Chapter 2 You Should Leave

I stared at the ring on the table.

Only minutes ago, it had been on Dean’s finger.

I asked, “You’re canceling just like that?”

“What else am I supposed to do?” Dean said. “You’re seriously ill. How can we get married?”

He answered so quickly that it sounded as though he had decided long ago.

I reminded him that the doctor had only said I needed treatment, not that I was about to die.

Dean said there was no difference. He stood, shoved his chair aside, and listed dialysis, hospital visits, and being unable to work.

Finally, he asked, “Am I supposed to carry all of that?”

“I’m your fiancée.”

“So I’m supposed to throw away the rest of my life?”

“I’m sick. I didn’t commit a crime.”

Dean’s face turned cold. “Maybe it isn’t your fault, but I’d still have to pay the price.”

Then he said, “I don’t want to spend every evening after work taking you to the hospital. I don’t want to come home to a sick person every day either. You may not like it, but you have to accept it.”

I looked at him.

I had been ready to give him a kidney. He wasn’t even willing to help me through treatment.

Judith put the wedding list into a folder. She said marriage wasn’t the same as dating. Sick people needed care, and their treatment cost money. According to her, I was only thinking about myself.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. Our relatives and friends would arrive soon. She suspected I had deliberately waited until that day to tell them so Dean wouldn’t have time to back out.

I told her I had only found out that day too.

She said that meant I should have canceled the wedding myself.

She slammed the folder onto the table.

“You’re already sick. Why would you drag a healthy person down with you?”

She continued, “Dean isn’t obligated to waste his life on this. If you really love him, you should leave on your own.”

“When everyone gets here, tell them you ended the engagement. Don’t let people find out Dean almost married someone with a serious illness.”

Dean stood beside her and didn’t object to a single word.

I asked if that was what he thought too.

He said he was only facing reality. He refused to call it abandonment. He said he simply couldn’t marry me anymore. We could stay in touch occasionally, and if he had time, he might visit me at the hospital.

I almost laughed.

Five years together had ended with, “I might visit if I have time.”

Judith added that Dean was still young. He had a career ahead of him and needed to have children. My body could no longer give him a normal life. If I truly loved him, I wouldn’t trap him.

“Then what should I do?”

“Leave him.”

She said it without hesitation.

Judith told me to go home for treatment and never bother Dean again. She said that would be best for everyone.

Dean nodded. He told me not to cry or make a scene in front of our guests, and not to make it sound as though he had abandoned me. He said sick people should understand their situation and leave quietly. At least then, I could keep a little dignity.

He took out his phone, ready to tell everyone the wedding was canceled.

I pressed my hand over it.

“I only have one last question.”

Dean frowned. “What now?”

“What if you were the one who was sick?”

His hand stopped.

“If you were the one who needed dialysis, couldn’t work, and had to be cared for, should I cancel the wedding and make you leave too?”

Dean glanced at Judith.

Judith immediately said, “That hypothetical is meaningless. Dean is healthy.”

“I’m asking him.”

Dean was silent for several seconds before raising his head.

“If I were the one who got sick, I wouldn’t drag you down with me.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’d leave on my own. I’d rather wait to die alone than force you to take care of me.”

He even looked proud of himself when he finished.

Judith nodded at once.

“Did you hear that? That’s real love. Dean would never be as selfish as you.”

I released his phone.

By then, I no longer wanted to beg him to stay.

I only wanted to know how he could turn on me so quickly.

“Dean, have you wanted to cancel the wedding for a long time?”

His expression changed.

“What are you talking about?”

“You took off your ring so fast. You didn’t even need time to think. Is this really only because I’m sick?”

Dean was about to answer when the upstairs bedroom door suddenly opened.

A woman wearing Dean’s shirt stepped out. She walked downstairs barefoot, wrapped her arms around Dean’s neck in front of me, and kissed him on the mouth.

“The wedding’s canceled. Why is she still here?”