Chapter 2

I couldn't shake the feeling that Rupert had been seeing Lillian behind my back for a while. And now, with my terminal diagnosis, he didn't even bother pretending our marriage was still intact.

Just as I was getting disgusted by everything, my mother-in-law, Morwenna Flynn, stepped out of her room and shot me a judgmental look.

"Rupe handles everything around here. What have you ever done all these years? Now you even get yourself diagnosed with some disease that's going to drain all our money. You really deserve to die!" she snapped.

I got up, looked at Morwenna and Rupert, and couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous this all was.

"What have I ever done, you ask? Did you forget, Morwenna? I paid half of the down payment on this house!" I retorted. "And you're still asking what I've done? Maybe you should ask yourselves what you and Rupert have actually done!

"I'm not even going to get into what's going on between Rupert and Lillian. The most he did after losing his job was some light cleaning around here. Sometimes, he even makes me do it! How is that 'handling everything'?

"Don't I have a job? And it's my paycheck that's been keeping you both afloat! So, tell me, what have I done?"

Morwenna stood there, her face going through a bunch of different expressions as if she wanted to say something, but Rupert's glare shut her up.

I scoffed and continued, "And you, Morwenna. I used to think you were fair and would have my back. But now I see you're just like him! You two are the real family here, and I'm—"

Before I could finish, Rupert slapped me across the face. My ears were ringing. I clutched my cheek and shot him a death stare.

Since Rupert lost his job, he and Morwenna have been counting on me to keep things running. All he did was clean up a little here and there, and they acted like that was him holding down the fort.

Were they out of their minds? And now he actually had the nerve to hit me!

"Half of that money in our savings is mine!" I shouted.

Rupert and Morwenna probably thought I'd just break down in tears. They didn't expect me to stand my ground, yelling back without a trace of fear.

Seriously? I was already dealing with a terminal illness. What more was there to be afraid of?

Their faces were a sight after I said that, but the facts were clear. They wanted to argue, but couldn't come up with anything.

I added, "You're giving me that money back! Or we're taking this to court. Even if I can't be cured, I'd rather burn it all than leave a cent for Lillian!"

"It's not happening, Anne. Let it go. I'm not giving you a darn thing," Rupert shot back.

He glared at me, his eyes cold as ice.

"If you've got the guts, go ahead and file for divorce," he said. "But I'm not signing off on it. What's the big deal? All I have to do is stretch this out through the cooling-off period, right? I'm fine with that, I can wait! Now that you've made your stance clear, I'll outlast you, and the money's staying mine!"

I stared at him in disbelief.

Rupert must've thought I was backing down. He tried to smooth things over. "Why make this so ugly, Anne? If you just play along and cooperate, I'll make sure you're taken care of until the end."

All I could feel was regret when I heard him spout such nonsense. How the heck did I end up with a guy like this? How could I have been so blind, even putting all my hard-earned money into a house with him and marrying him?

I looked around at what used to be our cozy, welcoming home. Now, it felt like a total freezer in here. I clenched my fists so tight that my nails were digging into my palms.

Whining and waiting until the Grim Reaper found me? Not a chance. I wasn't just going to roll over and let people like Rupert and Lillian snatch my money without a fight.