---- Chapter 4 The meeting with Mr. Carter was scheduled at a quiet vineyard on the outskirts of town, a place far from everything | stood by the side of the road, deserted and with no chance of hailing a cab. But | knew how much effort and networking had gone into securing this deal. | couldn't let it fall apart because of me. 'Suppressing the metallic taste of blood rising in my throat, | dragged my aching body step by step toward the vineyard. But as soon as | reached the reception area, everything went white, and | blacked out. When | opened my eyes, the first thing | saw was a hospital ceiling, Mr. Carter and his assistant were standing nearby. He looked awkward and out of place. "Vivian, | tried calling Ethan, but he didr't pick up..." | forced a weak smile. "Thank you, Mr. Carter, for bringing me here." He wasn't even family, just a business associate. Yet he'd cleared his schedule to personally make sure | got to a hospital ---- Meanwhile, my husband was probably too busy entertaining someone else to. even notice | was gone. Mr. Carter must have guessed at the situation. He spoke cautiously. "if you ever find yourself in need of anything, my door's always open" | wasn't much of a wife, but I'd always been a damn good secretary. That much, people in the industry recognized. I'd had offers before, but I'd turned them all down. Somehow, Ethan got wind of those offers and came home drunk one night. He pinned me to the couch, his eyes bloodshot, his grip around my neck unrelenting "Vivian, you dare mess around with other men? Are you that desperate?" "You'll never leave me. Never." Snapping out of the memory, | looked at Mr. Carter and said quietly, "'l think about it." A loud crash broke the silence of my hospital room The door flew open, and Ethan stormed in, his face a mask of rage. He marched up to my bed, holding a gift box, which he hurled at my stomach. The pain was immediate and blinding, ---- I curled up, clutching my abdomen as sweat drenched my forehead. | bit down hard on my lip to keep from crying out "Vivian, where do you get the nerve to pull Carter into your act?" Before he could go further, someone else stepped in and stopped him. That's when Ethan finally noticed there were others in the room. He froze, his face going pale. "Mr. Carter, | didn't realize. The commotion brought the doctor in. "What's going on here?" The doctor looked at me, curled up on the bed, then at Ethan's furious expression, and seemed to piece things together. Turning to Ethan, the doctor handed him a thick stack of medical reports. "What do you think you're doing? She's your wife, and you're assaulting her?" "Read these. She has stomach cancer. She just had half her stomach removed. If she'd gotten here any later, she wouldn't have made it." Ethan's face went slack, and his knees buckled. He collapsed to the floor, shaking, and began picking up the scattered reports cone by one, his hands trembling, Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!