Goodbye, My Love

In the dark of the night, Loraine Bryant walked nervously to a room, straightening her silk nightgown with sweaty palms.

This was the first time she'd worn such a revealing nightgown, and she wasn't wearing any underwear, either.

There was a cool breeze, and the sensation of it brushing past her skin made her tremble.

Loraine spurred herself on.

There was nothing to be afraid of, she reminded herself.

The man in the room was her husband, Marco Bryant, and they had been married for three years. A nightgown like this was made for times like this.

Patting her face and taking deep, calming breaths, Loraine knocked on the door.

A man appeared, tall and strong-looking. His eyes were unfriendly and his lips were slightly pursed. He was as handsome as a god from an ancient Greek oil painting.

"It's late. What's up?"

His voice was ice cold. It was like looking at a stranger.

Loraine almost lost all the courage she had worked so hard to gather.

"Marco, do you remember what day it is?"

Marco frowned. "Get to the point."

The expectation in Loraine's eyes became disappointment. Forcing a smile, she said, "It's our third wedding anniversary. You've seemed so busy lately. But it doesn't matter; I prepared a surprise for you!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than a woman suddenly stepped out from behind Marco. She stood comfortably by his side and greeted Loraine with a smile.

"Loraine, I've heard so much about you from Marco. We haven't been introduced, have we?"

The woman was beautiful. Her voice was gentle, and her eyes were lively. It made people want to protect her.

But the sight of the woman shocked Loraine. She froze, feeling the warmth drain from her hands and feet.

"Keely? Why are you here?"

Though they had never met, Keely Haywood's existence had always overshadowed Loraine's marriage like a dark cloud.

The house was full of traces of Keely. All the members of the Bryant family had reminded Loraine that Keely was Marco's woman of choice and that Loraine was just the titular Mrs. Bryant.

Noticing Loraine's sexy nightgown, Keely lowered her eyes with embarrassment.

"Marco, am I disturbing you?"

Loraine unleashed her hostility. "Yes, obviously."

The color drained from Keely's face. "I'm sorry. Please don't be angry. I'll leave right away."

As Keely spoke, she moved as though she were about to leave.

Frowning, Marco looked at Loraine and said, "Keely is our guest, Loraine. Watch your attitude."

Standing alone at the door, Loraine felt humiliated, as though she was stripped naked.

Legally, she was his wife, but she hadn't received any respect from Marco or the Bryant family for the past three years.

Marco was always busy with work and seldom came home, and even when he did come home, he never slept in the same room as Loraine.

Now Loraine was being told not to be angry about seeing another woman in Marco's room. What the hell was going on?

All of her efforts, patience and expectations over the past three years had become nothing but a joke.

Loraine looked into Marco's eyes. "What about me?" she asked, her voice heavy with disappointment.

"Don't complicate things," Marco replied impatiently. "Keely is recovering and needs rest. Which do you want, money or a gift? I'll make it up to you."

Loraine watched as Keely's eyes shone smugly. Before she knew it, she lost her temper.

"Marco, how do you not understand that it's never your money I want?"

Loraine then spun around and left, dejected.

Marco watched her leave, pinching the bridge of his nose between his eyebrows.

"What is wrong with her today?"

Keely blinked and said gently, "She should be angry with me. I'll go apologize to her."

Loraine walked back into her room, changed out of her nightgown, and lay on the bed.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Loraine's eyes lit up.

Did Marco come to see her?

Loraine jumped out of bed and opened the door. Keely's face was all she saw. The light in Loraine's eyes dimmed.

"What are you doing here?"

Keely got straight to the point. "You and Marco might have been married for three years, but I'm the only one he loves. Up until recently, I was receiving treatment overseas. I didn't think I had much time left, so I let Marco leave me and marry you. But now I have recovered. I hope you'll respect our love and divorce him."

Loraine's heart ached, but she was too dignified to let Keely see her squirm.

"You, a mistress, are asking a wife to divorce her husband? Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?"

The smile on Keely's face disappeared. "Watch your mouth, Loraine. I'm not a mistress. When it comes to love, the one who isn't loved is the mistress!"

Loraine sneered. "As long as I don't divorce, I'm Marco's wife and you're the mistress."

Loraine's words hit Keely hard, and she glowered ferociously.

"Don't get complacent, Loraine. Let's see what Marco does when something happens to me. Will he let you go?"

Loraine suddenly had a bad feeling about it.

"What do you want, Keely?"

Keely suddenly pounced on Loraine and dragged her towards the stairs.

Caught off guard, Loraine was unable to free herself from Keely's grip.

"Marco! Help! Loraine is trying to kill me!"

Keely threw herself down the stairs wildly, still holding onto Loraine. Failing to break free, Loraine was pulled down the stairs.

Bang!

Loraine rolled down many flights of stairs before finally landing heavily on the floor.

The repeated blows to her head created a deep wound, causing blood to start gushing out.

Sharp pain coursed through her body, making her dizzy and eventually causing her to pass out.

Just as everything began to fade to black, she saw Marco rushing over. He strode straight past her, choosing to pick up Keely and carry her away, leaving Loraine to lie in a pool of her own blood.

In the hospital

"Miss, you can't go in there! The patient is still very weak and needs rest."

"Fuck off! I know Loraine is in there. You can't stop me!"

Loraine heard a commotion and struggled to open her eyes.

Turning her head, she watched as Marina Bryant pushed the nurse away and stomped over to her, glaring ferociously with murderous intent.

"Loraine, you vile woman! Keely's been struggling with recovery. How dare you push her down the stairs! Just you wait and see. Marco won't let you get away with this!"

Loraine, still weak, struggled to sit up. "I didn't push her; she pushed me!"

Marina sniffed. She didn't trust Loraine at all. "No one will believe your nonsense! Keely comes from a rich family. Why would she hurt a lowly country girl like you? You're just jealous because my brother loves her, and you want her dead. Well, that's not going to happen!"

Loraine, unable to defend herself, searched desperately for clues that could prove her innocence.

Just then, Marco entered the room. He seemed upset. Loraine looked up at him hopefully, as though he was her last hope.

"Marco, I didn't hurt Keely. Please believe me!"

Marco looked down at Loraine coldly. When he spoke, his voice was strained.

"Loraine, that's enough. I don't want to hear your excuses. Wrongdoings deserve to be punished. Keely's kidney was seriously damaged by the fall, and yours is the only match."

"Yes!" Marina shouted. "You damaged Keely's kidney, so you should compensate her with one of yours!"

Loraine's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Take her to the operating room!" Marina shouted at Marco's bodyguards.

The bodyguards immediately surrounded Loraine, holding her hands and feet.

"Fuck off! You have no right to do this!" But no matter how much Loraine yelled, they didn't let go of her. Panicking, she turned to her husband. "Marco!"

Loraine hoped that her husband would do something, but Marco just stood there indifferently, as though he approved of Marina's actions.

Loraine was utterly hopeless.

Any love she still had for Marco died.

That was it. Their marriage had been a one-woman show from beginning to end. Clearly, there was no love for Loraine in Marco's heart.

He would believe anything Keely said, while refusing to believe Loraine.

This was the difference between true love and no love.

Loraine wouldn't rely on him anymore.

"Fine! You all want me to give her my kidney? Well, I'd like to see how badly Keely is hurt!"

Loraine's heart pounded with rage. With her sudden burst of energy, she managed to break free from the bodyguards and rush toward the operating room.

She forced her way in.

It was true that Keely was lying on the operating table, but she didn't seem to be dying as Marco had said. Instead, she was awake, and other than looking pale, she appeared fine.

Loraine turned around and sneered at Marco, who followed her. "Is this the serious injury you were talking about?"

Marco looked past Loraine into the operating room and frowned.

"Marco, why is she here? I'm so scared..." Keely whimpered, her eyes brimming with tears.

Marco didn't have time to think too much about it. Reaching out to stop Loraine, he said, "Loraine, enough."

But Loraine didn't want to hear anything Marco had to say. She walked passed him, approached the operating table and slapped Keely hard.

Clap!

The crisp sound echoed through the room.

Keely's face instantly turned red and began to swell. Before Keely could react, Loraine ripped off Keely's surgical uniform.

There was no wound at all, just a few bruises.

Marco glowered.

Loraine had already guessed that even though Keely wanted to fake an injury, she wouldn't actually hurt herself too badly. Keely had also landed on Loraine, meaning it would have been impossible for her to be seriously injured from the fall.

"What the hell is going on?" Marco asked coldly.

He wasn't stupid; he could tell that something was wrong with Keely's injury.

The remaining color drained from Keely's face, and in a panicked voice, she tried to explain. "I... I don't know either. I've been in a coma ever since Loraine pushed me down the stairs. I just woke up. What kidney? The doctor must have made a mistake!"

"Wow, what a convenient mistake! If I hadn't exposed your trick just now, I would have lost a kidney!" Loraine glared at Keely.

"Nonsense!" Keely looked at Marco. "Don't trust her, Marco! It was Loraine who pushed me!"

Marco shot Keely an intense look, scaring her and making her tremble. He then turned to Loraine and said, "I will find out the truth and give you an explanation. You will be compensated with whatever you want."

Looking at the man she once loved deeply, Loraine now felt numb.

Whenever she looked forward to something, Marco would disappoint her. His promise of so-called compensation meant nothing to her.

"No need," Loraine muttered bitterly. "What I want is to divorce you!"

Marco was shocked. He looked at her as though she was a stranger.

It was the first time in three years that he was trying to understand what was on her mind.

But Loraine didn't care anymore. She turned around and left without looking back.

Loraine had barely left the hospital before she became so weak that she struggled to maintain her balance.

She had pushed herself to her limits during the conflict with the bodyguards just now. Her strength was gone.

Taking out her phone, she dialed a number.

Soon, a black Lincoln stopped in front of Loraine. A handsome man in a suit got out of the car.

As soon as Loraine saw him, she couldn't hold on any longer. She collapsed.

The man strode forward and caught Loraine before she hit the ground. He then picked her up in his arms.

"Uncle Rowan..." Loraine murmured. She then passed out in his arms.

In the hospital

The atmosphere in the room was extremely tense.

Everyone was acutely aware of Marco's anger over what had just happened.

Even Keely's attending doctor was trembling in fear.

Throwing the report to the floor, Marco glared at the doctor and asked coldly, "Kidney rupture? She needs a kidney transplant? What the hell is this?"

The doctor's forehead was slick with sweat. Unable to explain himself under Marco's scrutiny, he merely whimpered.

Marco gave the doctor a final warning.

"By making such a stupid mistake, you've shown me that you don't deserve to be a doctor anymore!"

The doctor shook like a leaf. He knew Marco was being serious. With just a few words, he would never be able to find work at a hospital ever again.

Trembling, the doctor finally told the truth.

"Miss Haywood ordered me to do it. I won't make the same mistake again. Please give me one more chance..."

"Get out!" Marco roared.

A bodyguard immediately dragged the doctor out.

Marco turned his head and studied Keely's pale face. His eyes were full of disappointment. "You did this," he muttered coldly.

Keely panicked and, in a quivering voice, said, "Marco, I didn't mean it. It was only because Loraine didn't like it when you were nice to me, so I... I was angry and I wanted to teach her a lesson."

"Enough!" Marco didn't want to hear it. "You wanted to teach her a lesson by making her give up a kidney? Keely, I have been too lenient with you!"

Sensing that her situation was getting worse, Keely began to cry.

"Marco, I was wrong! I was just so scared. After Jorge died, I had no one to rely on, and I was ill. I was afraid you'd leave me alone after you got married. Can you forgive me?"

At the sight of Keely crying, Marco went soft.

"I promised Jorge that I would take care of you, and I would keep my word."

Keely breathed a sigh of relief, and Marco continued, "But Loraine is legally my wife. Don't play tricks on her anymore. I hope this will be the last of it."

Keely was stunned.

"Marco, how can a poor country girl like Loraine possibly deserve to be your wife? Hasn't she embarrassed you enough these past three years? Do you want to spend the rest of your life with her? Besides, she's so greedy, and she even wants to divorce you..."

"I don't want to hear about my marriage from you."

Marco's forbidding expression scared Keely so much that she didn't dare say anything more.

"Now, you just need to rest and think about what you've done."

Marco left the ward with an air of indifference, but he couldn't help secretly feeling annoyed about Loraine's attitude earlier.

Marco hadn't expected Loraine to mention divorce.

He had never considered divorcing Loraine.

He had married her simply because he needed a wife.

A lonely country girl like Loraine, who had no one to rely on, no money and no power, was easily controlled.

During their three-year marriage, Loraine had been an obedient and well-behaved wife, which was exactly what Marco wanted.

He assumed it was acceptable to maintain this sort of marriage.

If Keely was the reason Loraine wanted to divorce, he would explain the situation clearly to Loraine and compensate her later.

Waving over his subordinate, Marco demanded, "Bring me my wife back, and don't let anything happen to her. Also, transfer five million to her account."

The subordinate appeared conflicted.

Marco frowned. "What's wrong?"

The subordinate looked uneasy. "After Mrs. Bryant left the hospital, she was picked up by a man in a luxury car."

"What did you say?"

Marco clenched his fists.

He suddenly had a feeling that things were about to get out of his control.

In a low voice, Marco said, "Find her and the man. Then bring her back!"

Once again, Loraine opened her eyes.

This time, she wasn't in a ward, alone. She was in a warm and luxurious bedroom.

"Finally, after being away from home for three years, you're back. Why would you do this for a man? Are you even still a Torres?"

Recognizing the voice, Loraine turned her head.

A tall, strong-looking man was sitting beside the bed. His face was handsome, and he radiated authority.

At the sight of family, Loraine burst into tears.

"Uncle Rowan, I was wrong. I never should have left home. I shouldn't have hurt you for an unworthy man. I'm so sorry."

Rowan Torres, an official in the army, softened when he saw his favorite niece crying. He held her patiently as she sobbed.

"It's okay. It's good to have you back!" Rowan said gently. "Lorrie, your parents died in an accident, and you were lost in the countryside. We tried so hard to find you. You are the treasure of the Torres family. We won't let anyone hurt you!"

Just then, a greying man entered the bedroom. It was Aldo Torres, the owner of Universe Group in Vagow. His presence had the power to frighten an entire city.

"Don't cry! "Lorrie, you are the heir of Universe Group. Hundreds of millions of properties will be yours in the future. Whoever hurts you, let him pay!"