Chapter 4 Her True Face
After sending Hugh off, Gwendolyn turned back around.
Gone was her earlier sweetness–she now stood with arms crossed,
staring down at me coldly.
“Just give up. You’re already dying. What do you have to compete with me?”
My eyes widened in shock as I stared at her.
“What are you talking about?
“The doctor told me my condition was stable when I was discharged. He said I’d have a normal life expectancy.”
“You’re lying, aren’t you?
However, Gwendolyn gave a mocking grin.
“That was before the accident.
“Didn’t your precious Hugh tell you? People with AIDS can’t afford injuries. Haven’t you noticed your wounds still haven’t healed?
“Let me be honest–at this rate, you’ll be lucky to live another month.”
My cars rang, and I could not hear anything else she said.
So, were all these eight years for nothing?
I am allergic to antiretroviral meds. Every dose left my skin covered in red rashes that itched like fire.
01.2350
Chapter 4 Her True Face
288 Vouchers
I was so scared of tearing my skin that I would not scratch no matter how unbearable it got.
On many nights, I would sit up, patting my body through layers of clothes, trying to ease the itch. However, one bruise–just one–could tip the scale toward death.
I held on for eight years, and just when the doctor finally let me leave the hospital, I barely had a taste of normal life before they pushed me back into a corner with no way out.
My heart shattered as silent tears streamed down.
Then Gwendolyn stepped closer, leaned toward my bed, and said softly, “Hugh has never loved you. Why keep humiliating yourself?”
And then, out of nowhere, she yanked the IV bottle from its stand and slammed it into her own head.
A sickening thud echoed through the room, and she screamed while clutching her bleeding forehead.
“Ah! Hugh! Help me!”
The door burst open as Hugh rushed in, panie on his face the moment he saw the blood,
“Someone help! She’s dying!”
He acted like she was the one on death’s door.
Doctors and nurses came flooding in. And in front of everyone, Hugh grabbed me by the collar and yanked me out of bed,
“Eleanor, you really don’t deserve to live!
“Gwendolyn poured her heart into healing you, but all she got in return
012383
Chapter 4 Her True Face
was your hate!
1288 Vouchers
“You really think I can’t live without you? Do you think someone like you, who can’t even meet my physical needs, could ever compete with another woman?”
Hugh flung me aside like trash, and murmurs of judgment rippled through the room.
He used to come off as polished and composed–someone who never raised his voice.
Turns out, I just had not seen him with someone he thought was truly
worth it.
As I lay on the floor, my tears had already dried up.
I hated how weak I was, how broken my body had become, and how powerless I felt.
The Mancini family held great influence. I only agreed to their marriage proposal because I hoped their power could shield me.
However, with only a month left to live now, would they still want to marry me?
My fingers shook as I reached for my phone, intending to send a message and call off the engagement.
Still, in the end, I did not hit send.
Looking back, it was never about Hugh sending someone to care for me in the hospital–it was about control.
He did not want me moving around on my own, probably afraid I would uncover the truth about Gwendolyn’s medical mishap. Even after I was discharged, he made sure I stayed under his thumb.
012183
Chapter 4 Her True Face
Alone, I would never break free from Hugh’s grip.
So, the Mancini family was my only shot.
Even if I only had one month left to live, I was going to make them pay for everything.
288 (Vouchers
Knowing Gwendolyn would never treat me seriously, I reached out to my gallery partner, Violette Hatterfield, and asked her to send me medication.
“What? Eleanor, are you insane?
“I mean, sure, the Mancini family’s powerful, but their son’s in a coma!
“You’re really going to stake the rest of your life on that?”
She had no idea I only had a month left to live, so she thought I was throwing my life away by marrying into the Mancini family.
I simply replied, calm and expressionless, “AIDS and a vegetable–sounds like a perfect match.”
On the other end, Violette opened her mouth to respond, but her eyes welled up with tears.
She stood up and hugged me tightly, her voice shaking, “I’m not going to let you give up like this. You still have your whole life ahead of you. You’re no different from anyone else.
“You’ve got to believe in the future–things will get better.”
Violette was my college roommate, and we both graduated from the Fine Arts Department. After that, I went to Africa for fieldwork while she stayed behind and opened her own gallery.
When I got out of the hospital and word spread about my condition, she reached out to partner with me–never once judging me for being sick.
01-23
Chapter 4 Her True Face
I gently comforted her and left to pack. The Mancini family’s car was already waiting downstairs.
288 Vouchers
However, just as I reached the elevator, I ran straight into Hugh and his mother.
01230
