"I've run out of condoms. Hurry up and bring me a box. You don't want me to get pregnant with your husband's child, do you?"
Nora Foster's face turned ashen as she read the brazen text from her husband's mistress.
As her phone slipped from her grasp, it landed on the grim notice of her stomach cancer diagnosis.
"How could you do this to me, Isaac Porter?" she whispered in agony, the pain tearing through her heart as she collapsed to the floor.
Just that afternoon, she had been diagnosed with late-stage gastric cancer. The doctor had regretfully informed her that she only had three months left.
After brooding the entire afternoon, she had finally resolved to end her loveless marriage and set Isaac Porter free.
She called Isaac to agree to the divorce, telling him that she was willing to walk away without a single possession. But there was one condition—he had to come home tonight and make love to her. She yearned for a final moment of being cherished.
Why cling to a frigid union when she could savor his affection for just one night and leave with that precious memory?
But she never imagined she would be asked to supply condoms for his affair instead.
Resentment bubbled inside her.
Shakily, Nora picked up her phone again and dialed Isaac's number, her fingers trembling.
The phone incessantly rang, nearly reaching the brink of disconnection, before he finally answered.
"What is it?" His deep and magnetic voice was saturated with impatience.
"Isaac, where are you? When are you coming back?" Nora tried to keep her voice steady, but it wavered.
"You know the answer to that. Why do you ask?" His tone was cold and mocking, a teasing edge to his words.
Nora dug her fingernails into her palm. "Can't you come stay with me tonight?"
"I can't." His indifference was chilling. "Who I spend my time with is not up for your arrangement."
"We're not divorced yet, and you promised—no affairs with Kalista Garcia while our marriage still stood!" Nora protested, her voice catching in her throat.
Isaac's response was laced with scorn. "The divorce papers have been on the nightstand since the day after our wedding. I signed them three years ago. As soon as you sign, I'm not in breach."
Her heart soured with pain, and Nora fought for composure. "Do you truly refuse to come be with me tonight? If not, I'll just go out and find someone else!"
A mocking laugh came through the speaker. "Sign the divorce papers, and you can do whatever you want."
Nora's heart plummeted.
He didn’t even care about the idea of her with another man.
The man's voice dripped with sarcasm as it came through again. "Nora Foster, don't put on that act of deep affection with me as if you've been wronged."
"You betrayed me four years ago for another man and forced me into marriage using Grandpa three years ago. Now that he's back, you're eager to get a divorce just to be with him."
"How many times have you manipulated me? Whose sympathy are you seeking now?"
Although he didn't mention the person's name, Nora Foster knew exactly who he was talking about. But it was all a misunderstanding. She tried to explain, "I'm asking for a divorce, but it’s not about him."
She halted mid-sentence. How could she possibly explain? If she let him know that she had been diagnosed with cancer four years ago... Forget it; from the day she chose to love him, she was determined to make him happy, never letting this golden boy to shed tears for her.
"What is it about then?"
When Isaac heard the choked sob in her voice, he still harbored some fantasy. But watching her struggle to find words, he scoffed and added, "Is it because you haven't found a good excuse yet?" Without waiting for a response, he hung up the phone.
On her end, as the dial tone echoed, Nora dropped her phone, and the tears she had been holding back finally came flooding out.
So be it. She murmured to herself with resignation, "Isaac, if you won't even grant me the comfort of this last night, then I can't be blamed!"
With that in mind, she picked up her phone and dialed her best friend, Sophia Price.
"Sophia, I need your help with something."
In the dimly lit hotel room, Nora slowly removed her clothes, piece by piece. Then, she took out a small pill meant to lift her spirits and popped it into her mouth. Barely an hour had passed since she signed the divorce papers. Then she reached out to her best friend Sophia, asking her to arrange a companion for the night. They say the best way to move on from one man is to find solace in the company of another.
It wasn't long before the door to her room opened. A man in a floral shirt used his key card to enter. As he went to close the door, he found it wouldn't shut—something was blocking it.
"Who's there?"
He barely had time to turn and check when a fist hit him square in the face. The man was sent flying back several feet, landing in a heap on the floor.
"Who are you? What's this for?" he exclaimed, clutching his swelling eye with a mix of anger and fear, his gaze sharply turning toward the newcomer.
The man in the doorway stood tall and imposing, easily over six feet. He exuded a cool, aristocratic presence and emanated the commanding aura of someone born to power, compelling an instinctive respect.
As the club's premier performer, a shiver of shame coursed through him upon catching a good look at the man's face.
While he was still in a daze, a check smacked into his forehead.
"Get out."
The man's voice was deep and icy, dangerous tones slipping out with every word.
"Fine, I'm going!" he retorted.
His eyes lit up at the string of zeros on the check.
He scrambled out of the room on all fours.
Before he exited, he made sure to close the door behind him.
Isaac entered the room, a chill clinging to him.
Upon seeing the disheveled woman in the bed, his expression darkened.
"Nora Foster, you've got quite the nerve! How dare you sneak out to be with another man!"
Nora's consciousness was foggy; she didn't realize someone else was in the room, nor could she make out what the man was murmuring beside the bed.
She was completely lost in her own world.
"Isaac Porter, you're such a liar."
"If you can seek out women, then I'm allowed to seek out men!"
"Where is my man? I feel so terrible; why hasn't he come yet?"
Nora writhed on the bed.
The blanket slipped off, revealing her bare skin.
Her body moved enticingly, akin to a snake gliding through water, inciting a surge of irresistible desires.
Isaac watched, the scene tempting the devil within him.
He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing down the heat rising in him.
Then, he opened his eyes and walked to the bed. He grabbed Nora's arm, intending to lead her into the bathroom for a cold shower to sober up.
But as his hand touched her, she wound herself around him.
"Nora Foster, let go of me!" he ordered in a low growl.
But instead of complying, she clung tighter.
"Isaac, it hurts."
She lifted her lips to his for a kiss.
The next day, when Nora woke up, her body felt like it was falling apart.
She lay numbly in bed, her gaze hollow as she stared at the ceiling.
She had thought that, she would never welcome another man in her life besides Isaac.
She wouldn’t accept anyone else even if Issac never forgave her, and never touched her.
But last night, not only had she succumbed, but she had also relished it.
The man's lovemaking had been skilled, his warmth and physique so reminiscent of Isaac.
Though the drugs had blurred her awareness, and she couldn't make out his face, she vaguely remembered the way he kissed her. He was so much like Isaac.
In a moment of unbridled passion, he held her tightly, surrendering to the ecstasy.
Suddenly, a ridiculous thought crossed Nora's mind.
After all, she was nearing death, why not let a man accompany her through the dwindling days of her life?
The idea grew wild and uncontrollable in her heart.
The sound of rushing water came from the bathroom.
The man from last night was still there, taking a shower.
She dressed in the clothes scattered on the floor and approached the bathroom door. She gave a knock.
"Sir, I'd like to make you a business proposal."