Tina helped Joel indoors and got him to lie down on the couch.

She said, "Get some rest, Mr. Lewis. I've prepared some chicken soup for you. Please have some."

The chicken soup Tina made was light and sweet, but Joel couldn't stomach anything now. His stomach was almost completely overtaken by cancer cells.

Just after taking the second sip, Joel covered his mouth and stumbled to the washroom. He started vomiting violently once again. It was a mixture of blood and chicken soup.

He could only dry heave when there was nothing left for him to vomit in the end.

"Joel." Rachel stood outside of the washroom. She looked at Joel with a darkened expression. "Are you trying to disgust me on purpose?"

He wondered if she thought he was deliberately trying to disgust her by vomiting.

Rachel said, "If you're trying to disgust me, then congratulations. I've lost my appetite now. You can finish your meal on your own. I'm leaving."

Joel fought the nausea in his stomach and said, "Just think of it as having a last meal with me, can you?"

Rachel replied, "You should stop pretending to vomit then."

Joel replied, "Alright, I'll stop pretending."

Rachel said, "Try not to show up in front of Chris anymore or his depression might act up again."

After all, Christopher had allegedly suffered from depression after she got married to Joel.

Joel's phone suddenly rang again. It was another call from the body donation department, and he accepted the call.

Amy said, "Hello, Mr. Lewis. We've looked into your situation and realized that you're married. In that case, we'll have to obtain consent from your wife for the body donation. Otherwise, we won't be able to proceed."

"Do you have to get her signature?" Joel asked.

Amy replied, "Yes. We've already emailed the consent form to you. Please get it signed as soon as possible."

"Alright," Joel replied before ending the call.

Rachel said irritably, "Did you hear what I just told you? Hurry and leave after you're done eating. I want you out of Chris' sight!"

Joel said, "Okay."

"Hurry up and leave by today. Don't delay any further," she said.

"Alright."

Rachel left after she was done talking.

Joel went into the study and downloaded the body donation consent form from his email. He then went to look for Rachel.

Rachel was busy looking up steps to care for depression and did not spare him a glance.

"Please sign this, Rachel," Joel said.

Rachel signed her name in the "family" column without even checking it. "Done. Now hurry up and leave. Don't disturb me."

Joel smiled bitterly. "Don't you need to read what it says?"

She replied, annoyed, "Aren't you just asking for money? What's there to read about?"

Joel asked, "Do you think I'm asking you for money?"

Rachel retorted, "Aren't you?"

Joel growled, "I gave up my future and the chance to work abroad all just to stay by your side when you started your business. And now you're upset that I'm spending your money?"

Rachel said, "But the truth is, I'm the breadwinner now, aren't I?"

"If one day I die and someone hands you my death certificate, will you also put down your name without reading what it is, Rachel?" Joel asked.

Rachel sneered, "Why are you so obsessed about death lately, Joel?"

Joel found it funny, as he was about to die in just two days.

Rachel said, "Stop dilly-dallying and leave already."

Joel asked, "Can you come with me, Rach? Just one last time—"

"I don't have time. I have to go shopping with Chris later. He just moved in so he has no spare change of clothes," Rachel replied.

"Oh."

She finally spared him a glance and said, "If only you were this obedient earlier. You wouldn't have had to stay in the rain the entire night then."

Joel walked out of the study, called for delivery service, and sent the signed document back to the body donation department.

Once he was back in the villa, he saw Rachel and Christopher eating in the dining room. Christopher's mouth was open as he waited for Rachel to feed him some oatmeal.

Upon seeing Joel, he pretended to look anxious and hurriedly pushed Rachel's hand away. "You're back, Joel."

She frowned and asked, "Didn't I ask you to leave? Why are you back again?"

"I'm about to leave now." Joel then turned and walked out of the door.

Christopher asked, "Joel sounded a little off, Rach. Is he sick?"

Rachel replied, "He's alright. It's just a slight cold."

Christopher said, "You should go with him. It's so sad going to the hospital alone."

Rachel's voice sounded gentle when she said, "Why are you worried about others when you're sick yourself? Just finish this oatmeal, okay? I'll feel more at ease then."

Joel stood by the door with a hand on the doorknob. He said, "There's no need to go with me. I'll just call a cab."

Christopher immediately pushed away Rachel's hand. She had been holding out a bite of oatmeal. He said anxiously, "That's not right. Others would definitely label me as a homewrecker if they saw this happening. You have to send Joel to the hospital, Rach."

Rachel said, "Alright, don't get anxious. I'll go with him. You can stay at home and rest, okay?"

"Alright," Christopher replied.

Rachel reluctantly kissed his forehead before walking over with a dark expression. Her voice was cold when she said, "Let's go."

Joel wanted to refuse, but he kept his mouth shut when he realized that this might be the last time he'd ride in her car.

…

Rachel drove aggressively throughout the journey.

Joel nearly got thrown out of the car several times. He wouldn't be able to stay in his seat if not for the seatbelt.

He wasn't sure if it was because of motion sickness or his stomach cancer, but he turned to the side and vomited again.

Rachel accepted a call at the same time. She grew anxious as she said, "Don't do anything rash. I'll be there soon!"

Joel asked, "What happened?"

Rachel threw him a cold glare and said, "You'll find out soon enough."

Rachel drove Joel to a remote, unfinished building on the outskirts of the city. There were weeds everywhere, and it was completely abandoned.

She dragged him along, swiftly making her way into the unfinished building, but his body no longer could keep up with her pace.

Joel staggered along, struggling to catch his breath in gasps, yet Rachel was seemingly blind to it. She was only moving forward anxiously.

She finally came to a halt.

Joel looked up and saw Christopher with his hands bound. He was hanging from the rooftop. He cried out, "Save me, Rach!"

"Chris!" Rachel was heartbroken. She tried to comfort him and said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here now. I won't let anything happen to you!"

"Just as the rumors say, Ms. Rachel really does love her lover very much." A group of abductors walked out while asking gleefully, "Have you brought the money?"

Rachel coldly replied, "How am I supposed to get you five million dollars in such a short time?"

One of the abductors said, "So the deal is off the table then? Fine, I'll cut this rope and let your lover meet his demise—"

"Wait!" Rachel dragged Joel by his arm and pushed him out. "I'll trade him in instead"

The abductors frowned. "What kind of joke is this, Ms. Rachel? Do you think we're stupid?"

Rachel said, "He's sold every organ in his body. He's probably worth more than five million."

Joel collapsed onto the ground and stared at her in disbelief, yet she only had eyes for Christopher.

She continued, "I'm sure you guys wouldn't dare to spend the five million even if you managed to get it, since the police will be on your tracks.

"It's better for you to take him to Northern Moyona instead. A healthy young man's organs would surely fetch a good price. It'll be the safest option for you guys there."

The abductors exchanged glances, seemingly sold by Rachel's words.

The police would surely be on the lookout for them with abducting and extorting such a large sum under their belts. They'd be living on the run.

It would be better for them to just bring a live person to Northern Moyona. Once they sold off his organs, they'd be able to live a carefree life in Southeast Aysea for the rest of their lives.

Christopher continued to cry. "My wrists hurt, Rach—"

Rachel urged the abductors, "Hurry up and release my lover!"

The abductors split into two groups. Two of them grabbed hold of Joel while the other two cut off the rope.

Christopher fell from the rooftop. Rachel swiftly ran over and caught him. "Don't be afraid. I'm here now."

He said, "I knew you'd come and rescue me, Rach!"

Meanwhile, Joel was mercilessly dragged away by the two men. He struggled and yelled, "You've been deceived by her! I'm her real partner!"

The abductors burst out laughing. "You're her partner? Everyone in Hallowbrook City knows how much Ms. Rachel loves her lover. She wouldn't have handed you over for us to sell your organs if you truly were her partner!"

Joel's heart turned cold. The Rachel from before did love him dearly, but she was now a completely different person.

The sound of sirens echoed from downstairs. Several dozen armed SWAT officers soon surrounded the entire unfinished building.

When the abductors realized they were tricked, they cursed, "You wretch! You set us up!"

Rachel was already taking cover behind the SWAT officers with Christopher in tow.

The SWAT officers shouted at the abductors, "Release the hostage, and we'll show mercy!"

Surrounded by the police, the abductors were forced to surrender as they had nowhere to escape. Joel was finally rescued.

When he walked past Rachel, she said, "I called the police earlier. I only traded you out knowing that you'll be fine."

Joel chuckled coldly. "What if the police had been a moment too late? Or what if the kidnappers panicked and threw me off the building?"

Rachel frowned and said, "What's the point of talking about things that didn't happen?"

"You're right. There's no point at all." Joel smiled bitterly and stopped talking.

"You better not go home for now. Just go stay in the hospital instead. Chris just went through a shock and needs to rest," Rachel said while hugging Christopher.

Joel nodded and replied, "Don't worry. The things you're worried about won't happen."

As the hostage, the police assigned an officer, Lily Bloke, to look after him.

Lily told him, "We'll take you to the hospital for a full check-up to see if you're injured."

Joel smiled and agreed to it. However, when they arrived at the hospital, he said, "You can drop me off here. Thank you."

Lily was worried. "I'll leave after your check-up."

"There's no need to. I'm fine. I just need to get some cold medicine from the doctor. You must have duties to attend to, so you can head back first. There's no need to stay with me," Joel said.

Lily nodded and said, "Alright then. You can just contact me if you feel unwell after this."

Joel replied, "Alright. Thank you."

He smiled while watching Lily hurry away. He then turned around and walked in a different direction.

The sign on the building read: "Body Donation Department."

Joel powered off his phone, took out his SIM card, and snapped it in half. He then tossed the pieces into a trash can.

After that, he took a deep breath before walking into the building.

Rachel would never be able to find Joel again from now onward.