Blurb：
In a realm where magic and betrayal intertwine, Elara, a modern woman, awakens as the cursed Prince Adrian, destined to die by his 18th birthday. With the Shadow Throne looming and dark forces closing in, she must navigate royal intrigue, forge alliances with characters like the rogue mage Kaelen and the loyal knight Seraphina, and uncover secrets of the ancient prophecy. Will Elara break the curse before time runs out? Dive into this epic fantasy filled with twists, romance, and adventure.
Content：
My sister-in-law, Cynthia Ziegler, has my name written on her cancer diagnosis report.
As such, the entire Ziegler family assumes that I’m the one with cancer.
Overnight, my husband, Leonard Ziegler, sends a text message to his mistress, Irene Ludlow. Our time will soon come! That old bat is about to die at last, so I’ll finally be able to marry you!
My grandmother, Amanda Powell, cries and clings onto my hand, begging me not to seek treatment.
She is not only discussing with Leonard on how best to split my insurance money after my death but also employing various methods to hasten my death.
However, they are all unaware that Cynthia used my medical insurance card when she went for her physical examination.
I feign sadness and nod with tears in my eyes. “I won’t seek treatment, Mom. Let’s not seek treatment no matter who is diagnosed with cancer.”
Chapter 1
“Great news! That damn old hag I married has cervical cancer and isn’t long for this world! We can finally be together, Irie!” my husband, Leonard Ziegler, exclaimed excitedly into his phone from outside the entrance.
I broke out into cold sweat from where I’d overheard him in a corner of the corridor.
I’d gotten off work early to drop by the hospital and pick up my sister-in-law Cynthia Ziegler’s physical examination report.
My heart ached fiercely at the words “mid-stage cervical cancer” printed in large letters on the report.
After returning home, I hesitated to head upstairs. Instead, I squatted in a corner and sent an electronic copy of the report to a doctor from another hospital, David Williams, while sighing to myself.
The probability of curing cervical cancer was relatively high so long as it hadn’t progressed to an advanced stage.
Early-stage treatment costs were also very low, but Cynthia’s condition had to have already progressed to the middle stage. The surgery costs alone would be at least two to three hundred thousand dollars, not including the additional expenses for chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and other treatments.
David also suggested that Cynthia return to the hospital for a second opinion.
If she were to seek treatment, we simply didn’t have enough liquid capital at home to afford it. Leonard and I would have to sell off our matrimonial home.
If she were to refuse treatment, Leonard and my mother-in-law, Amanda Powell, would definitely raise objections.
Cynthia was born a posthumous child, arriving after the death of her father and my father-in-law, Graham Ziegler. Amanda had also conceived her very late in life.
Amanda always felt that Graham had been reincarnated as Cynthia, so both she and Leonard doted on Cynthia very much.
Just as I was feeling lost as to how to break the news, I received a text message from Leonard.
“I’ve seen the correspondence and electronic report on your computer, honey. Please don’t act impulsively. I’ve already deleted the doctor you consulted from your contacts list. My mother has already come up with a way to extend your life!”
While I was still stunned and confused, Amanda called me as well. “Come back quickly, Vicky. Hospitals are all shady places filled with people who are just out for your money. After all, there’s no cure for cancer.
“Please don’t panic and waste your money on fruitless efforts. Once you come back, we’ll all think of a solution together.”
It was only after listening to what Amanda said that I realized she and Leonard thought I was the one with cancer.
In addition, it sounded like neither of them intended to let me seek treatment.
A second later, Leonard stepped into the corridor in high spirits with his phone. “Fortunately, you were smart and purchased a huge insurance policy for this old hag in advance, baby. This is great! Even the gods are smiling upon us!
“I don’t even have to do anything myself now! Once our child is born, they’ll be set for life, Irie! We’ll soon be enjoying easy lives!”
Due to how quiet the corridor was, I could even hear the delicate voice of the woman on the other end of the call. “You’re the best, honey! I’ll definitely give birth to a plump, healthy child for you!”
I covered my mouth, feeling a chill run down my spine at what I’d heard.
I’d been married to Leonard for five years, and I’d dismissed all of my family’s objections to me marrying him back then. Despite that, he’d conceived a child with another woman and had even plotted to kill me!
Chapter 2
I suppressed my nausea and gently opened the door to the house, whereupon I discovered that Cynthia had long returned and was currently lying on the living room couch.
“You didn’t accompany me to my checkup today, Leo,” she complained. “It’s a good thing I’m fine, and it’s that infertile pig who’s ill. I’m still angry though! You’d better hurry up and make it up to me!”
“Okay, okay. What does my beloved younger sister want?” Leonard asked, stroking Cynthia’s head lovingly.
He hadn’t noticed my return at all.
“Buy me this necklace then! It’s the latest design! It’s not expensive—only around 10,000 dollars.”
10,000 dollars wasn’t a small sum to me and Leonard.
Cynthia hadn’t furthered her studies after graduating from high school. Every day, she would either spend the day hanging out with unsavory people outside or sleeping at home.
Leonard had been laid off at the beginning of the year. I’d also had my pay cut and been transferred to another post because I frequently had to take care of this family.
Usually, Amanda and Leonard would want nothing more than to roll their eyes in annoyance if I were to spend even a single dollar more than necessary.
Even today, I’d been asked to take Cynthia for her physical examination because she’d been experiencing bleeding outside of her menstrual period lately.
As a result, I’d accidentally brought along the wrong medical insurance card, which caused my name to be printed on the examination report instead of Cynthia’s.
Judging from Cynthia’s tone, it wasn’t the first time Leonard had bought such an expensive item for her.
“We’ve spent almost all of Dad’s inheritance, so money’s been tight lately. However, as you know, we’ll be striking rich soon!” Leonard told her.
As soon as those words left his mouth, he and Cynthia burst out laughing in unison.
Graham’s inheritance? So, it turned out my father-in-law had left behind quite a lot of money before he passed away.
I hadn’t seen a single dollar of that inheritance. In fact, every bit of money I’d earned—whether before or after my marriage to Leonard—had gone into the Ziegler family’s pockets.
While they enjoyed their lives, I worked myself to the bone and even had to endure being plotted against.
My heart couldn’t stop aching at the thought that I’d given up my youth and put in so much blood, sweat, and tears for this sort of scumbag.
I was filled with anger at the sight of the Zieglers’ laughing faces.
I approached the couch, grabbed Leonard by his collar, and slapped him.
Leonard, stunned, tried to break free from my grasp.
However, Leonard had become a lazy good-for-nothing after marriage, so he was physically unfit.
While he struggled, I took the opportunity to slap him a few more times.
As this was happening, Cynthia finally reacted to the situation. She rushed over and started trying to pull my hands away.
“What are you doing, you bitch? What right do you have to hit my brother? You deserved to get cancer!”
Unfortunately for her, I’d built up a lot of muscle after toiling through hardship throughout these few years.
Not only did I not have cancer, but it was also a piece of cake for me to deal with these physically weak siblings.
I picked up the fruit knife lying on the coffee table, which scared Cynthia so much she didn’t dare to move a muscle.
I put the knife to Leonard’s neck and demanded, “Are you still going to buy her that necklace? Tell me!”
Leonard was so frightened that he was trembling. “I’m not! I won’t buy it anymore! Please hurry up and put down the knife, and let’s talk things over properly!”
Seeing this, Cynthia tried to run, but I kicked her in the butt. As I stomped on her, I asked harshly, “Who did you say was an infertile pig? Who did you say deserved to get cancer? Tell me!”
Cynthia yelped in pain. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please let me go, Victoria!”
At that moment, Amanda walked out of the kitchen to see me holding a knife to her beloved son’s neck while stomping vehemently on her precious daughter’s butt in my high heels.
She was so shocked that she trembled from head to toe. She rushed over and begged, “Let’s talk things over peacefully, please! Don’t resort to violence, Vicky! It’s a crime to assault someone!”
I suddenly calmed down.
As I thought over what the Zieglers usually said about me, I silently made up my mind.
I was afraid that if I continued to go on a rampage, the Zieglers might call the police on me. If it came to that, not only would I not get what I wanted, I’d also get myself thrown into prison. It simply wasn’t worth it!
Chapter 3
An idea occurred to me. I let go of Leonard’s collar and pretended to be weak.
“Please don’t be angry, honey. I’m just too upset knowing that I have cancer. Once someone contracts this illness, they won’t have long to live. I’m only in my 20s and haven’t borne you a child yet, honey, so I still can’t bear to die,” I said distressedly.
Leonard sat far away, visibly afraid, but the key points of my story had still gotten through to him.
“How much longer can you live?” he asked.
I replied in a choked voice, “Two… Two months at most.”
Leonard and Cynthia could hardly hide the joy in their eyes upon hearing this. They forgot all about their fear of having the stuffing beaten out of them by me just now, their minds filled with the desire for money.
“It’s alright, honey. I don’t blame you for it. Don’t be sad! You’ll get better as long as you’re in a good mental state! You’ll surely live for years to come!”
Years to come? He and Cynthia probably couldn’t wait for me to drop dead days from now.
I couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to Leonard and instead turned to look at Amanda. “Why are you cooking today, Amanda? And you made so much delicious food too.”
In response, Amanda took my hand in hers and feigned wiping away tears.
She lamented with a sigh, “Well, I just saw you working so hard, and… How could a great young woman like you just… How could…”
She trailed off with another sigh.
Cynthia interjected, “Alright, Mom. That’s enough. The food’s getting cold. You can’t possibly let Victoria eat cold food before her death, right?”
She then sat down eagerly at the table and stuffed a huge piece of fried chicken into her mouth.
Well, well. She wasn’t even considering an outcome where I’d be alive, was she?
I suppressed a smile and lowered my voice. “That’s right. Let’s dig in first and not talk about unhappy things for now, Amanda.”
Forget Cynthia, because even I was finding it hard to restrain myself.
Chili con carne, black pepper chicken chop, spicy grilled chicken kebab, rindswurst, spicy smoked beef brisket, spicy shredded beef…
There were simply too many delicious dishes on the table to count, but there was nothing among them that wasn’t either spicy or greasy.
Of course, such a spread was also basically an express ticket to hell for patients with cervical cancer.
However, I could tell these were all ordered via takeout at a glance.
Ever since I married into the Ziegler family, Amanda had never once set foot inside the kitchen.
It looked like Amanda had not only done her due research despite her presbyopia but also invested a lot of money into hastening my death.
Although Cynthia was only 18 years old, she weighed a full 200 pounds. She had a very good appetite and especially favored greasy, spicy food. She ate roughly 10 pounds’ worth of spicy pulled pork in record time.
She ate faster than I could put more meat on her plate.
In the past, I did my absolute best to control her food intake and customize diet plans for her.
I didn’t expect her to end up hating me for it instead. She would complain about me to Leonard for every little thing.
As she chewed her food, she would shake her head like a dog shaking a chew toy.
Seeing that Cynthia was about to gobble up the entire spicy spread she’d specially prepared for me, Amanda finally couldn’t hold herself back from speaking up.
“Control yourself, Cynthia Ziegler! That’s the spicy pulled pork I made for your sister-in-law!”
Leonard nudged Cynthia with his elbow as well.
It was only then that Cynthia seemed to come back to her senses and smile wolfishly.
“Yes, that’s right! Eat up, Victoria! The dishes Mom made are delicious!” she exclaimed before she’d even finished swallowing her mouthful of pulled pork.
I pretended to take a bite of chicken chop before spooning another large piece of meat onto her plate. “It’s alright. You’re still growing, Cinny, so it’s only right that you eat more.”
I then addressed Amanda. “The food you made is delicious, Mrs. Ziegler. Cinny loves it, and so do I. Alas, how could I be so unlucky as to get to taste your cooking only after I’m about to die?”
My eyes were red with unshed tears, my acting skills on full display.
Amanda actually forced out a few tears and said in a choked voice, “Don’t worry, Vicky. I’ll definitely cook you a few more delicious meals before you die.”
I didn’t know whether my acting had actually moved her or if it was just because it had occurred to her that I was soon going to die.
Now that I’d manipulated the atmosphere to my liking, I went into Amanda’s room and brought out the imported wine she’d been hoarding for years.
Chapter 4
Leonard became upset the moment he saw me with the bottle of imported wine and yelled, “What do you think you’re doing, Victoria Sausby? That’s a memento my father left behind!”
A memento, he said?
How thorough a person Graham must have been to have left behind a memento five years ago, despite dying 18 years ago.
This bottle of wine had clearly been given to the Zieglers by a friend of mine back when I first married Leonard.
Who knew how many of my possessions Amanda had secreted away over all these years?
In the beginning, I hadn’t held it over her out of consideration for the fact that we were family. However, now that every one of them was wishing for my death, I wasn’t going to play nice anymore.
I raised an eyebrow before saying with tears in my eyes, “But Mrs. Ziegler made me so much delicious food and said such touching words to me. Moreover, I’m already about to die, so what’s wrong with me having a drink with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law?”
Leonard was momentarily at a loss for words. He hadn’t expected me, who was usually so meek and obedient, to talk back to him, the so-called head of the family.
“That’s right! Victoria’s just showing Mom her respect and gratitude. Now that she’s ill, Victoria won’t be able to drink wine in the future, so let’s just let her drink to her heart’s content today! We’re not stopping until we’re drunk!” Cynthia declared boldly, putting extra emphasis on the word “ill”.
Amanda’s gloomy, awkward expression was abruptly replaced with a smile at Cynthia’s words.
She graciously poured me a glass of wine immediately.
At the end of the day, she was getting along in age, so it didn’t take more than a few glasses for her to become so tipsy she couldn’t hold her cutlery properly.
Leonard was even more of a lightweight. He had his face pressed against the table after just two glasses of wine.
Cynthia was the only one left drinking with me.
She was still young, after all, so she started to feel nauseous after a few glasses.
I instantly thought of the research I’d done this afternoon on the adverse effects alcohol would have on patients with cervical cancer.
I quickly drew upon my lifetime’s worth of acting skills and started pretending to be sick.
In order to look even more nauseous than Cynthia, I desperately pinched my thighs under the table, causing tears to stream down my face.
Cynthia’s pale face was covered in cold sweat. Yet, when she saw my severe reaction, she immediately pushed away Amanda, who was attempting to soothe her.
“I’m alright, Mom. I’m fine. Hurry up and pour Victoria another glass of wine to help with her nausea,” she said insistently.
Due to how immersed I was in my performance, I was genuinely starting to experience acid reflux.
I covered my mouth, ran into the toilet, and closed the door. Then, I started vomiting profusely.
While I was at it, I grabbed some of the red-colored disinfectant next to the toilet seat and poured some into the pool of vomit.
The smell of my vomit covered up the smell of the few drops of disinfectant very well, so it seemed no different from actual blood.
After a while, Amanda and Cynthia knocked on the toilet door. They were barely able to conceal the joy in their voices.
“Are you alright, Victoria? Open the door and let us in to take care of you,” said Cynthia.
I hesitantly opened the door, then leaned against the doorframe in a show of weakness. “It’s a terrible mess, Mrs. Ziegler. I haven’t finished cleaning it up yet.”
The moment Amanda heard that I wasn’t done with cleaning, she pushed me aside and rushed into the toilet.
She and Cynthia leaned their heads together over the toilet, studying the vomit in it.
They looked so hilarious that I almost broke character.
After they’d both nodded in satisfaction and exchanged confident glances, I hurriedly schooled my own expression and asked weakly, “Are we still drinking?”
“Of course we are! Didn’t we agree not to stop until we’re all drunk?”
Cynthia and Amanda herded me back to the dining table, each holding one of my arms.
“Listen to me, Vicky—the hospital doctors are all frauds. They’re all lying when they say that cancer can be cured with early and active treatment. It was also the hospital that caused your father-in-law’s death back then,” Amanda said strongly.
She lifted her hand to wipe away her tears, but her hand remained completely dry.
Raising her glass to me, Cynthia said in a breathless rush, “Exactly. Mom is… right, Vicky. Just… listen to Mom.”
I couldn’t help but scoff and ask, “Hey, Mrs. Ziegler. If it were Cinny who had cancer, would we also not seek treatment for her?”
Leonard had snapped out of his drunken stupor at some point and just so happened to overhear our conversation. He barked, “Have we been too lenient with you, Victoria? What nonsense are you spouting? What are you saying about us not seeking treatment for Cynthia if she’s the one with cancer? How dare you curse my younger sister when you’re about to die!”
He slapped me before I could react.
I cupped my cheek and stared straight at him.
How utterly shameless.
He ate and drank on my money, yet when things came down to it, the Zieglers’ lives were worth saving while mine wasn’t?
“Fine! Since you think of me that way, I might as well not be a burden on you or the Ziegler family any longer, Leonard Ziegler! Let’s get divorced!” I yelled.
Amanda and Cynthia were both frightened out of their tipsiness at this. They blurted in unison, “We won’t seek treatment! No matter who gets diagnosed with cancer within our family, we won’t seek treatment for them!”
Download the GoodNovel app, Search 【 306463 】reads the whole book.
