I'm dying, and so is Sean Quinton. He still has hope, though. I don't.

Why? Because once I die, my body will become the first to have passed due to a special infection. It'll be dissected and researched to help cure Sean.

So, his daily task becomes urging me to die.

Unfortunately for him, I'm unwilling to save him another time, so I die not because of the infection but because of carbon monoxide poisoning. It's enough to destroy the symptoms my body shows and ruin their plans to research my corpse.

Half a year ago, Sean Quinton had forced me to head abroad with him to the country where we'd registered our marriage. Our ship had veered off course and sunk in an uncharted area. We'd both choked on large amounts of contaminated water, leading to lung infections.

Half a year later, we both lay in hospital beds and were on the brink of death. The uncharted area had turned out to be a wastewater zone—no one else had ever been there, so no one else had died because of this so-called lung infection.

Since the doctors had no previous cases to refer to, they couldn't propose any treatment plans for us, no matter how wealthy Sean was.

I'd shaved my head because of chemotherapy. When I returned after completing a session, Sean pointed at me, his eyes bloodshot.

"She can be used as a sample, can't she? You guys can conduct research on her once she's dead! She has no money, so she can't pay for treatment. Our hospital doesn't treat the poor! Have you guys forgotten that?"

It was true that I didn't have any money. When finalizing the divorce, Sean had fabricated all sorts of evidence to frame me for adultery. He'd made me leave the marriage without a penny to my name, and I'd even lost the wedding gifts my parents had given me.

The doctor scratched his head helplessly. He didn't like Sean's selfishness but also didn't dare raise his voice at the latter, who was a shareholder of the hospital.

Still, he said, "Ms. Court has paid for a month's worth of chemotherapy, Mr. Quinton. We can't abandon her."

Sean stared at me, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Where did that money come from? I froze all your cards! Did you ask another man for it? Did you pimp yourself out?"

I sneered and strode to the VIP ward next door. The way Sean saw it, I'd long since become a woman who couldn't do anything except suck his blood and take his money. To think we'd been madly in love with each other in the past.

I'd spent all my savings and sold everything I owned to pool enough money for a month's worth of treatments. I only had one goal—I wanted to drag this out for as long as possible.

The later I died, the less time the doctors would have to conduct research on my body. That would also reduce Sean's chances of survival. I swore I wouldn't save him again.

…

A nurse came to check on me as usual. Tears streaked down her face as she said, "You're still so young, Elisa. How can you… Your ex-husband really is a piece of trash!"

I smiled and handed her a tissue. She was new here and had yet to learn to conceal her emotions. I already knew the end was coming.

I tried to ignore Sean's shouts and clamoring in the ward next door as I packed my medication into a small bag. "Could you help me sort out the discharge procedure? I want to head home to check on things."

…

In the end, I died in my and Sean's marital home due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Six months ago, I'd still cooked for him daily in that kitchen. I'd stopped because there'd been an issue with the gas.

I'd asked Sean to get someone to fix it, but what had he been doing then? If my memory served me right, he'd dispatched everyone in his company to coax his assistant because she'd threatened to resign after getting upset over something.

Six months had passed since then, but the gas still hadn't been fixed. Well, it was yet another thing that could be pinned on him. This was indirect murder.

Perhaps he'd long since forgotten that I'd asked him to fix the gas.

It was so quiet at home that I could hear the gas hissing as it leaked from the pipe. It was like a countdown to my death.

I called Sean. As expected, he rejected my call. Soon, however, his assistant called me back.

"Hi, Elisa. Since you and Mr. Quinton have already divorced, you should schedule an appointment through me before contacting him. Stop disturbing him while he's resting."

I smiled self-deprecatingly before coughing from the smell of the gas.

Sean's assistant continued, "There's no point acting weak before me, Elisa. I'm too busy caring for Mr. Quinton every day to bother about you!"

I couldn't stop coughing. My throat felt so constricted that I couldn't make a sound. Still, I forced out, "As he'd hoped, I'm dying. Let me talk to him."

Sean's voice rang out from the side. "Fine, fine. Spit out whatever you have to say. I'll listen since you're donating your body to develop a cure for me."

I gasped for breath and forced out, "I regret my choice, Sean. I'm not going to wait for you anymore. We can die together."

People always said that a person's hearing was the last sense they lost when they died. I now knew that it was true—that was why I could still hear Sean insulting me and his assistant mocking me.

"What's the point of sounding so tough when you're already dying? Will anyone besides Mr. Quinton bury you after your death? You have to thank him for that!" Sean's assistant snapped.

"Is even a divorce not enough to make you drop your attitude? Looks like I should make you see what it's like without chemotherapy, then. I'll tell the hospital to stop treating you effective tomorrow. Let's see how long you hold out. You'll come begging me soon enough!" Sean growled.

It was weird. Before my death, it had been a daily activity for him to urge me to die. Now that I was dead, he wouldn't believe me.

…

When I next regained consciousness, I found that I was back at the hospital. If not for the fact that I could see myself floating in the air, I would've thought I'd been saved.

Then again, who would've saved me? I had no friends or family—Sean was the only person who had a relationship with me, even if he was now my ex-husband. Yet all he wanted was for me to die.

Anyway, it looked like I had no choice but to follow Sean around as a ghost.

He called his assistant "Sunny". To this day, I had no idea what her actual name was, nor was I interested in finding out.

All I knew was that "Sunny" was a nickname Sean had given her. It was because he loved seeing her sunny smile. I had to admit that she looked and sounded good when she smiled and laughed.

The sound was crisp and lilting, as if she had boundless energy. It was the opposite of my voice, which had gone hoarse and croaky after the lung infection.

I watched as Sunny swatted Sean's hand away from her abdomen and bent over with laughter. "Stop teasing me, Mr. Quinton! I'm going to dig myself a hole in the ground if you keep doing this!"

He laughed. "It's not like I was saying you were fat. It's nice that you're a little chubby—it proves that I've done a good job caring for you."

I'd heard that sentence in the past. When I'd first met Sean, I hadn't liked to eat, so I'd been as skinny as a rod. Everyone had called me a twig.

Sean had spent a few months learning how to cook. Then, he'd supervised me and made sure I had my meals regularly.

He would puff out his cheeks and say, "It's proof that I've done a good job caring for you if you gain weight! I want the world to know how well my precious Ellie is doing now that I'm here to take care of her!"

At the time, he had indeed done an excellent job caring for me. He'd been so good at it that I'd stubbornly waited for him for ages after he'd fallen out of love with me.

Sean grew tired from laughing and started coughing violently. It made tears stream down Sunny's face. "It's all my fault for making you laugh, Mr. Quinton. I won't do it again! You have to get better!"

His eyes became bloodshot from the coughing. He seemed to remember me at that moment and asked someone to bring me to his ward.

"Ms. Court was discharged yesterday."

"What? Discharged?" Sean shot up in bed, gripping his plastic spoon so tightly that it snapped.

I crossed my arms and cocked my head, watching him curiously. Why was he nervous? Was it because he thought I was going to die or because he didn't want to lose his only experiment sample?

He calmed down after a while, and his gaze became disdainful. "I bet she was kicked out because she didn't have the money to pay her medical bills. Well, I can be generous and pay the bill so she can be treated for a month. I doubt she'll last any longer."

After some thought, he added, "I'm waiting for her to donate her body so that I can live, after all."

The nurse who'd cared for me called me urgently but couldn't reach me. As she walked past Sean's ward, she couldn't help but burst in there and snap, "Elisa doesn't need your pity! She paid for a month's worth of treatments. She was the one who asked to be discharged!"

Sean frowned at that and fell silent. He clenched his jaw and looked at his phone. Then, he scoffed. "She's just playing hard to get."

Sunny chimed in. "Why is Elisa still pulling something like this after so long? I bet she's even arranged for someone to tell us something has happened to her. That way, she'll have an excuse to get you to see her!"

Sunny puffed out her cheeks, looking aggrieved. Sean thought about what had happened in the past and relaxed. "Don't let her get to you. She's just stupid."

When he'd first started fooling around with Sunny, I'd decided to copy the female leads in soap operas for some inexplicable reason.

"I don't feel so good, Sean. Can you come home tonight?"

"Could you ask someone to fix the gas at home, Sean? I'm scared something will happen."

"I have a fever and can't breathe, Sean. Can you come home and take me to the hospital?"

I'd thought of three excuses in one night. I'd called him thrice, but none of them had made him come home.

The following day, he'd returned with Sunny by his side and placed the divorce papers before me. Sunny had stood behind him and casually undone the top two buttons of her shirt, revealing the hickeys all over her neck.

That was the moment it had hit me—Sean truly didn't love me anymore.

…

Sean's condition rapidly deteriorated. Despite using the best medical equipment available in the country, he was still so tormented by the pain that he couldn't sleep at night.

Sunny stayed by his side and wept incessantly. I was getting sick of watching them. How long would we be stuck in this part of the story?

If I were Sunny, I would ask Sean for a grand wedding. How else would she get her hands on his money if he were to die without marrying her?

She left the room to take a call. "Is it done? Why hasn't your condition acted up yet? Hurry up! He won't hold out for much longer!"

Oh, she was increasing her chances of success!

After she hung up, I saw from her phone screen that she'd just spoken to her brother. No wonder I'd lost to her—she was a ruthless woman.

A few days later, before the news of my death got to Sean, he learned that someone else could save him. A patient with symptoms identical to Sean's had just been admitted to a hospital in a southern county. It seemed he'd also gotten lost in the wastewater zone.

Sean stared at Sunny for the longest time after she brought him the good news. His eyes were filled with gratitude and tenderness. He pulled her into his arms, his hospital gown the only barrier between them.

Then, he said, "You really are my lucky star, Sunny."

She buried her face against his neck, letting her happy tears trickle down it. "I'm willing to be your lucky star for the rest of my life."

Oh, here it was! She was going to ask for a wedding!

"Can I be your lucky star for the rest of our lives together, Sean?" she asked.

That took him aback. For some reason, he turned away from her. I bet he remembered now—those were the very words he'd used when proposing to me.

He coughed and changed the subject. "Is there still no news on Elisa?"

The doctors shook their heads.

By now, my phone had probably turned off after running out of battery. No one could reach me. I also didn't think anyone but me would head to that apartment. I wondered when someone would discover my body.

Sunny was upset that Sean hadn't answered her question. She stomped her foot and left.

Surprisingly, he didn't go after her. Instead, he pulled up his WhatsApp and scrolled to his conversation with me. He called me, but it went unanswered.

He seemed insulted by that and sent me a voice message. "Do you think you're going to achieve anything by throwing a tantrum now? We're already divorced! Hurry up and reply if you know what's good for you!"

Just then, there was a commotion outside. I seemed to hear my name. The nurse who'd cared for me had burst into tears in the corridor upon learning of my death.

A doctor grabbed her by the collar and told her off. "You're acting unprofessionally! How can you just cry here like that?"

The nurse clenched a fist and retorted, "She was my first patient. No one is crying for her now that she's dead. I'm going to cry so that she knows someone in this world remembers her!"

I smiled. She was a silly woman.

The commotion disrupted Sean's thoughts. He closed the WhatsApp conversation with me and poked his head out of his ward. "What's with all the noise? Who's dead?"