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On the day of the fake divorce, I was diagnosed with a "terminal illness"
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Barry’s new secretary, my husband’s new secretary, posted a “depression diagnosis” on her social media. The Photoshop job was laughably bad. She had simply replaced the original name with her ...
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第1章
Barry’s new secretary,
my husband’s new secretary,
posted a “depression diagnosis” on her social media.
The Photoshop job was laughably bad.
She had simply replaced the original name with her own.
That very day, after being away from home for days,
my husband rushed back
in less than thirty minutes.
He dropped to his knees in front of me,
crying so hard his voice cracked,
his forehead nearly slamming into the floor.
“Keira is sick.”
“I can’t divorce you. I can’t.
If I do, she’ll really kill herself.”
“Please. Let’s just have a fake divorce.
Once I calm her down, we’ll remarry. Okay?”
“One week. Just one week.”
I looked at him and nodded quietly.
He clearly hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly.
He froze for several seconds,then relief flooded his face.
“I won’t wrong you for long.
Really. I swear.”
Then he couldn’t wait to leave.
What he didn’t know was that there had already been no future for us.
The moment he knelt down,
I had finalized everything with my family.
As long as I divorced him,
I would leave this place for good and marry that man.
1.
We didn’t even wait until the next day.
That very afternoon,
he sent a driver to take me to the law firm.
Barry stood at the entrance,
wearing a purple suit.
The color was exactly the same
as the one he wore
the day we registered our marriage.
Even the way he looked at me,
that unmistakable joy,
was identical.
Only this time,
the source of that joy
had already changed.
He pulled a car key from his pocket
and pressed the button toward a Rolls-Royce Cullinan not far away.
The headlights blinked.
“I’m sorry you have to go through this.”
“This is a gift for you.”
“One week.
I promise that after one week, we’ll remarry.”
I held the key,
my chest tightening painfully.
To placate his new lover,
he really spared no expense.
Over the years,
the secretaries around him
had come and gone endlessly.
All young.
All pretty.
All obedient.
At first, it was ambiguous.
Later, shamelessly public.
I argued.
I cried.
I broke down.
And lost
every single time.
Eventually, I learned to endure.
I told myself he would get bored soon,
just like before.
That no matter how far he strayed,
he would circle back to me.
But this time was different.
That “depression diagnosis,”
probably downloaded from some random website,
made him consider divorce seriously
for the first time.
The breakup fees he had paid those “little puppies” over the years were worth far more than ten Cullinans.
I slipped the key into my pocket.
For the coming days,
I did need a car.
When I walked out of the law firm,
Keira was standing by my car.
I unlocked it.
She pretended to be surprised and looked at Barry.
“Oh?
Is this Chloe’s breakup compensation?”
She hooked her arm around Barry’s,
smiling gracefully and triumphantly,
then waved at me.
“This is what you deserve, Chloe.”
“Thank you for completing
my sister and me’s true love.”
“We’ll definitely send you a wedding invitation.”
Smack.
No one expected Barry to slap her.
The air froze instantly.
He lowered his voice and apologized to me.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know she would come,
or say such things.”
Tears immediately streamed down Keira’s face.
She looked like the victim.
“Sister,
I was just worried you wouldn’t have time
to try on wedding dresses,
so I came to pick you up.”
So that was it.
No wonder he was so eager to divorce.
They had already started planning the wedding.
How thoughtful of them,
putting on such an elaborate show
just for me, the old one.
I couldn’t be bothered to watch anymore.
I opened the car door and got in.
Barry chased after me,
leaning over the window,
and tossed a black card inside.
“Buy whatever you want.
Go wherever you want.”
“No limit.”
“I’ll be home soon.”
I picked up the card
and tossed it straight at Keira’s face
through the open window.
In the end,
I had somehow become
the third party
who could be dismissed with money.
“Keep your money.”
“I hope after I’m gone,
you still have enough
to maintain this so-called love.”
My thoughts drifted back
seven years ago.
Seven years ago,
I was in a severe car accident
and became a vegetative patient.
During those days in the hospital bed,
I couldn’t even open my eyes.
My consciousness was clear,
yet my body refused to move.
Trapped in a body stripped of all dignity,
I had no choice.
It was Barry
who pulled me back
from hell.
第2章
He took care of me day and night,
patient to the point of reverence.
Little by little, I got better.
I began to imagine the future.
I wanted to marry him.
But he refused.
Until one night, after a business dinner,
he drank so much that he vomited blood from a gastric hemorrhage.
I stayed by his bedside the entire night.
When dawn came, his eyes were red as he finally agreed to marry me.
But my family opposed it.
So I made a deal with them.
As long as Barry succeeded in his career,
the price I would pay
was never stepping back into the family again.
I gave up my status.
I gave up my career.
I gave up my last retreat.
At the time, I thought we would love each other forever.
He would achieve everything he wanted,
and I would be the place he returned to.
But I never imagined this.
Not long after the wedding,
his career took off in leaps and bounds.
He founded his own company.
And the young women around him
only grew more numerous.
At first, he still tried to hide it.
Later, I argued.
I fought.
I broke down.
To keep him,
I chose to retreat again and again.
But my retreat
only earned his complete recklessness.
Until today.
I was finally tired.
My mother asked me,
“Do you regret it?”
I asked myself the same question.
When I didn’t answer for a long time,
my mother’s voice remained calm and resolute.
“In seven days, I’ll book your flight.”
“That man…
it’s time you married him.”
I murmured a low “Mm,”
and hung up the phone.
The receiver fell silent.
The next second,
my stomach felt as if it were violently clenched by something,
spasming fiercely.
My vision went dark.
With the last bit of consciousness I had,
I pulled the car over to the side of the road.
My fingers trembling,
I dialed an emergency number.
Before I could finish speaking,
my consciousness cut out completely.
When I opened my eyes again,
I was already lying in a hospital bed.
The sharp pain in my stomach had been temporarily suppressed,
leaving behind only a hollow, dull, aching sensation.
The doctor stood by the bed,
hesitation written all over his face.
“Your family…”
He paused.
“They didn’t come?”
Then he hesitated again.
“Your condition…”
“I know my condition.”
I interrupted him.
My voice was so calm
that even I found it unfamiliar.
“At this level of pain,
there’s no strength left for sorrow.”
The test report was handed to me.
Stomach cancer.
And it had already metastasized.
Beyond medical help.
I stared at that thin sheet of paper
and suddenly smiled without a sound.
How ironic.
Back then, to cure Barry’s chronic gastritis,
I sought out an old traditional Chinese doctor
and secretly learned from him.
I filled pages upon pages of notes,
changed recipes endlessly,
and cooked medicinal meals for him every day.
Eventually,
his stomach healed.
And now,
I was the one who would finish paying this karma for him.
In a way…
it was a complete ending.
The doctor prescribed painkillers
and told me there was no longer any need for aggressive treatment.
I nodded,
as if he were talking about someone else.
As I passed the nurse’s station,
a few nurses whispered among themselves.
“The patient in Bed 7 is really lucky.
Almost died on the road.”
“They called his husband for help.
Not a single call got through.”
“Good thing a kind passerby stopped,
or he really wouldn’t have made it.”
I lowered my head
and glanced at the admission bracelet on my wrist.
“Bed 7.”
The words pressed coldly against my eyes.
If I had died just like that…
Would he regret it?
In this world,
aside from Barry,
the only person I still knew
was his brother.
Suddenly,I really wanted to go and say goodbye to Osiris.
第3章
Osiris lived in the most upscale medical care center in the city.
Our parents passed away early.
It was he who dropped out of school
and single-handedly raised Barry.
Later, in a construction accident,
he lost one leg.
With the compensation money,
Barry managed to finish his education smoothly.
From that day on,
he never allowed this older brother
to work again.
When Barry’s career finally took off,
he arranged for Osiris to live here.
Well fed. Well cared for.
And completely cut off from the world.
Over the years,
Barry’s new lovers came one after another,
and he was often nowhere to be found.
Whenever that happened,
I would come visit Osiris.
He was my family.
And also the only friend in this world
with whom I could still speak the truth.
I knew he had lost his temper more than once
over Barry’s absurd behavior.
He truly treated me as family.
“Get out!”
The moment I reached the door,
Osiris’s furious roar burst out from inside.
Along with the shouting,
nutritional supplements and gift boxes
were hurled violently out of the room.
“Barry, let me tell you!”
“In our family,
there is only one daughter-in-law, and that is Chloe!”
“If you bring these shameless things in front of me again,
are you trying to drive me to my death?”
“What has Chloe ever done wrong to you,
that you treat her like this?”
“You will regret it!
You think just because you’ve got some dirty money,
you can afford to lose all your dignity?”
I stood outside the door,
my feet feeling as if they were nailed to the floor.
Keira hid behind Barry.
Seeing him get hit by the flying boxes,
her eyes reddened.
Suddenly, she stepped forward.
“Brother, Barry and I are true love.”
“They haven’t had feelings for each other for a long time.”
“Barry respecting you
doesn’t mean you get to interfere with his freedom.”
At this point,
she hardened her heart and raised her voice.
“Besides, Barry and Chloe are already divorced!”
“Chloe even wished us well!”
Barry reached out to cover her mouth,
but it was already too late.
Osiris clutched his chest in fury,
gasping for breath.
His remaining leg could no longer support him.
He collapsed heavily back onto the bed.
“Get out…”
“All of you, get out!”
“Brother! Are you okay?”
Barry rushed forward.
“Don’t be like this. I actually came this time
to invite you to my wedding with Keira…”
“She treats me really well.
Why can’t you at least try to—”
Osiris finally caught his breath.
The anger drained away,
leaving only a lifeless gray behind.
“Barry.”
“I don’t want to see you anymore.”
“I failed to teach you properly.
I have failed our parents.”
“Brother, don’t say that.”
“Calm down first.
I’ll come see you again in a few days.”
Barry pulled Keira along and walked out.
When he lifted his head,
he met my scrutinizing gaze head-on.
He wanted to dodge,
but it was too late.
He could only stand there awkwardly, stammering.
“How… how much did you hear?”
“You came to see my brother too?”
“I was just trying to stabilize his condition.”
He hurried to explain.
“You know depression can’t handle stimulation.”
“The wedding is just part of the treatment.
It’s all fake.”
“Don’t worry.
You’re the only one in my heart.”
“You’re my real wife.”
Before his words had even settled,
Keira had already hooked her arm through his,
speaking in a sweet, coaxing tone.
“Brother,
the wedding venue is basically ready.
Let’s go check it together.”
Suddenly, I didn’t understand.
If that was the case,
why was he still lying to me?
Why did he still insist
on maintaining that illusion of loving me?
I didn’t say another word.
I pushed past them directly.
My foot went out of control
and kicked over the gift boxes scattered all over the floor
as I walked straight into the ward.
Osiris kept apologizing to me.
Again.
And again.
Saying he hadn’t raised Barry well.
Saying the Gu family had failed me.
By the end,
his eyes were red.
第4章
I comforted him with a few words and didn’t stay long.
Before leaving,
I quietly placed the diagnosis report on the bedside table.
I hoped that by the time I came back,
he would at least be mentally prepared.
After walking out of the medical care center,
I wandered aimlessly.
This world had never belonged to me.
I had stayed here for seven years.
Everything I gave
was Barry.
In the end,
I couldn’t even find a single friend
who had nothing to do with him.
Before leaving,
there seemed to be no one left
worth saying goodbye to.
I walked along the road,
all the way into the city.
As the painkillers wore off,
it felt as if an invisible hand inside my stomach
was tearing and kneading it over and over again.
The next second,
a mouthful of blood surged up my throat without warning.
I didn’t even have time to dodge.
I bent over,
and the blood splattered straight onto the ground.
My fingers trembling,
I rummaged through my bag for medicine.
Instinctively,
I stepped into a hotel by the roadside,
wanting to find some water to swallow the pills.
But the moment I looked up,
I froze.
This was the hotel
where Barry and I had gotten married.
The lobby was crowded.
Staff members hurried back and forth,
arms full of props, flowers, and documents,
constantly moving toward the outdoor wedding lawn.
I stood at the edge of the crowd.
Through the gaps,
I saw Barry standing at the very center.
And Keira.
The scene was so familiar
that my heart tightened painfully.
Almost the exact same setup.
Even the placement of the flowers and string lights
was no different from that year.
Only the bride
had changed.
Compliments from the staff never stopped.
Barry had his arm around Keira’s waist.
He lowered his head slightly,
his gaze gentle.
Keira looked up at him,
shyness impossible to hide on her face.
The next second,
he bent down and kissed her deeply, without restraint.
I stood outside the crowd,
as if I had been pressed into a belated old dream.
How long had it been?
How long since he last looked at me like that?
How long since we had linked arms intimately in public?
Back when we were first together,
he loved to tiptoe in a crowd
and steal a kiss from me.
Like a child who had gotten away with something.
Later…
When did everything start to change?
The person in his eyes
was no longer me.
A staff member carrying a folder passed by me,
then suddenly stopped.
“Aren’t you… Miss Chloe?”
His voice wasn’t loud,
but it was clear enough.
The next second,
he instinctively turned his head toward Barry,
his expression complicated.
Barry followed the sound.
The moment he saw me,
his brows knitted together.
Keira rushed over first
and shoved me hard.
I was too weak.
My body staggered,
and I nearly fell.
“Stop pretending to be weak. It’s useless!”
“My brother just doesn’t like you anymore!”
“You’re already divorced.
Why won’t you let us go?”
“We’re truly in love,
and you’re stalking us!”
“You act generous and affectionate on the surface,
but inside you’re filthy and twisted!”
Her voice was sharp and piercing.
More and more staff members gathered around.
At that moment,
the pain in my stomach exploded violently.
My vision began to blur.
Everything around me turned hazy.
Relying purely on instinct,
I hurriedly pulled out a painkiller
and shoved it straight into my mouth.
“Chloe.”
Barry finally spoke.
But his tone grew increasingly impatient.
“I’ve already told you.
I’m only doing this to cure her.”
“I promised you.
Once Keira gets better, we’ll remarry.”
“Now you see her sick,
so you pretend to be ill too,
running in front of me to take medicine.”
“Don’t you think that’s a bit too deliberate?”
“You weren’t like this before.”
“You really disappoint me.”
The surrounding gazes cut like knives.
第5章
“I was just passing by.”
When the words left my mouth,
even I found them pale and powerless.
I decided not to explain any further.
I turned to leave.
“Passing by? Fine then.”
Keira chased after me relentlessly,
her smile dripping with malice.
“Then come attend my wedding with my brother.”
“Didn’t you say you wished us well?”
“Enough.”
Barry frowned.
“Watch your tone when you talk to Chloe.”
He turned to me,
his voice softening again.
“Don’t listen to her nonsense, honey.”
“I’ll be back by your side soon.”
Keira stamped her foot in anger.
Barry lowered his head and soothed her
with a look I knew all too well.
At that moment,
I suddenly felt nauseated.
I turned back to Keira
and spoke calmly.
“Alright.”
“Send me the invitation.”
“I’ll be there on time.”
When I pushed open the door
to the house Barry and I once shared,
his scent rushed at me.
It was as if the entire world
still carried his shadow.
I could no longer hold on.
I squatted on the floor,
clutching my stomach tightly,
vomiting blood mouthful by mouthful.
I couldn’t stay in this place anymore.
In the end,
I returned to the hospital.
When the doctor saw me,
he visibly let out a sigh of relief.
He said he had been most afraid
that I would die suddenly on the road.
That night,
I received the wedding invitation Keira sent me.
The wedding photos were exquisitely retouched,
flawless in every detail.
Clearly not a last-minute decision.
Suddenly, I realized that
that so-called “depression diagnosis”
was probably part of their plan all along.
The wedding date
was ironically perfect.
It fell on the exact day
I was leaving.
Over the next few days,
I lay quietly in the hospital.
My social media feed
was filled with Barry’s friends.
No matter which app I opened,
all I saw were posts sharing
the news of his remarriage.
They assumed that after the divorce,
I would delete everyone.
So they spoke freely, without restraint.
Discussing me,
the thoroughly betrayed ex-wife.
Until the wedding day arrived.
My body had grown so weak
that I could no longer stand.
I rented a wheelchair from the hospital.
And put on
the wedding dress
I had worn
when I married Barry.
Along the red carpet,
I moved forward bit by bit
in an electric wheelchair.
Employees of the Gu family,
business partners, relatives,
all cast shocked and uneasy glances at me.
This wedding
was far more extravagant
than the one years ago.
Back then,
I had nearly emptied my savings
just to secure this venue Barry adored.
What I could give him
might not have been expensive.
But that was
everything I had.
The wedding march began.
Barry walked alone
from the other end of the aisle
toward Keira.
As expected.
Osiris still did not appear.
No parents.
No elder brother.
He stood at the center
of this grand wedding,
like a groom forgiven and blessed by the world.
At the end of the aisle,
the two embraced deeply.
Keira clutched Barry’s hand tightly.
Her voice, amplified through the microphone,
was clear and resolute.
“Brother, from the first moment I saw you,
I fell in love with you.”
“Later, when I learned
that you were living in such suffering,
I swore…”
“I wouldn’t just marry you.”
“I would treat you well for the rest of my life
and never let you be wronged again.”
I almost wanted to laugh.
So this was it.
Every cheating man
had a story
about being ‘saved.’
I just hadn’t expected that
in Barry’s version,
our marriage
had become a living hell.
Barry threw himself into Keira’s arms,
tears streaming down his face,
his voice thick with sobs.
“I finally married you…”
“I finally married the one I love.”
第6章
Cheers and applause erupted from the audience below.
The sound rolled toward me, wrapped in the sweet scent of roses.
They cheered.
They offered their blessings.
Someone whistled.
The noise was sharp, shrill,
like countless fine needles.
They pierced my heart one after another,
yet no one noticed me, hidden in the corner.
The red carpet curved toward the stage.
Barry stood there.
His suit was crisp, immaculate.
Joy lay hidden in his brows and eyes.
He had finally married the woman he loved.
And me?
I clenched my hand beneath the hem of my dress,
my nails digging deep into my palm.
The sharp pain spread.
We had seven years of marriage.
Seven years of shared days and nights.
Promises he once swore with sincerity.
What were those now?
Disposable trash,
or stepping stones toward his new love?
“Brother.”
Keira suddenly turned around.
Her wedding gown flared in a perfect arc.
Her smile was radiant, blinding.
Her gaze locked precisely onto me in the corner.
“To be able to marry you,
the person I need to thank the most is Chloe.”
In an instant, the noise died.
Countless eyes converged on me.
Curious.
Probing.
Laced with faint mockery.
A sharp intake of breath rippled through the hall.
People exchanged glances, unsure
whether to be shocked by my so-called generosity
or unsettled by the pallor of my face.
The weight of their gazes pressed down on me,
so heavy I could barely breathe.
Barry followed those stares.
The moment he saw me, his smile froze.
Panic replaced it.
He abruptly lowered his head,
gritting his teeth as he questioned Keira,
his voice urgent, trembling.
The microphone captured everything,
broadcasting it clearly across the hall.
“You invited her?”
“Keira, what exactly are you trying to do?”
“Oh, nothing at all.”
Keira tilted her head,
smiling with a mix of innocence and cruelty.
“I just want to vow eternal love to you
under Chloe’s witness.”
Barry looked awkward, his brows tightly knit.
But he did not stop her.
“Chloe.”
Keira turned to me again.
Her voice was sweet enough to cloy.
“Did you hear the promise I made to my brother?”
“Please come up on stage
and witness us exchanging rings.”
The crowd erupted again, louder than before.
Whistles.
Table pounding.
Laughter.
A strange man shoved me from behind,
his voice rough and impatient.
“Hurry up and go!
Don’t ruin the newlyweds’ moment!”
I gripped the wheelchair, my knuckles whitening.
Using all my strength,
I forced myself to stand.
Agonizing pain tore through my stomach in an instant.
I doubled over, cold sweat soaking my back.
My vision darkened.
The noise around me blurred into nothing.
Clenching my teeth,
I slowly lifted my head.
I looked at Barry, standing at the center of the stage,
the man I had loved for seven years.
He once said he would protect me always.
Yet now, all I saw in his eyes
was his desperate wish for the wedding to proceed smoothly.
I steadied myself
and walked toward him, step by step.
Every step felt like walking on shattered glass.
Every step ground seven years of love into dust.
Finally, I stood before them.
The hem of my wedding dress brushed against my ankle,
cold against my skin.
Barry feared the wedding being ruined more than anything.
He hurried half a step forward,
lowered his voice, and pleaded.
“Chloe, I’m begging you.”
“Just endure today.”
“We still have many happy days ahead.”
I looked at him.
At the panic in his eyes.
At the shallow reassurance.
Suddenly, he felt like a stranger.
All that past tenderness and devotion
felt like nothing more than an illusion.
I smiled at him.
The smile was faint,
but filled with release.
“Barry.”
My voice was calm.
“There will be no ‘after’ for us.”
As the words fell,
the entire hall sank into silence.
I turned my head.
At the entrance of the hall,
a familiar figure stood there.
His gaze was deep, steady, fixed on me.
I gave him a small nod,
completing my final farewell.
The next second,
all my strength drained away.
I collapsed straight down.
As my consciousness sank into darkness,
I closed my eyes.
At the corner of my lips remained a faint, peaceful smile.
This time,I finally didn’t have to hold on anymore.