Chapter 4

Kristen staggered back. A ten-minute walk took her twenty minutes. There was no heating in the villa, and the vast room was cold.

Kristen kicked off her high heels and staggered into the bathroom. Kristen filled the tub half full of hot water and soaked in it quietly, with her bright red dress all over the tub like dazzling blood, setting off her face pale.

Kristen closed her eyes and sank her face into the water. The brief asphyxiation took away all her senses. After a while, Kristen couldn't help opening her mouth. When hot water poured into her mouth, she almost wanted to vomit.

She poked her head out of the water, her eyes scarlet. Kristen crawled over the tub, her stomach-wrenching, her mouth numbly open, her upper body twitching uncontrollably. Kristen didn't eat all day, and all she vomited was yellow gastric juice. Her throat hurt and her eyes watered.

In the end, Kristen rubbed her sore eyes and looked at the blood on the ground. A bitter and mocking smile spread across Kristen's eyes which were filled with despair.

Kristen took off her red dress and wiped the blood on the ground. She could not let Marco see the blood.

It was getting dark. She went barefoot back to the bedroom and threw herself into bed. She could not sleep. When Kristen didn't know she was sick, she fantasized about the future. But now no matter how hard she tried, it was useless.

She lost everything. She had been fond of Marco before, and now she was hopeless.

She seemed to have shed all the tears in her life today. Kristen put her hand on her chest and mocked bitterly. "It's a stomach disease. Why does my heart ache?"

The phone in her handbag vibrated. Kristen stood up, opened her handbag, and took out her phone as fast as she could. When Kristen saw the caller ID on the screen, she seemed to have lost all her strength.

"It wasn't Marco... " she thought bitterly, "Kristen, stop thinking about him."

Kristen stared blankly at the phone for a while before answering it.

"Antonio." Kristen's voice was hoarse.

Antonio grew up with Kristen. They weren't related but were very close. When Kristen was a child, she lived in the Balan's for a long time. For Kristen, Antonio was like her big brother.

On the phone, Antonio asked worriedly, "Kristen, why is your voice hoarse? Are you sick?"

"I caught a cold. My voice was hoarse when I woke up after a nap..."

Before Kristen could finish, Antonio interrupted her on the phone. "Kristen, are you going to lie to me? Did you forget I'm a doctor? I can tell from your voice if you've cried when you catch a cold."

Kristen was lost for words and laughed bitterly.

Antonio asked, "Kristen, can you tell me why you are crying?"

Kristen stared at the wooden floor with her phone in hand. No one liked to show their weakest part. Kristen shook her head and refused, "No."

Antonio was stunned. Antonio knew Kristen was stubborn. If Kristen didn't want to say it, no one would hear the truth from her.

Antonio could only change the topic. "What is the result of your medical report?"

Kristen pursed her lips. "I'm in good health."

Antonio said, "If you don't want to tell me, I will go to the hospital to check it myself. I am qualified to check your medical report anyway."

Antonio was a surgery director in the hospital, and it was easy for him to check it.

"I made a mistake..." Kristen groaned inwardly.

"Tell me or let me check myself. You pick one." Antonio forced Kristen.

It suddenly became so quiet that Kristen could hear the breathing. Kristen told the truth, "Cancer. I have stage IV stomach cancer."

Antonio was shocked.

He seemed to be enduring something, and Kristen heard his messy breathing through the phone.

"How is this possible ... You are still so young..." Antonio muttered to himself, his voice gradually choking.

Kristen could feel Antonio's sorrow even through the phone. Antonio was sad for her. Kristen was happy that someone cared about her before she died.

"Come to the hospital and I will check you again."

Kristen refused. "The result is the same no matter how many times I do the checkups. Antonio, I know my own condition. Perhaps this is what I deserve..."

"Nonsense! Kristen, you need to listen to me. Come to the hospital. You'll be fine..." Antonio's voice was full of sorrow. As an expert on this disease, Antonio knew how serious the disease was and how painful it was to get a stomachache.

How could Kristen be so ill?

Antonio didn't know how to persuade Kristen. Kristen wanted to live, but she didn't have a lot of time left. She was advised to either stay in hospital for a few more years or give up treatment. In short ... she was dying.

"Kristen, you should divorce Marco. Look what he's done to you in the four years."

Divorce ... Kristen had never thought of divorcing Marco. To Kristen, Marco was everything. She tried everything she could to keep Marco by her side, but she couldn't.

Kristen tightened her grip on her phone, her knuckles turning white. "I will think about it."

It was painful to divorce Marco. It was not easy.

Antonio told Kristen to go to the hospital again the next day. Kristen promised but did not take it seriously.

Other than Marco's wife, Kristen was also the president of Lawrence Group. She handled a lot of work every day.

With great endurance, Kristen could move forward under high pressure, but this might be the last straw.

After hanging up, Kristen threw her phone on the bedside table. Her stomach was aching and Kristen was afraid that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep tonight. Kristen opened the drawer and took out two bottles of medicine, one for painkillers, the other for sleeping pills. After eating the pills, she fell on the bed.

Perhaps because of the drugs, Kristen had frequent nightmares. Her chest felt heavy and she couldn't breathe. Kristen shook her head, talking gibberish in her sleep, and when she struggled to wake up, she was shocked to realize that it was Marco who was holding her down.

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