She had never truly realized that her illness could be fatal. I believed that too—until today, when Mike said it so bluntly.
I didn’t try to comfort her. Quietly, I walked out of the ward.
A few hours later, I arrived at the payment counter.
My credit score had always been good, so I took out various online loans totaling 17 thousand dollars.
And when I called the friends I’d helped over the years—people who knew my character—l one by one, they all did what they could.
After dozens of calls, I finally managed to gather the remaining 25 thousand dollars.
In the past, when my world collapsed, Stella was the one who held it up for me.
Now that her world was falling apart, it was my turn to hold it up for her.
Just as I was about to pay the hospital fees, Stella stopped me. She looked at me and said softly, “I’m sorry.”
“Come on, Stella, what are you apologizing for? It’s just 40 thousand. I’ve got it covered.”
“That’s not what I meant,” she said, her eyes complicated and heavy. “I lied to you.”
She handed me a medical report.
