Her Other Life

When I found out my wife was hiding the divorce papers from me, I set up a car crash and pretended I had lost my memories. Naively, I thought this could save our seven-year marriage. But when Josephine Gillard found out I had lost my memories, I saw something called relief flicker in her eyes. Calmly, she told me, "We're siblings. Nothing more, nothing less. Even if we aren't related by blood." Before I could say a word, a nurse pushed open the door with a knowing smile. "Your husband and child are here, Dr. Gillard. Oh, I can't believe you're still so in love even after years of marriage." I was struck dumb. Only after Josephine left did I finally find the courage to speak. With a trembling voice, I asked the nurse, "How long has she been married?" The nurse looked envious. "Five years, and she just came back from maternity leave." While I was risking everything to save our marriage, she had already built another family behind my back. Chapter 1 Useless Wife "Honestly, Josephine. You've been married to him for seven years, and now you're calling him your brother? I can't even imagine the look on his face once he regains his memory." A commotion rustled outside the door. Though the voices were hushed, I still heard the conversation. Josephine didn't argue with her friends. She said nonchalantly, "At least Henry and I won't have to keep hiding anymore." "So when's the divorce? Your kid can't be illegitimate." That made Josephine fall silent for a moment. I could feel her gaze through the glass window. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet. "Not yet. He still has his uses." I stared at the ceiling, my mind somewhere else, and my eyes glistened with tears. When I decided to fake my amnesia, I ran a lot of possible scenes in my head. One thing I had never imagined was her having a five-year affair. The footsteps outside broke my train of thought. Josephine came back to the room, but she only gave me a glance before looking away. Behind her stood a man I had never seen before. "This is your brother-in-law, Henry Giles," she said stiffly. Even her expression tightened when she called Henry my brother-in-law. I stared at the man. He was younger and more handsome than me. She took my silence as acceptance and spoke again. "There's something I'd like to say." She put an organ donation form right in front of me. I was the donor, while the recipient was her mother. This was not a discussion. She never intended to give me a choice. There was already a signature on the papers. "Mom has late stage uremia. Your kidney is a match for her. She raised you like a son, so it's time you repay her." I stared at her in disbelief. "What?" With a trembling finger, I pointed at Henry. "Why me? What about him?" She slid between me and that man, blocking him from my sight. "He can't," she said adamantly, and my heart sank. Henry peeked out from behind her and smiled. "I'm a candidate, but she wouldn't let me do it. Leslie's born with a genetic disease and is still under treatment. I need to stay healthy and watch over him. That leaves only you. You won't refuse, will you?" There was smug satisfaction in his eyes as he said that. He raised his hand almost leisurely, and the ring on his finger gleamed under the sunlight. Josephine wore the exact same one. Something bitter lodged in my throat, and I clenched the papers in my hand. "What if I refuse?" Chapter 2 Cheating Harlot "According to you, I have amnesia. For all I know, you could be lying." Josephine arched her eyebrow, disappointment swimming in her eyes. "A decent person knows how to be grateful. Just because you've lost your memory doesn't mean you can forget everything my mother did for you." Her voice grew colder with every word. "Do you really think this negotiation means anything? You never had a choice." She had clearly prepared for my refusal. "The surgery is today. You're going whether you agree or not." A group of nurses barged in. She took a syringe from their hands and injected anesthesia into my bloodstream, and it was a few times more than normal dosage. I tried to struggle, but she ignored me. "Do as I say, and I'll make it up to you after it's done." That reminded me of what she had said earlier. So this was what she meant when she said I still had my uses. This woman truly thought I was an idiot who could be kept in the dark. For a week after the forced donation, Josephine stayed with me all the time, keeping a close eye on my vitals and taking care of my every need, acting as if her affair never happened. Everything inside me told me she had changed, however. The day I was discharged, she brought me home. Only then did I see how much the house had changed. Our wedding photo was already taken down, replaced by a family photo of her and Henry. She was smiling gently in the photo, holding a small baby in her arms. It was a side of her I had never seen before. She did not notice the look on my face. Calmly, she said, "Thanks to you, Mom's surgery went well. Henry and I have talked. You can stay here, and we'll treat you like family." How ironic. Family. I lowered my head. The marriage certificate carried my name. This house belonged to me and her. Yet now, she made it sound as though that man had become the owner. While I was spaced out, Henry moved some boxes out of the main bedroom. "Cleaned out all the trash, Josephine. He can stay in the storage room. It's not like we have any extra space." He kicked the boxes and met my eyes. There was a challenge in his gaze. I looked at the boxes. The most conspicuous of them was a picture frame covered in a white cloth. That was my wedding photo. All the high heels, dresses, and necklaces I had bought for Josephine were now stuffed into boxes and treated like garbage. A dusty ring box sat in the corner. I picked it up, and my eyes began to sting. "This is trash too?" I opened the box and inside sat a ring. The diamond in the center barely had any gleam left. I proposed to her seven years ago using the same ring, and she had only worn it once. Josephine seemed to remember this ring, and she pursed her lips before tossing it into the bin. "The house is crowded. There's no room for things like that." Her matter-of-fact attitude stabbed me again. I moved into the storage. That night, I sat on the bed for a long, long time, flipping through the hidden divorce papers like a machine. I wanted to just sign the papers and cut off all ties with her. But I had dated her for five years and married her for seven. I had spent too much time and poured too much of my heart into this relationship. I really, really hated to see it go to waste, and that feeling was suffocating me, then the sound coming from the room next door snapped me out of it. The main bedroom's door was ajar. Through the narrow gap, I saw what was happening inside. And my stomach turned cold. Chapter 3 The Murdering Lover Heavy breathing and quiet moans assailed my ears like sharp blades. "This is the first time we're doing this in his bed. I hope it can stay like this forever." "Quiet down. He's right next door." "Hey, it's normal for a couple to do this. Doesn't matter if he finds out." I pressed myself tightly against the wall and bent over, retching silently. I covered my mouth, afraid they would hear me. The reluctance and sliver of hope I had been holding on to slowly died. The two of them were in there, going at it, while I remained standing for a long, long time. Long enough for my tears to soak the divorce papers. Long enough for the sounds behind the door to finally fade. I stayed awake the whole night. It was when daylight came that I finally signed my name on the papers. Perhaps that decision was wrong in the first place. The day after I signed the papers, I visited Delilah at the hospital. She was Josephine's mother and one of the only people who were nice to me after my parents died. Her greatest wish had always been to see Josephine and me have a child. Sadly, that wish would never come true. The moment she saw me, Delilah cried and pulled me into her arms. "Josephine told me you did it willingly. I don't have much time in this world anymore, and you gave me your kidney. How on earth will you live on?" I opened my mouth. Only then did I realize Josephine had not told her about my supposed memory loss. I stared at her for a while and hesitated before I spoke. "Thanks for everything, Delilah. I only wanted to repay the favor." Her smile died a little, then she looked behind me. "Are you two fighting? I'll help you. Tell me everything." My eyes stung, and my hands clenched. "Josephine and I are about to get a d—" Someone flung the door open. Henry seemed to know I had come to the hospital. He looked at me and nodded with realization. "I knew you were faking your memory loss. Trying to have her mother take your side, huh?" His tone was full of mockery. With the slight lift of his chin, the marks on his neck nearly showed. Delilah froze up for a moment and looked at me. She wanted my explanation, but Henry gave me no such opening. He made it a point to humiliate me. "Mrs. Gillard, or should I call you mother-in-law? Josephine and I have been together for five years and just had our child. You can see the child once you're discharged." Delilah sat up straighter, and the machines wheezed. "No! My daughter would never do this! Her marriage has always gone well! Who are you?" Henry let out a sarcastic laugh and tossed a DNA report toward Delilah. "I've been her lover for five years. Hidden, yes, but real. Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter. She had my child, and that child is part of your family." Every word drilled more pain into Delilah's soul. She had raised Josephine herself. In her eyes, her daughter had always been upright, loyal, and decent. That was why Josephine never allowed Henry to show up around Delilah. Now Delilah's chest was heaving from rage, and her breathing was turning ragged. I rang the bell right away. "Delilah? Delilah!" Delilah gripped my hand tightly, struggling to breathe. Then her strength gave out, and she fainted. Henry sneered. "She's long past her expiry date. Better if she died now." Something in me snapped. I swung my fist right into his temples, venting all my rage and resentment on him. Chapter 4 It's Criminal Hurried footsteps echoed outside the ward. The first thing Josephine saw when she came in was the chaotic scene before her. She smashed a medicine bottle against my head and quickly staunched Henry's bleeding. For the first time, she lost control of her rage and screamed at me, "What is wrong with you? He's your brother-in-law!" The machines connected to Delilah suddenly blared. Only then did Josephine realize her mother was in critical condition on the bed. "Mom!" Delilah was rushed into the emergency room. Twenty minutes later, she was gone. The cause was cardiac arrest triggered by extreme emotional distress. "We did our best, Dr. Gillard. We're sorry." Josephine staggered and fell into a bench. Her head jerked toward me, and the slap she gave me landed with a sharp crack. My ears rang violently, and for a moment, everything went black. When my senses slowly returned, I noticed a small stream of blood was trickling out of my ear. "You killed my mother!" she screamed raspily. "What did you say to her? Why was she overstimulated? The kidney transplant was a success! She could have lived a few more years. She hadn't even seen her grandchild yet!" A heartbroken Henry wiped Josephine's tears away. "Amnesia isn't a reason for you to kill Delilah. If you don't like me, then come at me. Why take it out on her?" I clutched my right ear, but the blood kept trickling through the cracks between my fingers. "I didn't say anything." Josephine gave me no chance to explain. When she looked at me again, her eyes were filled with hatred. "You're a murderer." That hit me harder than I thought it would. Before Delilah's body could even be wheeled to the morgue, a nurse came in looking panicked. She shouted, "Dr. Gillard, Leslie's condition has worsened! His fever is still high, and we can't bring it down!" Henry and Josephine went white. Henry held Josephine's hand tightly, panic written all over his face. "What now? We haven't found a suitable donor. Why is this happening now?" "Gabriel will be the donor." Josephine grabbed my wrist right away. I stared at her in disbelief and stepped back. "You made me give a kidney to your mom! She's been kind to me all this time, so at least there's justification! Now you want me to save your child too? Why?" My questions did not make her hesitate. Instead, her eyes only turned redder. "Because you killed my mother. You're the reason I lost her, and now you want me to lose my child too? You owe me!" Her voice went quieter and quieter, as if she was trying to convince herself. "Really? Then this'll make us even. I don't want to see you ever again after the surgery!" She had a group of doctors drag me into the operating room, and they tied me to the table in case I tried to run. "He just had a kidney transplant not too long ago. A full-body blood transfusion carries too much risk." All she did was glance at my vitals and said mercilessly, "I'm his family. I'll handle everything." The doors closed after she was gone. The doctors injected anesthesia, and I saw the thick needle stab into my arm. As my consciousness blurred, I felt my blood getting drawn out endlessly. My body grew colder with every passing moment. The years I had spent with Josephine replayed in my mind one last time. Every memory rose like a bubble. Then each one shattered into dust. If this was her wish, then she could have it. From now on, that relationship would stay behind us forever. We were even.