My husband, Ethan Carter, was a renowned pharmaceutical researcher. To support his career, I secretly signed up as an anonymous volunteer for his high-risk clinical trials, willingly enduring all sorts of agonizing side effects just to help his project succeed. After I was diagnosed with a terminal illness, the only thing that could save me was an experimental drug he had developed. I pinned all my hopes of survival on Ethan. But when my condition finally became critical, he vanished—along with my life-saving medicine. When I finally found him, I watched him give my cure to Chloe, his childhood sweetheart. I rushed forward to confront him, only to be met with his cold, contemptuous gaze. "Chloe volunteered for my clinical trials years ago just to help me! Now she has a terminal illness because of those side effects!" "Can't you show a little compassion?!" Later, without the medicine, I died an agonizing death in a cold hospital bed. But when he finally discovered the truth, he completely lost his mind.
Before my consciousness faded, waves of excruciating pain surged through my body. I trembled violently, curling into a tight ball, trying in vain to ease the agony. But it was useless. The muffled shouts of doctors and nurses echoed in my ears, but I no longer had the strength to open my eyes. "Her organs are failing," someone sighed nearby. "Without the A9 experimental drug, not even a miracle can save her." "Let's contact her next of kin to prepare for her funeral..." The A9 experimental drug. Hearing that familiar name only brought a sharp, tearing pain to my chest. I had been so close to surviving. But Ethan, my husband, had shattered that chance with his own hands. The A9 drug was the latest breakthrough from Ethan's research lab. Because it was still in the early stages, the production was extremely limited. The only existing dose was in Ethan's possession. Two weeks ago, I finally tracked down Ethan, who had vanished with the drug. I found him at Chloe's private studio. I watched them huddled together. Chloe was sobbing softly while Ethan whispered sweet comforts to her. Then, he pulled out the vial containing the A9 drug and placed it in her hand. A spasm of pain shot through my body. I burst into the room to confront him. My voice shook uncontrollably. "Ethan, I told you! I will die without this medicine!" "You refused to give it to me, saying it was reserved for someone who truly needed it. Is she that person?!" Ethan looked at me, his eyes showing no guilt or hesitation. He met my gaze coldly. "Nora, stop faking your illness. It's getting pathetic." "I'm a medical researcher. You can't fool me with these cheap tricks." "Chloe isn't like you, always jealous and insecure. Five years ago, she risked her life as a volunteer for my drug trials, which pushed my project forward. Now, the side effects are causing her organs to fail. How can I just stand by and do nothing?" I stared at Ethan in absolute disbelief, pointing at Chloe, who was shrinking back into his chest. "You think *she* was the volunteer five years ago?" Ethan didn't answer. He just tightened his grip around Chloe's waist. My throat tasted metallic, like blood. I gritted my teeth against the searing pain in my chest. "Ethan, go look at the registry files from five years ago. I dare you! I don't believe you can't find the truth." "If it weren't for you, why would I have spent the last five years screaming in pain every single night because of the side effects?!" I couldn't hold it in anymore. I covered my mouth and coughed violently. Ethan only frowned, his eyes filling with deep annoyance. "Nora Mitchell, I thought you'd know when to stop." "Without Chloe's help, I wouldn't have the status I have today. Do you think the money you've been spending all these years grew on trees?" "I'm going to put an end to your lies once and for all today." Ethan sighed, throwing a folder onto my chest. "See for yourself. I pulled the original records from back then." "I know exactly who saved my career." With that, he wrapped his arm around Chloe and walked out of the studio. Before they turned the corner, I heard him whisper to her, "Don't worry, Chloe. I'll save you. I wouldn't be here today without you." Out of Ethan's sight, Chloe turned back and flashed me a smug, triumphant smile. With trembling, blood-stained hands, I opened the folder. The volunteer report—the one that used to have my face on it—now had Chloe's photo attached. After that day, Ethan subjected me to endless, freezing silent treatment. He didn't even pick up my last call before I died.
When I opened my eyes again, I realized I was standing right in front of my own body. I watched my lifeless corpse being wheeled toward the morgue. The doctors quickly dialed Ethan's number. After several rings, Ethan finally answered, his voice dripping with irritation. "Stop annoying me! I don't have time for this!" The nurse said quickly, "Sir, your wife has passed away. We need you to come handle her body..." Through the line, I heard a fragile, sweet voice call out in the background. "Ethan, my chest hurts." Ethan replied softly, "Hang on, Chloe." Then his tone turned incredibly hostile. "Nora, are you seriously acting out a death scene now? You even hired someone to play a nurse?" "Don't try to stop me from treating Chloe. If you want to play dead, go ahead. Let's see if I shed a single tear for you!" With that, he slammed the phone down. As I stood there in a daze, a strange force suddenly pulled my soul away. When I regained consciousness, I was standing right in front of Ethan. I blinked, looking around, and realized this was Ethan's private laboratory. It was equipped with the most advanced medical tech and medicines in the country. I had begged him to let me stay here because the equipment could help manage my symptoms. But Ethan had dismissed my plea with disgust. "The lab is off-limits to outsiders." Without proper medical equipment, I spent the last two weeks of my life in endless, agonizing torture. By the time I died, my body was painfully emaciated, my cheeks sunken, looking like a hollow shell of myself. And my own husband wouldn't even come to claim my body. Yet here, Chloe was lying comfortably on a sterile hospital bed, surrounded by a team of professional nurses. She looked pale and fragile, like a delicate hothouse flower. Chloe was never an "outsider" to Ethan. Chloe looked up at Ethan, her eyes crinkling with a sweet smile. "Thank you, Ethan. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have made it today..." Ethan shook his head, gently stroking her hair. "Just focus on resting. The staff here are my most trusted colleagues. You'll get better in no time." Sensing the heavy romantic tension between the two, the colleagues laughed and teased them. "Dr. Carter, you and your wife are so sweet together." "Seriously, you're making all us single folks jealous!" Chloe's cheeks flushed pink, but she didn't correct them. Neither did Ethan. They just looked at each other and shared a knowing smile. I instinctively wanted to run away, but an invisible force bound me to Ethan's side. I was forced to watch my husband of five years play the doting spouse to his childhood friend. When my organ failure was at its worst, I could feel my body shutting down piece by piece. But that terror was nothing compared to the agony of watching this. How pathetic. I had endured years of agonizing side effects for Ethan, only for Chloe to effortlessly steal all the credit. And my husband never believed a single word I said. I suppose when I first told him I was sick, he didn't take me seriously at all. Otherwise, how could he have been so calm? Compared to his current panic over Chloe, Ethan had always been chillingly indifferent to anything concerning me. I thought five years of love and quiet sacrifice would eventually melt his cold heart. But the truth was, Ethan's heart only beat for the girl he truly loved. Ethan cleared his throat, his voice returning to its usual professional tone. "Alright, everyone get back to work. I'll take it from here." The colleagues let out a chorus of knowing chuckles before leaving the room. Ethan sat on the edge of Chloe's bed. "How are you feeling today? Any discomfort after taking the medicine?" Chloe shook her head, playfully sticking her tongue out. "Any drug developed by the brilliant Dr. Carter is bound to be perfect." Ethan chuckled softly. Chloe seemed to remember something and said, "By the way... we haven't heard from Nora since she confronted us last time. Have you explained things to her? We're just doctor and patient." Ethan's face darkened, but he kept his voice patient. "There's nothing to explain." "It's her own issue. Don't worry about her. Just focus on recovering." Of course. In his mind, there was never anything to explain. I was always just the crazy, jealous wife throwing a tantrum. Ethan reached into his bag. From my vantage point, I saw him pull out a second, identical phone. But this phone had been dead for a while. He plugged in the charger, and after a few minutes, the screen lit up. Instantly, a flood of missed calls and Snapchat notifications popped up. They were all from me—calls I had made and messages I had sent since I was hospitalized. There were also missed calls from the hospital notifying him of my death. Ethan had two identical phones. One was just to deal with me, while the other was his actual phone for daily life. His main phone had his research, Chloe's contact info, and his real life. Compared to his main phone, the one dedicated to me was practically barren. I was just like that second phone—never truly integrated into Ethan's life. I was always kept at a distance. And whenever Ethan wanted a break, he could simply turn it off, shutting me out of his world entirely. Because to him, I was utterly insignificant.
Maybe when your heart breaks completely, you just go numb. Staring at Ethan's second phone, I didn't even feel a spark of anger. The phone rang again. This time, it wasn't my number. Ethan stared at the screen for a moment before pressing answer. "Is this Nora Mitchell's next of kin? The patient passed away yesterday, and her body is still in the morgue. When can you come claim her?" Ethan frowned, checking the number again. "Are you guys ever going to stop? How much did Nora pay you to pull this stunt? I'll pay you double if you just stop harassing me!" "She was calling and texting me yesterday, and today you're telling me she's dead?" "Until she learns how to behave, I don't care if she's dead or alive!" Yes, he never cared about anything to do with me. Even when I was actually dead. But that was fine. I was used to it anyway, wasn't I? By the time he finished speaking, Ethan's voice was shaking with anger. He slammed the phone down, his face flushed with rage. Chloe asked softly, "What's wrong? Did something happen to Nora?" Ethan shook his head. "Nothing. Just another one of her dramatic stunts." "Get some rest. I'm going to check on the lab." Chloe nodded obediently and watched him leave. When Ethan pushed open the lab door, he found a group of researchers huddled together. He frowned, his voice cold and sharp. "What is everyone doing? Is this free time? Are your tasks finished?" The crowd quickly dispersed, leaving a single piece of paper fluttering to the floor. When no one spoke, Ethan sneered, "Don't you know we're at a critical phase of launching the A9 drug?" "Chloe risked her life to test this drug for us, giving us the chance to deepen our research. And this is how you make use of it?" He knelt down and picked up the paper, grabbing a young researcher who was trying to slip away. "What is this?" The young man, terrified of Ethan, lowered his head. "It's... it's a case file related to the A9 drug..." "This disease is so rare, so we were just studying it..." Ethan frowned, looking at him suspiciously. "I haven't heard of any similar cases recently." The researcher pointed at the paper. "It was sent over by the local hospital." "Apparently, the patient spent her final days desperately searching for a cure, but she couldn't find one." "She passed away yesterday..." Ethan looked down at the paper. When his eyes landed on the name in the patient box, he froze. Nora Mitchell. My name. Ethan's grip on the researcher's arm tightened violently, but his eyes kept scanning down. When he read the words *Cause of Death: Multi-organ failure*, his pupils dilated in shock. "Did the hospital mention the exact time of death?" The researcher shook his head. Looking at his pale face, I felt nothing but cold amusement. What? Was he finally starting to believe it? It seemed he only believed me when I was presented to him in the most brutal, tragic way possible. Just like before, when I hadn't heard from Ethan all night. Even his lab colleagues didn't know where he was. I had driven through a torrential downpour, checking every place he could possibly be. The rain was so heavy I lost control of the car and crashed into a street lamp. And yet, just that morning, he had promised he would come home to celebrate my birthday. At dawn, I dragged my bruised, bleeding body back home, only to see Ethan lovingly placing a fresh plate of breakfast in front of Chloe. In that moment, my mind went entirely blank. Seeing my wretched state, Ethan had only frowned in disgust. "What happened to you?" I stared at him blankly. "Where were you last night...?" Chloe looked at me with faux guilt. "I'm so sorry, Nora. I didn't mean to make you worry. I just got back to the country last night and asked Ethan to pick me up. He didn't mean to ignore you." Ignoring Chloe's chatter, I walked up to Ethan. "Yesterday was my birthday." Ethan stiffened, pressing his lips together. "Sorry. I forgot." He forgot. Ethan didn't even bother making up a decent excuse. He just dismissed my entire existence with a simple "I forgot." That day, we had another massive fight. "Ethan, I searched for you all night! I even got into a car accident! And what were you doing?!" Ethan lost his patience. "Enough! I just forgot!" "A car accident? If you were in a car accident, why are you standing right here? Why aren't you in a hospital bed?" In the middle of our shouting, Ethan shoved me hard. I fell to the ground while he immediately shielded a trembling Chloe behind his back. I felt like some villainous woman in a cheap drama. My wounds from the crash reopened, bleeding through my clothes, and my chest felt like it was tearing apart. I coughed up a pool of blood. Through the haze of pain, I finally heard Ethan scream my name in panic. Only then did he believe I was actually hurt. Ethan's trust in me had always been pathetic. I watched Ethan run out of the research center and speed toward the hospital. Once there, he clutched the case file, desperately asking every nurse and doctor until he finally found the physician who had filed the report. It was Dr. Harrison, the doctor who had treated me. Dr. Harrison looked up in surprise. "Dr. Carter? What brings you here?" Ethan slammed the paper onto the desk, panting heavily. "Did you submit this case file?" The doctor glanced at it and nodded. "Yes. The patient's body is still down in the morgue." "Did you find something new, Dr. Carter?" Ethan's hands shook violently as he gritted his teeth. "Take me to her." Though confused, Dr. Harrison led the way. I followed close behind Ethan as the elevator descended into the cold basement. Dr. Harrison led him to the metal freezer drawers. The doctor pointed to a drawer. "She's in here. Do you want to see her, Dr. Carter?" Ethan ignored him, his hand already gripping the cold metal handle. As the drawer slowly slid open, the color drained completely from Ethan's face. Until he finally saw me. My face. Gray, cold, and entirely lifeless.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "NovelMaster" app ? search for "458493", and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster