Chapter 1

Everyone on Wall Street knew how much Julian Vance despised his ex, Vivian.

When the Vance family went bankrupt years ago, Vivian dumped him without a second thought.

Later, Julian clawed his way back onto the billionaire ranks and chose to marry me in a merger of convenience. People gradually forgot about their past.

Until the gala, when Vivian and I both tumbled down the grand staircase.

Julian caught me firmly in his arms, leaving Vivian to crash violently onto the marble floor.

That accident left Vivian in a coma, a vegetative state.

For the next seven hundred days and nights, Julian stayed glued to her bedside, consumed by suffocating regret.

He held Vivian's hand, whispering over and over that he had only caught me out of spite—to get back at her.

When the doctors finally said Vivian might never wake up, Julian snapped.

He grabbed me by the collar, demanding to know why it wasn't me lying in that hospital bed, forcing me onto my knees to atone for her.

He orchestrated the downfall of my family's company, driving us to bankruptcy, and locked me away in the basement.

Until Vivian finally woke up.

Julian stood before me, looking down with cold disdain.

"As long as Vivian forgives you, I'll drop this."

I lay collapsed on the freezing basement floor. Pain tore through my bones with every breath, leaving me without even the strength to lift a hand.

He had no idea I was dying.

The light pouring in through the open doorway was blinding. I instinctively raised an arm to shield my eyes.

Julian walked up to me, looking down from his towering height.

"What are you playing at, Claire?"

"It's not like I starved you. Do you really need to act this pathetic?"

I reached out, clutching the hem of his slacks, weakly murmuring,

"Julian... it hurts."

I curled into a tight ball, cold sweat soaking my hair.

Julian's gaze softened for a fraction of a second as he saw my furrowed brows. After a long pause, he let out a faint sigh.

"Where does it hurt? Your period?"

He lifted me from the floor, and I let myself collapse onto the bed.

One of his hands rested gently over my lower stomach, while the other brushed away the cold sweat from my temples with his sleeve.

During our first two years together, my cramps had always been unbearable.

Back then, he would wrap his arms around me from behind, holding me tight all night long.

Those days were long gone.

And that wasn't where the pain was coming from.

His phone rang sharply. He answered, his tone instantly softening.

"You just woke up. Didn't the doctor tell you to stay under observation for a few more days?"

"Alright. I'll come to the hospital and pick you up right now. Wait for me."

A brief pause, his eyes drifting back down to me.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure she answers to you."

When he looked at me again, his face was once again an icy mask.

"I'm going to the hospital to bring Vivian home."

"Clean up the house. Make sure Vivian is comfortable."

He turned to leave, took a few steps, and then stopped.

He pointed at the sheet beneath me.

"Change that sheet, too. You're filthy."

Silence settled back over the room as my consciousness slowly drifted back.

Hours passed before I gathered enough strength to drag myself out of bed.

Fresh flowers and scented candles lined the living room downstairs—clearly prepared for Vivian's homecoming.

I slipped out of the villa and hailed a cab to the hospital.

In the examination room, the doctor looked at my scans and let out a heavy sigh.

"Ms. Sterling, I strongly urge you to admit yourself immediately."

"Bone cancer is excruciating. You cannot afford to delay treatment any longer."

I bit my lower lip, keeping my head down in silence.

"Where is your family?"

I shook my head, tears falling silently onto my lap.

"I don't have any family."

After the Sterling Group went under, my father leapt from the seventeenth floor.

My mother suffered a fatal heart attack the moment she heard the news.

As for Julian, his entire world revolved around Vivian.

I clenched my fists, my voice trembling.

"Given my condition... how much time do I have left?"

The doctor's words hit me like a sledgehammer.

"Less than a month."