Chapter 1
In the third year of my marriage to Lucas, he started keeping a young and pretty college student.
Her name was Olivia. She had an innocent and lovely look about her, exactly the type Lucas was into.
He’d been supporting her for over half a year.
Apart from me, she was the woman who had been by his side the longest.
Friends warned me to be careful, saying it seemed like Lucas had really fallen for Olivia.
The first time I met Olivia was on my birthday.
I started nosebleeds early in the morning and went to the hospital for a check-up. The doctor said I probably wouldn’t make it past next spring.
I nodded gently and whispered, “It’s okay.”
I wasn’t afraid of dying, just a bit scared of the pain.
I heard there was an expensive medicine that could make my last days more comfortable.
When the money in my bank account ran out, I went to Lucas’s company to find him.
I happened to run into Olivia there. She had just graduated and was working as Lucas’s secretary.
Lucas was in a meeting, so I sat outside waiting.
Olivia kept staring at me, whispering to the colleagues around her:
“Is she the boss’s wife? She’s so ugly, all dried up, like she’s on her deathbed.”
“Everyone says I look like her. Where? I’m way prettier than she is.”
I glanced at my reflection in the shiny glass—pale face, bundled up in a puffy down jacket. Yeah, not pretty, and definitely on my last legs.
A colleague tugged at Olivia’s sleeve and whispered,
“It’s just that she’s not made up. If she were wearing makeup, ten of you wouldn’t add up to her beauty.”
“Also, don’t go provoking her just because the boss dotes on you.”
“You have no idea how much he loves her. If you upset her, watch out, or the boss will make you pay.”
