contest, she smiled brightly. "All that matters is that you're okay. The contest is just a small matter."

I fell for her at that moment, but I later learned that she had been in a relationship with her boyfriend for several years, so I kept my feelings hidden all those years.

When I learned that she had tried to take her own life due to heartbreak, I made a decision immediately. When she woke up, I would protect her for the rest of my life and never let her suffer again.

Her breast cancer had already spread, so she had to undergo a double mastectomy.

Before the surgery, she cried her eyes out, trembling as she huddled in a corner. "How... How can I face anyone after this? I'm not a complete woman anymore."

I held her tightly, slipping the ring I had prepared onto her ring finger. "In my eyes, you lack nothing; you're just like before."

She sobbed uncontrollably in my arms. "Gale, now I know why I suffered so many hardships before — it was to let me meet the best version of you."

Shortly after the surgery, I married her against my family's wishes.

Because of her physical disability, she was very sensitive to how others looked at her. "I don't want to go to work anymore; they all look at me like I'm a monster."

Although my career was just starting and I was struggling financially, I gritted my teeth and supported her decision. After our marriage, I took care of all the housework, washing her clothes, cooking for her, combing her hair, washing her feet... She never set foot in the kitchen during these ten years.

Now, Anthony was back, crying pitifully like a homeless person. "I was too impulsive back then. I'd never experienced such a blow and didn't know how to face you when you were devastated. I was actually more devastated than you. By the time I came to my senses, you were already married."

What a pathetic excuse. Even more pathetic was that all it took was a few tears from Anthony for her to forgive him and forget the past.

'No, thinking about it now, she probably never hated him at all,' I pondered.

After the photoshoot, Anthony offered to take her home.

When they arrived at the residential area, she surprisingly invited Anthony home. "Gale's been in the hospital lately; no one's home."

At that moment, I wished I were still alive and had the strength to slap her.

I had no idea what the woman I had loved for so many years was thinking. How could she bring someone home so blatantly?

Faced with his ex-lover's blatant advances, Anthony hesitated. "That's not a good idea. Gale's already wary of me. I don't want to cause you two to argue again because of me."

Jane opened the door nonchalantly. "What's there to be afraid of? He's in the hospital. Besides, so what if he were home? This is my home. I can let whoever I want come."

I smiled bitterly as I floated in mid-air.

She was right; the house had been transferred to her name after my diagnosis. Her remark was not wrong.

Anthony's phone rang at the door. He gestured toward Jane with his chin. "I need to take this call. The company really can't do without me."

Jane's eyes were full of admiration as she walked in cheerfully. Once inside, her expression immediately darkened. "The house is a complete pigsty. What a useless coward who's utterly unreliable."

She rolled up her sleeves and quickly tidied up.

In fact, she just picked up the scattered clothes, threw them into Maya's room, and locked the door. She was muttering under her breath, "He insists on staying in the hospital over a minor illness. He might as well just die in the hospital and never come back."

Looking at her, I felt utterly hopeless.

All these years, I had given her my whole heart, spoiling her into a pampered lady who had never performed a single house chore.

Chapter 4

In return, insults and disdain were all I received.

The room was in a mess because my condition had deteriorated rapidly. My mother had rushed over to get some clothes and then hurried off to the ICU to take care of me.

As my wife, she did not even take the initiative to call me after such a long time. If she cared about me, she would have shown at least some level of concern, even if I said it was a stomach problem.

It was ridiculous that I was even afraid it would trigger her painful memories of having cancer when she came to the hospital and saw the furnishings of the intensive care unit. It turned out that I was just overthinking things.

I simply could not face her and drifted out of the house.

Anthony was standing far away and answering his phone, his expression full of smugness. "That stupid Jane believes whatever I say. She even thinks I can really make her rich. Then again, someone who can't tell right from wrong deserves to be deceived! Her husband is so kind to her, yet she doesn't even ask about him when he's hospitalized.

"I was only teasing her, telling her to shoot a few sexy, borderline photos and model for us for free. She actually said yes. Babe, don't misunderstand. I have no feelings for her at all. She was pretty back then, but now..."

Anthony scoffed, his face full of disdain. "She has no boobs; any woman would be better than her. Oh, she's not flat-chested; she had breast cancer and had them removed. Tsk tsk, I really don't know why her stupid husband treats her like a treasure."

I stood there in a daze, feeling both sorry for myself and furious at Jane's poor judgment. I pondered how Jane could get tricked by the same person twice.

I rushed back, wanting to drag her out and make her hear it herself to see how despicable her first love was and how he treated her trauma as a joke.

However, my hands became transparent when I touched her. I paced frantically around the room, but there was nothing I could do.

Jane threw the rag, looked around, and seemed lost in thought.

"Why did he stop calling? Is he really angry? I only mortgaged the house to get through an emergency," she muttered to herself, a hint of worry in her eyes.

"He better not get too worked up. His stomach's been acting up. How about I... make a call?" She gripped her phone, seemingly hesitant about whether to contact me.

After all, I was always the one offering her a way out, always sweet-talking to appease her; we had rarely argued.

However, with a knock on the door, she quickly composed herself.

Outside the door stood not only Anthony, but also my mother, holding Maya.

The two were staring at each other.

Seeing Jane, my mother's suppressed grief seemed to erupt immediately. "Gale called you so many times; why didn't you answer? Jane, tell me, how did Gale treat you? Search your conscience! He felt sorry for you having no parents, always telling us to be considerate of you, but what did you do? How did you treat my son?"

My mother was trembling all over. It felt like she would not have the strength even to stand had she not been holding Maya.

Jane was a little embarrassed, forcing a weak smile. "Mom, I was just busy with work. Besides, you know what Gale is like. He's just sulking with me. His stomachache is nothing serious and doesn't warrant hospitalization. I know him best; he's just too dramatic sometimes."

My mother pointed at her angrily, her hand trembling. "Stomachache? Nothing serious? He's being dramatic? Jane, you don't even know what illness he had! And yet you have the nerve to call him dramatic?! He's dead, do you know that?!"

Jane paused, instinctively reaching for my mother.

My mother raised her hand and pushed her away.

Anthony stepped forward, blocking Jane. "Old lady, calm down and talk. No offense, but at your age, how can you curse your own son?"