He Faked Cancer to Run Away With His Mistress,So His Father Gave Me the Fortune

My husband said he was working late.

With nothing else to do, I lay in bed scrolling through videosuntil I stumbled across one posted ten minutes ago by a girl I vaguely recognized. A junior from my college days.

My senior crush wants to take me abroad, but he's worried his wife and family will get suspicious.

"Help us brainstorm, internet heroes!"

I tapped into the comments.

Plenty of enthusiastic advisors, apparently.

The top-voted suggestion? Her "senior crush" should fake a cancer diagnosis, then demand a divorce. Afterward, he could claim he was going overseas for treatment alonehis wife would stay behind to look after things. Once he'd had his fun, he could waltz back home.

I let out a weary laugh and swiped away.

At three in the morning, my husband dragged himself through the door, exhaustion carved into every line of his face. He looked hollow. Lost.

"Honey," he said, voice barely above a whisper. "The company made everyone do physicals today. They found something."

A pause. His throat worked.

"Liver cancer. Late stage."

My heart stopped.

"I don't want to be a burden to you," he continued. "Let's get divorced."

1.

I stared at Corey Henson for what felt like an eternity.

Those words.

Why did they sound exactly like that top comment on the junior's video?

Could it be

Was he the "senior crush" she'd been talking about?

I crushed the thought immediately.

From the day we married until now, Corey had always been the perfect husbandhandsome, principled, devoted. How could he possibly be cheating on me?

I was overthinking. I had to be.

Drawing a deep breath, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him.

"Corey, we're husband and wife. We made vows. In sickness and in health, for richer or poorerwe swore we'd never leave each other's side."

"I don't care what illness you have. I will never leave you. Not even if it kills me."

Corey shoved me away.

"Ann Gilbert, can you just accept reality?"

"I have cancer. Terminal cancer!"

"I don't have much time left."

"Just" His voice cracked. "Consider it my dying wish. Please?"

Tears streamed down his face, and every sob tore at my heart.

Under circumstances like these?

Of course I wouldn't argue with him. Instead, I pulled him close again, my own voice thick with unshed tears. "Tell me what you need, Corey. Whatever it iswhatever you want me to doI'll do it. No questions asked."

Corey wiped his eyes. Lifted his head. Cupped my face in his hands, his gaze red-rimmed and tender.

"Honey I wasn't actually working late tonight."

"Then where were you?"

"I went to see someone. A friend's sistershe went to our university, so technically she's our junior. She told me about this new laser treatment overseas. Supposedly it can eliminate 99.99% of cancer cells."

"I didn't know if it was real, so I met with her in person to find out."

Junior.

That word again.

The suspicion I'd tried to bury clawed its way back up. The "senior crush" in that videoit had to be him. It had to be.

But I didn't confront him. Didn't demand answers.

Instead, I played along. "And? What did she say?"

"She confirmed it's real. The treatment existsit's just expensive. So I was thinking I could use the money in our joint account to pay for it." He gripped my hands, desperation flickering in his eyes. "Even if there's only the smallest chance, I don't want to give up."

"You'll support me, won't you?"

"Yes." I nodded without hesitation, then leaned in to press a soft kiss to his lips. "Of course I will. I'll drop everything and go with youwherever this treatment is. And if it's about money, I'll sell everything we own. I'd sell a kidney if that's what it takes."

The moment the words left my mouth, Corey stepped back. Two full paces.

"You don't know your way around overseas," he said quickly. "Besides, my junior already offered to go with me. You should stay here and look after my parents."

"This new treatment carries certain risksI might not make it. So I need you to help me tell a little lie to my parents."

"Tell them I died from cancer. If the treatment actually works, I'll come back and give them the surprise of their lives."

I frowned at this.

"You really think they'll buy that?"

"Trust me, my parents are easy to fool. If they insist on seeing my body, just tell them I didn't want them to grieve over a corpsethat I asked you to have me cremated at the funeral home, and you scattered my ashes in the ocean per my final wishes."

"You've really thought this through."

"Tomorrow, let's go finalize the divorce. Then I'll head overseas for treatment."

"You're just going abroad for medical care, not marching off to war. Is divorce really necessary?"

"My junior from college said there's a new policy over theresingle men get a discount on the experimental treatment."

"Babe, I'm just trying to save us money. Can't you understand that? Besides, it's only a fake divorce, not a real one. Once I'm better, I'll come back and we'll get remarried."

"If it's for your own good, I won't argue."

"Thanks, babe. You're the best. I love you so much."

Seeing me agree, Corey finally broke into a smile. He cupped my face in his hands and planted a quick kiss on my lips.

The next morning, we went to the county clerk's office and signed the divorce papers.

He said he needed to meet up with his college junior to discuss the overseas treatment arrangements.

Then he left.

Less than thirty minutes later, that same junior of his posted a new video.

"Thanks for all your suggestions, everyone! My dreamy senior successfully faked being sick and escaped his wife's clutches. We've booked our tickets and we're off to Hawaii for vacation!"

"I've been waiting for this day for SO long. Once we get to Hawaii, I'll be posting regular updates about me and my perfect senior."

"Stay tuned to witness our happiness!"

The video included several photos.

No faces were shown, but their fingers were intertwined.

I could clearly see the watch on the man's wristthe same watch I had personally picked out and given to Corey for his birthday.

If yesterday I only suspected, now I was certain.

The "dreamy senior" she kept gushing about was my husband, Corey Henson.

In that moment, it felt like a boulder had been dropped onto my chest.

I could barely breathe.

We'd been married for years. Happy years. Loving years.

Never once had I imagined that one day he would betray mewith some college junior, no less.

Corey didn't come home that night.

He texted to say he was finalizing the treatment plans with his junior. They'd be boarding their flight first thing in the morning.

I asked if he wanted me to see him off at the airport.

He said there was no need.

After that, my messages sank into silence. No replies.

I set down my phone and drew a long breath.

By now, he was probably tangled up with her somewhere.

If I kept bothering him, I'd just look pathetic.

I lay awake the entire night.

The next day, Corey and his junior appeared at the airport.

Arm in arm. Laughing. Whispering.

Sharing a single cookie between them.

Unable to walk two steps without nuzzling each other.

The way they clung togetherthey looked more like a married couple than we ever had.

The cruelest part? They walked right past me.

Corey didn't even notice I was there.

I kept my expression blank as I filmed every moment.

Only after they boarded and the plane pulled away from the gate did I finally head home.

Meanwhile, the junior had already posted another update.

The photo showed two hands clasped together as they boarded.

"Attention everyoneme and my dreamy senior are officially taking off!"

Destination: Hawaii.

I must be the happiest woman in the world right now.

The comments section overflowed with envy and congratulations. Mary replied to each one personally, basking in the attention.

Then someone asked: "What about your senior's wife?"

Mary's response came instantly: "Who cares about her? She's just some middle-aged hagfrumpy, unkempt, reeking of desperation."

"My man had to lie next to THAT every night. Can you imagine the torture?"

"But now they're divorced, and he's finally ALL MINE."

"He's free at last!"

Her profile featured videos showing off her faceyoung, gorgeous, with a body to match. So naturally, no one called her a homewrecker. Instead, they showered her with blessings, gushing about how "true love always finds a way."

My blood boiled. I created a burner account and commented: "Your 'prince charming' got other women pregnant and then heartlessly abandoned them. That doesn't bother you?"

Less than two minutes later, she replied.

"LOL that just proves how irresistible he is! Those women threw themselves at him because he's THAT amazing. They got what they deserved!"

I typed back: "Aren't you worried he might have children out there?"

"Why would I care? Kids or no kids, nothing changes how I feel about him. Besides, his wife got pregnant before, but I convinced him to talk her into aborting it."

The words hit me like a sledgehammer.

Rage exploded behind my eyes.

So that's why. All those years ago, when I'd gotten pregnant and Corey kept finding excuses"the timing isn't right," "we'll have kids later," "let's wait until we're more stable"pushing me toward the clinic again and again...

Someone had been pulling his strings all along. Someone had whispered in his ear, convincing him to pressure me into destroying our child.

I never could have imagined.

Corey was capable of this.

Another way to look at it: he'd killed our baby.

I choked down the murderous fury clawing up my throat and typed: "You made him pressure his wife into an abortion. Aren't you afraid of karma?"

Her reply was instantaneous: "Karma? HAHAHA please. There's no such thing as karma."

"As long as he belongs to me and only me"

"I'd take a lightning strike and call it worth it."

"Anyway, gotta go! We're off to Hawaii for some quality couple time. Bye~ See you in the next video!"

She didn't respond again.

But I had already made a decision. A big one.

A few days later.

We were eating dinner when Victor Henson and Beryl Henson asked where Corey had gone. They hadn't seen him in days.

I hesitated. "Dad, Mom... Corey's been really busy with work."

They looked skeptical but accepted it.

A week later, they were in a car accident.

Beryl died on impact.

Victor was critically injured. The doctors managed to save him, but when he learned his wife was gone

He wept until he passed out. Then woke and wept again. Three times he lost consciousness from the grief.

I stayed at the hospital for two weeks, taking care of him.

The question he asked most often: "Where's my son?"

I never gave him a straight answer.

Until today.

I had just finished cleaning his bedpan and was walking back into the room when

Thud.

He dropped to his knees.

"Ann." His voice cracked. "Ever since you married into this family, I've treated you like my own daughter."

He looked up at me, eyes red and swollen, desperation carved into every line of his face.

"Please. Please tell mewhat happened to my son? Why won't his phone connect when I call?"

"Ask his colleagues."

"They all said he quit ages ago."

"What on earth happened between you two?"

I hurried to help my father-in-law up from the floor.

There was no hiding it anymore.

I let out a long sigh. "Dad... Corey, he... had cancer. He passed away. The body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at seajust like he wanted."

"Wh... what?"

Victor's face went slack with shock.

I lifted a hand to wipe my tears, choking out the rest of the story between sobs.

It had been over two weeks ago, I told him.

Corey had been diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer.

He hadn't wanted his family to suffer.

So he'd chosen to bear it alone, in silence.

"Why didn't he tell us sooner?"

"Corey said... he wanted to keep it from you as long as he could."

"You... you two..."

Grief and fury warred across Victor's face. First his wife, now his sonthe double blow was too much. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.

When he came to, he wept until no sound would come.

Later, I received a text from Coreysent from a number I didn't recognize.

"How are my parents?"

"You didn't tell them the truth, did you?"

I smiled to myself and typed back: "Did exactly what you asked."

"That's my girl. Keep covering for me."

"Something happened at home. Don't you want to come back?"

"I'm busy. Whatever it is, don't bother me."

"Just handle it."

I sent another message.

Silence. Again.

Go ahead, Corey. Keep playing house with your little schoolmate.

A cold smile tugged at my lips.

After that, we stopped communicating entirely.

I only caught glimpses of his life through the videos she postedthe two of them having the time of their lives.

As for home...

Victor was a shell of himself after leaving the hospital. He wandered the house muttering to himself, lost in some private torment. It was obvious he was teetering on the edge of a complete breakdown.

Then one day, he called me to his room.

He pressed a sealed envelope into my hands, his eyes red-rimmed and hollow. "Ann... I can't hold on much longer. I'm afraid I'll lose my mind completely. Before that happenstake this. It's everything the Henson family owns."