He Thought I Was Dying, Now He’s Insane

Chapter 3

The moment it opened, I saw Ralph and Bella together in bed, barely covered by the sheets.

Bella screamed and hurriedly pulled the covers over herself.

I stared straight at Ralph. "So this is what you meant by taking care of your mother?"

Ralph scrambled out of bed, panic flashing across his face. "Alice? What are you doing here?"

I let out a cold laugh. "As if I'd miss the chance to see you having this much fun. Who exactly were you saying you planned to marry?"

"You've got it all wrong!" Ralph snapped defensively. "I've been under an incredible amount of stress because of your illness. I asked Bella to come here so we could talk about what to do. She's your sister! She has every right to know that you're sick!"

"So this is my fault?" I stared at him coldly. "Oh, I see. It's all my fault for getting sick, and the two of you had to sleep together just to cope with the stress?"

"Alice, don't be selfish!" Ralph shouted. "Your condition could leave you bedridden and paralyzed at any moment. What happens to my future? What happens to my company? I have to leave myself a way out!"

Bella put on a pitiful expression and reached for my hand. "Alice, Ralph has his reasons for doing this..."

"You're that eager to take my place?" I shook off her hand and glared at her.

Bella immediately sniffled and burst into tears.

Ralph's face darkened.

He raised his hand as though he were about to slap me.

"You're not my fiancée anymore!" he roared. "I can sleep with whoever I want. It's none of your damn business!"

I was knocked to the ground, staring at Ralph in disbelief.

The man standing before me felt more and more like a stranger.

One illness had been enough to reveal the true face of the man I had shared my life with for five years.

I pushed myself to my feet and slapped Ralph hard across the face. "You piece of s**t. You'll get what's coming to you."

With that, I grabbed my bag, turned around, and walked out.

Once I was in the cab, my mind drifted back to the first time Ralph and I had met.

We had grown up together in the slums. Ralph had always been handsome, but he had never shown much interest in me.

That changed when I turned fifteen.

My biological parents suddenly came looking for me.

They arrived dressed in expensive clothes, looking like royalty from a storybook. They held me in their arms and wept as they told me I was their biological daughter, the child who had been switched at birth.

They promised to take me home the following day and give me the life I had never known.

That very afternoon, Ralph confessed that he loved me.

At the time, I believed my sincerity had finally won him over.

Now I have realized the truth.

He had only started pursuing me after learning about my family's wealth and the life I could offer him.

I was pulled back to the present when the cab stopped in front of the mansion in the city's most exclusive neighborhood.

I stepped out.

The front door opened, and my mother stood there.

She was my biological mother, the woman I had spent years dreaming of meeting.

She looked at me gently. "Why are you back?"

All the resentment and hurt I had been holding inside suddenly broke loose.

I threw myself into her arms and sobbed. "Mom, Ralph cheated on me. He actually got involved with—"

She cut me off.

Her eyes darted away.

"You already know?"