His Brides Final Dying Wish

I broke up with my boyfriend when he was at his absolute rock bottom.

Years later, he became a billionaire and forced me into a marriage I never wanted.

Everyone says Im the luckiest girl in the world for being his first love, the one who got away.

But I know the truthDthis is his ultimate revenge.

He found a woman who looks just like me and brings her home every single night.

He forces me to watch them together, treating me like nothing more than their personal maid.

I never say a word, and I never fight back.

Mainly because I know Im already dying.

What I didnt expect was that I would take my final breath right under his surgical blade.

The strawberry shortcake on the table had already begun to melt.

I checked my phone one last time.

Still no reply from my husband, Silas Sterling.

He was always busy, a man of high demand.

The hospital needed him because he was a world-class cardiothoracic surgeon.

When he wasnt saving lives, he was busy coddling his little sweetheart.

There was simply no time left in his schedule for his wife.

The only thing I could do was curl up in bed and try to ignore the pain.

I rarely bothered him, and he made it clear he didnt want me reaching out.

But he had no idea that today was my very last birthday.

I was sickDfatally sick.

It was the kind of illness that left no room for hope, and I was nearing the finish line.

After hesitating for a long time, I finally dialed his number.

Silas picked up after several rings, his voice cold and sharp.

Lacey is having another depressive episode. Get your ass down to the lawyers office. Were signing the divorce papers.

Lacey Lane was the woman he kept.

She was the replacement he found because she looked exactly like a younger version of me.

Silas was in a rush because Lacey was prone to dramatic outbursts.

She claimed her only dream in life was to be his wife.

If she couldnt have him, she threatened to end it all.

Silas couldnt bear to see his little darling suffer for even a second.

He wanted a divorce immediately, claiming it was just an act to keep Lacey stable.

He promised we would remarry once she was feeling better.

Her condition is critical. She cant wait, so move fast! Silas snapped.

He was so worried about her that he completely forgot it was my birthday.

A bitter taste filled my mouth.

People called Lacey my replacement, but in reality, she was the one he truly cherished.

They had been intimate for years before he ever came back to marry me.

When Silas finally made me his wife, the world praised him for his loyalty.

They thought he was a romantic who never forgot his first love.

Only I knew the truthDhe married me just to humiliate me.

He used Lacey as a weapon to punish me for our past.

I knew all of this, yet I still chose to walk down that aisle.

I needed the money.

Back then, my older brother, Ben, was in the final stages of his life.

His life had been nothing but hardship, and the money Silas offered bought him comfort.

It bought him and the woman he loved a little more time together.

I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of the world.

Silas, this is my last birthday. There wont be another one.

I took a shaky breath. You arent coming home, and now you want a divorce?

He let out a cold, sharp laugh through the phone.

What do you mean, your last birthday? As far as Im concerned, our last birthday was six years ago!

My body physically recoiled, and my heart felt like it had been hollowed out.

He was talking about the day we broke up.

I had chosen the cruelest way possible to shatter him.

I waited until the moment he was presenting me with a birthday cake to tell him it was over.

2

I was ruthless that day.

Silas, no girl wants to live in poverty forever, I had said.

You spent fifty bucks at a DIY bakery to make this cake yourself. I know it was everything you had.

But I want the five-thousand-dollar designer cake and a life of luxury.

Youre just a broke student. You cant give me the life I deserve.

He thought I was joking at first and asked me to say it again.

I just sneered and wired a large sum of money to his account.

Take your breakup fee and leave, I told him.

I dont owe you anything. Dont get in my way while I look for a rich man.

He looked at the $200,067.13 I sent him, his eyes wide with shock.

For people as poor as we were, that amount was staggering.

Vivian, where did you get this much money? Please tell me you didnt do something dangerous!

His first instinct wasnt anger, but pure, terrifying concern for my safety.

Even as I was dumping him for being poor, he was worried about my soul.

He was such a fool.

How could I let my broken, dying self drag down a man with such a bright future?

I tilted my chin up, acting as spoiled as possible.

The money is great, isnt it? My new boyfriend gave it to me.

He has more cash than you could ever dream of seeing in ten lifetimes.

I dont need your cheap, pathetic little cake!

I grabbed the cake he had spent all night making and threw it directly into the trash.

I watched the color drain from his face until he was as white as a sheet.

I had broken him.

I knew that cake wasnt just cheap flour and sugar.

He had worked three back-to-back shifts in a freezing warehouse just to afford the ingredients.

When he handed it to me, his hands were covered in frostbite.

Now, Silass voice snapped me back to the present, dripping with resentment.

Youre still obsessed with money, arent you? Fine. Ill pay you three hundred thousand for the divorce.

But remember, this money is for Lacey, not you. You dont deserve a dime.

Im happy to spend it if it means making her happy.

I laughed until tears blurred my vision.

Even when he was handing me a lifeline, he had to make sure I knew I was just a shadow.

I was supposedly the legendary first love, and Lacey was just the copy.

Yet he loved the copy so much that he wanted the original to bleed for her.

The most pathetic part? I had to say yes.

I desperately needed that money.

The last time I asked him for help, he made me wait outside his office all day.

The nurses whispered and laughed at me, calling me a disgraced wife.

They said I was finally paying the price for dumping him years ago.

Silas had humiliated me that day, making me clean up after him and Lacey.

After all that, he only threw five grand at me.

This time, three hundred thousand was on the table. I couldnt pass it up.

My doctor told me about an experimental treatment that could dull the pain.

One round cost exactly three hundred thousand dollars.

I was going to die anyway, but I wanted to go out with a little dignity.

I had always loved being beautiful, and I didnt want to look like a monster at the end.

Fine, I whispered. Ill be there.

3

I had clearly overestimated my own strength.

As soon as I grabbed my ID and stepped out the door, the pain hit me like a physical blow.

I collapsed right there on the driveway of the villa.

By the time I regained consciousness, an hour had already passed.

During that hour, Silas had called me thirty times.

Since the day we married, he had never been this eager to reach me.

I answered the phone with a trembling hand.

Vivian Vance! Are you playing games with me? he roared.

I didnt have the energy to argue or explain.

Im coming, I croaked.

My body was failing me, and fainting was becoming a regular occurrence.

He could blame me all he wanted for being late.

If he had given me the money for the medicine sooner, I wouldn't have been on the ground.

When I finally reached the lawyers office, Silas snatched the documents from my hand.

He didn't even trust me to fill out the paperwork.

He was terrified I would try to claw at his massive fortune during the settlement.

Lacey was there too, looking me up and down with a smug grin.

Vivian, youre only a few months older than me, she chirped.

Why do you look so haggard? Your skin looks like gray parchment.

You look like youre already halfway in the grave.

I instinctively touched my face, my heart sinking.

I had tried to put on makeup before leaving, but the accident changed everything.

I had been lying in the dirt under the scorching sun for an hour.

My makeup had melted and smeared, leaving me looking like a wreck.

She was right, but hearing it out loud felt like a knife to the chest.

I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

She pulled out a small, exquisite box and waved it in front of me.

Want some cake? Silas just bought this for me. Its the best Ive ever had.

He told me hell give me every beautiful thing in the world.

I dont have to beg or hunt for a rich man. I just have to ask him.

She was throwing my own past words back in my face, clearly coached by Silas.

He hated my perceived greed so much that he told his mistress every detail.

I didnt tell her that the best cake I ever ate was a fifty-dollar DIY mess.

After Silas had left in tears six years ago, I had dug that cake out of the trash.

I ate every single bite, sobbing until I couldn't breathe.

I didn't care that it was dirty.

My brother Ben had found me like that, a total mess.

He wiped my face and tried to give me strength.

Vivian, we did the right thing. Be happy for him.

Silas has a bright future. We cant be the anchors that sink his ship.

Ben, Silas, and I grew up togetherDthree kids with nothing but each other.

Our parents died young, and Ben had raised us both.

When Silas and I started dating, Ben was so proud.

But bad luck always finds the people who are already down.

The year we graduated, Ben started showing the first signs of the illness.

That was when he told me our parents had died from the same thing.

It was genetic, fast-moving, and there was no cure.

He was the first to fall, and I knew I was next.

Silas was a man of honor; he would never have left us if he knew.

We would have become a burden that would have crushed his dreams.

He had been offered a prestigious fellowship abroad, but he had no money to go.

I found out and told Ben. We made a choice.

4

Ben and I went to the underground blood banks, selling whatever we could.

We sold our mothers only heirloom, a vintage watch, to scrape together the cash.

That was the breakup fee I wired to Silas.

It was every single cent we had in the world.

Silas used that money to go to Europe, and he returned as a god in the medical world.

Ben was right about one thing.

Shortly after Silas left, the symptoms started for me too.

It was the same terminal sentence.

Lacey wasnt finished with her insults yet.

People say we look alike, but youre so ugly now.

Youre just like your vegetable brother. How can you even compete with me?

That was the breaking point.

When Ben died, Silas attended the funeral, and Lacey had whispered something similar.

Honestly, a guy like that should have died sooner instead of being a burden.

I had ended up in the hospital back then after a physical brawl with her.

And here she was, poking the wound again.

I didn't think. I just swung my hand and slapped her across the face.

The sound echoed through the quiet office, bringing Silas running.

Without a second thought, he slapped me back, his eyes burning with rage.

Is that all you can do? Use your hands? What did Lacey ever do to you?

Lacey immediately collapsed into his arms, weeping like a professional actress.

Dont blame her, Silas. Im the one who took her place. I deserve it.

Its my fault for loving you so much. I just cant help myself.

Im so sorry... Im just so overwhelmed. It hurts so much.

She played the victim perfectly, making me look like a bitter hag.

Silas immediately began cooing over her, his touch gentle and loving.

Once she was calm, he grabbed my arm with enough force to bruise.

The money is in your account. Sign the damn papers and stop wasting time.

My body was so weak that the sudden movement made the room spin.

He thought I was faking it and gripped me tighter.

You got your money! Stop the theatrics!

Its not like this is forever. Well remarry once Lacey is stable.

I looked at him and let out a hollow, pathetic laugh.

He actually thought I wanted to come back to him.

My heart was dead. I just wanted to get this over with.

When we stepped out of the office, the sun was blindingly hot.

Another wave of agony ripped through my abdomen, and my legs gave out.

I slammed onto the concrete steps, the world turning dark at the edges.

Through the haze, I saw Silas stop and turn around.

He saw me. He had to have seen me fall.

But then I heard Laceys sweet, sugary voice.

Silas, can we get another cake? I really want one from that boutique uptown.