Chapter 1

When my boyfriend got into a horrific car accident, I abandoned him and ran away.

Years later, he spent a fortune and went through hellish schemes just to force me to marry him.

To our friends, we were a match made in heaven. He always told me I was the love of his life, his eternal light.

But later, while I was asleep in our bed, he would bring another woman into our house and make love to her in the next room.

I became the biggest laughingstock in our social circle. Yet, I stayed by his side, acting as if nothing had happened.

My sheer indifference eventually drove him insane.

"Did you ever love me, Jasmine? Even for a second?"

What he didn't know was that I was dying.

Under his endless emotional torture, my life had officially entered its final countdown.

"A blooming jasmine, pure and untainted."

That was how Ethan used to describe me. But now, he used those exact words for someone else.

Chloe Miller. She was the new intern at his company. She was pretty, innocent-looking, and most importantly, she looked exactly like me.

At the office, they were boss and employee. Outside the office, they were tangled up in bed.

They had been together for a year. But Ethan had been my husband for two.

My friends kept warning me about Chloe. They told me to watch my back before this little homewrecker kicked me out of my own marriage.

The first time I saw Chloe was in my own bedroom.

That afternoon, I had just been diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension at the hospital. The doctor told me I only had two years left to live.

I went to bed early that night, only to wake up to my husband bringing her into our suite.

The sound of their heavy breathing and the rhythm of their bodies made me feel physically sick.

When Ethan went to the bathroom to wash up, Chloe, convinced I was awake, leaned down to my ear with a smug, triumphant smile.

"So, you're Ethan's wife? You're literally just skin and bones. Are you dying or something? Touching you must feel like touching a skeleton."

"Everyone says I look like you. But honestly? I think you're inferior to me in every single way. You're not as pretty, and you're definitely not as young."

She was right. I was incredibly thin. I used to be a healthy 110 pounds at 5'6".

Now, I was barely 88 pounds. My ribs stuck out prominently, looking almost skeletal.

The cold moonlight fell over my body. I felt nothing but a hollow, tragic emptiness.

I remembered going to Ethan's office a few days ago. Chloe had stood in front of me with that same victorious posture.

One of her coworkers had tried to warn her out of kindness.

"Chloe, you should keep a low profile. I've seen pictures of Jasmine from a few years ago. She was gorgeous. Honestly, way prettier than you."

"Yeah, you and Ethan aren't even official yet. Don't push your luck. Don't let your pride ruin things."

"I heard she was Ethan's first love. He used to worship the ground she walked on. Be careful, or you'll end up getting shipped off to some remote branch overseas."