Dawn came, and Nancy still hadn't come back.

The pain was getting worse, and I couldn't take it anymore, so I called an ambulance.

While I was waiting for the ambulance to arrive, I scrolled through Facebook for a bit. I happened to see a new post from Derek.

The gist of his post was that he'd bravely stepped in at the bar to protect a girl who was being harassed by some thugs. He got hurt in the process, but Nancy arrived just in time and took him to the hospital. He also said he was really touched that she came so late at night.

Beneath the post was a photo of Nancy, tears glistening in her eyes as she applied ointment to Derek's wound. The caption read, "Love can overcome any hardship and face any challenge."

One person commented, "A woman that beautiful is standing right in front of you, yet you can hold back? Dude, are you sure you're straight?"

Another commenter chimed in. "Yeah! If someone like her was willing to come keep me company in the middle of the night, it wouldn't end with just her putting ointment on me."

Derek replied with a smug emoji and said, "What's the rush? She'll be mine sooner or later!"

…

When the ambulance arrived, the medical staff lifted me onto a stretcher.

While I was getting an IV in the emergency room, I messaged my close friend, Jayden York.

"Jayden, I want a divorce."

After I came back from the hospital, I rested at home for a few days. I thought things would be calm for a while, but then my phone started ringing nonstop, jolting me awake.

I picked up the phone weakly.

Nancy's voice on the other end was cold as she said, "I'm coming to pick you up for dinner."

Before I could even answer, she hung up.

I figured I should try to get along peacefully with her until the divorce, so I changed clothes and went out.

When Nancy saw me come out looking so haggard, she suddenly remembered she had forgotten to buy me the ointment.

"We'll be passing by the hospital on the way to the restaurant anyway. I'll take you there first," she said.

"It's okay. It's already been days. The pain stopped a long time ago."

Nancy let out a long sigh of relief. "That's what I figured. It's been seven years, after all—if it still hurts, it's probably just in your head."

I chuckled bitterly. "Yeah. It's been seven years."

At the time, I used all my strength to push Nancy out, and I ended up trapped under a falling beam in the raging fire. As a result, three ribs were broken, and my tailbone was fractured. Even after all these years, the slightest bump could cause me unbearable pain.

I was afraid Nancy would feel guilty if she knew, so I never told her that the accident left me with lasting damage—not the "paranoia" she thought I had.

Still, we'd been together for seven years. If she truly loved and cared for me, how could she not have noticed my pain?

As Nancy drove, she told me all about what happened that night.

"I took Derek to the hospital. His cuts were pretty bad, and I was worried he might be in pain during the night, so I stayed with him a while longer. Don't overthink it."

I looked coldly out of the car window. "I didn't overthink anything. He's your secretary, so it makes sense that you'd spend a few extra days with him."

Nancy seemed unhappy with my answer. She slammed on the brakes, making my earbuds fall under the seat. When I bent down to get them, I found a pair of men's swim trunks hidden under the seat.

If this had happened two weeks ago, I'd have lost it and started screaming at her with these swim trunks in hand.

But now, I just smiled. I picked them up and put them in the back seat.

Nancy looked uneasy as she rambled, "Oh, those? It's probably when Derek finished his swim lesson and accidentally left them in the car."

I nodded and kept looking out the window.

…

At the restaurant, a couple at the next table kept staring at Nancy and me. Seeing that I had noticed their stares, the woman came over.

"Are you that CEO from Derek Jones' Facebook? You're so pretty in person!" she said to Nancy.

Nancy looked up at her. "Can I help you?"

The woman sounded a little gossipy as she asked, "So… are you and Derek dating?"

Nancy glanced over at me, focused on my meal. She smiled at the woman and replied, "Yes. Derek and I are dating."

I smiled at the woman as well. Right then, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach.

The woman looked at me, confused. "Then who is he?"

Without hesitation, Nancy responded, "A security guard."

Before the woman left, she said wistfully to Nancy, "I'll always support you two. You have to get married!"

After Nancy watched them leave, she turned to me and served me some ice cream.

"Honey, don't take it personally. Derek's Facebook web series about the CEO falling for him is really popular right now. It's good publicity for the company. You have no idea how happy Derek is. If I undermined him behind the scenes, he'd be upset."

I had no interest in her explanation, so I merely said, "I don't mind. You don't need to explain."

The sharp pain in my stomach was getting worse. I held my stomach in pain as my face turned pale.

On the way home, Nancy got another call from Derek. "Ms. Curtis, can you come pick me up at the pool? I forgot my change of clothes, and I can't get a taxi either. Please, pretty please!"

Nancy, unable to resist Derek's plea, smiled fondly. "Okay, okay. I'll be right there."

After she hung up, she held my hand and kissed it. "Honey, let's go pick up Derek together. That way, you won't overthink things."

"You can't, Nancy. My stomach hurts really badly. Take me to the hospital. Now!" I yelped.

When Nancy heard this, her expression immediately darkened. "Tyler, can you stop being so dramatic? I only wanted to take you along because I was worried you'd get the wrong idea. I didn't think you'd play the victim card on me!"

"I'm not trying to pull a stunt. Take me to the hospital. I'm not joking. I'm in real pain!"

Nancy sneered. "Stop pretending. You're not convincing at all."

I felt like I was about to collapse, and my vision kept going dark.

"I have stomach cancer. My stomach hurts right now. We have to go to the hospital!" I blurted out.

Nancy didn't believe me. She stared at me, furious. "I usually put up with your little performances, but now you dare to use stomach cancer to deceive me?

"We've been married four years, and you've been fine all this time. How could you suddenly have cancer?

"Now that I'm going to pick up Derek, suddenly you're in pain?"

Nancy got angrier as she spoke. She suddenly slammed on the brakes hard.

"Get out! Out! Weren't you in such a hurry to get to the hospital? Then get the hell out! You're wasting my time! I need to go get Derek!"

"Fine. I'll get out."

Just as I was about to open the door and get out, she grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "I really shouldn't treat you so well! You're becoming more spoiled!"

I couldn't help but say, "Let's get a divorce, Nancy."

She seemed shocked by what I said. "Divorce?"

I nodded. "Jayden already helped me prepare the divorce papers."

Nancy let go of me, staring in disbelief. "Tyler, you really want a divorce? You'd better think hard. No one else but me would want a petty, narrow-minded man like you."

"I've thought about it. Goodbye."

After saying that, I got out of the car.

When Nancy saw me leaving, she floored the gas pedal. The sudden acceleration flung me from the car.

Amid the screams of bystanders, I collapsed into a pool of blood, while Nancy drove away without looking back.

The blood slowly spread beneath me, resembling bright, alluring spider lilies blooming around me one by one.