"Carl, are you sick?"
He shook his head and sat down on the sofa, exhausted.
"Sash, it’s all my fault, it has nothing to do with Lingling."
"The board is pushing too hard. Help me."
The sliver of sympathy that had arisen in my heart vanished instantly.
"Carl, is it worth it?"
He didn’t say anything.
"Would you lose everything you have now for your first love?"
He looked up at me, agitated.
"Lingling is different from you! She’s innocent and kind. She wouldn’t scheme for profit."
I didn’t want to waste time with him and sent him an address on my phone for a relatively secluded café.
"Tomorrow night at eight, I’ll show you a play."
"After you see it, you can decide for yourself."
Having said that, I indicated that he could leave.
He looked at me in shock. "Sash, this is also my home."
"It won’t be for long."
Having said that, I turned and headed upstairs.
The next evening at eight, when I arrived at the café, Carl was already there.
He was sitting in a corner, waving to me.
I signaled for him to stay where he was and chose the booth closest to him.
Giovanna arrived on time, without keeping me waiting long.
"Sasha, I’m pregnant, so I shouldn’t stay out too long. Let’s get straight to the point."
I took out a check and handed it to her.
"One million. Get rid of the baby and leave Carl."
"No way!"
Giovanna said excitedly, "I love Carlito! I won’t leave him! Don’t try to taint my feelings for him with money!"
"I’ll have the baby, and the three of us will live happily together!"
I took a sip of coffee and patiently waited for her to calm down.
"Miss Ruan, you don’t need me to remind you how difficult your situation is, do you?"
"The mess you’ve created could cost Carl his position as president if not handled properly."
"When you have enough money, it becomes just a number. Take this money, terminate the pregnancy, and start a new life somewhere else."
"Single, wealthy, and carefree, what’s not to like about that kind of life?"
"If you stay with the company, I won’t help you with the project. You might as well prepare to go to jail."
Giovanna fell silent.
I took out a second check.
"Two million more. Think about it for three minutes."
Giovanna didn’t disappoint me. She considered for only a minute before picking up the two checks on the table.
"Thank you, I’ll handle things properly."
Giovanna disappeared around the corner, and I turned to look at Carl.
"Well, your angle is worth seventy million."
Pfft!
Carl spat out a mouthful of blood and slumped to the side.
Carl was hospitalized, and the test results stunned everyone.
Stomach cancer. Advanced stage.
The most composed person was actually Carl.
Perhaps he wasn’t calm, just numb.
After Giovanna cashed the checks and left without a word, Carl seemed to have his soul drained from him.
He calmly accepted all the tests and fully accepted all the treatment plans proposed by the doctors.
He didn’t have a strong desire to live, but he wasn’t seeking death either.
Another calm person was me.
Every day, when I opened my eyes, I told myself that I needed to hold on for the final part of the plan.
Carl had fallen, and Giovanna had left.
The mess they’d created, I had to clean up.
Two large corporations, supported by me alone.
I regretted countless times in front of Carl.
He had always had stomach pain, and we assumed it was due to irregular eating habits.
He said that the stomach pain had been occurring more frequently, but Giovanna’s project had him stressed, and he always thought he’d wait until things calmed down to get checked.
Finally, it had dragged on until it was too late.
No matter how busy work was, I always made a little time every day to visit him in the hospital.
Though most of the time we were silent with each other.
After enduring the initial agony, Carl’s mental state improved slightly.
Occasionally, he was willing to talk to me.
Shuttling between the two companies and the hospital every day, I was also wearing thin.
Attending another board meeting of the Fu company, after a heated debate about appointing a new president, I was physically and mentally exhausted.
That evening, when I arrived at the hospital, Carl was resting, and I fell asleep beside his bed.
When I woke up, it was already three in the morning.
The night light was on in the ward, and Carl was leaning against the head of the bed, watching me quietly.
I sat up abruptly.
"Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
He shook his head, reaching out his hand, pausing in mid-air before pulling it back.
"You must be tired from arguing at the board meeting today, right?"
I knew I couldn’t hide it from him.
"Yes. The directors wanted to replace the president, and I argued with them a bit."
He smiled and patted my head.
"Their choice is you, which is good. I agree with it."
I shook my head.
"You should focus on getting better and come back to shoulder this burden. My family is enough work for me already."
He was silent for a moment before slowly reaching out to hold my hand.
"Sash, I’m sorry."
"I might not be able to hold on much longer."
"I didn’t expect that you would be with me in my final days."
"I’ll pave the way for you."
"Don’t be afraid."
