Chapter 1

"Ms. Lawrence, your family didn't come with you?"

Kristen was confused. Did she need to have company to get a medical report?

Besides, she ... had no family.

Her mother died when giving birth to her. Her father took her as a cash cow while her brother blamed her for their mother's death and hated her beyond measure. And Kristen stole her lover from someone else. Kristen would have forgotten about her family if the doctor didn't mention it.

Kristen was stunned before she shook her head. "I'm all on my own."

The doctor frowned, pushed glasses up his nose, and sighed heavily. With regret in his eyes, the doctor picked up the test reports on the table and handed them to Kristen.

"Ms. Lawrence, the test results came back. You have stage IV stomach cancer."

The doctor pitied Kristen who was so young and terminally ill and spoke gingerly.

Kristen was horrified that she could hardly breathe. She took the reports and frowned at the various indices. Kristen was not a doctor, but she could see how serious her stomach disease was.

Kristen felt that something was wrong during the endoscopy, but she didn't dare to think about it.

The doctor pointed at the picture and explained it to Kristen carefully. While listening, Kristen was lost in thought and then concluded that she didn't have much time left and needed to be admitted for chemo as soon as possible.

How long could a patient with stage IV stomach cancer live? Kristen knew it better than anyone else because her grandfather died after suffering in bed for two years.

The doctor suggested, "Ms. Lawrence, I think you should be hospitalized as soon as possible."

"Will I recover if I take the treatment?" Kristen's voice was hoarse and she looked empty and dead as if she was talking to herself.

The doctor didn't say anything else but shook his head in embarrassment.

Kristen decided not to treat her illness. Kristen licked her dry lips, stood up, and stuffed all test reports into her satchel.

Kristen stood up, said thank you, turned around, and left the consulting room.

When Kristen came out of the hospital, it was drizzling outside and the cold wind blew on her face, which hurt a little. Kristen opened her satchel, took out the umbrella, and opened it, but she still felt cold.

It was not that cold in March. However, the cold settled deep in Kristen's bones and her limbs were stiff.

Kristen's fingers were red from cold. She held the umbrella in one hand, her other hand clenched into her pocket, but it didn't get warm.

Kristen walked aimlessly, twirling the ring on her ring finger, looking up at the dark sky. The weather in Ratna City changed fast and it was spring in the blink of an eye. Everything was supposed to be vibrant at this time of year. But how could she be dying?

Kristen stood by the side of the road and hailed a taxi. When the taxi pulled over, Kristen put the umbrella away slowly, opened the door, and got in.

The driver turned around and asked Kristen, "Where are you going?"

"Winley District of Band City," Kristen replied, lowering her head.

On the way, Kristen could not help but open her satchel and look at the picture on the test reports.

The stomach was so twisted and ugly that Kristen couldn't believe it was part of her body.

Kristen was ill because of starvation. During the four years of marriage with Marco, Kristen tried her best to cook the dishes Marco was fond of to please him. Kristen thought that Marco would at least be moved to be gentle with her when he came home from work and saw a nice dinner, even if he didn't like her.

But Marco did not want to have dinner with Kristen at all. However, Kristen was not depressed, still cooked every day, and waited for him to come home after texting him. Finally, Kristen got stomach cancer instead.

Kristen shed tears at last. Kristen took a breath, thinking that she was tough enough because she had been through a lot.

But Kristen's pretense of toughness was crumbling today. As Kristen's stomach twitched, she crouched, trembled, gritted her teeth, and let out a long groan.

When the driver heard the sobs, he looked in the rearview mirror and saw the woman bent over, sobbing with her thin back shaking. It was the first time he had ever seen someone cry so desperately.

"Miss, what's up? Did you just have a breakup? Or are you unhappy at work?"

No one answered the driver. He continued, "Some mountains are just meant to be climbed. It's okay. Crying doesn't help. Go back and have a good rest. It will be another day when the sun rises tomorrow morning."

Kristen raised her head and a bitter smile showed on her face. "Thank you." Kristen didn't expect a stranger to comfort her after she was diagnosed with a terminal illness.

The driver smiled quietly and continued to drive until he pulled into a makeshift parking space in Band City.

It was half an hour's taxi drive and the total fare was 5 dollars. Kristen got out of the car, tore up the diagnosis she was clutching, and threw it in the bin.

Cold wind blew and Kristen dried her tears. She put on her calm and mature look again, except that her eyes were red and puffy, and her face was pale.

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