"Mrs. Christine, the test results are in."
"I'm sorry, but none of your relatives are a match for the surgery. We'll keep searching the international bone marrow registry, but... you should prepare yourselves. This process can take a long time, and Mr. Blackwood might not..."
One month had passed since Ethan Blackwood's diagnosis.
Every close relative had been tested. None of them could save his life.
Christine stood outside the hospital room, holding the test results. She wanted to scream, but no sound came out. Her fingers touched her wet cheeks.
The golden Cartier ring on her finger caught the light, the sparkle hurting her eyes.
Three years of marriage.
She wasn't big on fancy jewelry, but Ethan had insisted the ring symbolized their love. On their wedding day, he'd slipped the expensive ring onto her finger with tears of joy in his eyes.
That was just like him - always showing his burning love for his quiet wife. Like that first time he saw her at the university's spring party. She'd worn a simple champagne-colored dress, her hair falling straight and smooth, looking out of place in the noisy crowd.
"Not your scene?" a girl next to her had asked loudly.
Christine had just shaken her head with a small smile. "It's nice, actually."
Her smile was gentle, her eyes curved into crescents - a sweet, tender face.
Ethan had thought she was an art student. But the next time he saw her, she was rushing out of the Math Department. It was drizzling that day. She had no umbrella, a cookie between her teeth, trying to protect her textbooks.
He'd walked up behind her and held his umbrella over her head.
Christine had been exhausted from studying all night. When she felt someone approach, she looked up sharply, eyeing the tall stranger warily. Her puffy cheeks and confused round eyes made Ethan's heart skip a beat.
"...Thanks."
"No problem." He smiled brightly, tilting the umbrella more toward her side. "I'm Ethan, Chemistry Department, second year. How about you?"
Back then, neither of them knew they would fall in love, going from campus sweethearts to husband and wife.
Tears fell on Christine's ring. She remembered their wedding day clearly - their vows to love each other forever, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer.But now Ethan was about to leave her behind.
Martha, their housekeeper, came down the hallway with a food container while Christine sat alone outside the room. Rebecca, Ethan's mother, had spent a fortune booking the private room next door for six months. She'd been caring for Ethan day and night this past month, while Martha brought home-cooked meals every day.
"Mrs. Christine, would you like some lunch?" Martha asked.
"I have no appetite," Christine replied numbly.
"Please eat something." Martha's eyes welled up. "Ethan's strong. He'll get better. You need to stay strong too."
Christine had heard these words countless times in the past two weeks. So many times they'd lost meaning.
Would he really get better?
"I need to go to the office," she muttered.
Before Martha could respond, Christine headed for the elevator. She ran into her parents at the corner but tried to walk past them. Her mother Patricia caught her arm and pulled her into an empty hallway.
"Sweetie, are you sure about this?"
Patricia looked worried. "Of course I'll support whatever you choose, but... Ethan's illness isn't going away anytime soon. He'll need constant care. If you stay with him, your whole life will be on hold. What about your happiness? Your career? You don't have kids yet - you still have choices. Honey, do you really want to-"
Despite her tired face and swollen eyes, Christine's voice was firm. "I won't divorce him."
A month ago, Ethan had been recording data in his lab when everything went black. Blood gushed from his nose like a fountain. His fingertips and lips turned purple. He collapsed within seconds.
His colleagues rushed him to the hospital. They saved his life, but his organs and nervous system had nearly shut down. He needed machines just to breathe.
Overnight, he was diagnosed with acute leukemia.
Survival was just the first step. The disease hit hard and fast and Ethan urgently needed a stem cell transplant. The best match chances were siblings, then parents, children, other relatives, and strangers. His older brother and mother got tested immediately.
A month later, fate played a cruel joke.
No one was even a 30% match. Not enough for surgery.
When Ethan woke up and learned about his leukemia, he stayed quiet for a long time. His first words were asking Christine for a divorce.
He'd always been golden - wealthy family, handsome face, bright personality. Right after graduating, he'd landed a job at a top research lab. His list of admirers could fill a whole book. Christine thought she was the lucky one, blessed by fate to meet and fall in love with him.
Who knew fate could be so cruel?
Now this man who loved her so deeply lay sleeping in the next room.
He might be sick for a very long time. Too sick to live normally. Too sick to wipe away his wife's tears.