Love Lost to Illness and Lies

After receiving a terminal diagnosis, a young woman decides to sever ties with her devoted boyfriend to spare him the agony of her death. She constructs a web of elaborate lies, pretending she has fallen for someone else to force a permanent breakup. Heartbroken and deceived, he walks away, unaware of her selfless sacrifice. As her health fades in isolation, the weight of her secrets and the pain of their lost future create a poignant struggle for peace.

Chapters

Chapter 5

On the day of the get-together with my friends, I arrived late because I had been at the hospital for chemotherapy. By the time I got there, they were already deep into a game of Truth or Dare. Vienna was participating as well and had just chosen "truth."

"Is there someone in this room you have feelings for?" someone asked.

Vienna's fair cheeks flushed bright red. She bit her lower lip and shyly glanced at Armani before nodding slowly, as if I weren't even there. Her intentions were crystal clear to everyone present.

The room buzzed with murmurs. I was still trembling from the aftermath of chemo, my face ghostly pale as I looked over at Armani. He simply chuckled warmly, "Vienna, don't be silly."

His tender gaze toward Vienna was unmistakable, his voice free of any reprimand. He knew Vienna had feelings for him. He couldn't bear to hurt her, yet he seemed perfectly fine hurting me over and over for her.

Soon, it was my turn in the game. I chose "truth" as well.

"Do you regret being in love with Armani?" someone asked me.

Armani's smile disappeared instantly. He cast a stern look at the person who asked the question.

Someone tried to lighten the mood, "What kind of question is that? She ran away with Armani, didn't she? Isn't it obvious?"

Another added, "Exactly, stop being ridiculous."

Fighting through the pain, I forced a smile. "If that's the question, then I choose dare."

The room went silent, all eyes on me and Armani. He watched me intently, but I acted as if I didn't notice.

"So what's the dare? Ten shots of vodka, right?"

Nobody said a word.

I poured the drinks myself, one glass after another, downing them. By the fifth glass, the strong liquor burnt my throat, leaving me struggling to breathe.

Armani grabbed my hand, his expression dark and severe. "Stop drinking, Mikayla."

But I shook off his hand, the bitterness lingering in my mouth. I met his gaze, "Armani, I, Mikayla Morrison, will face the consequences."

Back then, I gambled on Armani's love and became his girlfriend. Later, I took another gamble on his love, running away with him to a foreign city to start anew. Now, watching him with Vienna, I know I've lost the bet. Between Vienna and me, he clearly cares more about her.

But that's okay; I'll face the consequences.

Tears welled up in my eyes, my already upset stomach twisting in agony. Yet my heart ached even more than my body.

Countless nights I've woken up, weeping after dreaming of my parents' lifeless faces. I never regretted it until now.

But now, I do.

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I sat alone at my long marble dining table, staring at a plate of cold truffle risotto. My husband, Jere, was late again, claiming he was stuck in a "war zone" of a board meeting for a multi-billion dollar merger. A single Instagram notification shattered the silence. It was a photo of a candlelit birthday dinner, featuring a man's hand resting on a white tablecloth. I recognized the slight veins, the jagged scar on the thumb, and the navy-faced Patek Philippe watch I had spent six months tracking down as a wedding gift. Jere wasn't in a boardroom; he was celebrating his ex-girlfriend Irina's birthday while texting me to "don't wait up." The next morning, I followed him to a VIP hospital wing. I watched through a cracked door as my husband cuddled a five-year-old boy and whispered tender promises to Irina. When he came home, he tried to buy my silence with a rare pink diamond bracelet, but I found the receipt: he had bought two identical ones. He had branded his wife and his mistress with matching jewelry, using hidden trackers to keep us both on a leash. When I confronted him, he didn't flinch. He coldly reminded me that he owned my father's massive debts and could send him to prison for insolvency fraud with one phone call. "Stop with the attitude, Deliah," he said. I felt like a ghost haunting my own life, trapped in a gilded cage by the man who paid for my mother's heart surgery while keeping a secret family across town. The humiliation peaked at our rescheduled anniversary dinner when Jere received a text, threw a stack of hundreds at me like I was a stranger, and abandoned me in a crowded restaurant to rush back to her. "Pay the bill," he commanded before walking out. Standing in the wreckage of a shattered crystal vase back at the penthouse, I realized my silence was the only thing keeping his empire standing. I pulled the crumpled divorce papers from my purse and signed my name with a steady hand. I wasn't just walking away; I was calling his sister to help me burn his perfect world to the ground.

Billionaire Modern Romance

8.4

Bargained Hearts: When Mr. Coldhearted Turns Hopeless Romantic

8.4

For three years, she was the gentle, obedient wife to a man whose heart never thawed. Their marriage was a lopsided bargain, sealed by her brother's injury. Millie clung to hope that her devotion would win him over, only to discover someone else already held his heart. On their anniversary, she waited alone in the freezing mountains, while he celebrated with another woman. Without complaint, she packed up and signed the divorce papers. Everyone believed Darren never loved her, so divorce was certain. But time passed, and instead, he pleaded, "Sweetheart, can we not get divorced?"

Modern Romance

8.2

Dear Ex, Your Mom Loves Me Now

8.2

After a painful breakup with her unfaithful girlfriend, Lin Mo finds herself in a bizarre situation. Instead of cutting ties with her past, she accidentally wins over her ex's elegant mother, Su Lan. What starts as a series of awkward encounters blossoms into an unexpected and deep connection. As Lin Mo navigates this forbidden attraction, she must decide if pursuing her ex-lover's mother is worth the scandal and the complicated family drama.

LGBT+Modern Romance

7.8

From Unwanted Ward To Unattainable Queen

7.8

I was the orphan Marcus Thorne took in. He was my guardian, my savior, and the man I foolishly fell in love with. But when he caught me sketching his portrait, he didn't see devotion. He saw a mess. He called my feelings "inappropriate" and told his fiancée I was just a "minor household issue" before shipping me off to Italy to get rid of me. He thought I would pine for him. Instead, I erased him. I blocked his number, deleted his photos, and sent him a check for every single cent he spent on me with two words: *Debt paid.* Three years later, Marcus showed up in Florence. He looked wrecked, desperate, and furious that his "property" had walked away. He tried to order me home. He tried to claim he finally loved me. He expected the girl who used to worship him to fall into his arms. But I looked at the man who broke my heart and felt absolutely nothing. "You don't love me, Marcus," I said, stepping back into the arms of a man who actually valued me. "You just hate losing." And for the first time, I watched him crumble while I walked away.

Mafia Modern Romance

9.3

He Comforted Her While I Lost Our Baby

9.3

On the tragic night I miscarried our child, my husband was nowhere to be found. While I endured the agony of loss alone in a hospital bed, he was miles away, offering comfort to another woman. This devastating betrayal shatters the foundation of our marriage, forcing me to face a cold reality. As a billionaire's wife, I had everything but his presence when it mattered most. Now, I must find the strength to leave the man who abandoned me.

Billionaire Modern Romance

7.1

Hot For My New Stepbrother

7.1

I never should have let my mother hold my future hostage. She paid my tuition with his father's money. Locked my birth certificate, my transcripts, every scrap of paper I need to survive in a safe I'll never open. And the one thing I had left of my dad, his old watch, she dangled like a noose. Run, and I lose my education. Fight, and I lose the last piece of the man who actually loved me. So I moved into the Hunters' mansion. Into the lair of the boy who spent years making my life hell. Chase Hunter. Six-foot-five of pure venom wrapped in muscle and money. The senior who cornered me in empty hallways, who whispered filth in my ear just to watch me flinch, who smiled that sharp, cruel smile every time I broke a little more. I thought graduation meant freedom from him. I was wrong. Now he's my stepbrother. He hates that I'm here. Hates my mother for sinking her claws into his father. Hates me most of all, for breathing his air, for walking his halls, for daring to exist where he can reach me. But hate isn't clean anymore. It's tangled up in heat. In the way his grey eyes strip me bare every time they land on me. In the way his hand closes around my throat, not to hurt, but to own. In the way he punishes me over his lap, in his car, against walls, until I'm shaking and soaked and furious at myself for wanting more. He calls me Little Lamb like it's poison on his tongue. I call him every name I can think of under my breath. How long until we stop fighting the deadly inferno raging between us and finally let it consume us both?

Action Adventure Modern

Love Lost to Illness and Lies

Chapter 5

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