Masuk"You never loved me, Gerald. You only loved the version of me that suffered for you." For years, Lara devoted everything to her marriage, but when she finally discovers she's pregnant— the miracle she had prayed for after years of heartbreak— she also receives devastating news: she has lung cancer and only six months left to live. Before she can tell Gerald the truth, his first love, Ria, returns from abroad and walks right back into their lives, turning Gerald against her and worse, hurting her till she lost her baby. Lara expects her husband to stand by her. Instead, Gerald accuses her of hurting Ria and refuses to believe she was ever pregnant or dying. Betrayed by the man she loved most, Lara signs the divorce papers and disappears from his life with the help of her best friend, Bryan, who was also in love with her. He stays beside her through painful treatments, shattered dreams, and countless nights when she thought she won't survive. But three years later, Lara returns. She's alive, stronger and no longer the woman Gerald once left behind. Now a successful businesswoman with wealth and influence beyond imagination, she catches Gerald's attention for all the wrong reasons. And he refuses to accept that he isn't her husband anymore. Bryan, the man who loved her when she had nothing, stands by her side as her pretend husband. Gerald fights to get back his wife who he almost lost due to his carelessness. As Ria schemes to destroy her once again, Lara must choose between the past that nearly killed her and the man who helped her live. This time, she won't be the one begging for
Lihat lebih banyakLara's POV
“Is it really incurable?” I asked, my heart in my throat as I squeezed the hem of my gown gently and the doctor nodded.
“In my whole experience as a doctor, Mrs. Stone, lung cancer has never been cured successfully. It has spread too far to be treated. Other hospitals may have developed a cure but not ours.” He responded and I let out a shaky sigh, my heart shattering into pieces.
I remembered brushing my hair days ago and was shocked at the amount of hair I lost. So it was cancer.
“How long do I have, doctor?” I asked shakily, rubbing my pale hands over each other. “How long till this… cancer takes my life?”
“Give or take, Mrs Stone, you have less than six months to live.” He responded and my heart sank into my stomach.
“But… I'm with a child. It hasn't even been four weeks. How will I give birth to her if I won't even make it to nine months?” I questioned, my eyes watering with tears and he let out a defeated sigh.
He placed his hands together on the table as he stared at me with an expression that told me whatever he was about to say wouldn't be good.
“I'd advise you to get rid of the baby, Mrs Stone—”
“No.” I interrupted him, wiping my tears. “There's no way I'll kill my innocent child just because you think I don't have time.”
“If you die, the child dies too. What's the difference if you just get rid of it now? Use the rest of your life to do what you want to do. Live it to the fullest.” He advised, taking off his glasses, and I knew he was right.
But… how could I just let go of a child I've been expecting for months? I had come to the hospital today for a test when I had been showing odd symptoms of pregnancy. But not only did I get a pregnancy result, but I also found out that I had an incurable disease inside me, and it was killing me slowly.
“And what if there's a chance that I can survive?” I asked shakily and he sighed, shaking his head.
“The only chance that you can survive this is 0.1 percent. That's too low—”
“I don't care. If there's a chance at all, even if it's a little one, I'll take it. I'm not getting rid of this child.” Not when I finally found a way to make Gerald notice me again.
Our marriage had been strained when I didn't get pregnant after three years of being together. This would be the bridge to fixing us once again. And I couldn't let it go.
“It's also risky, Mrs Stone—”
“I accept the risks. My child isn't leaving just because I am.” I said defiantly and he let out a sigh of defeat as he nodded in understanding.
“Alright. I'll give you some prescriptions to take. Do not stress yourself during this period no matter what.”
I left the hospital with my heart in my throat as I got into the car. The driver drove home silently and all I could do was think about how I would tell Gerald about my ailment.
I didn't want to lie to him, but telling him the truth that I was dying in six months would only make him paranoid about losing the child. Why couldn't I be happy for once in my life?
I let out a sigh as the car came to a stop and I clutched my purse that had my test results in it. I had to find a way to tell him somehow. But good news comes first.
I made my way inside, my heart beating fast as I made my way to our room when suddenly Gerald burst out of the room, looking like he had gotten dressed in less than ten seconds.
He was hurriedly putting on his shirt and buckling his pants, and I wondered if something had happened that he was rushing so fast.
“Gerald? Is something wrong?” I asked and he finally noticed my presence, turning to me with raised brows.
“Where were you all day? I was worried you disappeared. And why do you look so pale?” He asked, and my heart fluttered in my chest at the thought of him getting worried about me.
“Actually… I went to the hospital.” I started as he finally dressed up and he glanced at me, his brows knitted in confusion.
“Are you sick? Why didn't you call the family doctor?”
“Well—”
His phone rang so loudly that I flinched, interrupting my words, and he immediately took the call, placing his phone to his ear.
“I'll be there in ten minutes, I promise. Something… is holding me back.” He said and then ended the call.
I frowned, looking at him for some kind of explanation and he let out a sigh, shoving his phone into his pocket.
“I'll be out for a while.” He said plainly, and I swallowed, trying not to pry, but I couldn't help myself.
“Where to?” I asked before I could stop myself. “I mean… Is it because of the person who called? Is it some kind of important event? Or business issues?”
“Yeah.” He muttered, like he was trying to think of something. “Business issues. I'll be back before you know it.”
I knew he was lying but I couldn't prove it. He looked like he couldn't wait to leave and I clutched my purse harder.
“I have something important to tell you, Gerald. It's very important.” I said, trying to see if he would at least want to know what was up with me or why I went to the hospital.
“Can it wait till I'm back?” He asked as he stared at his phone. “I don't have the time right now. When I'm back.” He added and started to rush away, making his way downstairs and out of the house.
All I could do was stare at his retreating figure until the car drove out of the house. When would he ever treat me as someone important to him?
I let out a sigh, making my way to the room as I prayed he would return early so we could come up with a situation. I didn't want to die so I wanted to be sure there was a way I could survive more than the six-month deadline that the doctor had given me.
Minutes turned to hours, and I spent most of my time researching Lungs cancer. It was deadly… and incurable. But after seeing a few success stories about patients who survived, I couldn't help but feel the flower of hope that blossomed in my heart at knowing that I could survive too.
I would survive. And so would my baby.
I glanced at the clock, seeing that it was already past eleven, close to midnight and Gerald still wasn't back. I was worried that something might have happened to him because the way he left earlier was of urgent need.
I tried calling him but I kept getting directed to voicemail every single time. I had no idea when I fell asleep on the couch, but when I woke up, he still wasn't back, and it was past two in the morning.
Strands of my hair were on the couch where my head laid seconds ago and I sighed in despair.
After realizing that he wasn't coming home tonight, I made my way to our room while scrolling the internet for anything interesting.
Then I saw it.
The headline was written so boldly that it made my eyes hurt for a minute.
“Famous Billionaire Was Last Seen With Who Appears To Be His First Love That Escaped Death By An Inch.”
My heart nearly stopped as I scrolled down and the first image I saw had the phone slipping out of my hands, straight to the
RIA“P-please,” I whimpered, clutching his trousers tightly as tears streamed from my eyes onto the floor.I locked my jaw, hatred burning inside me from the humiliation Lara had put me through. My fingers tightened around the fabric.Gerald didn't answer for several moments, and the silence only made me tremble even more.Suddenly, he tugged his leg free. My fingers slipped, and I looked up to see him staring down at me before slowly squatting in front of me.He cupped my jaw and lifted my face, examining me silently. His eyes searched my features for a long moment before he closed them with a weary sigh.“Have you come to your senses now?”“Y-Yes, I have. It will never happen again. I promise you.” I quickly knelt properly, placing both hands on my lap.Gerald nodded before standing up and dusting off his sleeve.“You can take her back for treatment. I'll return later.”“Okay, ma'am. Please stand up.” One of the nurses spoke, the shock on her face impossible to hide.She gently help
RIA'S POV“Currently, there has been no statement concerning what happened, which leaves many people believing that the article about Mrs. Roberts might be true,” the business reporter said on the hospital television.I watched everything from my hospital bed, my heart thumping with joy.“This is what you get for not knowing your place, Lara.”I clenched my jaw tightly before changing the channel. I rested my head against the hospital pillow, breathing softly to ease the tension building inside my heart.My eyes fell on my bandaged wrist, and I slowly lifted it.I didn't know how the world would receive this because of Lara's good image, but it looked like her reputation wasn't as strong as I had thought. There were many others waiting for an opportunity to destroy her, and I had just given them that opportunity.My mind went back to when I entered my room and stood before the mirror. I stared at my reflection, remembering every moment I had spent fighting to keep Gerald.I couldn't l
LARA“What am I seeing?” I stared at my laptop for the hundredth time, but it didn't erase what was staring back at me.Me? A homewrecker? How?I shot to my feet and rushed out of my room, but at that same moment, the front door opened, and Bryan walked in, his suit jacket folded over his arm.“What's wrong? Where are you going in such a hurry?” he asked with a frown.I stopped in front of him, breathing heavily.“I saw this article online, a-and earlier today Ria came to the company screaming. I'm sure she's the one behind this. Do you know what this is going to cost me? I'm going to lose everything that I've worked for—”“Hey, hey. It's alright. Stop panicking. You and I both know it's false. I'll handle everything. Just stay here and answer the investors and any other calls,” he said.I sniffled, wiping my tears before nodding. He patted my shoulder before slipping a hand into his pocket to take out his phone.“Wait... you just got back from somewhere,” I realized.He smiled at me
GERALDI returned to the company with sweaty palms, knowing I was very late for the meeting."God, I should have sent her home in a taxi," I muttered to myself, drawing the attention of my colleagues. Ignoring their stares, I took out my phone, but there were still no messages from Lara. As soon as the elevator doors opened, I stepped out in a hurry and headed for the boardroom.She had told me how important this meeting was. Hell, I was the one who arranged everything and knew just how important it was.I reached the door and held the knob, but my hand froze as my heart began to thump loudly in my ears. I gripped the cold handle tightly, closed my eyes, and finally opened the door, a cold breeze brushing against my face."—That was a wonderful deal, Mrs. Roberts, and we are glad to have formed a partnership with you."I heard the hearty laughter of a man and glanced around the room. About four men sat around the table while Lara stood beside a hologram displaying the new business mod
LARA“I didn't do anything, Gerald!” I pleaded, tears burning in my eyes. His eyes burned with hatred as he carried Ria up, her hands hanging limply. “She tried to hurt herself, and I stopped her.”“Stop lying!” he thundered, and I flinched. “Ria has no reason to hurt herself. You're so selfish and
Lara's POV “Your lies weren't enough and now you're trying to blame poor Ria? She doesn't even know what we're talking about. Must you be so shameless?” Gerald asked in annoyance and I gasped, shaking my head in disagreement.There was no way the results would just disappear into thin air. Somethi
Lara's POV I never got the chance to tell Gerald that I was pregnant. Or that I was dying in six months. I didn't want to believe that he would actually bring Ria to the house, so I didn't clean the room as he told me to.The doctor specifically told me not to stress myself and I wouldn't do that
Lara's POV My vision blurred as tears welled up in my eyes, but I quickly wiped them off, picking up my phone again. The picture was still there, proving that I wasn't going insane.In Gerald's arms was the one lady I recognized too well without needing to look too much. She was my sister. My youn












Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.