We Shall Never Cross Paths For The Rest Of Our Lives

1 After my sixth failed attempt at demanding a divorce, Jimmy set three rules. If I followed them, he promised he would finally sign the papers. First, I had to drive the college girl he was sponsoring to and from her classes every single day. Second, half of my monthly paycheck had to be deducted to buy her expensive health supplements. Third, I was never allowed to question what time he came home at night. I nodded in agreement without a single word of protest, a stark contrast to the screaming matches we used to have. Every afternoon, I parked my car at the campus gates right on time, politely opening the passenger door for his precious little princess. On payday, I handed over the bank transfer receipts without him even asking. Even on the day I was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer, I didn't bother calling him; I signed the DNR and treatment refusal forms all by myself. When Jimmy finally found out and rushed to the hospital, all he found was my signed refusal-of-treatment form. Red-veined eyes wide with disbelief, he grabbed my shoulders and shook me, his voice raw. "Susan! Are you out of your mind? Since when did you become so morbid?" "You used to be terrified of pain, terrified of dying! Why are you refusing chemo now? Why?!" I lacked the strength to answer. Instead, I simply slid a signed divorce agreement across the bedside table toward him. In my mind, the cold, mechanical voice of the System chimed on schedule: [Time remaining: 72 hours. The Host will soon be liberated.] … Jimmy’s shock lasted all of three seconds. In the next moment, the phone in his pocket chimed. It was a custom, high-priority ringtone, one I had begged him for years to set for me. He had always refused, but now, that exclusive ringtone belonged solely to Emma. Without a second thought, Jimmy let go of my shoulders and swiped to answer. "Jimmy..." Emma’s whimpering voice filtered through the speaker, gratingly loud in the quiet hospital room. "Is Susan still mad at me? Everyone at school is calling me a homewrecker who ruined your marriage. I don't want to live anymore..." Jimmy’s face went pale, then hardened. The faint trace of panic from a moment ago vanished, replaced by an icy, deep-seated disgust. He whipped his head around, glaring at me. "Are you happy now, Susan?" "To force Emma out, you actually paid off the doctors to fake this!" "Fabricating a sick lie like terminal stomach cancer... you are utterly repulsive!" Resting my back against the thin hospital pillow, the burning agony in my abdomen made every breath feel like swallowing shards of glass. I slowly lifted my heavy eyelids, looking calmly at the man I had loved for ten long years. "The diagnosis is real." "Shut up!" Jimmy spat in rage, snatching the medical chart and the divorce papers from the table. With a series of sharp, violent rips, he shredded the documents into tiny pieces right in front of the nurse. The paper confetti fluttered through the air, raining down onto my pale face. "A pathological liar like you isn't even worth a single hair on Emma's head!" "Get up! You're coming with me to apologize to her!" He reached down and violently ripped the IV line from the back of my hand. Blood welled up instantly. The nurse gasped and stepped forward to stop him, but Jimmy shoved her aside. "Back off! Don't get between a man and his wife!" Ignoring my frail, trembling frame, he dragged me off the bed and out of the ward. He hauled me all the way to his car, throwing me into the passenger seat and slamming the door. The engine roared as he sped toward the house of my so-called family. The moment we entered, the rich aroma of premium bird's nest soup filled my nose. My mother, Martha, was holding a porcelain bowl of the top-tier delicacy, blowing on it gently. It had been bought with every last cent of my previous month's paycheck. Seeing Jimmy drag me through the door, Martha's eyes lit up. She quickly set the bowl down and hurried over with a beaming smile. "Oh, Jimmy, dear! You're here." But when she turned her gaze to me, her warm expression froze, twisting instantly into a mask of bitter malice. Slap! Her hand connected with my cheek, a sharp, stinging blow. My ears rang, and the metallic taste of blood bloomed in my mouth. "You ungrateful brat! How dare you show your face here?" Martha jabbed a finger toward my nose, screeching. "Emma is such an angel, and you just have to make her life miserable, don't you?" "How did I ever give birth to such a malicious creature!" My father, Richard, sat on the sofa, casually puffing on a cigar. He didn't even spare me a glance, only looking at Jimmy out of the corner of his eye. "Jimmy, Susan has always been difficult. Don't let her get to you." "Still, Emma’s twentieth birthday is coming up." Richard blew a lazy ring of smoke, finally shifting his eyes to me. "Susan, as her older sister, you need to show some generosity. Sign that downtown condo over to Emma as a birthday gift." I looked up at the two people who had raised me. The agony in my stomach flared, but it was nothing compared to the icy numbness spreading through my chest. That condo was the very place Jimmy had bought when he proposed to me, registered solely in my name. Now, they wanted me to hand it over to Emma on a silver platter. I turned my gaze to Jimmy. He stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking down at me with absolute derision. "Why are you looking at me?" "You owe this to Emma. Just sign the damn papers." He pulled a pre-drafted property transfer deed from his briefcase and tossed it in front of me. I didn't shed a single tear. I was simply too exhausted to fight back anymore. In my mind, the System’s cold prompt chimed on schedule: [System Notification: 60 hours remaining.] My hand trembled violently as I picked up the pen and wrote my name on the dotted line. I pushed the document back to Jimmy, my voice barely a whisper. "It's done. Can I leave now?" Jimmy stared at the signature, seemingly caught off guard by how quickly I had yielded. A flicker of annoyance crossed his face, followed by a mocking sneer. "Stop acting like a martyr." "Get out. Don't ruin Emma's mood." Leaning against the wall, I dragged myself out of that suffocating house, one agonizing step at a time. The wind outside was biting, slicing right through my thin hospital gown. I hailed a cab and headed back to the suburban villa I shared with Jimmy. The pain in my stomach felt like a dozen dull knives twisting inside me. I stumbled into the master bathroom, frantically searching for the expensive imported painkillers I had spent my last savings on. They were the only thing that could grant me a shred of dignity in my final hours. I pulled the drawer open, but the bottle was gone. "Looking for this, Susan?" A sweet, cloying voice sounded behind me. Emma was standing there, wearing my favorite silk robe, casually tossing the small white bottle in the air. She leaned against the doorframe, her smile wide and seemingly innocent. "I accidentally opened your package, thinking it was mine. What kind of treats are you hiding from me, big sister?" She tilted her head, her eyes gleaming with pure malice. "Are you trying to poison yourself to make Jimmy feel guilty, or are you planning to poison me so you can keep him all to yourself?" Cold sweat poured down my forehead. Clutching my stomach, I weakly reached out toward her. "Give it back..." "It's my medication... please..." Emma giggled, covering her mouth. "Medication? You're such a drama queen, Susan. But if it's dangerous medicine, I really shouldn't let you abuse it." She stepped over to the sink and unscrewed the cap. "Oops. My hand slipped." She let out a faux gasp. A shower of white pills clattered into the basin, and she flicked the faucet on. A rush of cold water instantly swept my precious, expensive medicine straight down the drain. "No!" I threw myself forward, desperately clawing at the drain to salvage what was left. The water was freezing, and the pills dissolved almost instantly, turning into a milky, useless slurry that slipped away. I slumped over the counter, my fingernails scraping against the metal drain guard until they bled. "Emma! Are you insane?!" I screamed, the last of my composure shattering. Instantly, Emma’s smug face transformed. Her eyes welled with tears, and she began to sob. "Susan, why did you push me? You're scaring me..." She let herself slip to the floor, weeping pitifully. Right on cue, the front door clicked open. Jimmy strode in, taking in the scene of Emma crying on the bathroom floor. "Emma! What happened?" He rushed over, pulling her protectively into his arms. "Jimmy, she..." Emma buried her face in his chest, her shoulders shaking. "I only wanted to help her tidy up the bathroom, but she just snapped. She shoved me... Does she hate me that much?" Jimmy’s head snapped up, his eyes burning with fury as he glared at me. "Susan! Do you have a death wish?!" He stood up, lunged forward, and kicked me hard in the stomach. Ugh! The force threw me backward, my spine colliding hard with the cold bathroom tiles. My already failing stomach ruptured under the impact, and it felt as though my internal organs were being torn to shreds. I curled into a tight ball on the freezing floor, unable to even draw enough breath to scream. Jimmy looked down at me with pure disgust, as if I were nothing but a pile of rotting garbage. "You really will stoop to any pathetic low just to get my attention!" "She was only trying to help, and you laid your hands on her?" He turned around and swept Emma into his arms. "Come on, sweetie. Let's get out of here. Let the crazy bitch rot." Shielding her, he walked out of the house without a single backward glance. The heavy front door slammed shut, echoing through the empty villa. I lay on the cold tiles, my vision blurring into darkness. Memories of my childhood flashed before my eyes. The year I ranked first in the city exams, I had run home, proudly clutching my report card. My parents hadn't even looked at it; they were too busy fussing over Emma, who had barely scratched her finger. "Who cares about your grades? Can you eat them? Don't you see your sister is bleeding?!" Then, I met Jimmy. He had once pulled me into his arms, gently wiping away my tears. "Susan, I'll be your family from now on. I promise I'll never let anyone hurt you again." But now, the very man who had sworn to protect me had become the executioner, grinding me into the dirt alongside my family. The copper taste of blood rushed up my throat. [System Notification: 48 hours remaining.] I stared at the dark pool of blood on the floor and closed my eyes. Down in the drain, the faint residue of the white pills slowly dissolved into nothing. I lost track of time lying on that cold floor. Eventually, a violent spasm of agony jolted me back to consciousness. Dragging my broken body, I crawled out of the bathroom and hoisted myself onto the living room sofa. The pain in my abdomen had surpassed any human limit, and it felt as if my insides were being put through a meat grinder. Cough... I bent over double, hacking up a thick spray of dark, stagnant blood. The deep crimson fluid stained the cream-colored wool rug, a gruesome, undeniable contrast. "Ah!" A sharp shriek pierced the silence of the house. Emma had come back; I hadn't even heard her enter. Standing at the base of the stairs, she stared at me as I choked on my own blood. Instead of calling for an ambulance, she dramatically covered her eyes. "Blood! Oh my god, that's disgusting!" "I can't stand the sight of blood! You're doing this on purpose to scare me!" She squealed, then fluttered her eyelids and elegantly fainted onto the carpeted stairs. Jimmy rushed out of the study. Seeing Emma slumped on the stairs, his face paled. "Emma!" Without even glancing at the pool of dark blood near me, he stepped over it and swept Emma into his arms. "Hold on, sweetie. I'm taking you to the hospital!" He carried her toward the door. As he passed the sofa, he hesitated for a fraction of a second. With blood coating my chin, I weakly reached a trembling hand toward him. "Jimmy... please... help me..." He recoiled in disgust, stepping back as if I were a plague-ridden corpse. "Susan, this desperate attention-seeking is getting pathetic." "Coughing up fake blood just for sympathy? Do you really think I'm that stupid?" With a harsh sneer, he carried Emma out into the cool night air. Bang. The front door shut. Then came the heavy, metallic sound of a deadbolt turning twice. Click. He had locked me in, cutting off my absolute last chance at survival. My hand fell limp, dropping back onto the blood-soaked cushions. Summoning the last of my strength, I fumbled for my phone to dial 911. But when I opened my banking app, a stark white notification popped up on the screen: [Error: Your accounts have been frozen.] I froze. I tried every single card, even my health insurance account; every single one of them was blocked. Jimmy had cut off my finances entirely. Just then, the screen lit up with an incoming call. It was Martha. Like a drowning person catching a stray branch, I swiped to answer. "Mom... please help me... it hurts so much..." But there was no warmth on the other end, only a shrill, demanding screech. "Susan! Why haven't you sent Emma her monthly allowance yet?!" "Do you have any idea how stressed she is because of your childish behavior?" I gasped for air, the agony too intense for coherent words. "I'm... I'm dying..." Martha let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Dying? A selfish parasite like you is too stubborn to die!" "You're just faking it to guilt us!" "No wonder Jimmy is disgusted with you and locked you up." "Go ahead and rot. Nobody cares anyway!" Beep. Beep. Beep. She hung up. I curled up on the blood-soaked couch, the phone slipping from my fingers and clattering to the floor. The entire world fell into a terrifying, suffocating silence. Only the System’s cold countdown echoed in my mind. [System Notification: 24 hours remaining.] I watched the sky outside bleed from gray into a deep, pitch black. The pain in my chest had gone numb, replaced by a dull, hollow ache. I could feel my life force slowly seeping out with every labored breath. The deadbolt on the front door remained locked tight. Outside, the distant city lights flickered, warm and full of life. Countdown: 4 hours remaining. A social media notification lit up my phone screen. It was an update from Jimmy. He had rented out the most exclusive rooftop restaurant in the city. Beyond the massive floor-to-ceiling windows lay a glittering skyline. Emma wore a custom haute couture gown and a delicate tiara, looking like a pampered princess. Jimmy stood beside her, his eyes filled with adoration as he clasped a multi-million dollar diamond necklace around her throat. The caption read: "Happy 20th birthday to my little princess. Congratulations on securing your spot in the Ivy League graduate program." I stared at the screen, my lips twitching into a grim, bloody smile. Ivy League graduate program? Jimmy had bought that admission spot with a massive corporate donation. In the corner of the photo, I saw my parents. Richard and Martha were beaming, bragging to everyone about how successful their younger daughter was and what an incredible partner she had found. There they were, basked in luxury and celebration, while I lay locked inside a dark, empty villa, writhing on the cold hardwood floor in agonizing pain. My fingernails clawed at the expensive wood, leaving deep, bloody gouges. Several of my nails tore away completely, but I couldn't even feel the pain in my fingers anymore. My chest felt completely crushed, and every breath brought the hot, metallic taste of blood. I was dying. With the last shred of my strength, my trembling fingers dialed Jimmy's number. This was my final plea for mercy. It rang and rang. Just as I was about to give up, the line clicked open. "Jimmy..." My voice was barely a thread of wind. "It hurts so much... please... save me..." The other end fell quiet for a second. Then, a wave of loud laughter erupted. Jimmy had put the call on speaker. Every guest at the party heard my desperate, pathetic plea. "Oh, Susan is such a good actress," Emma’s sweet, mocking voice chimed in. "She just has to try and steal the spotlight on my birthday. That's so mean." Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd. "Honestly, Jimmy, your wife's jealousy is getting ridiculous." "Seriously. Today is Emma's big day. She has no class." Jimmy let out a soft, mocking chuckle, his voice dripping with icy contempt. "Susan, the 'boy who cried wolf' routine is getting old." "If you want to die, do it somewhere else. Don't ruin Emma's birthday." Click. Dial tone. He hung up. The screen flickered in the dark living room for a second, then went entirely black. Staring at the lifeless phone, a single tear slipped down my cheek. It fell into the pooling blood on the floor, dissolving into the dark crimson stain. I stopped fighting. I lay quietly on the freezing wood, feeling my body temperature drop degree by degree. It was so cold. [System Notification: 0 hours remaining.] [Host has successfully exited this world.] The System’s voice finally softened, sounding almost warm. My soul floated upward, light and free, leaving behind that gaunt, blood-covered shell of a body. The next morning, nursing a heavy hangover, Jimmy unlocked the front door and pushed it open. "Susan! What kind of stunt were you trying to pull last night—" His voice cut off instantly. A heavy, metallic stench of fresh blood and the unmistakable scent of death rushed over him. Frowning, he covered his nose and stepped into the living room.