Chapter 4

He seemed to be in a hurry, as he did not wait for me to reply.

“Just sign it and give it to my lawyer before the end of the day.”

With that, he turned to leave. I grabbed his sleeve across the desk. “Zach, you…”

With my temper, I would have slapped him.

I had been helping him for three years. But the moment Cecilia came back, he wanted to get a divorce.

I probably did not matter to him at all.

He pulled his sleeve away, and the sharp edge of his exquisite cufflink cut into my hurt hand. I gasped in pain.

“Cassia, Cecilia’s back. I need to be with her.”

“Are you kidding me?” I scoffed. “Where was she when you were struggling and at your worst? Who was there for you then? Now that she’s back, you want to be with her. Who am I to you?”

He did not answer, probably because he did not know how.

I ran around the desk to stand in front of him, but I had to look up. I usually switched out my high heels for flats in the office, so he was much taller than me.

His sad expression surprised me.

He did not seem happy about reuniting with a loved one. Instead, he looked like he had just received some really bad news.

“Zach, you—”

Before I could say more, he cut me off.

“Cecilia has an incurable illness.”

His words left me stunned.

Cecilia had an incurable illness?

“When did this happen?”

“She’s had it for a long time, but she’s never told anyone.”

So, Cecilia had known about her illness for a long time?

Yet, she looked at me with such hostility and provocation yesterday. That did not seem like the gaze of someone with an incurable illness.

A woman with an incurable illness would have lost all her fighting spirit. She would not be trying to compete with another woman for a man.

My instincts told me that Cecilia did not have an incurable illness.

I was right before Zach, but I could not tell him that Cecilie was lying. “Even if she’s sick, you don’t need to divorce me. You’re not a doctor. Getting a divorce won’t cure her—”

I was rambling, but Zach stopped me with one sentence.

He looked at me and said something that pierced my heart. It would hurt me for a long time.

He said, “Cassia, I don’t love you, and you know that.”

Then, he opened the door and walked out without looking back.

I thought that he was starting to like me.

He married me, helped me pick out my wedding dress, and decorated the wedding venue with everything I liked. He even booked a trip to Iceland so that we could see the aurora.

Even if he did not love me, I thought he might be a little fond of me. I believed that he would eventually fall in love with me.

However, as soon as Cecilia returned, all my efforts seemed to go to waste.

Something that only happened in a cheesy romance novel actually happened to me.

My rival had an incurable illness, and my husband wanted to divorce me to take care of her.

Were all the doctors gone?

When did Zach become a hospice worker? Not only did he want to care for her, but he also wanted to give her all his love.

I leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor. After a while, my secretary knocked on the door and informed me of Sophie’s arrival. “Let her in,” I said softly.

Sophie stood in front of me in tall leather boots. She kicked me and asked, “What’s going on? Weren’t you supposed to be in Iceland to see the aurora? Why are you lying on the floor like this?”

I felt a bit weak, so I grabbed her legs to stand up.

Sophie pinched my face and examined me. “Are you a panda? What’s with the dark circles under your eyes?”

“I didn’t sleep well at the hospital last night.” I pushed her hand away.

“Why were you at the hospital? Are you sick?”

“Not me. It’s Cecilia.”

“Cecilia’s back?” She looked surprised. “I thought she’d never come back. She sure picked a bad time.”

I sat down and subconsciously played with my wedding ring.

Zach had put it on me just the day before yesterday. Our wedding officiant was a friend who knew how to hype things up. He had written a long vow for Zach to read to me.

However, Zach found it too long and shortened it to just a few lines. There was one line that stuck with me, though.

He said, “I will always be with you, forever.”

It was a simple promise, but it made me cry at that time.

How long was “forever”? Three days.

I leaned back in my chair while Sophie sat on my desk.

She was my cousin and only three days younger than me, so we were as close as sisters.

I was in low spirits. Sophie looked through the divorce agreement on the desk and jumped down. “What’s this?”

“Can’t you read?”

“Zach wants a divorce because of Cecilia?!” As expected, she was even more upset than I was. “Doesn’t he remember that Cecilia disappeared when his father almost kicked him out of the board? You were the one who stayed with him. Now that Cecilia’s back, he wants to divorce you?!”

Her voice was getting louder, so I checked the door to make sure it was closed.

Zach and I started this company. I did not want our personal problems to become office gossip.

“That jerk!” Sophie glared at me. “Why didn’t you slap him?”

“I haven’t slept all night. I’m too tired to slap him.”

“You coward,” she said angrily. “Wait here. I’ll deal with him.”

She grabbed her purse and headed for the door, but I weakly stopped her.

“Don’t bother.”

“Let me handle that jerk first.” She opened the door.

“Cecilia has an incurable illness.”

Sophie already had one foot out the door, but she pulled it back.

She looked at me in disbelief. “What did you say?”

“You heard me correctly.” I felt exhausted as I spoke. “Cecilia has an incurable illness, and Zach is leaving me to take care of her.”

“Cecilia has an incurable illness?” She ran back to my desk. “How’s that possible?”

“Don’t ask me. That’s just the situation.” I curled up in my chair and hugged my knees.

I liked this position the most because hugging my knees made me feel safer.

Sophie crouched in front of me, with her eyes darting around. This made my mind even more muddled.

She rubbed her chin and said, “I don’t believe it. This is too much of a coincidence. I need to look into it!”