*Amelia

It's been three good days since Adrian left the house, and since then, I'm yet to hear from him, and he hasn't also been picking up my calls.

I know he's doing this just to punish me because I refused to apologise to Melissa after the heated argument we had that ended with me slapping her.

He had witnessed how Melissa insulted my late mum during the argument and also how she accused me of stealing him from her, something he too wasn't even sure if it was true or not, and yet he insisted that I apologise to her, and when I refused, he just took his car keys and left with Melissa, and since then till this morning, I'm still yet to set my eyes on him.

I have tried calling him countless times to ask him when he will be coming back home, but he hasn't been picking up my calls.

Given that I had asked him to treat me like his real wife for one more month, surely he now thinks that I'm so much in love with him to the extent that I can't even live a single day without seeing him and that him deciding not to come back home is a way of punishing me.

It's true that I have missed him for these past few days that he has been absent, but one thing he doesn't know is that I have begun losing interest in him with each passing day, and this began right from the day he confessed to me that everything he has been doing for me since we got married was just so that he won't forget what Melissa taught him about how a man should treat his wife.

Right from the beginning, my main plan was never to fall in love with him till the end of our three-year contract marriage; by so doing, I won't have difficulties leaving him when we finally get divorced and he gets back with his Melissa, who has always been the love of his life.

The main reason why I pushed that plan aside and allowed myself to fall for him was because I believed that he has fallen in love with me and that was the reason why he was treating me the way he was treating me for the past three years we have been married. Had I known that he was doing it just so that he wouldn't forget what Melissa taught him about how a man should treat his woman, I would have stuck to my initial plan. After all, which woman in her right senses would fall in love with a man who she knows very well believes that she created a scandal that could ruin his life and that with the goal of preventing him from getting married to his fiancee and also stealing him for herself?

Well, it's a good thing that I have begun losing interest in him; at least at the end of the one month, I won't have any difficulties leaving. The only thing I will be leaving with is the memories of him pretending to be a real husband to me, and that will also be the only thing that I will be taking to the grave with me.

As these thoughts were running through my mind, my phone that was lying beside me began ringing, snapping me back to reality.

Thinking that it was Adrian who had finally decided to call back, I immediately took the phone and checked the caller ID, only to see that it wasn't Adrian but rather Andrew, my secret personal doctor and also the only person who knows that I am suffering from a terminal illness.

Knowing the reason why he was calling, I hesitated for some minutes before finally picking up the call and placing the phone on my ear.

"Hello, Doctor Andrew, how are you doing?" I asked him after picking up the call.

"I'm doing good, Mrs Darlington. What about you?" He asked me through the phone.

"You already know how I'm doing, so I don't think I need to answer that," I said to him in reply.

"As your doctor, I know how you are doing; that's why I asked to see you yesterday so that we can discuss what to do for you to get better, but you didn't show up," he said to me through the phone.

"Well, I think what you meant is that we will discuss about how to prolong my suffering so that I won't die in less than six months; if not, I don't think my situation is going to get better unless you have found a permanent cure for my illness," I said to him, and with that he sighed heavily.

"Mrs Darlington, I have told you that what you are suffering from is a very rare illness, and even if I don't have the cure right away, there's still a possibility that I can find one very soon, but in order to do that, you need to be alive," the doctor said to me, and I sighed heavily. "Of what use will it be if you have already passed away even before I find the cure? So please, let's meet today so that we can discuss how you will stay alive while I'm looking for the cure for the illness," the doctor said to me, and once again I sighed heavily without saying anything.

Right from when my Mum was sick, the doctor has already told me that there was no current cure for the illness, but he had also told me that he would contact some of his colleagues outside the country to see if any of them have ever encountered a patient suffering from the same illness and whether they managed to find a cure for the patient.

Since he haven't found a cure since then till now, I knew that there was a high probability of him not finding one anytime soon, and because of that, I didn't want to keep my hopes high only to end up being disappointed; that's why I didn't meet up with him yesterday to discuss a treatment plan for my illness.

"Hello, Mrs Darlington, are you still there?" The doctor's voice sounded through the phone, jolting me back to reality.

"Yes, I'm still here. By what time do you want us to meet?" I asked him.

"Well, today is my day off, we can't meet at the hospital, so I will send the address of where we can meet and also the time. "I hope that's okay with you?" he asked me.

"Yes, that's okay with me," I said to him before hanging up and tossing the phone on the bed as I already knew deep down that all this was going to lead to only one thing which was disappointment.

*Adrian*

"Babe, do you really have to go back? You know we can stay together as long as you want," Melissa said to me with pouted lips while clinging to me.

"I'm very well aware of that, but unfortunately I can't continue staying here. I have stayed here for over three days with you, and now I have to go back to where I live," I said to Melissa, and with that she frowned unhappily.

"And also to be with her, right?" she asked, and with that I sighed heavily, knowing she was talking about Amelia.

Three days ago, after the argument she had with Amelia, I had done something which I knew deep down was very wrong.

It's true that both of them were arguing, but she crossed the line when she insulted Amelia's late mum during the argument, and despite knowing that, I still took her side and asked Amelia to apologise to her, and when Amelia didn't agree, I angrily left with Melissa, and for the past three days, I have been living in one of my safe houses with Melissa.

Even though what I did to Amelia was wrong, deep down I don't regret it; after all, she had done worse than that to Melissa and me.

If Melissa and I aren't married today, it's all because of Amelia. Three years ago, she had orchestrated a scandal that not only threatened to ruin my life but also ruined my marriage with Melissa, and that's the reason why I got married to her instead of Melissa in order to save both my reputation and that of her family.

In order to get back at her for doing that, I had treated her so well since when we got married to the extent that she completely forgot everything that she had done to Melissa and me and fell in love with me, and when I was very sure that she had fallen head over heels for me, I served her a divorce agreement in order to get back with the love of my life, who is Melissa.

I know that I may seem like a devil for doing that to her, but this was the least of the punishment I could give to her for what she did to me and Melissa; if not, there were many other harsh and cruel methods I could have used to make her pay, but I chose the easiest method because of how kind and lovely she has been to me since we got married.

Even though I was so angry at her, I just couldn't bring myself to hurt her more than I already did. Aside from all this, one thing that is still bothering me the most is what she requested as compensation for the divorce. I had expected her to ask for a huge amount of money or a mansion like every other woman would do, but she didn't; instead, she asked me to treat her like a real husband for one more month, and after that, she would leave for good.

Even though the demand seemed harmless, I can't help but feel that there's a hidden motive behind it, and whether the motive is good or bad, I still can't tell for now, but one thing is sure: I'm very well prepared for whatever it is.

"Babe, are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Melissa, who was still clinging to me, asked me, snapping me back to reality.

"Ooh, sorry, I was thinking about something else, so what were you saying?" I asked her.

"I was asking when we will get the chance to spend time together like this again," she said to me.

"After we get married, so you just have a little patience with me; the one month will be over very soon, and after that we will get married and spend as much time as we want together without anyone separating us," I said to her as I kissed her on the forehead.

"I can't wait for that," she said to me with a warm smile.

"Me too. I will be taking my leave now. Just give me a call if you need anything, okay?" I asked her as I opened my car and got inside.

"No problem, babe, drive safe," she said to me as I ignited the car.

"I will," I said to her in reply before driving away.

Getting back to the mansion where I was living with Amelia, I had expected to see her at home looking all worried as usual and asking me why I haven't been back home for the past three days and why I haven't also been picking up her calls, but contrary to what I had expected, there was no one at home, and strangely, for the first time, the whole mansion felt cold and lonely.

At first I didn't even want to mind the fact that she wasn't at home; after all, this wasn't my first time coming back home and not meeting her at home, but for a strange reason unknown to me, I kept on feeling restless. I couldn't even bring myself to sit down. I don't know if it was because I haven't seen her for the past three days or because I have been ignoring her calls without knowing the main reason why she was calling, and strangely, this morning she didn't even call.

After strolling around the sitting room for what seemed like eternity while trying to hold myself back from calling her, I finally took my phone and placed a call to her, but after some minutes of ringing, she didn't pick up. Without hesitating, I placed a call to her once again, but just like the first time, she still didn't pick up. After calling her over four times and not getting a reply, I couldn't hold myself back anymore. Using the localisation app on my phone, I immediately traced her phone number to where she was, and on getting the location, I took my car keys and immediately made my way to the exit, as I was determined to know where on earth she was and why the hell she was ignoring my calls.

*Amelia*

After taking my bath and having breakfast, I took a taxi to the address sent to me by Doctor Andrew.

Getting to the address, which was a restaurant, I made my way inside only to see the doctor sitting alone while manipulating his phone.

"Good morning, Doctor Andrew," I greeted him as I got to where he was sitting.

"Good morning, Mrs Darlington," he greeted me in return as he raised his head and saw me. "Thank goodness you are finally here; I have been waiting for an eternity. Please have a seat," he said to me.

"Thanks," I said to him as I sat down opposite him.

"Do you want to order anything, like water or..."

"No, it's okay, thanks for asking," I said to the doctor in reply.

"Don't mention it. So tell me, how have you been feeling lately? I hope the symptoms of the illness haven't started showing." He asked me with a concerned tone.

"It has, but I'm dealing with it; after all, it will soon be over," I said to him, and with that, he sighed heavily.

"Mrs Darlington, you really need to stop saying things like that. Sincerely speaking, you are the first patient I have met that is so determined to die even without putting up a fight. Tell me, what are you going to gain after you die?" He asked me with furrowed brows.

"Peace," I said to him, and with that, he scoffed at me.

"Mrs Darlington, you don't need to die before finding peace; you can still have peace even while being alive. "By the way, I hope you have at least informed those who are close to you about the illness; since you are so determined to die, they should at least be prepared for that," he said to me, and with that I scoffed inwardly, as the two people that came to my mind were Adrian and Melissa, and as far as I'm concerned, the last thing I would do is tell any of them about my terminal illness. Adrian would think that I'm making up something again to prevent him from getting back with Melissa, while Melissa, on the other hand, even if she believes me, would be very happy to hear that I'm about to die in less than six months; after all, that has always been her dream, to see me disappear so that I won't be an obstacle to her and Adrian anymore.

"No, there's no one close to me that needs to know about it," I said to the doctor, and with that, he squinted his brows at me.

"What do you mean by there's no one close to you that needs to know about it? What about your husband? He, of all people, should at least know that his wife is suffering from a terminal illness," the doctor said to me.

"Well, I don't want him to know about it either, so can you please not tell him about it?" I asked him with a pleading tone, and with that, he shot me a strange glare.

"And do you mind if I ask why? Aren't you and your husband on good terms?" The doctor asked me with a concerned tone, and with that I sighed heavily, as I was already getting tired of his questions that weren't even related to my illness.

"Doctor Andrew, I thought you were a medical doctor and not a marriage counsellor, or are you also a marriage counsellor?" I asked him with a furrowed brows, and with that, he sighed heavily.

"No, Mrs Darlington, I'm not a marriage counsellor; I'm just surprised by the fact that you don't want your husband to know that you are going to die very soon. Do you really hate him that much?" Doctor Andrew asked me with furrowed brows.

Hearing that expression "hate", I couldn't help but shake my head in disbelief. Right from when I got married to Adrian, I never once hated him. It's true that my initial plan after getting married to him was never to fall in love with him even if I later did, but that wasn't because I hated him; instead, it was because I also believed that he too was a victim of that scandal that brought us together in the first place.

"Doctor Andrew, "I don't hate my husband; if I don't want to tell him about my illness, it's because we will be getting divorced very soon," I said to the doctor, who widened his eyes in surprise. "Now that you already know the reason why I don't want to tell my husband about my illness, can we now proceed with the treatment plan, or do you still want to keep on asking questions about my personal life?" I asked him with squinted brows.

"Well, first of all, sorry about the complications in your marriage. Had I known that it was this serious, I wouldn't have even asked about it in the first place, and also, my goal wasn't to meddle in your personal life but rather to know the reason why you are so bent on dying, but now, I think I already know that," he said to me, and with that, I furrowed my brows at him.

"And what do you think is the reason why I'm so bent on dying?" I asked him with furrowed brows.

"Well, according to what I have gathered so far, the reason why you are so bent on dying is because of the upcoming divorce; if not, I still don't see any other reason why you would suddenly decide to give up on your life without even putting up a fight," the doctor said to me in reply.

"Well, I won't say that what you said is completely out of line, but that's not the main reason why I didn't want to proceed with the treatment plan," I said to the doctor in reply.

"Well, whether it is or not, I don't think it matters anymore. What matters the most is that you have agreed to proceed with the treatment plan, and believe me, I'm so happy about that," the doctor said to me, and at the same time, the door of the restaurant burst open, and Adrian barged inside with an angry look written all over his face.