Chapter 1 Cancer Diagnosis

"Ms. Hudson, the re-exam results are back. It's confirmed-stage two gastric cancer. Are you sure you don't want to tell your family?"

"I appreciate the concern, but that will not be needed."

Heat pressed against Roselyn Hudson the moment she stepped beyond the hospital doors.

Carefully, she tucked the re-exam report into her bag, though all color had drained from her face.

Three years into her marriage with Adrian Riley, everything had already fallen apart. He had betrayed her, and now this illness had come for her as well.

Life had cornered her completely.

Fear of dying had always lingered in Roselyn's heart. Yet after enduring the pain caused by a man who never stayed true, her thoughts settled with a strange clarity.

Since keeping him had proven impossible, letting him go seemed like the only choice left.

After spending a few days setting her plan in motion, Roselyn finally headed to the office.

She returned to her desk, gathered a pile of papers, and made her way up to the office on the seventeenth floor.

Outside the office, she knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Without hesitation, Roselyn turned the handle and stepped inside.

"What do you need?"

Adrian lifted his head, and his dark eyes landed on her with a gaze that gave nothing away.

Sharp lines defined his features, and his presence carried quiet authority. Time spent in the business world had worn away the last traces of his youth, leaving behind a man who was controlled and commanding.

Keeping her voice steady, Roselyn passed him the documents. "These are from the medical checkup last week. The hospital sent them over, and they're asking for your signature."

She set the papers before him, then clicked a pen open and offered it in her hand.

With clear annoyance, Adrian pressed his fingers to his forehead. He did not even bother to read the documents before signing them.

"Don't bring me useless things like this again."

"Understood," Roselyn answered, keeping her voice compliant as she gathered the papers in her hands.

While she made her way toward the door, something beneath the wide desk caught her eye. A strip of white fabric peeked out just enough to be seen.

That skirt was familiar. It belonged to her half-sister, Emma Hudson.

Without lifting her head, Roselyn masked the sharp edge in her gaze and stepped out as though nothing had happened.

Seconds later, the faint sound of a lock engaging drifted out.

Couldn't even wait, could they?

Something heavy settled deep in her chest. It felt like she had been pulled under dark water, with no space left to breathe.

Lowering her eyes, Roselyn slid the final two pages out from the stack she carried.

Had Adrian spared even a brief glance, he would have realized those papers held more than just her diagnosis of mid-stage stomach cancer. The last sheet contained something else entirely.

It was their divorce agreement.

Roselyn had known Adrian since she was only five years old. That same year, her father's affair came to light, and her mother chose to end the marriage.

Both of her brothers remained with their father, while she followed her mother.

Soon after, her father remarried that woman, who moved in along with her daughter, Emma.

Life took Roselyn elsewhere with her mother, and that was when she met Adrian, the boy next door.

They grew up together. He'd once fought for her and ended up with three broken ribs.

A simple fever used to make him sick with worry over her.

And his Facebook had been filled with her pictures.

He had been the one who swore he would stay by her side forever. Now, he had become the one who broke that promise first.