To get me to agree to a divorce, my husband lied and told me he had stomach cancer.

I glanced at the medical report in my bag and said nothing.

Instead, I broke down right then and there, sobbing like my heart was being ripped apart, absolutely refusing to divorce him.

Because what he didn't know… was that he actually had cancer.

Just not stomach cancer—liver cancer.

And with his funeral coming up soon, if we divorced now, who would inherit all his assets?

No way. I couldn't let this divorce happen!

“Rachel Steiner, let’s get a divorce.

“It’s terminal. I’d rather not trouble you any further.”

Ian Smith lay curled up at one end of the sofa. He had his face buried in his hands, so that I couldn’t see what sort of expression he was wearing.

But I could hear, in that hoarse whisper, all the agony and despair he was feeling.

My gaze strayed over to the handbag, where it had been discarded. Among its contents was a report of Ian’s physical examination.

A tumor in the liver, the doctor had told me.

My eyes stung. I fought back sudden tears.

So he’d found out about that, after all.

I’d been waiting for all the arrangements to be in place, first. For the money to come through. And then—after several more days, perhaps—I’d have told him.

I stepped forward and held him gently, my tears plummeting down onto his shoulder.

“I’m not leaving you. Everything will be alright. Even if we have to sell every last thing we own, we’ll get you cured. It’s only cancer, big deal. Medicine has come a long way.”

He pushed me aside, surged to his feet, and went over to stand before the window, his back to me. “The doctor diagnosed it as late-stage stomach cancer. Cure me, you say? There is no cure.”

I mustered my courage and forced my lips into a smile. I needed to tell him my plans: “As for money, you needn’t worry. I’ve got it all figured out! I’ll sell that place I’ve got, downtown—”

Something gave me pause. Had I just misheard him?

“Stomach cancer?” I blurted out in confusion. “Did you just say stomach cancer?”

He tensed up.

“That’s right. Late-stage stomach cancer,” he muttered darkly. “Here’s the medical report.”

He handed me a document, issued by the hospital. Upon it, I read those same words in black-and-white, a certified diagnosis.

And yet, the doctor performing his physical today had repeatedly emphasized liver problems…

I quietly stuffed that report back into my purse. All of my anguished sorrow had completely evaporated in an instant, replaced by suspicion and paranoia.

Frowning at his back, I gently inquired, “I wonder if it’s possible that the doctor made some kind of mistake? How about you come with me… I’d like to get you re-examined.”

“No!” he growled, whirling around to face me.

But then he caught himself, his demeanor softening instantly. He came over and drew me into a fierce embrace, burying his face tightly against my shoulder.

“Rachel, you know very well I can’t stand hospitals. That day, my dad disappeared into one, and then I never saw him again.

“Anyway, my medical fees need not be any of your concern. Let’s get divorced right away, so that you’ll at least make it out with a little something for yourself. Otherwise, my condition will bankrupt us both. Selling your other place probably won’t make enough to cover it.”

Towards the latter half of this statement, I noticed a faintly manic quality in his voice. He almost sounded… eager?

I stood there, silent and expressionless, staring blankly at the lights outside the window. Tears continued to stream down my cheeks… but now there was also a chill creeping through my heart.

Ian was lying to me.

The man I’d been married to for a full decade… he now meant to deceive me.

I raised my head to look at him, to search his expression for even the slightest trace of guilt or remorse.

I found nothing of the sort whatsoever.

I let my gaze fall away, and allowed the torment to show on my face. “I’ll need some time to think this through.”

I watched him in the dying light, and caught a subtle flash of delight crossing his features. I felt a stab, somewhere deep in my heart.

I took my handbag with me into the bedroom, lay down on the bed, and closed my eyes, surrendering myself to a roiling storm of thoughts and emotions.

Indeed, there was much for me to think about.

Hidden within my handbag was Ian’s physical examination report… as well as my own pregnancy test results.

Weal and woe, arriving together, hand-in-hand.

Well, perhaps this child might no longer count as good news…

It had been a day of roller-coaster ups and downs. One moment, my nerves had been wound up tight enough to choke me—and then, just like that, all the tension left me.

Only mere moments after collapsing upon the bed, I’d drifted off into a deep slumber…

I awoke with a start, in the middle of the night. Reflexively, I reached out to the side and patted the bed.

Ian wasn’t there.

However, I could see that the lights were on in the bathroom—and from within, Ian’s voice could be heard. He was on a phone call with somebody.

Ever so carefully, I tip-toed closer. I could only hear his side of the conversation.

“Relax, Mom… she’d never suspect me. The only problem is that—you know me—she’s so thoroughly captivated by my overpowering charisma, that she just can’t bear the thought of a divorce.

“Ah, that place she’s got downtown? She’ll sell it off, for my sake.”

Silently, I returned to bed, and squeezed my eyes shut once more—but I was unable to hold back a fresh wave of tears.

Soon, I felt Ian’s weight upon the bed, beside me.

There was a pause, and then he gently whispered, “Rachel, are you awake?”

I kept still.

He reached out to me, and carefully brushed a tear away with his fingertip. Then he wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace, as he usually did.

I turned away, still pretending to be fast asleep.

With my back to him, I gradually opened my eyes. In the darkness, everything was magnified—even emotions.

The resentment in my heart was spiralling rapidly into a howling cyclone of hatred.

How could anyone do something like this?

While plotting my ruin under the table, how could he still act as though I was the greatest love of his life?

Despicable, two-faced thing… I had to fight back the urge to gag.

-

The next day, I took that medical report Ian had presented me with, and brought it to the hospital which had supposedly issued the diagnosis.

By the time I staggered out of their Oncology Department, my heart had grown cold.

It was a sham, a falsified document that Ian had drawn up, all on his own. Announcing a terminal condition, out of the blue, in order to persuade me to sign a divorce.

I’d never taken him for such a devious fox.

What he didn’t know was that there actually was some truth to his claims: He did have cancer, not in his stomach, but in his liver.

The same condition his father had suffered from.

His father was in his fifties when he passed away. At present, Ian himself wasn’t even forty yet.

I laid a hand upon my belly. There was no noticeable sign of it, yet.

My face was already wet with tears.

Liver cancer ran in his bloodline… so this child’s days would be numbered, as well?

I wandered in the hospital. I was trapped in utter darkness, lost in a terrifying sense of uncertainty.

Before I could have enough time to sort things out, I stumbled upon yet another of Ian’s unforgivable sins.

I caught sight of a familiar figure passing through the junction up ahead. Moving on instinct, I followed behind…

The man hurried up to a young woman. Then, he knelt down on the floor, and pressed his ear to her abdomen, grinning from ear to ear with delight.

Sitting beside that woman was Ian’s mother.

The three of them laughed and chattered happily, the very portrait of a joyful family.

My blood was boiling. I was shaking from head to toe.

From the entrance to the Maternity Ward, a doctor called out, “Jane Archer! Is her family here?”

Ian shot to his feet and hurried over cheerfully. “Right here! I’m the father.”

My hands clenched into fists. Bile rose up in my throat.

Then I lowered my head and chuckled wryly to myself.

So that’s how it was… no wonder he was in such a hurry for a divorce. He’d already found himself another woman.

If he wanted to leave me simply because the feelings between us had faded, that would be one thing… but he’d come up with such a bold ruse, for the purposes of tricking me into agreeing to the divorce, even selling my own property, while he kept the lion’s share for himself.

He was evil, indeed…

I carefully folded up Ian’s physical report, and hid it in the deepest recesses of my handbag.

For all his lies… surely I was entitled to some deceptions of my own, now?

I brushed away the dried tears upon my face.

I stepped into the Gynecology Department, just nearby, and lined up to apply for an abortion. Through the crowd of people between us, I watched how happy he appeared to be.

The resentment within me grew even stronger. Why did he deserve to be happy, while I was left to suffer?

No… I had to get back at him, somehow…

An idea came to me. I called him on my handphone.

The moment his phone rang, Ian instinctively glanced around the place. Seeing nobody he knew, he hurried off to a more quiet spot, and took my call.

“Darling, what’s the matter?”

I studied the look of impatience upon his face, even as he said those words over the phone to me. My heart was a yawning pit of despair.

He used to say that he loved the sound of my voice… that he wanted to hear it all life long. Those days—back when he was so madly in love with me—he’d insist on staying on the line with me the whole night, every night. He’d fall asleep to the sound of my breathing.

Now, he responded to the sight of my name on his handphone with a look of annoyance.

So much for eternal love.

“Where are you, right now?” As I said this, I activated the voice recording function on my phone, while keeping my tone of voice nonchalant and casual.

His features contorted for an instant, but then he regained control over himself. He seemed to be well-prepared for such moments.

Affecting a pained voice, he murmured in reply, “My love, I suddenly felt unwell, so I’ve gone to the hospital for an inspection.”

So he said, while standing right outside the Maternity Ward.

Such a talented little liar he was…

After all, the most convincing lies were the ones which contained some truth to them.

From my hiding place nearby, I watched him put on this act. He thought he had me all wrapped around his little finger.

But who could truly be certain of what was real, in this life?

You talked about forever, but only meant it for the moment.

From one person to the next, you’d swear that they’ll be the only person you’ll ever love.

In the end, love was nothing but a lie that two people told one another.