My Wife Said Only Death Could Set Me Free

Chapter 5

She anxiously checked Luka's injury. As soon as Luka squatted down, his fingers were hurt by the shards. Now, with a humble tone, he said to me, "Mr. Smith, I didn't mean to. I thought you enjoyed coffee like Lyra."

Lyra glared at me, her anger palpable. "Isaac, you've gone too far!"

It didn't matter; this had become my everyday life. She stopped loving me a long time ago, and her accusations had become a daily routine. But my mind was a mess; too many things had happened this morning, and each one more frustrating than the last.

I glanced at the wound caused by the reporter's badge earlier, and my thoughts started to drift back. "Mia needs surgery right away, and we'll need money."

Usually, when I come to the office, it's either because Lyra wants me to do something or, like now, because I need money.

Lyra didn't respond to me immediately. Instead, she was utterly concerned about Luka's injury, as if she'd been the one hurt.

She glared at me and snapped. "If you want to get money from me, then you better clean up this mess first!"

Roman crouched down to help me clean up, but Lyra waved him off.

The atmosphere turned dead silent. Everyone held their breath, waiting for my reaction.

I let out a long sigh and slowly bent down to pick up the pieces. Just like Luka, I cut my hands right away. By the time I was done, my hands were covered in cuts.

But she didn't care.

After finishing, I followed her back to the office, with Luka trailing behind us.

"Mia's illness needs surgery, and it's going to cost money," I repeated urgently. "At least 800,000."

That was the bare minimum. The follow-up would be a never-ending money pit.

Lyra scoffed. "Do I look like a fool? Spending that much money on a never-ending drain?"

"Lyra, we agreed to make Mia our godmother!" I couldn't understand how she could treat Mia like this. It was her idea to acknowledge our lifesaver as our godmother in the first place.

My outburst must have triggered something because I suddenly felt a throbbing pain in my head.

I didn't know when it started, but I hadn't felt like a normal person for a while now.

Lyra's deep eyes were fixed on me, her expression a complex mix of emotions that I couldn't quite grasp.

What was it? Was it pity? Or had she been moved?

It didn't matter. Nothing mattered to me anymore. The only thing that mattered was that Mia needed money to survive. But it seemed like Lyra just wanted to push me deeper into the abyss.

"Isaac, she's your godmother. She's done something for you, not me. I'm already supporting you, and you expect me to throw money at your bottomless pit? There's no logic in that."

I wasn't the one who started it.

Back then, she had been the one who insisted on sharing this responsibility with me. She was so happy at the time. She said that since I never had a mother, it was a regret in my life. But she didn't want the person she loved to have any regrets, so she chose to recognize Mia as our godmother. She said we'd treat her like a real mother from then on.

At first, I thought about bringing Mia out of the nursing home.

But Lyra and I had just gotten married then, and we hadn't even enjoyed our time as a couple yet. Plus, I had the company to take care of, so the nursing home seemed like the better option for Mia.

Later on, Lyra started keeping a boy toy on the side, so it wasn't appropriate to bring Mia to live with us.

We argued about it, but Lyra still refused to give me any money in the end.

Leaving without the money, I felt awful, like something was eating me up inside.

After getting the hospital's address, I went straight there.

To be honest, I hate the smell of hospitals. Every time I smell it, I feel like I'm dying.

My head was still throbbing as I gritted my teeth and found the ward.

Mia was lying in the ICU, hooked up to all kinds of machines. At her age, she shouldn't have to suffer like this.

It reminded me of my dad.

The director gently patted my shoulder, her voice choked up. "Isaac, you don't look so good."

I forced a smile. "I'm fine. I just rushed over. How's Mia doing?"

The director sighed. "The doctor says without a matching kidney, it's likely…"

She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say more, but no words came out.

I guessed it was a money issue, so I quickly reassured her. "Don't worry about the money. I'll handle it. Just focus on finding the kidney."

No matter what, I wasn't going to stand by and watch Mia suffer like this. If I couldn't get the money from Lyra, I'd find a way to get it somewhere else. There was no way I'd let Mia miss her chance at treatment just because we couldn't pay.

But the director looked at me with tears in her eyes, holding my hand tightly. "Isaac, I'm not asking about the money. I want you to be honest with me—what's wrong with you? I've cared for so many patients, and I can tell when someone is sick. You're showing all the signs."

I was stunned.

I caught my reflection in the glass door, and for the first time, I realized just how pale I looked.

I looked like… a corpse in a morgue, lifeless, maybe even a little terrifying. No wonder people had been giving me strange looks all day.

I let out a bitter laugh. At this rate, I'd be perfect for playing an NPC in a haunted house.

But when I looked down and saw the concern and pain in the director's eyes, all my sarcasm disappeared. I couldn't hide it from her, so I found a quiet place and told her everything. "It's a malignant brain tumor. I've only got a few months left."

Speaking those words aloud, to someone who genuinely cared about me, made my heart ache.

She treated me like family, and now I couldn't even take care of her in her old age. Instead, I was making her feel helpless.

The director stood there in shock, staring at me for what felt like ten long seconds before bursting into tears.

I could only helplessly wipe her tears away, just like she used to do for me when I was a kid. While wiping her tears, I tried to comfort her, saying, "It's okay, don't worry."

Matching a kidney is a stressful process, and it's impossible to predict how long it'll take. After learning about my condition, the director insisted that I shouldn't stay in the hospital and that I should go home and take care of myself.

When I got home and lay in bed, every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was Mia lying in that ICU bed.

I barely made it to the point where I felt sleepy, but even then, I didn't sleep well. In my dream, Mia found a matching kidney, and everything was ready, except for the money. She didn't make it.

The pain I felt in the dream was unbearable. I couldn't tell if it was my head or my heart that hurt. Aren't we not supposed to feel pain in dreams?

After waking up, I was terrified of going through that dream again, so I just stayed awake until the sun came up.

I can't let what happened in that dream happen in real life.