I Died While My Billionaire Ex Hated Me

The year Xavier Knight returned to the country, he had become a world-renowned billionaire.

But everyone in New York's elite circle knew he hated me to the bone.

Three years ago, when his illness was at its worst, I took ten million dollars from his biggest rival, slapped him in public, and told him to get the hell out of my life.

So when we met again, he used his power to force me into becoming his on-call secret mistress.

He would sit in his VIP booth, sipping champagne and sneering as he watched me strip-dance at private parties just to make a few bucks from wealthy investors.

"Eva, you abandoned me for money back then. Now, your pathetic body is only fit to crawl and beg for my pocket change."

That same night, he threw his engagement invitation to another wealthy heiress right in my face.

I numbly wiped the blood from my forehead where the sharp edge of the card had cut me, and slowly picked it up.

He thought I would throw away my remaining dignity and beg him to stay, just like I always did.

But he didn't know that I was running out of time.

I had spent every single penny of that ten million dollars on his medical bills back then.

And my right ear had been beaten to complete deafness years ago when I shielded him from a mob.

Now, I was dying.

The blood from my forehead dripped down my eyelashes, staining the gold-trimmed red invitation.

"Eva, the day after tomorrow is my engagement party with Melody."

"If you want to come and beg for some leftovers, I won't stop you."

Xavier looked down at me from his height, his eyes filled with pure disgust.

My right ear was ringing constantly. Only my left ear could barely catch his words.

Melody was my sisterthe biological, pampered daughter of the Sinclair family.

While I was just a walking medical backup, adopted from an orphanage solely to keep her alive whenever her failing organs needed a match.

"Silent?"

Xavier ground the sole of his leather shoe onto my fingers.

The pain shot straight to my heart, making me tremble violently.

He bent down, pinching my chin with disgust, forcing me to look up.

"You were so loud when you took the money and slapped me. What happened?"

"Are you mute now?"

"Or do you think you didn't make enough from dancing tonight, so you're playing hard to get again?"

I used every ounce of my strength to pull my hand out from under his shoe.

"You worry too much, Xavier."

"I'll take the invitation. I wish you two... a lifetime of happiness."

He visibly froze.

He probably didn't expect me to be this calm.

In the six months since we reunited, I had let him humiliate me like a dog just to pay off the massive debts I owed to the loan sharks.

I had even knelt and bowed to the floor in public just for the thousands of dollars he carelessly tossed at me.

He thought I would throw a fit, crying and begging him not to marry someone else.

But he didn't know that thanks to his cruel "generosity," my debts were finally paid off.

And just this morning, I had received my diagnosis: terminal brain cancer.

The doctor said the blood clot in my brain was pressing against my nerves.

I had two months left, at most.

That clot was formed three years ago, when his rival pinned me against a concrete wall and beat my head repeatedly with a metal pipe.

My right ear had gone completely deaf that night, too.

But now, telling him would change nothing.

"Eva, you'd better not play any tricks on me."

Xavier shoved my face away and aggressively wiped his hands with a wet wipe, as if he had touched something filthy.

"A gold-digger like you doesn't even deserve to be compared to a single hair on Melody's head."

He threw the dirty wet wipe in my face and stormed out of the VIP room.

The moment the door slammed shut, I collapsed onto the freezing floor.

I was so tired.

My hearing aid had been knocked out when he threw the invitation, rolling away into some dark corner.

Just like me, forgotten by the world.

Right then, the door opened again.

Melody walked in, wearing a stunning designer gown.

She looked down at me on the floor and giggled, covering her mouth.

"Oh, Eva. Look at you. How pathetic."

She knelt down and lowered her voice.

"Eva, haven't you always wondered how Xavier managed to get that massive investment to launch his business abroad so easily back then?"

I looked up at her blankly.

"Because I intercepted the money you got for him and gave it to him under my own name."

Melody's smile grew wider.

"You were beaten half to death by the casino loan sharks just to pay his medical bills."

"And that ten million you sacrificed your life for? It became the very reason he hates you."

"Thanks for paving the way for me, Eva."

"Now, he's all mine."

I looked at Melody's smug face, but I couldn't even bring myself to be angry.

What was the point of arguing anymore?

It had been three years. If Xavier had trusted me even for a second, he would have checked the hospital payment records.

Or he would have looked into why I was being hunted by loan sharks right after he left.

But he never did.

He only believed what he saw.

He only believed that I took his rival's check, slapped him, and told him to get lost.

"Melody."

I supported myself against the wall and stood up, my head spinning.

"He's yours. Keep him."

My calmness made Melody's face twitch.

Just as she was about to snap, footsteps echoed in the hallway.

"Melody, are you done?"

Xavier pushed the door open and walked in.

Melody's eyes instantly welled with tears, and she deliberately threw herself toward the glass coffee table nearby.

"Ah!"

Her wrist scraped against the sharp edge of the table, leaving a bright red scratch.

"Eva, why did you push me? I just wanted to make sure you got the invitation..."

Xavier rushed over instantly, shielding Melody in his arms.

He glared at me, his eyes filled with pure rage.

"Eva, do you have a death wish?"

Despite the sharp ringing in my ears, I found the situation utterly ridiculous.

"I didn't push her."

Xavier didn't hesitate to strike my face.

The force of his slap sent me crashing to the floor, and the taste of blood filled my mouth.

My fragile brain nerves throbbed in excruciating pain, and my vision began to turn black.

"That was to teach you some manners."

Xavier looked at me as if I were a piece of trash.

"You threw me away like a dog when I was sick just for some cash, and now you're jealous enough to hurt your own sister."

"Eva, you're not just pathetic. You're evil."

My left ear began to ring violently, too.

The world instantly fell into dead silence.

I saw his lips moving, but I couldn't hear a single word he was saying.

As it turned out, complete silence wasn't scary.

It was actually quite peaceful.

Melody sobbed in his arms, and he gently picked her up, looking at her with deep worry.

Before leaving, he threw a credit card onto my body.

"There's fifty thousand dollars in there. Consider this the final payoff to end whatever we had."

"Get out of New York and never show your face in front of Melody again. Otherwise, I have a thousand ways to make your life a living hell."

Money.

It was always about money.

I wiped the blood from my lip and slowly picked up the card.

The contempt in Xavier's eyes deepened as he carried Melody out of the room.

The next day, I went back to the Sinclair estate.

I only wanted to pack a few of my old clothes before checking myself into a quiet hospice care facility in the suburbs to spend my remaining days.

As soon as I walked in, I heard Mrs. Sinclair talking on the phone in the living room, her voice dripping with flattery and joy.

"Yes, yes, Melody and Xavier are getting engaged the day after tomorrow. You must come!"

When she hung up and saw me, her smile instantly vanished.

"What are you doing back here, you curse? Haven't you embarrassed us enough?"

Mrs. Sinclair snatched my bag and dumped everything onto the floor.

A few faded old shirts fell out, along with an unlabeled bottle of painkillers.

She poked my forehead aggressively with her finger and spat out insults.

"You disgraced this family for a few dirty bucks back then!"

"Now that Xavier is incredibly rich, you shamelessly crawl back to be his mistress!"

"How did I give birth to a shameless whore like you!"

"Why can't you be more like your sister and behave yourself!"

I numbly knelt down to pick up my clothes.

Indeed, why couldn't I be Melody?

Why was it that despite being daughters of the same household, she was pampered like a princess while I was born only to provide bone marrow for her?

Just as I reached for my pill bottle, Mrs. Sinclair's high heel stomped heavily onto the back of my hand.

"Did you hear me talking to you? Are you trying to ruin your sister's engagement party?"

Her sharp heel ground viciously into my knuckles.

My left ear had recovered a tiny bit of hearing, just in time to catch her shrill curses.

"Mom, let it go."

Melody walked down the stairs, holding Xavier's arm.

They really were inseparable now.

Melody walked over and gently pulled Mrs. Sinclair back, acting like a sweet, understanding angel.

"Eva hasn't had it easy lately. Even though she has a bad reputation for drinking and strip-dancing for men at VIP lounges, she's just trying to survive."

When Xavier heard "drinking and strip-dancing," his expression darkened.

He was the one who had forced me to do those things.

"Take your trash and get out."

Ignoring the blood dripping from the back of my hand, I grabbed my clothes and the pill bottle, turning to leave.

Just as I reached the foyer, a sudden, blinding headache struck.

It felt as though someone were drilling into my brain with a power tool.

My knees buckled, and I crashed heavily to the floor.

"Playing victim again?"

Mrs. Sinclair sneered.

"Eva, you've been playing this tragic act for twenty years. Aren't you tired of it?"

A metallic taste rose in my throat, and I bit my lip hard.

I couldn't throw up.

I couldn't spit blood in front of them.

I forced myself to swallow the blood and used the doorframe to pull myself up.

"I won't bother you anymore."

I pushed the door open and stumbled out into the pouring rain.

The cold wind and freezing rain beat against my body, chilling me to the bone.

Once I ran past the gates of the wealthy estate, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I leaned against a trash can on the curb and threw up a massive pool of blood.

The dark red blood mixed with the rainwater, looking terrifying on the wet concrete.

I leaned against the brick wall, gasping for breath, and took out my phone.

I transferred all the money I had saved over the past three yearsincluding the fifty thousand dollars Xavier had thrown at meto the director of the orphanage who had taken care of me when I was a child.

"Director, please use this money for the kids. I'm going on a long trip, and I don't think I'll be coming back."

After sending the message, I threw my phone into the trash can.

There was nothing left for me in this city.

I found a cheap, remote motel and spent my days swallowing handfuls of cheap painkillers.

My body decayed rapidly.

My vision began to blur, my hearing completely vanished, and my world turned into a dark, silent void.

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

Every night, I would writhe in agony on the cold motel floor.

I dug my fingernails deep into my own flesh until they bled, using the sharp physical pain just to keep myself conscious.

Eventually, I didn't even have the strength to crawl to the sink for a cup of water.

I knew my end was near.

On the last day of my life, I dreamed of Xavier from three years ago.

Back then, he wasn't this cold and heartless.

He was terribly sick, lying in our tiny rented basement, holding my hand tightly as he said:

"Eva, once I get better, I'll marry you."

"I'll make sure you're the happiest girl in New York."

Back then, I smiled like a fool.

For those words, I willingly went to beg his dangerous, mob-connected rival.

I let dozens of men pin me down, break my ribs, beat me until my ear bled, and force me to sign a massive high-interest loan.

But I got the ten million dollars that saved his life.

I went back to him covered in blood. To make sure he would focus on his treatment without worrying about me, I threw the money in his face and slapped him hard.

"Xavier, you're a useless cripple. I'm done playing house with you."

His eyes at that moment looked as desperate and broken as a dying animal.

When I woke up from the dream, my body was twitching with pain.

In the pitch black, I fumbled around and grabbed a small metal box from the nightstand.

Inside was a blood-stained hospital critical condition notice from three years ago, and the loan contract that had long been paid off.

I hugged the metal box tightly against my chest, as if holding onto my ridiculous, short life.

If there is a next life, Xavier... I hope I never meet you again.

Today was the day of Xavier and Melody's engagement party.

In the grand ballroom of New York's most luxurious five-star hotel, Mrs. Sinclair, dressed in an expensive designer gown, moved gracefully among the wealthy guests, basking in their compliments.

"Mrs. Sinclair, you are so blessed. Melody is marrying Mr. Knight. She's going to live like a queen for the rest of her life."

"Oh, thank you. Melody has always been a sweet girl, and Xavier is a very loyal man."

Mrs. Sinclair couldn't stop smiling.

Xavier stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, wearing a perfectly tailored black tuxedo and holding a glass of champagne.

He stared out at the gloomy sky, feeling an inexplicable sense of anxiety.

His eyelid had been twitching all morning.

Since dawn, he had been waiting for Eva to call him.

He knew Eva too well.

That woman would do anything for money. She had no dignity left.

On an occasion like this, she would definitely show up to make a scene, or kneel before him to beg for money.

To prevent that, he had specifically hired a dozen extra security guards to patrol the entrance.

If she dared to show up, he would crush her remaining self-respect right in front of New York's high society.

But the ceremony was about to start, and there was still no sign of Eva at the gates.

"Xavier, what are you looking at?"

Melody, dressed in a gorgeous white gown, walked over and sweetly wrapped her arms around his.

Xavier snapped out of his thoughts, hiding his impatience.

"Nothing."

"Are you waiting for Eva?"

Melody pouted, her voice dripping with fake sadness.

"Eva is so petty. I even sent her an invitation myself."

"Even if she's mad at me, she shouldn't play missing on such an important day."

Mrs. Sinclair walked over and let out a cold snort.

"It's better if she doesn't show up!"

"We don't need her filthy, pathetic presence ruining our day!"

"Why even mention that jinx on such a happy occasion?"

Xavier tightened his grip on his champagne glass.

Yes, it was better if she didn't show up.

But why did his chest feel so empty, as if a vital piece of his heart had been ripped out?

The romantic music began to play, and the host took the stage to announce the start of the ceremony.

Xavier set down his glass and took Melody's hand.

Right then, the heavy double doors of the ballroom were slammed open.

Two police officers in uniform walked in, followed by a couple of forensic medical examiners in white coats.

The noisy ballroom instantly fell silent.

Everyone turned their eyes to the door.

Xavier frowned, the uneasy feeling in his chest suddenly magnifying a hundred times.

The officers walked straight to the stage, their eyes sweeping over the crowd before landing on Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair.

"Are you the family of Eva Sinclair?"

Mrs. Sinclair's smile froze, and she immediately spat out in irritation:

"What trouble did that useless girl cause this time?"

"Officer, we kicked her out of our house a long time ago. Whatever she did has absolutely nothing to do with the Sinclair family!"

Xavier let go of Melody's hand and took a step forward, his voice suddenly tightening.

"What happened to her?"

The leading officer pulled out a transparent evidence bag.

Inside was a rusted, blood-stained metal box and a broken, cheap hearing aid.

"We found the body of Ms. Eva Sinclair in a cheap motel on the outskirts of the city."

"According to the preliminary forensic report, she passed away yesterday at approximately 2:00 AM. The cause of death was multiple organ failure caused by a severe, untreated blood clot in her brain."

"We couldn't reach her emergency contact, so we had to trace her family registry to find you."