---- Chapter 1 When Alice Scott came back, I stared at the birthday cake and swallowed a Sunitinib pill. The pill, a necessary evil since the surgery to remove the cancer from my stomach, had become part of my routine. It was my birthday, and I had bought the cake in advance, waiting for Alice to return home. I wanted to tell her that I had surgery while she was away on her business trip. However, as the clock ticked to seven, with no call or text from Alice, the festive spirit had long evaporated. It was not until I left a snarky comment on Yoel Harris's boastful post about his new property that my phone finally buzzed. Alice's voice crackled through, not with concern or birthday wishes, but a torrent of ---- accusations. I tried to interject, to tell her about the surgery, but the line went dead, and with it, my last bit of composure. The wound on my abdomen, barely healed, throbbed with fresh pain. When Alice finally noticed the medicine and the cake, her eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Is it your birthday?" I tucked the pill bottle away and tossed the cake into the trash."No, it's for a friend," I lied, my voice steady. She seemed relieved. "Your birthday's on the twenty- eighth, and it's only the 8th today." Five years of marriage, and she never once got the date right. Even so, she remembered Yoel's with crystal clarity. She sat beside me and handed me a small toy car, with a grease stain on it. "Tt's from Yoel," she said. "He was really thrown off ---- by your sarcastic remarks today. Now it's your turn to apologize." The toy car had a logo on it. It was probably a promotional item from a car purchase, and there was even a visible oil stain on it. "T don't want it," I said emotionlessly. She did not understand, her frown deepening. "Why must you act so high and mighty? He's trying to be nice. Just say you're sorry." When I would not listen, Alice tried to pull me up to call Yoel. She yanked me up so forcefully that my injured right leg hit the icy, glass coffee table. The injury had happened a week ago when Alice accidentally spilled scalding soup on me as she walked through the kitchen, replying to Yoel's message without looking where she was going. The scalding liquid burned through my skin, leaving a layer of damage on my right foot. Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!