Lie and Regret

3

To me, the artificial eye had always felt like it didn’t belong to me—it would throb with unbearable pain every few days.

The doctor told me there was a special medication that might help stabilize my condition.

Otherwise, if things continued like this, I wouldn’t live past six months.

But I had long since become the dutiful housewife for love, and nearly all the financial power was in Jack’s hands.

Yet I still didn’t want to die.

So I picked up my phone and called him.

But the line was always busy.

Until the last time—he directly declined the call.

I smiled and told the doctor, “Forget it.”

When I left the hospital, my phone had run out of battery and turned itself off, and the sky had begun to pour with rain.

Due to the heavy rain, my vision was limited with only one good eye.

But I could still vaguely make out the father and son celebrating Joanna’s new life at a dessert shop.

They smeared cream on each other’s faces, looking as happy as something out of a romantic drama.

Yet they had always said they hated sweets.

Rain trickled down my hair, and I let out a bitter laugh.

So it wasn’t that they didn’t eat sweet food, it was just that the person who could make them enjoy sweet food... wasn’t me.

After being soaked in the rain, I came home and immediately developed a high fever.

The artificial eye, after all, was not a natural organ, and it often caused me so much discomfort I couldn’t sleep at night.

But now, because of the fever, I drifted into a dazed sleep.

I hadn’t slept for long when someone woke me up.

Jack brought me a small box of cake.

“Here, a strawberry cake from me and Cameron—you used to love it, didn’t you?”

It was the typical tactic of the carrot and the stick.

I looked into his eyes and said calmly, “I did, but not anymore.”

Jack frowned. “Laura, what exactly are you trying to say?”

I told him.

“Jack, I need 60 thousand dollars.”

Clearly not expecting such a sudden request, Jack looked a little stunned.

But before I could respond, Joanna playfully raised her hand.

“I know why! It’s because a brand just released a new handbag that costs exactly 60 thousand! Laura must want to buy it.”

“You’re throwing a tantrum just for a bag? Laura, you’re really being immature.”

Jack’s gaze was full of mockery.

“So all this drama lately has been about buying a bag? Laura, since when did you become so vain and materialistic?”

Cameron yelled from the side, “Daddy, why is she using our money?”

The three of them condemned me righteously, and I let out a mocking laugh.

‘Yeah... a bag.’

All they knew was that 60 thousand dollars could buy a handbag.

What they didn’t know was that 60 thousand dollars... was also the money that could save my life.

Joanna walked over with a smile, intentionally fanning the flames.

“Oh come on, don’t be so harsh. Laura is an orphan, she never had a mother to teach her manners. Picking up some bad habits is totally normal.”

At the mention of my mother, my brain didn’t even have time to process—it acted on instinct.

I slapped her across the face.

Joanna let out a shriek and collapsed into Jack’s arms.

Jack was instantly furious and pointed at me, shouting viciously, “Laura, apologize! Or else, don’t even think about getting that money!”

It felt like someone was squeezing my heart—so tightly that I could barely breathe.

Burning with fever, I propped myself up and looked at the man I had loved for seven years.

His appearance had barely changed over the years, but his heart... had become unrecognizable.

At that moment, I didn’t want the money anymore.

I didn’t want him or Cameron either.