Chapter 4

Late at night, the hospital room was as silent as a cemetery. Only the sound of my heavy, uneven breathing echoed through the darkness.

By now, the hemolytic reaction had reached the final stage, leaving me in a terminal condition. My kidneys had completely shut down. My lungs were filling with fluid. Every breath felt like swallowing shards of broken glass.

Suddenly, fireworks started to burst outside the window, the sounds somehow getting through the soundproof glass as they exploded in the sky.

I checked my phone and saw Letizia's livestream.

Marcello had rented out the entire amusement park nearby. Letizia stood under the dazzling fireworks with a diamond tiara on her head, smiling like a princess.

Standing beside her, Marcello looked at her with a gentle, tender gaze.

"Happy birthday, Letizia. I'll give you anything you want for your birthday," he said in a voice filled with affection while holding a glass of champagne.

Even as I stared at this scene, I didn't even have the strength to sneer. The phone slipped from my hand and hit the floor with a loud clatter.

Just then, the door opened. The nurse making her rounds took one look at me and let out a scream.

"Doctor! Emergency! The patient in Bed 3 has gone into shock!"

There was a huge commotion out in the corridor. Moments later, the crash cart was wheeled into the room, and the harsh lights of the hospital shone brightly on my face.

"Her heart rate is dropping! We can't get a blood pressure reading!"

"Push epinephrine!"

The medical team's frantic shouts buzzed in my ears, but it sounded like they were speaking underwater.

"Where's the next of kin? Contact her family immediately and have them sign the critical condition notice!"

The nurse fumbled with the phone as she called Marcello.

On the livestream, Marcello's phone started buzzing in his pocket. Frowning, he pulled it out and took a look. The number belonged to the hospital.

Letizia leaned over to take a look before pursing her lips. "Stella must be faking it again, Cello. She's just upset that you're hanging out with me instead of staying with her."

Scoffing, Marcello rejected the call without any further hesitation.

When the nurse tried calling him again, all she heard was a robotic automated message. "The number you have dialed cannot be reached at this moment…"

"I can't get the next of kin! He blacklisted the hospital's number!" the nurse cried out, so panicked that she was almost in tears.

Gritting his teeth, the doctor continued performing chest compressions on me.

"Keep going! Don't stop the resuscitation efforts!"

I watched as they made the futile effort to save me. Using the last shred of strength I had left, I turned my head toward the window.

The last firework bloomed across the night sky, which finally faded back into complete darkness.

It was just like the preposterous marriage I'd been trapped in for eight years now.

On the cardiac monitor, the waveform that had been rising and falling suddenly flattened into a single straight line. The sharp beep was the only thing that could be heard in the room.

Suddenly, I had a weightless feeling.

The medical staff stopped in defeat and finally draped a white sheet over my body.

"The patient no longer has any vital signs. Time of death—1:43 am."