The God Of Death

“We’re sorry, Mr. Darius. Your mother just passed away.”

The doctor’s words hung in the air.

Darius stared at him, unable to process what he had just heard. He had been standing outside the emergency room for nearly an hour, pacing the corridor and praying that the medicine would work. He had personally prepared the medication earlier that day, and it was supposed to be the one thing capable of stabilizing his mother’s condition.

“What?” Darius finally whispered. His face went pale. “What did you say?”

The doctor lowered his gaze. “I’m sorry. We did everything we could, but her condition deteriorated too quickly.”

“No.” Darius shook his head, refusing to accept it. “That’s impossible. I brought the medicine earlier today. It was supposed to save her. I made sure she received it. So how could she just…”

His voice broke as he looked through the glass window of the emergency room. His mother lay motionless beneath the white sheets, surrounded by machines that had suddenly become useless.

The doctor hesitated.

Darius noticed immediately. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”

The doctor sighed. “Mr. Darius, your wife came here earlier.”

“My wife?”

“Yes. Cassie came to the hospital.”

Darius’s expression changed. “Why?”

“She said she needed the medicine you brought. She insisted that it was urgently needed for someone else.”

Darius stared at him.

“What do you mean, someone else?”

The doctor looked uncomfortable. “She told us the medication was more important for another patient. She took it with her.”

For several seconds, Darius said nothing.

Cassie.

His wife had come to the hospital and taken the only medicine that could have saved his mother.

His hands slowly curled into fists.

“Who was the person?” he asked.

The doctor shook his head. “I don’t know. Your wife didn’t give us many details. She only said the other person’s condition was more urgent.”

Darius laughed bitterly, though there was no humor in it.

More important?

He had spent days searching for a way to save his mother. The medicine had taken him countless hours to prepare, and he had personally rushed it to the hospital because every minute mattered. Yet Cassie had simply walked in, taken it away, and decided that someone else deserved it more.

Who could possibly be more important than his mother?

He didn’t wait for an answer.

Without another word, Darius turned and walked away, his grief quickly being replaced by a burning anger. His mother was dead, and before he could even mourn her properly, he needed an explanation from the woman he had trusted more than anyone.

Cassie had a lot to explain.

By the time Darius reached home, the sun had begun to sink, but he barely noticed. His mind was still trapped in the hospital corridor, replaying the doctor’s words over and over again.

Then he heard laughter.

Darius stopped at the entrance.

The sound was coming from upstairs.

It was a woman’s voice.

His wife’s voice.

“Oh, stop it, Aaron. We’ve already gone three rounds. Aren’t you tired?”

Darius’s expression instantly hardened.

Aaron.

He knew that name.

Aaron was Cassie’s ex-boyfriend.

For a moment, Darius stood completely still, as though his mind was struggling to connect what he had just heard with what had happened at the hospital.

Then he slowly walked upstairs.

The laughter continued.

When he reached their bedroom, he found the door slightly open. He pushed it just enough to see inside.

His entire body went rigid.

Cassie was sitting on another man’s lap. Her gown was slightly disheveled, while the man’s shirt was partly unbuttoned. The two of them were laughing as though they had no reason to believe anyone would interrupt them.

It was Aaron.

The same man Cassie had once sworn she was completely finished with.

Aaron pulled Cassie closer. “Come on. One more round won’t hurt.”

Cassie laughed softly and pushed against his chest. “No. Darius will be home soon. We can continue at the hotel.”

Aaron scoffed.

“That loser? What is he even going to do if he catches us?”

Something inside Darius snapped.

His hand tightened around the doorknob before he shoved the door open with enough force to make it slam against the wall.

Both of them turned.

Cassie’s face drained of color.

“Darius?”

She immediately scrambled to her feet and hurriedly adjusted her gown.

Darius stood in the doorway, staring at her with an expression colder than either of them had ever seen.

“What exactly am I looking at, Cassie?”

“Darius, wait. This isn’t what you think.”

He raised a hand, silencing her.

He had just watched his mother die.

He had just learned that his own wife had taken the medicine meant to save her.

And now he had walked in on Cassie with her ex-boyfriend.

He didn’t have the strength for excuses.

His eyes remained fixed on her.

“I have one question,” Darius said quietly.

Cassie swallowed. “What?”

Darius took a step into the room.

“Why did you take the medicine meant for my mother?”

Cassie’s expression changed.

Darius’s gaze sharpened.

“And who did you give it to?”