Chapter 206 Are You Really Sick with Cancer, or Are You Faking It?
As soon as those words left Daniel's mouth, Raymond, who was just about to step into the elevator, yanked his leg back. He spun around and marched back to Daniel.
Raymond grabbed Daniel's shirt with a fierce grip and demanded, "What did you just say?" He must've heard wrong. No way Margaret had late-stage liver cancer.
Seeing Raymond's panic, Daniel felt a bit of relief. It seemed like Raymond still cared about Margaret. Getting Raymond to talk some sense into Margaret might actually work.
"Say something!" Raymond barked.
Daniel looked him in the eye and repeated, "Margaret has liver cancer. It's spread to two-thirds of her body. Her pregnancy is speeding up her decline. Raymond, if you really care about her and don't want her to die, you can't let her have this baby."
Raymond's eyes narrowed, his mind going blank. 'Margaret has liver cancer? Late-stage? No way. She's so healthy. Anyone could get cancer, but not her,' he thought.
"Do you know why she had a miscarriage? That's why," Daniel added.
Daniel went on, explaining he was looking for a liver donor for Margaret. He urged Raymond to get Margaret to have an abortion and then wait for the transplant.
Raymond's head was spinning. He let go of Daniel's shirt. Raymond left the mall, the cold air hitting him like a slap in the face. He didn't head straight to his car across the street. Instead, he stood at the mall entrance and lit a cigarette.
The cigarette burned slowly. The biting wind tugged at the edges of his trench coat. It blew leaves off the bare branches, sending them skittering across the street. The wind was so strong, Raymond found it hard to breathe.
Raymond didn't know if Margaret was really sick. She had shown him her medical report, and it looked bad. But when he took her to another hospital, she seemed perfectly fine. He had the painkillers she was taking tested; they turned out to be just vitamin pills.
Who was lying? Raymond felt lost and confused. He couldn't imagine how he'd react if Margaret really had a terminal illness and was dying, like Daniel said. He'd lose it.
Raymond had been planning for their family to slowly get back to normal, for a beautiful and stable future. Trying to let go of the past.
Feeling anxious and disoriented, Raymond took a drag of his cigarette, which tasted especially bitter today. The wind made the cigarette burn out faster than he expected. He flicked the butt into a nearby trash can. Then he pulled out his phone and called Hubert.
Hubert answered quickly, as respectful as ever, "Mr. Howard, do you need something?"
"Is Margaret really in the late stages of liver cancer?" Raymond asked, his heart heavy.
Hubert paused, then cautiously asked, "Mr. Howard, did you hear some rumors?"
"I'm waiting for your answer," Raymond snapped.
Hubert finally said, "Mr. Howard, I don't know why you'd think that, but based on our exams, Mrs. Howard is healthy. Mr. Howard, Mrs. Howard is pregnant now, so she might be more sensitive. Women need to be coaxed."
After hanging up, Raymond still felt something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Logically, Hubert had been his right-hand man for years; he wouldn't dare falsify reports.
Could Margaret be the one lying? Margaret's heart wasn't with him anymore; she was tangled up with Daniel. How much could he trust Daniel's words?
Raymond crossed the street with a cold expression, heading to the black Bentley parked by the curb. He opened the car door.
Margaret had been enjoying the heater, but as soon as the door opened, a gust of wind blew in. It messed up her long hair, strands sticking to her face. Her breathing became erratic.
Margaret had just been worried that Daniel might get bullied by Raymond. And then he showed up. Raymond glanced at her pale face, quickly got into the driver's seat, and closed the door.
The familiar scent of his cologne filled the car. Margaret had picked it out for him back then. She didn't expect that even after everything, he was still using it.
The clothes and shoes Margaret had bought for him, he hadn't replaced them. Even with new clothes, Raymond still used the brands she had once chosen for him.
Raymond still maintained the perfect image she had crafted for him: handsome, cold, mature, and sharp. But only Margaret knew that the current Raymond was a wolf in sheep's clothing; she had been deceived by his facade.
Raymond suddenly leaned forward, getting close to her. His warm breath fell on Margaret's cheeks and neck.
Margaret's ears instantly turned red. Even though Raymond was so cold-blooded, his sudden closeness still made her heart race and her pulse quicken.
Margaret felt her breathing become rapid. She thought he was going to kiss her, but he only helped her fasten her seatbelt.
Raymond's mind was filled with Daniel's words, so he didn't notice her reaction. He sat up straight, hands on the steering wheel, driving thoughtfully. Not saying a word.
Margaret didn't speak either. She quickly regained her composure, took out her phone, found Daniel on WhatsApp, and sent him a message: [Are you okay? Did he give you a hard time?]
Raymond saw her typing out of the corner of his eye. He glanced at her lifeless face again. He remembered the scene of Margaret in the snow, with blood all around her. It was a shocking sight.
Raymond couldn't shake it off. He remembered Margaret knocking over the decorations in the master bedroom, and he was drawn over to see her crawling on the floor, clutching his pant leg, begging him to find her painkillers.
Margaret had swallowed a whole bottle of pills right in front of him. He thought of her handing him a thick stack of medical records, smiling wearily and saying, "Raymond, I have cancer. I'm going to leave you. Raymond, if one day I suddenly disappear and you can never find me again, will you be sad? Will you cry?"
The countless times she had asked him this question now echoed in his ears, playing over and over again.
Back at the apartment, Margaret walked ahead. Raymond noticed her figure had indeed become more bloated and she looked much weaker.
"Are you really sick with cancer, or are you faking it?" Margaret was bending over to change her shoes when she heard Raymond's sudden question.
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