Brief Was the Love

"Dr. Shaw! Ms. Sherwood has suffered a massive hemorrhage due to complications from childbirth! She has fallen into a coma and needs an emergency blood transfusion!" "Dr. Shaw! Ms. Lunsford is vomiting from anemia! She needs a blood transfusion immediately!" "Dr. Shaw! The blood bank just declared an emergency! We only have enough blood to save one of the patients right now!" Eugene Shaw stares broodingly at the pale and motionless Lilian Sherwood. Slowly, his hands clench into fists. "Stop all treatment for Ms. Sherwood! Have all the remaining blood in the blood bank transfused to Aurelie!" Lilian curls up in pain. Her mind is blank, but she hangs on to Eugene's every word. She hears him choose Aurelie Lunsford. Her pupils suddenly dilate as the doctor next to her sobs anxiously. "But Dr. Shaw, Ms. Sherwood's condition is more critical than Ms. Lunsford's! She should be your priority, especially since she's carrying your child!" Eugene turns, eyes slightly bloodshot, "She's a medical professional! Saving lives is her duty. I believe she would've made the same choice." Lilian is in disbelief. Tears spill from her eyes, bitter and mocking. Eugene makes his selfishness sound so noble. She regrets everything. If given another chance, she will definitely leave him at all costs! She draws her last despairing breath, and her hand droops limply. Eugene kneels before her hospital bed in panic, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Lilian. I have no choice but to save her!" Chapter 1 "No!" Lilian Sherwood screamed. She jolted awake, her clothes practically soaked through with cold sweat. Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath. When she raised her head, she met Eugene Shaw's cold, distant gaze. She had been reborn! "Since you're awake, get ready to go to the hospital. Aurie needs a blood transfusion today." Lilian's heart twisted painfully as she looked at Eugene, who was so cold and emotionless. In her past life, she had believed that Aurelie Lunsford was Eugene's younger cousin. She had even insisted on giving Aurelie, who suffered from severe anemia, blood transfusions despite being pregnant in order to save her. She donated as much as 200 milliliters a week without fail. Who would've known that despite her treating Aurelie and Eugene with genuine kindness, the two of them had long been sleeping with each other behind her back? She reflexively shook her head and said, her voice trembling, "I'm not going." Eugene paused while buttoning his shirt. He looked displeased as he said, "Stop wasting time. Aurie's waiting for you to save her life." "Save her life"? A wave of loneliness and bitterness swept through Lilian. In her past life, she had also waited to be saved using what little blood remained in the blood bank. Yet, Eugene had let her and her unborn baby die on the operating table in order to save Aurelie. She tried to explain. "I've been severely anemic recently. The doctor said—" Suddenly, Eugene caught her wrist in a tight grip. "As long as you don't die, you have to donate blood to Aurie." With that, he forcefully dragged her out of bed, ignoring her struggles. She fell heavily to the floor and clutched her stomach. She cried out in pain, struggling desperately to break free of Eugene's grip, but he had no intention of letting go. He then forcibly tied her down to the backseat of his bicycle and sped all the way to the hospital. Inside the hospital, Lilian grabbed his wrist in a tight grip and dropped to her knees, begging, "I'm pregnant, Eugene. Pregnant women can't donate blood. I'm begging you…" Eugene frowned, his expression dark, but he still shoved her into the blood donation room. A few nurses saw this and immediately held the desperately struggling Lilian down in a chair. Lilian continued to twist her body, attempting to avoid the needle in one of the nurses' hands. "Let go of me! I don't consent to donating blood to Aurelie! This is a violation of the rules, Eugene! Let go of me!" She screamed at the top of her lungs but was met only with Eugene's cold indifference and the nurses' practiced movements. In the end, that cold needle still pierced her vein, and fresh red blood slowly started to flow out into the connected tube. Lilian closed her eyes in despair. In this life, she would definitely get her college acceptance letter one step ahead of time and leave the bastard Eugene Shaw for good. Chapter 2 After the blood transfusion was complete, Lilian stood up quickly, only to almost fall over when her vision suddenly turned dark. A hand caught her wrist, and Eugene glanced nervously at her. In the next second, his voice sounded in her ears. "Go home and get some rest. I'm going to stay behind and keep Aurie company." Lilian yanked her hand out of Eugene's grasp, her face full of scorn. She said nothing, simply walking out, her legs shaking. As she stood in the hospital corridor and stared at the date displayed on the wall calendar, her eyes suddenly widened. Today was the day she would get her college acceptance letter! In her past life, she had felt terribly weak after donating blood to Aurelie, so she had asked Eugene to get her acceptance letter in her stead. However, he hadn't brought the letter back despite a day of waiting. When she asked about it again, Eugene had told her impatiently, "You weren't accepted." Not long after that, she had heard news that Aurelie had been accepted into college despite never even taking the SATs. Determined not to let history repeat itself, Lilian strode quickly toward the post office, enduring the dizziness and pain she was feeling. This time, she had to get her acceptance letter before Aurelie and Eugene did. Half an hour later, her voice trembled as she asked the post office worker, "What? Someone collected my college acceptance letter this morning? Do you still remember who took it?" The worker checked the name on the written receipt. "It's signed right here." Lilian stared at the name "Aurelie Lunsford" on the receipt. A loud ringing filled her ears. She sprinted back toward the hospital. She would get that acceptance letter back, even if she had to resort to theft in this life. That letter was hers! Who was Aurelie to take her place? Lilian aggressively shoved open the door of the hospital room and caught sight of Eugene hugging Aurelie, the atmosphere charged with a certain tension. However, she didn't want to concern herself with the shameful relationship between the two. At the moment, she just wanted to get her acceptance letter and leave Eugene. She marched up to Aurelie and held out her hand. "Give me my acceptance letter!" Aurelie hid behind Eugene and looked at her with an innocent expression. "I don't know what you're talking about, Lilian." Seeing her putting on an innocent act, Lilian's temper snapped. "Drop the act! The post office worker already told me that you were the one who took my acceptance letter. "I worked day and night to get accepted into that college! Who are you to shamelessly try to take my place?" She lunged forward and grabbed Aurelie's wrist harshly. "Where is it? Give it back." Just as her fingers brushed against the folded letter in Aurelie's pocket, Eugene grabbed her arm. "Stop making a scene! Get lost!" he snapped. Get lost, huh? Yes, she should have left a long time ago. If not for the fact that she was trying to repay Eugene for saving her life years ago, she would have followed General Linus Gurwick up north to live a good life after her parents died. Why bother living such a miserable life full of suffering with Eugene? Back then, she had rejected Linus' kind offer and insisted on staying behind, stubbornly determined to marry Eugene. She had been so sure that Eugene would love her and protect her for the rest of her life, but how did that turn out? Not only did Eugene sleep with Aurelie behind her back, but he also wanted to get Aurelie into college in her place. What gave him the right? Lilian struggled hard against his grip. "You knew, didn't you, Eugene? You knew that Aurelie took my acceptance letter! Tell her to give it back!" She grabbed his wrist in a tight grip, her bloodshot eyes full of grievance. Getting her acceptance letter back was the only way she could finally leave this place and Eugene behind for good. A trace of hesitation flashed through Eugene's eyes, but then he frowned and dragged Lilian out of the hospital room. He shoved her to the floor and declared, "If you come back and disturb Aurie's rest again, don't blame me for treating you harshly, Lilian." Don't blame him for treating her harshly, he said? Lilian crawled up from the floor miserably and clenched her fingers tightly around her bleeding palm. She glared defiantly at Eugene and was just about to speak again when a new voice suddenly rang out with urgency. She then felt a slap across her face as someone yelled, "You wretch! You're the one who caused my grandson to suffer from vomiting and diarrhoea! I swear I'm going to beat you to death!" Chapter 3 Lilian froze in shock after being slapped by the old woman. The woman—Martha Rose—didn't give her a chance to speak. She slapped her again. Lilian lost her footing and fell to the floor. A sudden pain in her stomach instantly jolted her to full awareness. She felt a hint of doubt creep into her heart as she looked at Martha, who was an unfamiliar face to her. Still, she crawled to her feet to deny the accusation a second later. "I've never seen you before, ma'am, much less your grandson. I—" "Stop trying to weasel your way out of this!" Martha shouted. "You're Lilian Sherwood, aren't you? Someone at the nursing station reported you for deliberately adding an unknown medication into my grandson's IV drip, causing him to experience symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting. Her voice grew sharper. "If you don't give me an explanation today, I'm taking this to Chief Merrick!" Someone reported her? Lilian held a hand over her stomach and glanced toward Aurelie's hospital room. In her past life, Aurelie had been playing petty tricks ever since joining their department. Back then, she had assumed that it was just because Aurelie was still young. She had thus chosen to overlook her actions on account of the fact that Aurelie was Eugene's cousin. It was only after dying once that Lilian realized Aurelie wasn't Eugene's cousin at all. On the contrary, she was his childhood sweetheart, someone he had almost gotten married to. This time, Aurelie was actually using such an incident to frame her. Lilian clenched her fists tightly and forced herself to calm down. "We have records for every medication administered in this hospital, ma'am," she said steadily. "Since you're so sure that I caused your grandson to experience symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting, I'll gladly see Chief Merrick with you to prove my innocence." As soon as those words left her mouth, Martha's expression paled in an instant. She looked pleadingly toward Aurelie's hospital room. Immediately afterward, Aurelie walked out, looking frail and weak. She wore a grimace as she turned cautiously to Lilian. "Didn't you ask me to alter those records, Lilian? If this incident reaches Chief Merrick's ears, we'll both be fired. Why don't you just confess your guilt instead? It was supposed to be your job anyway." Lilian stared mockingly at Aurelie. She was just about to speak when Martha lunged at her and started hitting her like a madwoman. Lilian reacted fast. She grabbed hold of Aurelie and used her as a shield against Martha's blows. Aurelie screamed at the beating she received, and a trace of annoyance bled into Eugene's indifferent expression. "Enough!" he roared. He shielded Aurelie behind his back, distressed, before shouting, "Come to my office, Lilian!" Once inside, he slammed his hand angrily on the desk, though he softened his tone when he said, "Giving a patient the wrong medication constitutes medical malpractice, Lilian. Even if we're married, I can't cover for you." Cover for her? Lilian smiled self-deprecatingly. "What mistake have I made that I need you to cover for me? Can't you tell that Aurelie and that old woman were working together? "Aurelie is trying to frame me so shamelessly because she wants to take my place. Even if Chief Merrick gets involved in this, I'm not afraid. I—" Eugene frowned and sighed in exasperation, cutting her off. "You did this, Lilian. Go write a reflection report immediately. I also want you to prepare a formal apology and submit your resignation letter." Lilian stared at Eugene's cold, indifferent face, her hands clenching into tight fists at her side. What an utter fool she had been. Administering the wrong medication was a sensitive and serious issue. If not for Eugene supporting Aurelie from behind, how would she have had the guts to frame Lilian? He had already dared to let Aurelie take Lilian's place in college. Framing her and forcing her to resign from the hospital was nothing in comparison. She should have already seen Eugene's true colors back when he chose to let her and her baby die to save Aurelie in her past life. Yet, she was actually trying to explain herself to him. She should have come to her senses sooner. She should have left Eugene earlier. "Let's get a divorce, Eugene," she said at last, her nails digging into her palms. Chapter 4 Eugene's expression wavered slightly. He shouted angrily, looking flustered, "How utterly ridiculous! Get out right now. I want to see your resignation letter by tomorrow." Lilian stared mockingly at him before slamming the office door behind her. She would figure this out herself. Whether it was proving her innocence or getting back the acceptance letter, she wasn't going to give up on either of them. At the stairwell, she bumped right into Aurelie. Aurelie looked at her smugly and said, "Medical malpractice is a serious matter. Once you're fired, that stain will stay on your record forever. So what if you got into college?" Lilian glared resentfully at her. "Why are you doing this to me? Ever since you came to—" Before she could finish, Aurelie grabbed her by the wrist and glared hatefully at her before pushing her toward the stairs. "Because I want to destroy you," she hissed. "I want to take your place in college, further my education, and stand a head above the rest. I want to become Eugene's legitimate wife, just like I was in my past life." Lilian stared at Aurelie in shock. Her past life? Aurelie had been reborn too! Seeing the shock on her face, Aurelie smirked. "In my past life, I deliberately let you witness me and Eugene behaving intimately as you were about to give birth. I also caused both you and your baby to die. She continued, "Compared to that time, I think it would be more reassuring to me if you were to just die in this life." Staring at the stairs behind Lilian, Aurelie laughed smugly. "If you fall from here, there's a high chance you and your baby will both die. Just like in my past life…" Upon hearing this, Lilian grabbed Aurelie's hand tightly, desperately trying to break free. However, she was too weak and absolutely no match for Aurelie. Aurelie shook off her hand and shoved her down the stairs. Lilian curled up in pain as blood gushed continuously from between her legs. She tried to get up, but her abdomen hurt so much she couldn't crawl to her feet at all. Just when she thought she was about to lose consciousness, she suddenly heard Eugene's voice coming from upstairs. "Aurelie? What are you doing here?" At the sound of his voice, Aurelie froze before promptly "losing her footing" and falling down the stairs. Eugene hurriedly ran over to Aurelie and held her in his arms in distress. Then, his gaze landed on Lilian, who was lying in the corner and close to death's door. His expression changed, and he immediately let go of Aurelie to kneel next to Lilian, pressing his ear to her chest. "Stay with me, Lilian! Don't pass out!" Lilian blearily opened her eyes, but she was tired and her eyelids felt incredibly heavy. It felt just like when she had been dying in her past life. Eugene sighed in great relief when he saw her open her eyes. He hurriedly stood up and hit the emergency button on the wall. Once he heard the alarm blaring throughout the entire building, he returned to kneeling at her side. "Li—" "My foot seems to be broken, Eugene," Aurelie interjected. "It hurts so much. Please help me take a look at it quickly. I'm afraid of not being able to dance anymore…" Eugene immediately turned his head at the sound of her cries and frowned when he saw her extremely swollen ankle. He carefully pressed on the ankle, his expression gradually turning darker as Aurelie screamed in pain. He bent down and scooped her into his arms, then looked worriedly at Lilian. "I'll take her to the orthopedics department first. The other doctors will be here soon, so hang on a little longer. I'll come and see you again later." In the past, Eugene had fretted over her like this too. She had climbed up high and accidentally fallen down, hitting her head in the process. He had also checked over her injuries in panic like this, then run all the way to the city hospital with her in his arms. By the time he arrived at the hospital, he had lost a shoe… Since when had he stopped loving her? Lilian clutched her stomach, feeling pained. He had probably never loved her in the first place. She closed her eyes in despair. If she made it out of this alive, she would definitely make that phone call and ask Linus to take her away from Eugene immediately. "Lilian! Wake up, Lilian!" "The patient has lost consciousness and requires emergency resuscitation." Chapter 5 Eventually, Lilian drifted back to consciousness at the sound of Aurelie's crying voice. "I really didn't do it on purpose. Lilian insisted I turn myself in to Chief Merrick and take the blame for her. I just fought back a little. I didn't expect her to go so far as to take advantage of her baby to frame me. I feel terribly wronged, Eugene." Lilian opened her eyes with difficulty. The first thing she saw was Eugene's indifferent expression. Her hands trembled as she reached for her stomach. Was the baby gone? In her past life, she had failed to protect her unborn baby. And in this life, she and her baby still seemed destined to be torn apart. Fortunately, the heavens had shown mercy and spared her life this time. She struggled to move. She was going to make a phone call and leave Eugene right this instant. "Did you frame Aurelie, Lilian?" Eugene demanded. "You didn't hesitate to use your baby to force her to take the blame for you! Is there any shred of humanity in you?" Lilian looked at him in astonishment. He was asking her if she had humanity? He and Aurelie were the inhumane ones here. In both her lives, they had caused the death of her baby! She tore the IV needle from her hand and climbed out of bed with difficulty. She then feebly made her way out of the hospital room, ignoring Eugene's attempts to stop her. At the nursing station, she clutched at the landline for dear life as she dialed the number that her parents had traded their lives for. "I was wrong, General Gurwick!" she cried. "I'm begging you to please take me away from here!" Eugene's face paled upon hearing her words. He quickly snatched the receiver from Lilian's hand and hung up the call. "You've lost your mind, Lilian!" Lilian glared at him. "That's right. I did lose my mind. You and Aurelie were the ones who drove me insane. Aurelie's obviously your fiancee, yet you tricked me into believing she was your cousin. "You brought her into our home and even pulled strings to let her, someone who never even graduated from nursing school, work as a nurse in the hospital. Then, you allowed her to steal my acceptance letter and go to college in my place. "Even now that she pushed me down the stairs and killed our baby, you're only listening to her side of the story. If you care so much about her, then why won't you just divorce me, Eugene Shaw?" Eugene felt the weight of the surrounding people's gazes on him and clenched his fists tightly. "Lilian!" he barked. She laughed wildly. "Did I strike a nerve? There's more where that came from. After all, the only reason you could become a military doctor is because—" Eugene slapped her across the face. "You crossed the line, Lilian!" Lilian wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and smiled bitterly. If she had known his true colors earlier, she wouldn't have pledged herself to him in order to repay his kindness back then. Eugene's hand trembled upon seeing the blood oozing from the corner of her mouth and her swollen cheek. He carefully wrapped Lilian in his arms before saying, "I know that you're emotional after losing our baby, but you still can't slander Aurelie like this. She's just my cousin, and I won't divorce you. We can have another baby in the future, so please be good and listen, okay?" The people around them nodded in understanding, attributing Lilian's previous words to her having an emotional breakdown from losing her baby. Seeing that the crowd was about to disperse, Lilian anxiously shoved Eugene away. She pointed an accusing finger at Aurelie, ready to continue with her rant. Aurelie stared resentfully at her and snorted mockingly, then rolled her eyes back and pretended to faint. When Eugene saw this, he pushed Lilian aside and quickly caught Aurelie in his arms. At the sight of Aurelie's pale face, he hurriedly shouted at the nurse behind him, "Take Lilian and get her ready to donate blood to Aurelie! Hurry!" Chapter 6 Lilian didn't know how long she had been unconscious for. By the time she woke up, it was already dark outside. Eugene's irritated voice carried through the door. "Your condition is stable now, Aurelie. You don't require immediate surgery. Besides, Lilian's in no condition to donate blood to you, and the hospital blood bank doesn't have enough…" Aurelie looked aggrievedly at Eugene and said in a choked voice, "I'm about to go to college. Who's going to take care of me once I leave your side? If I don't go through with the surgery as soon as possible, what happens if I faint from anemia again?" She carefully held Eugene's hand and continued, "You're a doctor, aren't you? Even if something happens to Lilian, she'll definitely be fine with you by her side, unlike me…" Eugene pursed his lips and stared hesitantly at Aurelie. Finally, he nodded. "Alright." Lilian sobbed in grief at his answer. Eugene had chosen Aurelie yet again. Although she already knew things would end up like this, it still hurt terribly to hear it with her own ears. Eugene had never once chosen her throughout both lifetimes. Lilian slept very uneasily that night. She happened to wake up just as Eugene came in, but she didn't open her eyes. He stood beside her bed and reached out to tug the blankets over her. "We've found the cause of Aurelie's anemia," he said, voice tight with tension. "I'll be performing the surgery the day after tomorrow, so you have to get better as soon as possible. "Aurelie's going to need a lot of blood the day after tomorrow, but I've heard from the staff at the blood bank that they don't have enough. I'll ask Mom to make you some iron-rich foods tomorrow. They're good for replenishing blood. "Help me repay Aurelie by saving her life just this once, and I'll definitely take good care of you in the future." Lilian clenched her fists in scorn. Take good care of her? When had he ever done that? Eugene had already been treating her as a cursed maid before Aurelie came into the picture. And after Aurelie arrived, he begged Lilian to save her and give her regular blood donations. Over the course of three years, Lilian had suffered several miscarriages due to blood deficiency from donating blood to Aurelie. Her mother-in-law, Olivia Ellsworth, ridiculed her for being unable to successfully carry a child to term. She had even forced her to do household chores before she could even recover from her miscarriages. Around that same period, Eugene was by Aurelie's side, personally cooking meals for her. … Early the next morning, Eugene walked into the hospital room with a lunchbox. "I asked Mom to make you some beef stew. She just delivered it this morning, so eat it while it's still hot." As Lilian gazed at the lunchbox in Eugene's hands, she recalled his words from last night and suddenly felt her stomach heave. Without warning, she vomited bile all over him. He frowned and stared at her, then put a hand to her forehead in concern. He sighed in relief when he realized she didn't have a fever. "Is your stomach feeling unwell?" he asked. Lilian shook her head and lay back on the hospital bed, refusing to respond. Seeing this, Eugene sighed. "Get up earlier tomorrow morning. I'll help you perform a comprehensive checkup." The corners of Lilian's mouth twitched up in a faint, mocking smile. He was lying. He didn't even dare tell her the truth, afraid she would secretly run away. He was scared that Aurelie would die on the operating table without her "blood bag" around. She lowered her gaze, her eyes filled with worry. She didn't know if Linus still remembered their agreement from years back. That afternoon, Lilian suddenly heard a knock on the door. When she looked up and saw a man in a military uniform standing there, all the tension finally left her body. "General Gurwick instructed me to come, Ms. Sherwood. He told me to support you unconditionally, no matter what you want to do." Chapter 7 The soldier Linus had sent was named Halle Ziegler. He was Linus' right-hand man and an army talent who specialized in photography, videography, and audio recording. Halle had specifically brought along some valuable audio and video recording equipment with him. "General Gurwick said that this equipment would definitely be of use to you, Ms. Sherwood," he explained. Lilian stared at all the equipment she had never seen before, her heart pounding with excitement. With the equipment around, she doubted Aurelie would still be able to lie her way through everything. Later in the evening, Aurelie limped her way into Lilian's hospital room with a lunchbox full of food she'd brought from the cafeteria. Lilian carefully tucked a voice recorder under the sheets and switched it on, just as Halle had taught her. "You're really lucky to have survived a fall like that," Aurelie commented. She placed the lunchbox on the drawer next to Lilian's bed, but made no move to open it for Lilian. Lilian tightened her hand around the voice recorder and intentionally struck up a conversation. "It's because the heavens wanted to see justice served. They want me to personally witness a murderer like you get your just desserts." Aurelie laughed smugly. "I think you're the one who's going to get that. The acceptance letter you worked so hard for is mine now, and I was also the one who killed your unborn baby with my own hands." She stared manically at Lilian. "As for you… Do you know that you're going to be on the operating table with me tomorrow? "Eugene is obviously well aware that you won't make it through alive. But he's still going to transfuse your blood to me for my sake, despite how weak you are. "You should know very well why he's unwilling to divorce you. Because once you're dead, he won't have anything to worry about anymore." Lilian gripped the sheets tightly, her voice tense as she asked, "So, is the surgery something you really want?" "Of course, though my anemia isn't that serious. I just wanted you to donate blood to me. I'm actually only mildly anemic. I'd be fine with just taking supplements. "I certainly didn't expect Eugene to force you into becoming my personal blood bag for three whole years just because I casually brought it up with him." Lilian suppressed her anger and continued to probe Aurelie. "Aren't you afraid that Eugene will find out about all the things you've done?" Aurelie laughed confidently. "So what if he does? All I have to do is cry, and he'll give in immediately. How else do you think I got your acceptance letter? A little pillow talk with him, and he promptly decided to help me." Although Lilian already knew from her past life that Aurelie and Eugene had slept together, hearing such audacious words from Aurelie's own mouth still disgusted her greatly. Even if Eugene refused to divorce her, as long as the news of his adultery was revealed to the world, it would still be enough to make his life difficult. As she nervously touched the voice recorder, Aurelie narrowed her eyes and approached her. "What are you hiding under the sheets?" She stared nervously at Aurelie. Fearing that the latter would step closer still, she grabbed the lunchbox and threw it at her. Aurelie didn't expect Lilian to have the courage to do that. It took a while before she recovered from her shock. Just as she was about to lift Lilian's sheets, the sound of Eugene's footsteps echoed outside the door. Aurelie's expression changed instantly. She put a hand to her bleeding forehead, looking frightened, and cried out in pain. "I came to see you out of the goodness of my heart, Lilian! How could you do this to me?" The next instant, Eugene walked into the room in a white coat. He lent the swaying Aurelie his shoulder and stared coldly at the mess on the floor. Then, his harsh gaze landed on Lilian. "What on earth are you doing, Lilian?" he shouted. "Aurie is severely anemic, yet you hit her in the head and made her bleed! Will you only be satisfied if you see her die in front of you?" Lilian didn't refute his words. In fact, she didn't even glance at him. She didn't want to explain herself anymore. After all, he wouldn't believe her no matter what she said. She was leaving soon anyway. Eugene's expression shifted slightly at her lack of reaction, but he quickly returned to normal. He bent down and picked Aurelie up, then warned Lilian fiercely, "You'd better reflect properly on yourself. Why do you always have to target Aurelie every time?" Lilian tightened her grip on the voice recorder as she watched the two of them leave. Very soon, Aurelie's lies would be exposed to the world. Chapter 8 Lilian tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. Suddenly, she heard a noise from outside. "Not here. If Eugene finds out, we'll both be done for." At the mention of Eugene's name, Lilian forced her frail body out of bed. She carefully opened the door with the voice recorder in hand to see Aurelie and another man walk into the hospital room next door. She plucked up the nerve to follow them and carefully hid behind the door. The man was pressing Aurelie into the bed. "I've missed you so much. When are you going to leave Eugene? You're my wife, you know. Do you know how terrible I feel every time I think of you and him together?" Aurelie replied, "Don't leave any marks. I have surgery tomorrow. Once Lilian is dead, everything that belongs to Eugene will be ours. "I even obtained Lilian's college acceptance letter. When the time comes and I attend college under her name, people will think I'm smart too. We won't have to live hard lives like before anymore." Lilian's eyes widened in shock as she listened to the conversation between them. She didn't expect Aurelie to have married another man behind Eugene's back. If Eugene found out that the woman he'd loved and pampered for so many years had actually been deceiving him all along… She couldn't imagine what sort of expression Eugene would have, but she currently felt so excited that she felt like she might combust on the spot. Lilian could barely wait to see Eugene's reaction after finding out the truth. As she turned around after putting the voice recorder away, she bumped into Halle, who had come to take her away from the hospital. He held up the camera in his hand. "I think this would be more convincing." Lilian's eyes widened when she saw the footage of Aurelie and the other man entangled together on the camera screen. "I want to send the evidence to Chief Merrick," she informed him, so excited that her voice came out sounding choked. She wanted to completely ruin Eugene's reputation and ensure that he'd never be able to recover from this. … Early the next morning, a nurse woke Lilian up. In order to ensure Aurelie's safety during the surgery, a series of examinations was performed on Lilian in accordance with normal surgical procedures. At half past ten in the morning, the results were in. Lilian was then transported by nurses to the observation room adjacent to the operating room. She would be brought in to have her blood transfused to Aurelie once the latter's surgery was more than halfway complete. Eugene had already changed into surgical clothes, and all the medical staff seemed to be waiting for Lilian. He sighed in relief when he saw her and bent down to gaze at her. When he spoke, his tone was softer than before. "I know you've experienced your fair share of grievances recently. Once Aurelie's surgery is over, I'll request leave and take you out for some fresh air." Fresh air?. Lilian smiled mockingly. "No thanks." They were never going to meet again, after all. Eugene was about to say something else, but a shout from the anesthesiologist inside the operating room had him running back inside. After the operating room door closed, Halle opened the door of the observation room and announced, "Everything's ready, Ms. Sherwood. We can leave now." Upon hearing this, Lilian glanced toward the operating room, feeling a lingering discontent. "Will I still be able to get my acceptance letter back?" "General Gurwick has already contacted Evermint College. They'll send you another copy and ensure that it's delivered safely into your hands," replied Halle. Lilian suddenly sagged in relief, her nervousness vanishing. Tears flowed uncontrollably down her face. She had finally gotten everything she deserved in this life. While they were sitting in the military vehicle heading for Andelang City, Lilian watched as Halle sent out the video and audio recording. Only when the progress bar reached 100% did Halle turn to look at her. "I've sent the evidence to Chief Merrick. General Gurwick also asked me to invite you to attend a family dinner tonight." Lilian gazed at the passing scenery. "Okay," she murmured. Her new life was about to begin. There was a whole wide world before her.