Irreplaceable

Chapter 1

I walked into the house, clutching the late-stage diagnosis, and Emily practically dragged me into her game.

She’d used my savings to buy a million-dollar meteor shower in her online game.

My face went white.

That was my life savings!

But Emily, the black sheep of her wealthy family, had no idea how hard that money was to earn.

She frowned at me, clearly annoyed.

“It’s just a million bucks, babe. You’ll make it back. What’s the big deal?”

She stormed off to a bar to drown her sorrows, only to be picked up by her childhood friend, Jake.

Later, after she saw my diagnosis, her face crumpled with disappointment.

“Jake was right. You were going to use a terminal illness to trap me.”

01

Someone bumped into me, sending me and my bike crashing to the ground.

Ignoring the pain, I scrambled up from the muddy, rainy street and checked on the cake box, my leg bleeding.

The fancy cake was now nothing more than an ugly mess of frosting.

My heart sank, watching my next month’s rent money disappear in an instant.

A customer’s angry call came through. I fumbled for my phone and answered,

“Forget it! I want a refund and I’m filing a complaint!”

“I’m sorry, I…”

The line went dead.

Stunned, I processed the refund, leaving me with only two bucks to my name.

An advertisement popped up on my phone:

“Dear Mr. Ethan, Happy Birthday! We’ve prepared a special coupon for you…”

Probably because it was overloaded with messages, my decade-old phone froze.

The rain poured down on me.

I blinked, remembering it was my birthday too.

I picked up the flattened cake box from the ground.

For over twenty years, I had never had a birthday cake on my birthday.

I guess this was a messed-up birthday gift.

Today was a turning point in my life.

I finally saved up a million bucks. It was a mix of penny-pinching and my parents’ inheritance.

I’d planned to use that money to buy a small condo and a used car.

Emily had been kicked out of her house because of me. I wanted to work hard and give her a comfortable life.

Finally, Emily and I would have a place to call home!

The gloom from the ruined delivery vanished.

I shook off the rain, picked up my bike, and started heading home, cake in tow.

My phone rang.

I thought it would be Emily asking when I would be home, smiling as I answered.

But one sentence turned my blood to ice:

“Mr. Ethan? You’ve been diagnosed with stomach cancer. Come to the hospital tomorrow to pick up your report.”

02

I don’t remember how I got home.

I felt dizzy all the way to my front door.

The doctor’s words echoed in my head.

“The cancer is in the mid-stages. Chemotherapy offers some hope.”

“The cost is roughly a million dollars. Get ready as soon as possible to be hospitalized. Another month and it will be too late.”

Excitement and joy vanished, replaced by disbelief and fear of death.

Cancer? Was I dying?

I paused for a long time, forcing myself to calm down.

No.

The doctor said there was still a chance if I had chemotherapy. I had the money to pay for treatment. That was great news.

I barely steadied my nerves and fixed my expression.

Forcing a smile, I knocked on the door.

I was going to tell Emily I’d bought the cake myself, and I wanted to celebrate with her.

Soon, a hand adorned with a Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet opened the door.

Petite Emily threw her arms out and shouted,

“Surprise!”

Her pretty face was full of excitement.

I was startled. I relaxed my grip. The cake box fell to the ground.

The cake turned into a dirty mess.

It turned to trash.

She didn’t notice and excitedly pulled me over to her high-end gaming laptop, her face full of pride.

“Honey, look what I got you for your birthday!”

She turned the laptop screen around.

It was the game she often played. A meteor shower was falling, dazzling.

It was the most expensive effect in the game.

A million dollars.

A strong feeling made me almost unable to stand.

Emily’s voice was smug: “Don’t you like meteor showers? Are you surprised, happy?”

“I’m the first person in this area to do a meteor shower!”

My mind was buzzing. I pushed her away and opened my bank account to check the balance.

There were only two digits.

The moment she clicked to pay was the 41 years of my parents and my 10 years.

I slumped into a chair, suddenly feeling a sharp pain in my stomach.

The apartment and car of my dreams were gone.

My hope of living was gone.

It all disappeared in the virtual meteor shower.

I slowly closed my eyes, my heart full of despair…

03

Whether it was the stomach cancer itself or the despair.

I felt a churning pain in my stomach. I was sweating.

Half an hour ago, I was looking forward to a simple and warm birthday, thinking it was the beginning of a good life.

Now, it had become the worst day of my life.

Emily, the girl who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, paused and said in a rude tone,

“What’s wrong? Don’t you like the surprise I prepared for you?”

I paused and said bitterly,

“Emily, that was my parents’ life savings…”

“It’s also mine…”

I had not spoken the life-saving money yet.

Emily frowned at me and interrupted me forcefully:

“Are you kidding me? It’s just a million dollars. I can get it with a snap of my fingers. Why are you being such a wet blanket?”

I looked at her, my heart tired.

In her eyes, making money was as simple as opening her mouth and swiping a card.

For me, it was enduring the heat and cold and running deliveries day and night to earn a hot meal.

But I was always afraid she would worry, so I always told her the good news and not the bad.

She didn’t have to do anything at home. She spent money on my card.

Seeing my million-dollar savings, she increasingly thought making money was simple.

Seeing that I didn’t speak, her expression turned from confusion to anger, as if her self-esteem had been greatly insulted:

“Are you just looking down on me for being kicked out of my house and not being able to find a job?”

“I didn’t ask you to support me!”

“Okay, I’ll go out and find one now, are you happy?”

I was about to get up and pull her and explain, but my stomach pain suddenly became extremely severe. I covered my stomach and fell back into the chair.

My forehead began to sweat and my lips turned white.

But Emily stormed out, not seeing me nearly faint.

I curled up in the chair and endured it for a long time until it was dark.

I barely got up and went out to find Emily.

But I searched all the bars she often went to and didn’t see her.

I could only go home and wait for her on the couch until dawn.

Emily didn’t come home until the afternoon of the next day.

The dress she was wearing was wrinkled and smelled of alcohol.

I was about to ask her where she had gone when she tossed me an envelope.

There was ten thousand dollars in it.

“I found a job. This is my advance salary. I’ll pay you back part of it first.”

I looked at her unfamiliar expression and my heart stung.

“Can you please not be so stingy? I’m going to work today.”

“You wait, I’ll earn a million to pay you back!”

“Emily, I…” I wanted to tell her that I never looked down on her.

But she didn’t listen to me. She went into the bathroom to take a shower, changed her clothes, and went to work.

I sat on the couch, staring blankly at the closed door, my heart broken.

But I can’t wait.

Emily, I’m dying.