Chapter 1: A Fatal Delusion

Before I was fully conscious, I was met with my sister’s vicious glare.

“I’m warning you,” she hissed. “Don’t you dare interfere with my life this time.”

My sister, Rose, was standing there alive and well, yet she was resentful that I had once saved her. She clutched the hospital’s cancer diagnosis report, kissing it joyfully and muttering to herself that this time, her rich CEO boyfriend would love her forever.

In that moment, I knew. We had both been reborn.

But she had once again, resolutely, chosen her delusion of “love.”

When I brought the dishes out from the kitchen, Rose was listening to an audiobook. A synthetic female voice narrated: The female lead, dying of cancer, lay frail on her hospital bed, wracked with spasms. Alone, she faced the taunts and curses from the male lead’s true love. The tragedy was absolute. Meanwhile, the CEO was touring Europe with his flawless other woman, a woman who never posted on social media, yet he’d set a photo of them together as his Instagram profile picture. Stricken by this final blow, the heroine passed away. Only then did the CEO realize his mistake, weeping over her lifeless form.

What use is a man’s regret when you’re already dead?

But Rose didn’t see it that way. “He just doesn’t know she’s sick,” she whispered. “He still loves her. If he knew, he’d never be vacationing with that other woman. When will he see the truth?” With that, two lines of tears traced down Rose’s cheeks, followed by uncontrollable, violent coughs. She stared at a photo of them together on her phone, her pale face a mask of sorrow. “Does he even know I’m dying?”

The unfortunate truth was, her trust-fund boyfriend, Hunter Allendale, would remain blissfully unaware. The number of women the Allendale heir had been with was too many to count on both hands.

In our previous life, they got together during their sophomore year of college. It was passionate at first, but once the playboy grew bored, he unilaterally dumped her, offering a cash payout as a consolation prize.

Rose, who lived for love, couldn’t accept the rejection. She cried endlessly, often muttering to herself, “I get it now. This is the ‘heartbreak arc’ for the female lead. He’s just temporarily blinded by that scheming bitch. Once I get sick, he’ll come running back to beg for my forgiveness.”

As if willed into existence, she got her wish—she was diagnosed with cancer. Early stage.

The moment she heard the diagnosis, Rose cheered from the depths of her soul. “I have cancer! Finally, I have cancer!” This only confirmed her belief that she was the protagonist of a tragic romance. She refused all treatment.

“The male lead, Hunter, will follow the script,” she insisted. “He’ll only realize the truth when I’m on death’s door, understanding that I’m his one true love. When he finds out I’m dying, he’ll be driven mad with regret. He’ll see that I’m the one he truly loves. That bitch Chloe means nothing. She’s just the villainess. Hunter will destroy her.”

Mom and I thought she’d lost her mind. We forced her to the hospital for treatment. She fought us, screaming that after her death, Chloe’s family would go bankrupt and be reduced to ruin.

It was only when the pain became unbearable that she finally terminated the pregnancy and accepted treatment. I spent my entire life savings and lost twenty pounds from the stress of caring for her, but I saved her life.

In the end, all I got was her blame for “robbing her of her tragic ending.”