The situation between the married couple deteriorated in the following weeks, and Li Meili was having a hard time convincing herself that there was nothing wrong going on between her and her husband. If Zhang Jiren was worried about their upcoming divorce, she had no idea. Her husband acted the same as usual whenever he was home which was getting rare these days.

  There was even a time when Zhang Jiren hadn't been at home for a whole two weeks which made Li Meili worry about him. She wasn't able to reach him through phone, and hadn't heard anything from him for the first three days, until Assistant Liu called back and informed her that Zhang Jiren was on a business trip.

  "I'm so sorry, Madam. It was just we're really busy these days. There's a problem within the company right now so Boss needed to fly here to see what's going on," Assistant Liu apologized to her over the phone.

  A business trip all of a sudden? Then why didn't Zhang Jiren inform her about it?

  "Can I talk to my husband then?" Li Meili cleared her throat. She really didn't like this feeling she was having towards Zhang Jiren. She didn't want to doubt him but his continuous absence disturbed her.

  "I'm sorry, Madam. Boss Jiren is in the middle of an important meeting, but I'll inform him and tell him to give you a call as soon as possible." Li Meili could sense Assistant Liu's nervousness over the phone. Her gut was telling her that something wasn't right, and Zhang Jiren was hiding something from her.

  "Alright," Li Meili conceded, knowing that Assistant Liu wouldn't dare reveal anything to her as he was loyal to his boss.

  Li Meili waited and waited but the call from her husband never came. She spent most of her time with her young daughter, playing with Leyan as she started to enjoy the massive collection of toys her grandfather and uncle had bestowed upon her on her birthday.

  "I guess it will be only you and I tonight, baby. Uncle Jiren wouldn't be able to make home tonight but don't worry, he still loves you." Li Meili kissed her daughter's crown as she sat on the floor with toys and dolls scattered around them.

  She was starting to wonder if she had done the right thing asking Zhang Jiren to enter a contract marriage with her. But as she looked down at her young daughter who kept calling her 'Dada' as they waited for Zhang Jiren's return, she realized that she might have been selfish all this time.

  However, she also realized that her feelings for her husband had changed overtime. She was certain that she cared about him but whether as her husband or as a friend, Li Meili wasn't certain.

  Another week passed and still there was no Zhang Jiren in sight. Li Meili had been on the edge as Little Leyan suddenly fell ill and had been crying for nights. If it was because of her being uncomfortable or her need to see Zhang Jiren, Li Meili had no idea. Like her daughter, she was also close to breaking down in tears anytime soon.

  Black leather shoes stepped across the wooden floor as Zhang Jiren finally returned home. There was something different about him this time when Elder Lan welcomed him home.

  "Where's Meili and Leyan?" he asked as he shed his outer coat and passed it to their housekeeper. With Elder Lan around, he didn't need to worry too much if Li Meili was eating on time or was having a hard time looking after her young daughter.

  "Madam is in the nursery with the Young Miss," Elder Lan replied with a hint of worry in her voice. "Young miss has caught the flu and has been sick for days now. Madam hasn't had enough sleep since then."

  Zhang Jiren's jaws hardened at that and nodded. "I see."

  He hadn't expected that Leyan would also fall ill while he wasn't around. The past weeks he'd been away, Li Meili had no idea that he had undergone a surgery to treat his illness. Since it was still at the beginning stage, his doctor had suggested removing the small mass they found before it started to metastasize throughout his body.

  His mind wasn't clear enough to make a decision, but he was glad that his twin sister was there to make the choice for him. Tang Moyu had demanded the oncologist to do everything they could to save his life.

  Zhang Jiren didn't want to see her like that but it couldn't be helped. As his nearest kin and only family left, Tang Moyu had to know the truth about his illness. He even asked her to run a test to make sure that she didn't have it.

  Feng Tianyi hadn't said anything through it all, but Zhang Jiren knew that it greatly bothered him that Tang Moyu might also deal with the same illness that killed their father. Since they were a set of twins, it was possible that she inherited it as well.

  For the past years, Zhang Jiren had been consistent getting tested every year to make sure he wouldn't succ.u.mb to the same illness that killed their father. Alas, this time, the result came back unfavorably, and Zhang Jiren had to take some medications to slow down the cancer from spreading.

  How pitiful. How tragic, he told himself.

  It was like fate didn't want him to be happy in this lifetime. Did fate allow him to meet and love Li Meili only to let him experience a life he could have before he died? So cruel!

  Since his illness was still at the beginning stage, the doctor said that it was highly treatable. However, it did require treatment, typically surgery and often radiation, or a combination of the two.

  While his marriage was nothing but a farce, it didn't mean he would allow his wife to suffer along with him. With their marriage almost approaching its end, it somehow gave Zhang Jiren relief that Li Meili wouldn't witness nor see him at his worst possible state.