Chapter 219:
Kristian remained motionless in his seat, offering her no solace. They were engulfed in a heavy silence for a lingering ten minutes, her sobs muffled by her hands.
Throughout this time, her mind raced to forge a plausible excuse. Finally, gathering her resolve, she dried her tears, her eyes swollen and reddened, and mustered a pained smile.
“Since the truth has come to light, there’s no sense in concealing it any longer. Yes, I lied to you. I was never a patient at that hospital.”
Kristian’s expression tightened, a subtle crease forming between his brows.
“There’s more I haven’t told you,” Ashley went on, her voice trembling despite her efforts to smile through the tears.
“My stomach cancer… it was never cured.”
A shadow seemed to pass over Kristian’s features as he weighed her confession.
Ashley’s voice broke slightly.
“I underwent surgery at a different facility, and the doctors said I have only a year left. If you doubt my words, I’m willing to prove it to you by showing the scars.”
With a resolve born of desperation, she began to peel off her jacket and reached for the buttons of her blouse, betting on Kristian’s probable intervention.
And true to her expectations, just as she loosened the first button, his voice cut through the air, firm yet restrained.
“Stop, that won’t be necessary.”
Her voice trembled slightly, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as she spoke.
“If you think I’m lying, you can check the hospital records.”
Read exclusive stories at gαℓησν𝑒ℓs․cøm
She paused, her gaze locked on his.
“It’s the private hospital next door—the one I mentioned before. You’ll find the inpatient record.”
Kristian’s brow furrowed as he listened. For the first time, he found himself trapped in a haze of doubt, unable to…
Kristian struggled to discern the truth in her words. After a moment of tense silence, he replied, his voice low and uncertain,
“I’ll look into it.”
“Okay.” Ashley nodded, her demeanor surprisingly composed.
That particular hospital was a puppet, owned by the very company that could manipulate its records at will. Kristian’s investigation would likely yield only the truths they permitted him to discover.
Observing her unruffled calm, Kristian’s confusion deepened.
“If that’s the case, why lie about being cured?”
“Because I love you,” Ashley admitted, her voice breaking with the intensity of her emotions.
“I want to be with you.”
She hesitated, then added with a haunting earnestness,
“I only have a few months left, and I want to marry you, so that I can leave this world without regrets.”
Kristian’s heart clenched at her words, his voice heavy with a mix of emotions he couldn’t quite name.
“I know you don’t believe me now, but I’ll wait,” she whispered, handing him his phone back.
.
.
.