Chapter 7
755words
"Of course not. Otherwise, why would I bother sending those later messages?"
She stood up, turning her back to me to look out the window.
"Leo wasn't lying. I'm not from this world. I was sent here on a mission to win him over. If I didn't marry him, I'd die the most painful death right in front of him."
"Before I arrived in your world, I knew how the story would unfold."
She turned her head to look at me. "Sylvia, your ending was predetermined. You were meant to die."
"……"
I was speechless, unable to utter a word. When Leo had told me this, it felt like a lie.
But when Sofia told me, I believed her.
I listened as she continued, "According to the original plot, you get cancer. Betrayed and heartbroken, you give up the chance for treatment and eventually die far from home."
"That's why I texted you. To tell you to pull yourself together, to live for yourself."
"I never wanted to come between you two, but I had no choice. And even if it wasn't me, another 'mission-taker' would have appeared beside Leo. Sooner or later, he would have changed."
"Sylvia, you and him were never meant to be together."
I looked at her, unable to speak for a long time.
What once felt like a destined love now seemed like a joke, seen through the eyes of someone who knew the script.
I looked up at Sofia. "Then why are you telling me all this?"
She turned around with a smile, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
"Leo is just a mission to me, but he was the person who held your life and death in his hands."
"I just thought... you've suffered enough. There's no need to throw your life away for someone who isn't worth it."
After saying this, Sofia smiled, walked over, and sat beside me.
"Sylvia, my mission is complete. I'll be leaving this world soon."
"Whether your fate changes or not depends entirely on your own choices."
"Will you drown in that rotten relationship and die? Or will you fight for treatment, cut ties with Leo, and reclaim your own life?"
"It's all your choice to make."
As Sofia was leaving, I called out to her.
"By telling me all this, won't you be punished?"
She just smiled at me, her tone casual. "Guess."
With those words, she completely vanished from my life.
Soon after, I asked the doctor to arrange a hospital room for me and began active treatment.
I didn't know if what Sofia said was true, but her words had woken me up.
When I lost my parents and fell into depression, I often wanted to end my life, but Leo's salvation pulled me back time and time again.
So I relied on him heavily, even seeing him as my reason to live.
I had never before imagined what it would be like to be without Leo someday.
It wasn't until Sofia appeared that I realized, I thought I couldn't live without him.
But Leo could clearly live without me.
I gradually understood that my life shouldn't be just for him.
I should live for myself, just like Sofia said.
I'm sure even my parents wouldn't want to see me give up on life and abandon myself just because I lost a man.
So I need to focus on getting better.
I need to live.
—
The treatment process was agonizing.
Every pill was hard to swallow.
But I gritted my teeth and persevered for two weeks.
"Did you have a fight with your husband? Why does he always sneak glances at you but doesn't dare to talk to you?"
The nurse asked me gossipily while giving me an injection.
Before I could answer, she joked, "He's so handsome and so devoted. You should forgive him."
"Now that it's deep winter, the nights are freezing. I often see him sitting on the chair outside your room, leaning against the wall and falling asleep. He's going to catch a cold."
That night, sure enough, I found Leo asleep against the wall in the hallway, still in his clothes.
Since I had come to my senses, I didn't dislike him as much anymore.
So I walked over to him and nudged him with my foot.
Leo jolted awake. His eyes were bleary with sleep at first, but the moment he saw me standing there, they immediately cleared.
