The Wife He Hated Until He Lost Her

When Cutler Jenkins had loved Audrey Lawrence the most, he had been an atheist. Yet he once climbed the thousand-step church staircase one step at a time, murmuring a prayer with every step, begging for only one thing—that the gravely ill Audrey Lawrence would make it through safely. But when he hated her the most, he could force her—the woman fighting a terminal illness—to apologize a thousand times, all for another woman's sake. "Nine hundred ninety-one, nine hundred ninety-two… nine hundred ninety-seven… nine hundred ninety-nine!" After Audrey had bowed her head and apologized a thousand times, Cutler's bodyguard finally released the hand that had been pinning her down. Without anything holding her up, she dropped to the floor with a heavy thud, sprawling out like a helpless turtle. The pathetic sight made everyone around her burst out laughing. Cutler stared down at her, his eyes filled with pure contempt and resentment. "Audrey, do you get it now? If I ever catch you trying to poison Maura again, I'll make sure you regret being alive." Audrey's face was already smeared with blood. She lifted her eyes toward him, her lips trembling as she tried to speak, but not a single word came out. For seven whole years, she had dreamed of seeing him again every single day. Yet when they finally reunited, he already had a fiancée by his side—and he hated her guts. Before all that, though, they had been madly in love for five passionate years. Back then, Cutler had treated her like his most precious treasure. He'd given her every ounce of his love. Hell, if she'd asked for the moon and stars, he would've found a way to pluck them right out of the sky for her. In the eyes of others, they had been the perfect couple. Everyone envied how happy they were. But everything had been destroyed by the disaster seven years ago. The Jenkins family had been framed, and overnight, the entire family empire collapsed into bankruptcy. Unable to bear the blow, Cutler's parents jumped off a building together. Cutler's life fell straight into the mud overnight, and he was suddenly saddled with an overwhelming mountain of debt. To pay it all off, he worked several jobs at once, stretching one day into five and turning night into day without a break. But right when he was at rock bottom and needed her the most, Audrey vanished. All she left behind was a divorce agreement. Cutler had tried everything to find her—even swallowed his pride and begged her to come back and see him just once. But Audrey never showed up. Everyone had called her ungrateful and heartless, but no one knew that at the time she had been lying in a hospital bed with not a single inch of her skin left unscathed. She hadn't dared tell Cutler that, on the night he passed out from exhaustion, she'd gotten into a car accident while rushing him to the hospital. Her internal organs had been smashed to pieces in the crash. Without immediate treatment, she would have died—but the medical bills were astronomical. She had thought Cutler was already exhausted enough just trying to survive. She didn't want to drag him down any further. She never imagined she would actually survive this long. And she definitely never imagined that after clawing his way back to the top, Cutler would track her down, force her to stay by his side, and make her watch while he showered another woman with affection. She knew it was all revenge. An hour earlier, Maura Lloyd had eaten the breakfast Audrey prepared, and suddenly started vomiting and having severe diarrhea. She immediately accused Audrey of putting something in the food. Cutler had flown into a rage and forced her to apologize to Maura. Even when the corners of her mouth were bleeding, he hadn't let her stop. Audrey's heart felt like it was being sliced apart. She looked straight into Cutler's eyes and said word by word, "I told you, I didn't poison Maura!" Cutler's face darkened. He slapped the medical report right onto Audrey's face and said coldly, "The evidence is right here, and you're still making excuses? Looks like I went too easy on you. Lock her up. No one lets her out of the room without my permission—and don't give her a single bite to eat." Before Audrey could even fight back, someone grabbed her like a helpless chick and tossed her into the pitch-black room. Audrey panicked instantly. She pounded on the door with all her strength, her voice full of despair. "Cutler, I swear I didn't poison her! Please let me out! It's too dark in here. I'm scared! Please, just let me out!" But Cutler didn't budge. He turned to leave, only to accidentally step on something under his foot. He looked down. It was Audrey's phone, which had fallen to the floor. The screen was still lit up, showing a text message from her doctor, Henry Wilson. Henry: Ms. Lawrence, your checkup results are in. Multiple organs in your body are severely damaged beyond repair, and there are already signs of cancer. I'm afraid you don't have much time left.