Six Months Left

Serena and I had been a loving couple for seven years. Everyone in our circle saw how well she treated me. I truly thought our happiness would last forever. Until the day I caught her keeping another man on the side. Only then did I realize that my entire marriage had been a lie. Heartbroken, I decided to ask for a divorce. Serena didn’t look guilty at all. She just stared at me coldly and said: "In the Vance family, there's no such thing as divorce. Only widowhood." What she didn’t know was that I was truly dying. Walking out of the hospital, the doctor's words were still ringing in my ears. "Your condition has reached the terminal stage. Even with aggressive treatment, the prognosis isn't good..." "How much time do I have left?" "Six months at most." Crushing the medical report in my hand, I pulled out my phone and called Serena right away. In our seven years of marriage, everyone knew how devoted she was to me. We were the envy of all our friends. I was terrified she would collapse if she heard the news. Right now, I felt like a drowning man, desperately trying to grab onto the only lifeline I had left. The phone rang for a dozen seconds before connecting. Serena's singing voice came through, but it sounded distant. She wasn't the one holding the phone... I held my breath, waiting in the heavy silence. "Who is this?" I asked. "If you want to know, come to VIP Room 403 at The Drop." It was a man's voice. Then, the call went dead. I looked up at the setting sun. The sky burned crimson, but my whole body was trembling uncontrollably. Following the man’s directions, I arrived at the lounge. Room 403 was Serena’s private booth at The Drop. She had loved the party scene ever since college and came here often. The door wasn't fully closed. Through the crack, I saw Serena sitting right in the middle of the large sectional sofa. She was leaning back in a strange man’s arms, a smug smile playing on her lips, looking like an untouchable queen. She looked so foreign. So foreign that it suffocated me. I pulled out my phone with shaking hands and typed a message. "Serena, where are you?" A minute later, my screen lit up. "Still at the office, babe. I'll head home soon." Suddenly, a roar of male laughter erupted inside the room. "Serena, is your hubby checking in on you again?" "What do you know? I like letting him think he has me on a leash!" "Right, right! Having someone keep tabs on you is one thing, but knowing where home is is another. Our Serena knows how to keep business and pleasure separate!" Hearing that, Serena reached up and stroked the cheek of the man holding her. Just then, a waiter carrying drinks walked up behind me and pushed the door wide open. Someone spotted me first. In an instant, every pair of eyes turned toward me, and the room fell dead silent. Serena shoved the man away immediately and stood up, walking straight toward me. I took a deep breath, forcing down the urge to swing my fists, and asked coldly: "Are you having fun?" "No, I'm not. Honey, let's go home. I'll make your favorite glazed pork ribs." She reached out and gripped my hand tightly. As we turned to leave, a drunken guy in the back sneered, "Ethan, back the hell off! Serena’s got money and looks. So what if she has a drink or two on the side? Don't make trouble out of nothing!" I didn't say a word. But Serena turned around, grabbed a liquor bottle, and smashed it over the man's head. Glass shattered everywhere. "If I ever hear you talk about my husband like that again, it won't just be a bottle!" Even now, she was still putting on a show. On the drive home, Serena came clean. His name was Mason. She had met him while on a business trip. He had been working as a bartender and got into a brawl with some local thugs; she just stepped in to bail him out. Ever since, he had stayed by her side. I gripped the car door handle, my stomach churning. "Everyone knew about him, didn't they?" "Did they?!" "Yes." Serena pressed her lips together. I let out a bitter laugh, my eyes burning red. Everyone knew. I was the only fool kept in the dark! "Honey..." "How long have you two been together?" "Three years." I snapped my head toward her in disbelief. My eyes suddenly caught on a men's watch hanging by the rearview mirror. It had appeared about two weeks ago. Serena had claimed she just bought it on a whim. Now I knew Mason had bought it. If Mason's watch was in this car, did that mean he had ridden in it? Had he sat in this very passenger seat...? The thought made me gag, bile rising in my throat."Pull over. I want to get out." "Honey, can we please just go home and talk?" "Pull over! Pull over! Let me out!" I slammed my fists against the window, tears streaming down my face. I was terrified I would throw up all over the car. Even more terrified that in the next second, I would grab the steering wheel and crash us both into the barrier. Serena didn't let me out. Once we got home, I stopped yelling. Serena went into the kitchen and cooked a whole spread of my favorite dishes. I sat across from her without touching a single bite. She looked at me tenderly. "Honey, I promise you, I'll take care of it. Mason was just a fling. He doesn't hold a candle to you." With that, she placed a piece of glazed pork into my bowl. "No matter what, don't starve yourself." I stared right through her. "I won't eat it. It disgusts me." Who knew if she had cooked this same meal for Mason? Serena's face went pale. She stood up. "Fine. What do you want to eat? I'll have the private chef send something over." After dinner, Serena went to take a shower. At this point, she had become completely brazen. She didn't feel guilty at all; if anything, she thought I was making a mountain out of a molehill. She stepped out of the bathroom smelling fresh and clean, stepping forward to wrap her arms around me. "Honey, stop being angry. It's not worth it." I pulled away, my voice flat. "Go wash again." She froze for a second, then obediently turned around and took another shower. After doing this three times, Serena finally lost her temper. "How many times do I have to wash before you're satisfied?! I slept with Mason, and it happened! No amount of showering is going to change that!" No matter how many times she scrubbed, she could never turn back into that young girl who had once held me tight, swearing she would only ever love me. Serena left. In seven years of marriage, aside from business trips, this was the very first time she spent the night away from home. The king-size bed felt freezing cold. I sat at the edge until dawn broke. When I unlocked my phone, a headline was trending on Instagram: [Vance Heiress Spotted Setting Off Fireworks with Boy Toy Late at Night]. In the photo, Mason had his arm wrapped around Serena, looking like a couple hopelessly in love. The glow of the fireworks illuminated his face—a face full of the youth and sharp charm I was steadily losing. Serena was retaliating for my behavior last night. Once something is dirty, it stays dirty, no matter how much you try to clean it. I took the medical report from my bag and hailed a cab to my mother's place. Even though she had remarried years ago and built a new family with a new husband and son. Even though in her eyes, I was merely proof of her failed first marriage, never able to compare to my younger brother. A mother was still a mother. When a child gets hurt, where else are they supposed to go? My brother Toby, four years younger than me, opened the door. His brows furrowed the moment he saw me. "What are you doing here?" I didn't answer. I walked straight inside. My mother was sitting on the couch, and her eyes darted away when she noticed me. I reached into my bag, wanting to tell her I was sick. When people are facing death, they grasp for any warmth they can find. "So, you found out?" she asked. My hand froze inside my bag. "Ethan, listen to me. Just pretend you didn't see anything. You know how well Serena treats you. Women need attention, too. You can't just focus on your work and neglect her. Don't say I'm not on your side. I'm saying this precisely because I care about you! Remember when our family was drowning in debt? Serena paid it all off. When Toby got married, bought his house and his car, she covered everything. If you do the math, our family owes her a massive debt." My ears buzzed with static. If you muted her voice, it looked like a mother gently offering heartfelt advice. But with the sound on, every single syllable stabbed straight into my heart."Mom, you're my mother..." My mother frowned, visibly annoyed. Toby chimed in from the side, sneering, "You should count your blessings! What rich woman doesn't keep a pretty boy on the side?” “The only reason you managed to marry Serena was pure dumb luck. Did you really think she couldn't live without you? If you get a divorce, there's a mile-long line of men waiting to take your spot!" "Shut your mouth! What right do you have to lecture me?!" The second I yelled back, my mother's furious voice cut in: "Toby isn't wrong! I'm only telling you not to divorce for your own good! If you leave her, where on earth are you going to find a woman better than Serena?!" "What if I'm dying?!" The moment the words left my mouth, my mother's hand slapped across my face. A sharp, burning sting flared on my cheek alongside her hysterical rage. "I tell you not to divorce, and you threaten me with death?! If you really want to die, go get divorced first and sign all your inheritance over to your brother! Consider it paying me back for raising you!" In a daze, my mind slipped back to my senior year of high school. My mother had been beating me with a wooden stick.” “I had sprinted out of the house and crashed into Serena. Without a word, Serena had bought a utility knife, stormed right into my living room, and grabbed my brother by the collar. "If you ever touch Ethan again, I swear I'll slit your son's throat!" An eighteen-year-old girl, fierce and reckless. Back then, she had been the only ray of light in my darkest days. When I got home, Serena was sitting on the sofa with her long legs crossed. Bathed in the soft moonlight, she looked mature and striking—undeniably an attractive woman. But my heart had turned to stone. Ignoring her, I walked toward the stairs. Suddenly, she grabbed my wrist and threw herself into my arms. I tried to shove her off, but she wrapped her arms around me like iron bands. "Serena, let go of me! Don't touch me!" "You're my husband! Why can't I touch you?!" Nausea surged through me, and I gagged. I hadn't eaten anything all day, but nothing came up. "Ethan, you think I'm disgusting? How clean do you think you are?!" Her words froze me instantly. I stared at her blankly, my soul turning to ash. Serena was right. How clean was I? During winter break of my sophomore year of college, my mother had taken my brother to visit relatives. My stepfather had crept into my bedroom in the dead of night. No matter how much I screamed, begged, and wept, he hadn't stopped. When Serena found out, she nearly beat him to death with her own hands. Because of her, my stepfather was finally sent to prison—and because of that, my mother had resented me for years. For a long time after that, I couldn't climb out of the shadows. I wanted to end my life. It was Serena who sat by my hospital bed every single night, terrified. That was the first time I ever saw her cry. She had held me tight. She told me she was terrified that if she closed her eyes, I would be gone forever. Those wounds she had once so carefully guarded, the ones that had finally scarred over... She was now tearing them open herself, leaving them raw and bloody. I lay there like a dead fish on a cutting board, devoid of any strength to fight back, letting her wrath wash over me. When it was all over, I turned my back to her. Everything hurt. Everything felt cold. Serena's voice echoed in the dark bedroom. "Ethan, I will never divorce you. You promised we would be together forever." "Even in death, you belong to me." Drifting between sleep and consciousness, I fell into a dream. I dreamed of the young Serena standing under a tree. I walked over, and she turned around, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. "Ethan, why did you lose so much weight?" Back then, my mother gave all the good food to my brother. When Serena found out, she would constantly sneak snacks into my desk. Out of gratitude, I saved my pocket money for six months just to treat her to a cheap street food meal. On the walk home, her hand brushed against mine. Then she asked, "Can I hold your hand?" It was a blazing summer day, the sunset blazing red—yet it paled in comparison to the shy blush on her cheeks. When I woke up, I was lying in bed, completely alone. The throbbing pain throughout my body reminded me that last night was real. I dragged myself into the bathroom. My skin was covered in red marks. I scrubbed at them violently until my flesh turned raw and specks of blood appeared. Suddenly, a metallic taste surged up my throat. I bent over in agony and vomited blood. Huge tears splashed down my face. They mingled with the crimson liquid and were washed down the drain, as if none of it had ever happened. Staying out overnight is the kind of thing that happens either never, or countless times. Serena stopped hiding her affection for Mason. All the promises she had once fulfilled for me, she now fulfilled for Mason, one by one. Every single instance felt like a slap in the face. Reminding me that the memories I had cherished so deeply meant nothing at all.