The afternoon they delivered my grim prognosis, Dr. Julian Thorne popped champagne in his lab.
On SnapChat, his and Valerie Shaw’s backs were bathed in the sunset, their lab coats gilded gold.
The caption was just one line:
Ten years, finally a success.
Everyone raved about Dr. Thorne’s unwavering devotion, his decade-long research, all to save me.
The nurse, her eyes red-rimmed, passed me her phone as I stared at the fluctuating curves on the monitor.
They didn’t know the drug had been ready a year ago.
And I was the only candidate denied access to it.
Deep in the night, Julian finally came to the hospital.
He reeked of alcohol, and his lab coat carried the unmistakable scent of women’s perfume.
“Serena, how are you feeling?”
I looked at him, my voice soft. “Julian, when can I start the medication?”
He frowned. “Valerie says your survival rate would only be thirty percent right now. It’s too risky.”
“What was Ms. Harrison’s survival rate when she took it last month?”
Julian paused. “She was only stage three. You’re terminal. It’s not the same.”
“She donated thirty million to the research.”
I stared at him. “Is that the ‘not the same’ part?”
His face darkened. “Serena, how could you think that of me?”
“Wasn’t all my research for you?”
I watched his furious expression and suddenly laughed. “Julian, do you remember how I got this illness?”
Ten years ago, his lab exploded.
I was the one who rushed into the fire to drag him out, inhaling chemical gases.
My diagnosis read: Acute chemical lung injury, with irreversible fibrosis.
He knelt by my bed, swearing, “Serena, I will cure you.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but his phone rang.
It was Valerie.
“Julian, the lab light’s broken, and I’m a little scared. Could you come over?”
Her voice was sugary sweet, with a hint of a whimper.
Julian immediately stood up. “Don’t worry, I’ll be right there.”
I clutched at his lab coat. “Julian, I wasn’t finished—”
“Another time. I can’t leave Valerie alone.”
He pulled his coat away and walked out without a backward glance.
After Julian left, I asked Nurse Evelyn to check on Ms. Harrison’s condition.
Sure enough, she was indeed on Julian’s new medication.
Three months, her condition stable, living a normal life.
Meanwhile, my critical condition notice had been issued for the third time.
The next day, I dragged my barely-functioning body, sneaking off to Julian’s lab.
Standing outside the door, I heard Valerie’s voice.
“Julian, why don’t we give this new batch of medication to Ms. Albright’s daughter? They’re willing to pump in another fifty million, you know.”
Silence hung in the air for a moment before Julian’s gentle voice, a tone I hadn’t heard in ages, replied, “Valerie, I know you mean well for the lab, but…”
“But what?”
Valerie cut him off, her voice laced with a hint of grievance.
“Julian, I know I shouldn’t say this, but… is Serena’s condition really that serious?”
“Every time she’s on the verge, it conveniently happens when you’re swamped. Last time, it was your big international conference; this time, our breakthrough celebration? Isn’t that just a little too convenient?”
She sighed softly. “Julian, you’ve sacrificed so much for her already.
Ms. Albright’s investment is crucial for the entire project’s future.
You can’t let her keep dragging you down.”
Julian remained silent for a long time.
I held my breath, waiting for his answer.
“You’re right,” he finally said. “Maybe… I’ve indulged her too much. Alright, as you say, this batch of medicine goes to Ms. Albright.”
His voice turned cold. “Anyway, Serena’s condition probably isn’t as urgent as she makes it out to be.”
So, all those times I’d fought for my life, in his eyes, they were just “calculated acts.”
I burst through the door, shattering their cozy little scene.
Valerie flinched, instinctively pressing closer to Julian.
He, in turn, subtly shifted, his body a shield between us.
Julian’s expression was strained. “Serena? What are you doing here? Your body can’t handle running around like this!”
“If I hadn’t come,”
My voice was raw, and I stared at him, “Would I even know how I ended up dead?”
Valerie peered out from behind him, her voice laced with concern, yet her eyes held a challenging glint.
“Serena, you shouldn’t be out of bed! Didn’t the doctors say you needed rest?”
“Rest?” I sneered. “Waiting for you two to give my life-saving medicine to someone else?”
Julian’s face completely hardened. “Serena! Watch your tone! Valerie is worried about you!”
“Worried about me?” I pointed at Valerie. “Worried enough to tell you to give my medicine away? Worried enough to imply I’m faking it?”
“I didn’t…” Valerie’s eyes instantly welled up, and she looked at Julian tearfully. “Julian, I’m just worried you’re too tired…”
Seeing her reaction, Julian’s voice became even colder.
“Serena, look at yourself! All you do is cause drama! Valerie is always looking out for you, and you’re maliciously speculating about her!”
I could barely believe my ears. “I’m causing drama? Julian Thorne, I’m the one lying in that bed, waiting to die! I’m the one who can’t get the medicine!”
“Enough!”
He sharply cut me off. “Do you think if you collapse now, I’ll drop everything and rush to your side, just like before?”
He took a step forward, glaring at me. “Serena, how long are you going to keep up this charade?”
I was trembling all over, barely able to stand. “You think my critical condition is an act?”
Valerie gently tugged his arm, softly persuading him. “Julian, don’t be like this. Serena is probably just scared…”
“She’s not scared, she’s selfish!”
Julian seemed to have finally found an outlet.
“If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead already!”
“You should be grateful you’re alive. Don’t be so selfish!”
“Now that we’ve finally had a breakthrough, and Valerie helped us secure investment, all you care about is yourself!”
He wrapped an arm around Valerie’s shoulders, as if both proclaiming and protecting.
“If Valerie hadn’t stayed with me, supported me, I would’ve given up long ago! What about you? Besides emotionally manipulating me with your illness, what have you ever given me?”
I looked at the two of them, suddenly feeling utterly estranged.
Where was the boy who’d held my hand ten years ago and said, “I will save you”?
Why had he become this man who only knows how to emotionally manipulate?
With my last ounce of strength, I quietly asked, “Julian Thorne, do you wish I was dead?”
He frowned, his voice full of impatience. “Not this again! Always the same old routine! Go back and rest. Don’t disrupt Valerie and my work here.”
With that, he stopped looking at me, lowering his head to Valerie and asking softly, “What happened to your hand? Did you bump it? Let me see.”
That gentle tone was one I hadn’t heard in ten years.
I turned and walked away, and the tears finally fell.
The intense emotional upheaval sent me into critical condition again that night.
My breathing was rapid, blood oxygen saturation continuously dropped, and they nearly had to put me on a ventilator.
Nurse Evelyn, the head nurse who had always taken care of me, gave me medication with red-rimmed eyes, constantly patting my back to soothe me.
“Serena, just hold on a little longer, you have to make it! Didn’t Dr. Thorne succeed? I even saw the news yesterday, saying his new drug performed miracles…”
Her voice caught as she spoke.
“I remember when you first got sick, how much Dr. Thorne cared for you. He stayed by your bedside night after night, holding your hand and saying, ‘Don’t be afraid, Serena, I’ll save you.’ Now he’s finally done it. Your suffering will soon be over.”
I listened to her words, a bitter smile twisting my lips.
After I finally stabilized, Nurse Evelyn went to get me some water, leaving me alone in the room.
Just then, Valerie’s figure appeared at the doorway.
She held an exquisite medicine box, her smile blindingly bright.
“Serena, guess what I brought you? This is Julian’s new drug!”
She deliberately dangled the box in front of my eyes, then pulled it back.
“But… this drug is crazy expensive, half a million a shot. Serena, you can’t even pay your hospital bills. I’m afraid you can’t afford it.”
I took a deep breath. “My parents left a medical fund…”
“Ten million?”
Valerie suddenly laughed. “Serena, you still don’t know?”
She walked to my bedside, looking at me triumphantly.
“That money was used up by Julian long ago.”
“You’re lying!” I struggled, trying to sit up.
“Lying?”
Valerie pulled out her phone, found a photo, and tossed it in front of me.
It was a financial statement, clearly detailing the sources and uses of funds.
“He used your parents’ money to build his lab, bought a river-view mansion, and a luxury car.”
“And…” She smiled, pointing to one column, “the allowance transferred to me. It’s added up to over a million these past few years.”
A chill ran through me, and my fingers trembled as I looked at the statement.
The column for my medical expenses was laughably small.
“Do you know why your condition hasn’t improved in ten years, and instead, has gotten worse?”
Valerie leaned in close, speaking syllable by syllable.
“Because what Julian gave you wasn’t treatment medicine at all.”
“It was just a placebo for his control group.”
“Just ordinary vitamin pills.”
A roar exploded in my head, and I couldn’t hear anything else.
“Serena, did you think you were his fiancée?”
Valerie’s voice seemed to come from far away. “You were just his experimental control group, a living specimen.”
“To prove his new drug’s effectiveness, he needed a control group like you — no real treatment, letting the disease progress naturally, so he could compare the new drug’s efficacy.”
“For ten years, you thought he was saving you?”
“He was watching you slowly die, recording data.”
“And the money your parents left to save you? He used it all to make himself a success.”
My mouth hung open, but no sound came out.
The monitor’s data began to fluctuate wildly.
Valerie watched my reaction with satisfaction, her smile growing even more triumphant.
“Now the new drug is a success, and the academic world is hailing Dr. Thorne as a genius. But they have no idea that this drug could have saved you so much sooner.”
“But Julian chose to let you die, because…”
She leaned into my ear and whispered, “Because you’re worth more alive than dead, Serena.”
“Serena, do you know why Julian has visited you less and less these past six months?”
“Because your data has been collected, and you’re almost out of use.”
“So now, you can go ahead and die.”
My chest heaved violently, and breathing became increasingly difficult.
The monitor emitted a shrill alarm.
Valerie stood up, adjusted her clothes, and looked at my suffering without a trace of pity in her eyes.
“Serena, don’t blame me for being heartless. Blame yourself for being so naive.”
She finished speaking, turned, and left, the ward door closing with a heavy thud.
When Nurse Evelyn rushed in, my face was ashen, and my lips under the oxygen mask were turning purple.
“Serena! Serena, hang in there!”
She frantically adjusted my oxygen and pressed the emergency call button.
The on-duty doctor arrived quickly, and after a series of emergency procedures, my vital signs slowly stabilized.
“Nurse Evelyn, Ms. Chu’s emotional fluctuations are too extreme. We must keep her calm, otherwise…”
The doctor shook his head and didn’t finish the sentence.
I knew what “otherwise” meant.
Otherwise, I would die.
I would obediently wait for death, just as Valerie had said.
But suddenly, I didn’t want to die anymore.
↓ ↓ Download the Novel Master app, Search 【 301220 】reads the whole book. ↓ ↓
NovelShort
