"What's the prognosis, Doctor? Will my wife's hands make a full recovery?"

He asked hopefully, as if he genuinely wanted me to get better. The doctor looked at my arms for a moment before shaking his head.

"There’s no hope. The tissue is dead."

Kairo sighed with regret, then turned to comfort me. "It's okay, Clementine. This doctor isn't good enough. I'll find someone else."

He said this, but his eyes met my blank stare, revealing a hint of guilt as he quickly looked away. Typically, hearing "no hope" would make me despair, but today I was surprisingly calm, and he didn't know why.

I looked coldly at the so-called "doctor," whom I recognized as Colson Hall, a man who scavenged for junk in a nearby alley. It was laughable how, in just a few days, he’d been turned into a "miracle doctor." My husband had really gone to great lengths to ensure my condition wouldn’t improve.

I was about to say there was no need to find another doctor when I noticed the guest room door was open. Inside, everything looked brand new, as if it had been deliberately redecorated.

Kairo followed my gaze and hurriedly explained, "The weather's been chilly lately, and Journey's place has some drafts. I invited her to stay here for a few days. You know, I owe her."

I felt a bitter smile creep up inside. The temperature had actually climbed over seventy degrees; his excuse about "chilly" weather was really a stretch. Back then, I was the one who took Kairo to the clinic when he was feverish and took care of him for two days and nights. Yet, when he woke up, the first person he saw was Journey Stone, and he firmly believed she had saved him. No amount of explanation from me could change his mind.

Clearly, he wasn't oblivious; he had deliberately credited his gratitude to Journey. I nodded calmly, "Whatever you think is best."

Seeing my agreement, his face brightened even more. "Clementine, you're the best! By the way, give Journey those two vintage coats in your closet. After all, you..."

Those coats were my brother’s only keepsakes, the one thing I treasured. Kairo knew how much they meant to me, yet he wanted to give them to Journey.

"I’m not giving them away. They're the only things my brother left me. Did you forget?"

It seemed he had forgotten for a moment, as he furrowed his brow and said, "Why let them sit in the closet and gather dust? Besides, your brother is gone."

I didn’t want to hear his heartless words any longer, so I interrupted him, "I said no, and I mean it."

His expression turned dark, and he slammed the door as he left.

I was jolted awake by a burst of raucous laughter.

In the living room, the table was laden with an extravagant spread, mostly meat dishes. Kairo was tenderly feeding a piece of steak to Journey.

"Journey, didn't you say you wanted some meat? I made six different meat dishes just for you today."

Throughout our marriage, he never set foot in the kitchen. Even when my hands couldn't function, he'd just give me plain toast to get by. Who knew he had any culinary skills?

Jacqueline, his sister, noticed I was awake and awkwardly pulled me to the table. "Hungry, Clementine? Kairo whipped these up just for you."

She was obviously trying to make me feel better. Yet, the table brimming with dishes containing shellfish, which I'm allergic to, didn’t seem intended for me.

Journey giggled, "Clem, you have to try everything later, don’t hold back."

Her tone and demeanor made me feel like an outsider in my own home. Kairo didn't refute anything, simply sitting by Journey's side. Jacqueline, unable to hold back, whispered sharply, "Kairo, your wife is right here! Sit over here."

Kairo looked irritated, "Journey can't handle her seafood; I have to help her."

He completely overlooked his wife, whose hands needed help more. I ate with indifference, tasting nothing. I couldn't manage any of the food on the table, and Jacqueline had to spoon-feed me plain mashed potatoes. Meanwhile, Kairo and Journey flirted and bantered, acting as if I wasn’t even there.

Journey, clearly pleased with herself, said, "Clem, soon it will be time for my company event."

"You have to come cheer for me. Kairo even promised to take a day off." She leaned her head on Kairo's shoulder, looking up at him, and Kairo gazed back lovingly.

"Go ahead, if you want her to go, she will." Kairo decided for me.

I replied coldly, "I’m not going." Ever since I lost the use of my hands, I hadn’t seen anyone outside; he knew this, yet he still wanted me to go?

Kairo frowned at me. "Don’t spoil the mood. You can sulk all you want; I don't mind, so why should you?"

I inwardly sneered. What does he have to worry about? Isn’t this exactly how he wanted things?

"It's settled. If you don’t go, I’ll drag you there myself." He gave me no choice.

I didn’t bother to argue with him; he wouldn’t listen no matter what I said.

That evening, while taking a shower, someone locked me in the bathroom from the outside. I heard Journey’s gleeful laughter outside.

I pounded on the bathroom door, shouting for help, but no one answered. Clad only in a thin nightgown, I grew colder as the temperature dropped, shivering from head to toe. I curled up on the freezing tiles, my mind slipping away.

By the time Jacqueline returned from her late shift, I was delirious with fever. She scooped me up, ready to rush me to the hospital.

I leaned weakly against her shoulder, unable to open my eyes.

But I didn’t expect to run into Kairo and Journey hand in hand in the hallway on their way home.

"Kairo! Kairo! Clementine’s fever is severe! Quick, flag down a car so we can take her to the hospital." Jacqueline shouted down the hallway, her voice tinged with panic.

"Don’t take her to the hospital; what if they fix her hands?" Kairo angrily blocked her.

Jacqueline shouted back furiously, "She’s in this condition; she’ll die if we don’t take her to the hospital!"