I Offer These Wishes, And He Shall Love No One For Life

I had just been diagnosed with late stage stomach cancer. Three months left to live.

A mysterious merchant found me in the quiet hospital corridor, offering to grant three of my deepest wishes. The price was simple: ten years of memories shared with Tanat, the man I had loved for a decade. I agreed without a single moment of hesitation.

My first wish was for Tanats first love, Emily, to return from abroad immediately. My second wish was for him to see her true colors. My third wish was for him to spend the rest of his life entirely alone, forever mourning the love he threw away.

"The deal is struck," the merchant whispered. "Just a gentle warning, Kate. The extraction of your memories takes seventy two hours to complete. During this transition, you will still feel every ounce of the pain."

With those words, the enigmatic dealer of emotions vanished, melting into the sterile, blindingly white corridor of the hospital. I clutched the terminal diagnosis in my hand. The edges of the paper frayed under my trembling grip, my fingertips so cold they felt completely lifeless.

Right then, my phone began to vibrate violently in my palm. The name Tanat flashed across the screen. My chest tightened, a pathetic shred of hope still lingering in my chest. Was he calling to ask about my doctor's appointment? Had he actually remembered? Taking a deep breath, I forced my voice to sound steady and swiped to answer.

"Hello?" I whispered.

"Kate! You won't believe the incredible news! Emily is coming back! Her flight lands the day after tomorrow!" Tanats voice burst through the receiver with an ecstatic energy I had never heard in our ten years together. He sounded like a child who had finally recovered his long lost, favorite toy.

My mouth opened, but the words I got my test results back died in my throat, swallowed by his shouting. A wave of nausea hit me, leaving a bitter, metallic taste on my tongue. He did not notice the tremor in my voice or the heavy silence on my end. In his world, there was only room for Emily.

"We need to cancel our anniversary dinner," he rushed on. "I have to throw her a welcome party, and it has to be absolutely perfect. You should come too. Oh, and can you book the restaurant for us? Use our usual spot. Emily used to love the menu there."

He kept planning every detail, each word piercing my ears like hot needles. Our tenth anniversary. Our favorite restaurant. It turned out that the places I had grown to love over a decade of compromise were just settings we had prepared for her. I was merely keeping her seat warm.

Holding my death warrant in one hand and listening to his absolute devotion to another woman in the other, a quiet laugh escaped my lips. Tears welled up in my eyes. Perhaps this was for the best. These final seventy two hours would serve as a proper funeral for the last ten years of my life.

"Okay," I said quietly, my voice cracking slightly.

After hanging up, I bypassed our apartment and walked straight into a premium boutique downtown. There was a crimson silk dress in the window that I had admired for months but could never bring myself to buy. Today, I bought it without looking at the price tag. Tanat had always told me that red was too flashy, that he preferred me in soft, muted tones. He never understood that my soul was meant to burn a brilliant, fierce red. He was the one who had spent a decade slowly washing the color out of me.

The next morning, Tanat practically dragged me out of bed. He rummaged through my closet, eventually pulling out a faded, oversized t shirt and a pair of worn jeans, tossing them onto the bed.

"Wear this."

I stared at him, confused. He frowned, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Emily just got back. Don't dress up too much. I don't want her to feel self conscious or out of place around you."

I stared at him, and the very last ember of warmth in my heart died out. He wasn't worried about Emily's comfort. He was terrified that I would take the spotlight away from her.

He insisted on driving to the airport himself. He spent the entire ride adjusting his tie and checking his hair in the rearview mirror, restless and eager like a teenager on his very first date. Sitting in the passenger seat, I watched the city blur past the window, completely numb.

The countdown for my memories to fade was down to twenty four hours. Every minute, every second was an excruciating wait. When the intercom announced the arrival of her flight, Tanat bolted upright, his eyes locked onto the terminal exit.

When Emily finally emerged, wearing a flowing white dress that made her look like an ethereal, pure angel, Tanat reacted like a bird escaping a cage. He shoved me out of his way, pushing past the crowd as he dashed toward her.

"Emily!"

He threw his arms around her in a desperate, breathless embrace, holding her so tightly it seemed as if he wanted to fuse her into his very bones. The force of his shove had sent me stumbling backward, my lower back slamming hard against the cold metal railing. A familiar, sharp agony flared in my abdomen, and the world momentarily spun into darkness.

I stood there like an invisible prop, forced to watch their tearful reunion. Resting her head on Tanat's shoulder, Emilys eyes shifted over his back and locked onto mine. She flashed me a subtle, triumphant smirk.

Then, slipping her arm through his, she walked over to me. Feigning surprise as if she had only just noticed my existence, she murmured, "Oh, Tanat, who is this?"

Tanat blinked, only just remembering I was there, and offered a dismissive shrug. "This is Kate. Shes my... assistant. She helps out with things around the house."

An assistant. Ten years of building a life together, reduced to a casual title of household help. Emily immediately flashed a bright smile and extended her hand. "Hi Kate, I'm Emily. It's so wonderful to meet you."

Before I could reach out, she tripped on her own feet with a soft gasp, stumbling directly into me. The cup of piping hot black coffee in her hand splashed entirely over my chest. The faded t shirt I was wearing was the very first gift Tanat had ever bought me, a decade ago.

I gasped as the heat seared through the fabric, my skin instantly flushing a painful crimson. Tanats reflexes were incredibly fast. He caught Emily before she could fall, frantically checking her over. "Are you alright? Did it burn you?"

He didn't even spare me a glance.

Emily shook her head, her eyes welling with tears. "I'm fine. I just lost my footing and got Kate's clothes dirty. I'm so sorry..."

Tanat finally looked at me, his brows furrowed in annoyance. "Kate, watch where you're going! You're so clumsy, you nearly hurt her!"

He slipped off his expensive designer blazer and gently draped it over Emily's shoulders, shielding her in his arms while completely ignoring the raw, blistering skin on my chest. "Don't worry about it. It's just a cheap shirt. Let's go get you something new to make up for the scare."

He guided her away, never once looking back. I was left standing in the middle of the crowded terminal, a pathetic joke of a woman.

The pitying, mocking stares of the bystanders cut into me like knives. Suddenly, seventy two hours felt far too long to wait.

That evening marked our tenth anniversary. I had texted him hours ago: Its our tenth anniversary tonight. The table is booked.

His only reply was a cold, single word confirmation.

I spent an hour on my makeup, slipped into my new red dress, and sat at the restaurant waiting from seven until nine. He never showed up. When I finally called his phone, it rang for a long time before he answered. The background was filled with deafening bass and rowdy laughter.

"What is it?" he snapped, sounding thoroughly annoyed.

"Tanat, where are you?"

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. I'm out with Zack and the guys. We're throwing Emily a welcome party. You should come over too. I'll text you the address." He hung up before I could say a word.

Looking down at the cold steak and the vintage wine I had ordered, I smiled bitterly at myself. What was I still hoping for? Why expect mercy from the man holding the blade?

I drove over to the lounge he mentioned. The moment I pushed the heavy doors open, the room fell dead silent. Dozens of eyes turned to me, filled with curiosity and cruel amusement.

Tanat sat at the center table. In the seat that should have been mine, Emily was laughing softly at something he said. He looked up, giving me a lazy nod. "You made it. Grab a seat. The more the merrier, right?"

Merry. My eyes locked onto the dress Emily was wearing. It was the exact same crimson silk dress I had on. The sight of it felt like a dull blade sawing through my chest. It wasn't just the humiliation of wearing the same outfit; it was the realization that the muse and the substitute were wearing the exact same skin.

Zack, Tanat's closest friend, laughed loudly. "Hey Tanat, now that the real deal, I mean, now that Emily is back, when are you going to dump the shadow? We're all waiting to toast to the real wedding!"

The joke pinned me to the wall like a specimen. I stared at Tanat, waiting for him to defend me, to say something. He didn't. He just laughed, swirled his glass, and said, "Cut it out, guys. Tonight is about Emily."

His silence was a betrayal far louder than any confession.

Emily, completely ignoring my humiliation, picked up Tanats phone from the table. She unlocked it with ease and opened his photos. "Tanat, your password is still my birthday? You haven't changed it once in all these years," she cooed.

Then, scrolling through his gallery, she paused on a photo of Tanat and me. She gasped softly, covering her mouth. "Oh, Kate, this is a beautiful photo of you two, but wait. Those earrings you're wearing, aren't they the silver cufflinks I gave Tanat for his graduation? Why do you have them?"

Those cufflinks. They had been his graduation gift from her. He had treasured them for a decade, never letting them out of his sight. I used to think he was just sentimental. It turned out he was just waiting for the owner to return.

Before I could speak, Tanat reached out. His fingers gripped my earlobe, and with a sudden, rough tug, he ripped the modified cufflink from my ear. A sharp pain flared, and a thin trickle of blood began to seep down my neck. He didn't even look at me. He simply handed the piece to Emily, his voice softer than I had ever heard it. "If you want them back, take them. They were always yours anyway."

A violent spasm tore through my abdomen, far worse than any attack before. Cold sweat broke out across my back, my face turning ashen. Every breath felt like inhaling glass. I weakly reached out, tugging at Tanat's sleeve. My voice was barely a whisper. "Tanat, I don't feel well. I need to go home."

He was staring at Emily with adoration, and at my touch, he shook my hand off with irritation. "Kate, stop throwing tantrums. Everyone is having a good time. Don't ruin the night."

In that moment, my heart turned to ash. I walked out of the lounge alone, the cold night wind hitting my face. Unable to hold it in any longer, I collapsed against the brick wall of the alleyway and threw up until my ribs ached. My stomach was completely empty, leaving nothing but bitter bile. I looked back at the warm glow of the windows, wiped my mouth, and called a cab. I didn't go home. I went straight to the ER.

I had twelve hours left, and I was done enduring. By the time I returned from the clinic after receiving a heavy dose of painkillers, it was nearly midnight. The countdown on my memories had hit its final minutes.

Leaving the lights off, I used the pale moonlight to pack my things. For ten years, I had been like a swallow building a nest, slowly filling this empty house with my warmth. Yet, as I packed, I realized everything that actually belonged to me could fit inside a single, small suitcase.

The sudden blare of my ringtone shattered the silence. It was Tanat. I pressed answer, met instantly by his furious shouting.

"Kate, how dare you just walk out like that?" he roared. "Leaving her welcome party in the middle of the night? You have zero respect for anyone! You are unbelievably selfish!"

My stomach flared with a dull ache, forcing me to curl up on the hardwood floor. "Tanat... I'm dying..." My voice was so faint, a desperate plea for him to listen.

But he wasn't listening. On the other end, he let out a venomous laugh. "This act again? Even if you actually died, you wouldn't get a shred of sympathy from me. You aren't worth a single hair on Emily's head! I'm telling you, Kate, don't expect me to look at you ever again. A manipulative, dramatic woman like you deserves to end up completely alone."

His words were rusty nails, driven straight into my battered chest. I stared at the digital clock on my phone screen, watching the seconds tick away.

57...

58...

59...

A soft chime echoed in my mind, followed by the emotion merchant's detached voice: Time is up. The transaction is complete.

Tanat was still barking through the speaker, "Are you deaf? Get over here right now and apologize to Emily!"

Suddenly, the crushing weight in my chest vanished. The pain was gone, replaced by a strange, light emptiness. The world seemed to reset, a sudden clarity washing over me. I listened to the man screaming hysterically on the line, feeling nothing but mild confusion. I stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the glittering city lights. My mind was perfectly clear.

"Who is this?" I asked, my voice entirely flat.

The line went silent for a second before his voice returned, louder and more rabid. "Kate, what kind of game are you playing now?"

"You're insane," I said calmly.

I hung up, blocked his number, and deleted the contact. A fluid, seamless sequence of actions. Looking in the mirror at my pale face and strangely bright eyes, I let out a soft, relaxed laugh. For the first time in my life, the world was wonderfully quiet.