After Audrey and Gavin entered the hospital room, Miranda Wenzel ran in from outside. She brushed past Audrey.

Miranda grabbed my hand. Her voice shook.

She tried to touch my hair. But when her fingertips met my ice-cold forehead, tears streamed down her face.

“You idiot! If you had just married me back then, wouldn’t that have been so much better? You wouldn’t have ended up like this, dead and completely forgotten! No one even cares enough to claim your body!”

My heart ached when I saw Miranda exhausted and haggard. She must have just come back from out of state.

After I got married, Miranda had left the city. It was because Audrey could not tolerate her. Miranda also did not want to cause unnecessary trouble. So, leaving was the best option at the time.

I was an orphan. At seven years old, I was adopted by the Wenzel family. Miranda became my younger sister.

She initially did not like me. But over time, she became kinder to me.

Back then, I cut ties with my adoptive parents for Audrey’s sake. They wanted me to enter an arranged marriage to a business partner. I knew that they did not adopt me because they liked me. They just needed someone they could use to seal a business deal through marriage.

Miranda helped me escape from the Wenzel family. I had known that she had feelings for me for a long time.

But I also knew marrying Miranda was even less of an option than with Audrey. My adoptive parents would never have agreed to it.

Miranda ultimately claimed my body.

Meanwhile, Audrey was heading out to buy food for Gavin. He said that he wanted a small cake from a shop thirty miles away. Audrey went to get it for him without hesitation.

In the past, if I wanted a sandwich from just downstairs, she could not be bothered to spare two minutes for me.

When Miranda and Audrey crossed paths in the hospital hallway, my body was lying there under a white sheet.

They locked eyes. Audrey recognized Miranda immediately.

“Get out of my way,” Miranda said briskly.

It was understandable. There was no way she would be polite to someone who had personally caused my death.

Audrey looked conflicted when she saw Miranda. She stepped back. After all, the dead were to be respected.

But when Miranda turned, Audrey’s gaze fell on my ankle.

“Wait a second!”

Audrey seemed to remember something as she chased after Miranda.

“Is this person… your relative?”

I held my breath. I was afraid Miranda would reveal the news of my death. I was even more afraid that she would not. I was actually quite looking forward to seeing Audrey’s reaction once she learned I was dead.

Miranda was silent for a long moment. Then, she finally spoke.

“He’s my husband.”

I was stunned, and so was Audrey.

Audrey knew all about my situation. She also knew that Miranda had feelings for me.

“Oh? When did you get married?” Audrey blurted out the question instinctively. She was surprised.

Miranda sneered and said rudely, “I don’t think that’s any of your business, Ms. Kates.”

Audrey was caught off guard. She said sarcastically, “You used to go on and on about how much you liked Jasper. Honestly, you’re not all that impressive.”

Miranda paused. She turned to look at Audrey and said, “Compared to you, I still haven’t done nearly enough.”

It was obvious Miranda was being sarcastic. I could not believe Audrey failed to notice it.

I followed Miranda as she left. I looked back at Audrey. I realized that I no longer loved her as much as I used to.

After Gavin spent a month in the hospital, Audrey came to pick him up as he was getting discharged.

When I died, only Miranda showed up. But Gavin’s hospital room was packed. All his friends and family crowded inside. They were delighted when Audrey walked in.

“Ms. Kates, when are you going to marry Gavin? Look how worried you are about him! Gavin’s such a lucky boy.”

Gavin lowered his head and said sheepishly, “Don’t say that. Audrey’s already married! I don’t want Jasper to get the wrong idea about us when he hears this. I don’t want to be the other man either. Otherwise, he’ll make things hard for me again.”

One of his friends said sarcastically, “What’s so great about a petty guy who only knows how to get jealous? Audrey loves you! The one who isn’t loved is the real third wheel. Besides hurting you, what else can he even do? If I were her, I would’ve divorced him a long time ago.”

I found that laughable.

Was I really this third wheel?

That was so typical of Gavin. He always led Audrey to believe that everything was my fault.

But the real kicker was Audrey’s attitude. She did not say a word. She just helped Gavin pack his things while everyone else in that crowded room just stood there watching.

I thought back to my life after marrying Audrey. She always said she would love me forever.

But I was the one doing all the housework. I was the one who swallowed all the hurt. I thought she would have my back when things got hard. But it turned out that she was the one making things hard for me.

“Ms. Kates, Gavin has stayed single for you all these years. You can’t let him down,” a person said enthusiastically as he grabbed Audrey’s arm and tried to push the two together.

Bitterness filled my heart. So, this was how they talked about me in private. To them, I seemed to be the unforgivable one.

Audrey did not say anything. I figured she probably thought the same way.

Gavin went back to Audrey’s bachelor apartment. That apartment was Audrey’s private space after our fights. She had never taken me there before.

I should have realized it sooner. Gavin was Audrey’s only exception. She would bend every rule for him.

Audrey neatly arranged Gavin’s belongings. As she bent down, Gavin walked over and wrapped his arms around Audrey’s waist.

My heart ached. It had not been long since I had passed away, and the two of them had already gotten so intimate. It was like Audrey had never gotten married.

Her body stiffened. She wanted to pull away, but this only made Gavin’s arms tighten further.

He rested his head on her shoulder and whispered, “Audrey, please give me a chance? I didn’t mean to leave you back then. If my mom hadn’t gotten sick, I never would’ve taken your father’s money and left you.”

It seemed they had broken up because he had taken her father, Vincent Kates’, money for his mom’s treatment. How cliche!

Had Audrey held onto that for all these years?

Audrey laughed, but I could not tell what she was truly feeling.

“If you had just told me the truth back then, we wouldn’t have ended up with this regret. Are you implying that I couldn’t have come up with the money by myself that you took from my father?”

Gavin was taken aback for a moment.

But he was smart. He knew that she could not stand me at the moment. So, he quickly turned the topic to me.

“Is that why you stood by and did nothing when Jasper bullied me? Is it because you hate me? He sent people to my company to trash my reputation. He also had thugs beat me up! When I got sick, he wouldn’t even donate a kidney to me. Is this how you get back at me?”

He was lying.

Every word was untrue. I did not even know where Gavin’s company was.

Besides, I was just an orphan. How could I have any power or influence to hire a bunch of thugs?

If anyone bothered to investigate carefully, Gavin’s accusations would fall apart. Yet, Audrey believed them without a doubt.

It was even more absurd that he claimed Audrey did nothing for him. After she learned about all of this, she dragged me out of my company in front of all my colleagues. It was as if I had done something shameful.

To get back at me, she found a group of thugs and watched as I was humiliated and beaten.

I curled up in the corner, shaking in despair, while those people held up their phones and filmed my bare body.

Audrey just sat there watching the show. In the end, she waved her phone in front of my face and threatened me maliciously.

“If you ever dare hurt Gavin again, I won’t hesitate to upload these videos online. That would haunt you for the rest of your life.”

She ignored me as I pleaded that I had not done anything like that. She did not believe me even for a moment.

When Gavin brought up the old incident again, she did not tell him how she had tormented me because of his lies.

How ironic!

I did not understand why Audrey married me if she did not love me.

When Gavin saw that Audrey was serious, he softened his tone and said, “Audrey, let’s just start over. Pretend you were never married. Just pretend I never betrayed you. I truly love you.”

He knew just the way to comfort her, and she always fell for his charm every single time.

When it came to me, I could use every trick I had, yet she would not so much as crack a smile for me.

It was so obvious when someone loved the person and when they did not. But I was stupid enough to only see it after I died.

That woman who never cracked a smile for me was always gentle with the other man. She kept lowering her standards for Gavin. I felt a dull ache in my heart.

But the truth was, I did not care anymore how Gavin slandered me or how much Audrey hated me.

“You just got out of the hospital. You should get some rest.”

She did not answer his question directly. Instead, she pushed him away and left without looking back.

After Audrey left, Gavin let out a cold laugh.

Once she reached home, she looked up at the apartment balcony. It was completely dark.

In the past, I always left a light on for Audrey. No matter how late she came home, the light was always there to guide her back home.

Audrey was stunned when she saw it was not on this time.

She came home and opened the door. The place had been sitting empty for over a month.

A chill greeted her inside as she entered.

“Jasper, how much longer are you going to keep this tantrum going? All I did was take you to court! If you didn’t owe Gavin that debt, I never would’ve treated you that way.”

Audrey shouted toward the bedroom. She sounded disgusted and resentful.

I followed behind Audrey and just smiled coldly.

Five years of a relationship meant less than a few words from someone else. Good thing I was dead. Otherwise, I would have a lifetime of this ahead of me. Today, Audrey had been willing to kill me for Gavin. Who knew what else she could have resorted to, given enough time?

Audrey searched the whole house for me. On the table were the dishes I had cooked before going to the hospital. They were already covered in mold. They were almost unrecognizable.

That day just happened to be our fifth wedding anniversary. I waited for her to come home. What I got instead was a court order forcing me to donate my kidney.

Even without asking, I knew she spent that day comforting Gavin while he was getting ready for a new beginning.

Gavin said he was afraid of the surgery. She tightly held his hand and told him not to be afraid.

Meanwhile, I was on the verge of death. At the moment I needed her the most, she was hoping someone else would live.

Audrey frowned at the messy state of the dining table. She took out her phone and called me.

She called me countless times. It was rare for her to be this persistent. Mostly, she never took the initiative to call me unless she needed something.

She was actually quite patient in trying to reach out to me.

But that phone call would get no response.

When she could not get through, she sent me a voice message.

“Jasper Gough, are you done throwing your little tantrum?! The house is a complete mess! I haven’t even settled scores with you yet, and you ran off! I’m giving you one hour to get back here. Otherwise, we’re done! We’ll get a divorce!”

‘Divorce?’ I thought.

Divorce would be good. If she had brought it up with me before, I probably would have agreed. Perhaps then, I would not have ended up in this situation.

Audrey’s phone vibrated.

Her eyes lit up. But when she saw that the message was from Gavin, the light in her eyes dimmed a little.

I was not sure if I had imagined it.

“Audrey, I left something at the hospital. Can you go pick it up for me?”

Audrey quickly replied with an affirmative. As she put on her coat, she hesitated at the door for a second. She turned and looked back at the house. Something flickered in her face, but I could not tell what.

I smiled bitterly.

It was already late at night. How typical of her!

Whatever Gavin asked for, she gave him. Back when I had a stomachache in the middle of the night and asked her to take me to the hospital, she complained that it was too far.

At this moment, it seemed the hospital was not that far away.

She drove to the hospital. She found the room where Gavin had stayed. Then, she ran into a nurse.

I recognized that nurse. She had stood next to me during the surgery and had also watched the live broadcast of my court hearing on television. The nurse was very sympathetic toward me.

When the nurse saw her, she let out a scornful laugh.

“Only now you remember your poor, dead husband?”

Audrey froze. She looked at the nurse in disbelief.

“What did you just say? Who died?”

The nurse looked at Audrey like she was an idiot.

“Your husband, Jasper Gough. I really don’t know how you’re even his wife. He had kidney failure, and you still made him donate a kidney! Were you deliberately trying to kill him?”