He Proposed to Her on a Mountain, I Got a Cancer Diagnosis in a Hospital Chapter 05

He Proposed to Her on a Mountain, I Got a Cancer Diagnosis in a Hospital Chapter 05

“What did you just say? Say that again.” 

Nathan snapped awake, barely able to believe what he 

had heard. 

“Your wife has passed away. Please come to the hospital and claim her body.” 

Nathan clutched his chest, his breathing turning ragged. “No… no, that’s impossible. How could she…” 

He hurled the phone away and braced himself against the wall, gasping for air. 

Lila grabbed his arm tightly. “Nathan, what’s wrong?” 

“You had a rough day yesterday. Get some rest today.” 

“Don’t touch me.” 

Nathan violently shook her off and kept staring stubbornly in the direction of home. 

“She’s lying to me. Grace must’ve put someone up to this.” 

Still wrapped up in her own world, Lila went on talking. “What now? Did Grace call again because she wanted something?” 

“Nathan, don’t stay mad at Grace. Married couples 

don’t stay mad forever.” 

“But it’s okay. I’ll always be by your side-” 

“Lila, shut up.” 

Nathan barked the words and shoved her away. “Evan, book me a flight. I’m going home.” 

By the time he landed, it was already afternoon. Nathan 

had never felt this frantic in his life. 

Standing outside the front door, he took a deep breath. 

It took all his courage just to push it open. 

“Grace?” 

No one answered. 

He kept walking farther inside. “Grace, are you asleep? 

I’m back.” 

“Are you angry because I didn’t give you the money? 

Just call out to me one more time. I’ll transfer you 

however much you want…” 

His voice cut off abruptly. 

Fear began to spread through his entire body. 

He searched every corner of the house and still found no sign of Grace. 

“Come out. Come out, and I won’t go see Lila anymore, 

Grace.” 

“If you keep hiding, you’ll suffocate in there.” 

He searched the whole place again, stubborn to the end. 

In the end, he picked up the potted plant on the 

balcony. 

It was her favorite one. 

“If you don’t come out, I’m smashing this.” 

The silence in the air was terrifying. 

In the end, he put it back down. 

If it broke, Grace would get mad. 

Hearing the commotion, Mr. Collins hurried over, his 

eyes red. 

“Sir, Mrs. Sterling… she isn’t coming back.” 

“That’s nonsense. She’ll come back.” 

“She’s just angry. That’s all. She’s just angry.” 

He ran his hand over the throw pillow Grace used to 

hold. 

It still smelled like her. 

“All her things are still here. How could she not come 

back?” 

“She’s angry because I wouldn’t give her the money.” 

“She’s hiding from me.” 

Mr. Collins clenched his teeth and stepped in front of him. “Sir, stop lying to yourself.” 

“The hospital called you. Mrs. Sterling is really gone.” 

The silence hung impossibly heavy. 

Then Nathan suddenly laughed. 

“How could that be?” 

He stopped calling for Grace, and he stopped 

mentioning the hospital. 

He cut off all contact with the outside world. 

He ate and slept like a machine. 

He held on to the pillow she had slept on and refused to 

let it go. 

A week later, when he finally came downstairs, he met Mr. Collins’s bloodshot eyes. 

His own voice was hoarse. “Which hospital is she at?” 

When he got there, he was not hysterical the way he had been before. 

He only pressed his lips together and asked, “Where is 

my wife?” 

The hospital handed him an urn. 

“The weather has been very hot. Since no one came to 

claim her for so long, she was cremated.” 

He touched the cold box, and inside it was his wife. 

“You’re telling me… she had stomach cancer?” 

The doctor nodded. “The diagnosis was accurate. She 

did not have long to live, Mr. Sterling. Please accept our 

condolences.” 

“No.” 

He tightened his grip on the urn. 

“Grace was always healthy. How could she be sick?” 

“Late–stage stomach cancer? You must have 

diagnosed her wrong.” 

He could not stop himself from shouting, his breathing 

turning rough. 

Then suddenly, a memory flashed through his mind. 

Mr. Collins had told him there was so much blood 

coming from her mouth. 

He rushed home without another thought. 

He tore through the house, searching frantically. 

At last, in a cabinet, he found a thick stack of medical 

reports. 

There was also an entire drawer full of medicine. 

He clutched one of the bottles, his heart twisting like it was being cut apart. “Why? Why didn’t you tell me?” 

He closed his eyes and heard Grace crying on the phone 

that she was in pain. 

Then he raised his hand and slapped himself hard 

across the face. 

It was all his fault. 

He was the one who had not taken it seriously. 

Then he thought of something and looked up with a 

shout. “Mr. Collins! What about Mom? My 

mother–in–law is still in the hospital!” 

“Hurry. Get the best doctors and the best medicine. I’ll 

go take care of her.” 

Mr. Collins stepped into his path. 

“Sir.” 

“Mrs. Sterling’s mother… died that same day too.”