The Major General Faked His Terminal Illness Chapter 03

The Major General Faked His Terminal Illness Chapter 03

They were a pair of jade bracelets.

It was said to have been passed down through the Gray family for generations and is given only to the Gray family’s daughters-in-law.

On my eighteenth birthday, my uncle placed it in the palm of my hand: “Sienna, whether you choose to accept me or not, you will always be the most precious little princess in my heart.”

I used to value it more than my own life.

Even in the toughest times, I’d never let them go.

Now, the pair of smooth jade bracelets had been resized to a smaller circumference, and a new name—Luna—had been engraved on the inside.

Amid the applause and well-wishes of the crowd, my uncle solemnly slipped them onto Luna’s slender wrists.

“My little princess, congratulations—your wish has come true.”

I didn’t know how I managed to leave that blinding light behind.

The phone kept vibrating in my pocket.

[Actually, I recognized you right away at the New Haven Hotel, Sienna.]

[Got that? The jade bracelet is mine, and so is my uncle.]

[You’re just like a lonely outsider no one cares about. How pitiful.]

[Your life is such a mess, no one would even care. LOL.]

[By the way, I had my uncle prepare a ‘birthday present’ for you. Please be sure to… enjoy it.]

I wandered the cold streets all day like a wandering ghost.

It wasn’t until nightfall that I returned to the old, run-down apartment building where I was renting a room.

Then I realized what Luna meant by “gift.”

The door was wide open.

The room looked as if it had been swept by a storm.

My uncle was pinned to the ground with his hands tied behind his back, his brand-new military uniform covered in dust.

He struggled, the veins in his neck bulging.

“Hey, kid, long time no see,” said the man in the lead, a toothpick clenched between his teeth. “It’s time to pay up for this month, isn’t it?”

I turned pale. “I’m sure I’ve already paid off all the debts.”

“Paid off?” the man sneered, stomping on my uncle’s back. “Only when I say so. What, you don’t want to pay? Then let’s see how many blows your precious uncle can take.”

“Sienna… Don’t worry about me! Go! Hurry up and go! Let them do whatever they want to me… I’m just a good-for-nothing anyway…”

Exactly the same words.

Over the past five years, I had heard this countless times.

I closed my eyes, feeling exhausted.

They tried to “collect the debt” countless times, but they never actually hurt my uncle in the slightest.

And I, in order to protect this person who had deceived me so deeply, broke my ribs, limped on a broken leg, and gave up almost everything I had.

A rusty, metallic taste rose in my throat.

I spoke in a hoarse voice: “What… exactly do you want?”

The man looked me up and down with a contemptuous look in his eyes.

“You’re going to kneel and apologize to each of us, and speak three words of remorse for every person. Consider today’s payment as us guys getting some entertainment.”

“No! Sienna! Don’t crawl under there!”

My uncle let out a howl, his eyes red-rimmed, and struggled to get up, but he was held down firmly.

I gave a faint, numb smile.

The last faint spark in my heart went out with a pop.

“All right,” I heard my own voice say, with an eerie calm. “Since that’s what you want, let’s call it even.”

Although those words were clearly directed at the group of men, my uncle suddenly looked up, a fleeting look of surprise and panic flashing across his eyes.

But then he remembered the promise he had made to Luna.

This was the last “lesson.”

As long as Sienna got through this, he would take her home and make it up to her tenfold from then on.

He still had a long life ahead of him to make amends.

So he looked away, and as he struggled, he secretly used the miniature camera hidden in his sleeve to snap a photo of me kneeling before the man.

And sent it.

The crowd dispersed.

I lay on the ground for a long time before I had the strength to get up.

My uncle crawled over with red, teary eyes. He’d intended to play the victim for a moment, but when he saw the lifeless look in my eyes, the words died in his throat.

The next day, the doctor came to take my uncle to the capital for treatment with a “miracle drug.”

Just before getting into the car, he clutched my hand tightly, glancing back over his shoulder every few steps: “Sienna, wait for me to come back. I’ll make sure you pick up that sniper rifle again and become the brightest soldier in the NCR. I won’t let anyone… bully you ever again.”

I smiled but didn’t answer.

I just stood there quietly, watching the car disappear down the street.

Then I bent over suddenly, clasping my mouth, and a rush of warm red fluid poured out between my fingers.

The doctor said that if the tumor ruptured, it meant the end was near.

Funny.

As I fell, I didn’t feel a shred of fear.

All that flashed through my mind were faded yet warm memories of days gone by.

It was my uncle who brought me home from Section 60 and clumsily braided my hair into little plaits.

It was the first time I’d missed the target during live-fire practice. He scolded me with a stern face, but then turned around and secretly slipped a piece of M&M’s into my pocket.

When I was unconscious with a high fever, he stayed up all night by my bedside, holding my hand and repeating over and over, “Don’t be afraid, Sienna. I’m here.”

He said, “Our Sienna deserves the very best in the world.”

A warm liquid trickled down my cheek.

With trembling, fingers marked with red stains, I tapped the screen of my phone.

Summoning my last ounce of strength, I typed, letter by letter:

“Gavin, I’m done waiting.”

“I offer my life in repayment for the Gray family’s kindness in raising me and for the ‘injustice’ done to Luna. Please… bury me beside my parents.”

Message sent.

I closed my eyes, feeling utterly drained.

Just then, the cell phone on the ground began to vibrate wildly.