"It's right here in your head. We can't get rid of it because it's in a delicate spot. I'm sorry, Mrs. Hendrix."
The doctor's words hit me like a meteor falling from the sky. I was crushed, utterly devastated. I had just a week left to live before the tumour in my brain took my life.
My hands shook as I held the mahogany table. "Are you sure there's nothing that can be done, Dr. Trevor?"
"It has already spread to all the vital organs in your body. We'd ask that you return home and spend your last days in the care of your loved ones."
Three hours ago, I fainted and hit my head on the handle of the cabinet beneath the kitchen sink. I had been feeling blue on the morning of my wedding, but I had no idea this would be the outcome of my hospital visit. The tumour gave no signs while it ate me up inside out.
Moreover, my husband had left me all night. It was supposed to be our wedding night, but I could tell he was running, giving excuses because he didn't want to have anything to do with me. This flash marriage was his idea. He approached me a few weeks ago while I was handling some tasks in the company. He knew I needed the money and he convinced me to do something as crazy as this.
I grabbed my purse. The nurse behind me helped me settle into the wheelchair. She rolled me out of the doctor's office. Just this morning, I was exchanging vows. Now I'm on my final breaths. Who knows when it will be over?
I thought about throwing his ring away, but I felt I had to speak to my husband, Aaron, about this. I hoped he would want to fight for me, even though the first time we actually got close enough was four weeks ago in that bar down the street.
In reality, I met Aaron Hendrix, the owner of Grey groups one year ago. He was my boss, but the first time I said a word to him was at that bar a few weeks ago. He didn't know who I was, but I knew who he was, and if I wasn't under the influence of alcohol, I would have walked away instead of landing in his bed.
I sighed. My driver helped me into the flashy sedan. He tucked the wheelchair into the front seat while I settled into the backseat. Who had I wronged? Why was this happening to me? I've suffered all my life to just end it this way, without the luxury of a second chance.
So, I cried. I cried hard while the driver took me home and when we arrived at Aaron's grand house, my stomach churned. I wanted to puke. The driver handed me over to the maid, who helped me to the toilet.
I puked and puked until I was sure my insides had found their way into the toilet drain. When I was done, I took a shower and waited in the living room for Aaron to get back. He was probably looking down on me because I was his staff and because I was cheap enough to have had a one-night-stand with him back then. Maybe, just maybe that was why he stayed out tonight.
But if anything, I was grateful for our marriage. I had finally found a way to save Suzy, my sister.
"June."
I heard his manly and confident voice summon me from outside the living room door. I didn't roll the wheelchair towards his voice because I also heard his footsteps approaching.
Aaron walked into the living room after crossing the narrow hallway that came right ahead of the foyer. He looked handsome, still in his tux. When he got a lot closer, he reeked of alcohol.
He held a brown envelope in one hand. I was focused on it. It distracted me and I didn't get to see his reaction to my current pale and fragile state.
"June, what's wrong?" He asked while rooted to a spot.
"I fainted."
He pinched his eyes closed and released a frustrated sigh. Then, he cracked them open and cast me a tender gaze I had never seen before, except on the night he was inside me.
"Talk to me. What happened?"
I had said I wouldn't cry, but I just couldn't stop looking at the envelope in his hands that seemed too serious. My eyes become teary.
"Dr. Trevor said..." I whispered until my voice disappeared, but I tried again, looking at him square in the eyes. "He said I have a tumour in my head. Aaron, I have just one week left."
Aaron gripped the envelope hard, squeezing it in an alarming way. He looked scared, confused. It shocked me when a lone tear rolled down his cheek. Did this mean he cared?