Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Although Chris only got a few hours of sleep, he showed up looking fresh. Since Ethan wasn’t around, he told Olivia, “Mrs. Miller, your husband really cares about you. Look at how he arranged all these checkups for you.”
Olivia wanted to scoff at Chris‘ assumption. Ethan only wanted her to undergo the checkups to keep her healthy and to suffer from his punishments.
She was somewhat curious about Ethan’s expression if he knew she had stomach cancer. Anyway, she did not have much of a choice at the moment. She croaked, “Yeah, let’s do it.”
There was a dizzying amount of checkups to be completed. Endoscopy wasn’t on the list because the procedure was more complicated. The patient would need to take laxatives after midnight to clear the bowels and go under anesthesia.
Olivia wasn’t in the condition to be put through the bowel prep. On top of that, she had stuck to a regular daily routine ever since marrying Ethan. Chris assumed that her digestive system was healthy and did not request an endoscopy.
The results of the checkup were expedited. Olivia was taking some soup after starving for the entire morning when Ethan showed up at the door.
Standing tall, he looked as indifferent as usual. Judging from his attire that commanded authority–a pressed suit and a black and white striped tie–he must have rushed over from work.
She had bought him the tie, and the visual reminder brought back sweet memories from long ago. However, after two years, there was nothing left between them other than pain.
He stared at her pale face, wondering why she always presented herself in a feeble condition. Was there something wrong with her body?
“Mr. Miller, don’t worry. I will not die. I will not think of killing myself too.” She broke the silence and took another mouthful of soup. The back of her hand was all swollen from the injection earlier. She appeared rather pitiful and fragile.
Ethan was no longer angry after a night away. “Are the results out yet?”
“No.” At the mention of the results, she put her spoon down and looked into his eyes. “If something’s wrong with me, will
you…‘
He cut her off. “What will go wrong?”
“Well, if I caught a terminal disease, for example.” She stared straight at him. “Will you consider sparing me?”
His heart sank when he heard the question. Taking a seat on the couch, he straightened his back and started rubbing the area between his left thumb and index finger. His tone remained icy. “Tell me about that terminal disease.”
Although she escaped the endoscopy, she did a CT scan, which might not help determine the type of tumor. However, the CT scan would reveal gastric wall thickening.
If the tumor was abnormally large, it might affect nearby tissues and structures. For example, it might affect the left liver lobe. Even the swollen lymph nodes might betray her condition.
Knowing that the results would expose her condition in some way, she looked straight at him. Then, they heard a knock.
“Come in.”
Chris entered with her results in his hand. Seeing that, Olivia stopped drinking her soup. “Looks like the results are in.”
She stared at Ethan, her palms sweaty from the nervousness. She was curious to see Ethan’s reaction to the news of her cancer. Would he feel glad about her impending death, or would he feel a little sad for her? Somehow, the anticipation of his reaction gave some meaning to her upcoming death.