Chapter 1

Carly’s POV

I stared curiously at the gray-haired doctor sitting behind the desk at my opposite, his wrinkled brows furrowed into a deep frown. His gaze fixed intently on the medical report in his hands, and he scratched his forehead awkwardly, releasing a heavy sigh which made a feeling of anxiousness settled in me.

I swallowed hard as the anxiousness in me transformed into a great fear, eating me up slowly. I had come to the hospital to have a check-up when I felt that I was sick, really sick. And the symptoms weren’t similar with any ordinary other illness, it was related to the same ones my mother had experienced before her passing. And since then I had become scared, scared that I might have inherited her disease. I had prayed that it wouldn’t be what I had hoped , because it wouldn’t do me anything good, going earlier and leaving the ones...

“ According to the tests we constructed, and the result is in this paper. It's just that..." He paused, his eyes locking onto mine. I knew that he too could sense my fear, the uneasiness that's running me dry.

“What's it about?" I forced the words out, my impatience getting the best of me..

“It showed that you are having a lung cancer, and it's already spread through out your body." He announced and I felt like I'd been punched in the face. I suddenly found myself lost in trance and his voice drowned as I no longer focused on his words. The rest of his words felt distant, his voice was now sounding more like a whisper, barely heard.

Lung cancer? Wasn't that my fear, wasn't that what I was afraid to hear. My heart clenched in my chest, skipping a beat and my breathing erratic. Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring the old doctor's figure. A wave of palpitations washed over me and I felt like I would be collapsing any minute soon. It seemed like everything was about to end, my struggle was about to go waste.

“Miss Williams," the doctor called as I felt his hand on my shoulder, making me back to my full consciousness. “What..."

“Please do something, Doctor John. Please!" I urged, desperation laced in my voice. “What can I do to cure it. I need to do something, at least there must be a solution. Please tell me if there is one, I can't leave early like my mother" I pleaded, my voice cracking with emotions.

“I'm sorry," he replied, placing the results on the table in front of me. My eyebrows creased into a confused frown, and I felt a knot forming in my stomach.

“What do you mean by sorry?" I demanded, my voice laced with a growing sense of trepidation. then suddenly a realization hit me hard across the face like a punch. “You mean there is nothing you can do?" I asked, my voice trembling with fear.

“The disease is already in its last stage. I'm sorry; there's nothing I can do." He shook his head pitifully as he spoke and my whole body froze. “I'm sorry, miss." He muttered, as if what happened to me was his fault.

I was silent, staring blankly at the result.

“How..." I stuttered, unable to make my voice sound well. “How much time do I have?" I asked, trying to hide the sadness in my voice.

At least I need to know how many days I had left, I couldn't leave with a regret like my mother did. I need to spend more time with my loved ones and achieve my dream as quickly as I could.

“You have at least five month left to live."

“You mean, I have one hundred and fifty days to live?" I asked sadly after doing the calculation and he nodded.

Then I silently picked up the test result and walked out of the office wordlessly without even looking back at the doctor who might have a curious look on his face after seeing my sudden reaction.

I stumbled back to my car and entered. I glanced at the result and a single tear rolled down my cheek. I thought about the promise I had made to myself to make my father's company one of the best in the world. But now, it felt that that dream was drowning, or could I say drowned. And all my struggling for better would be going to waste. I tried to hold the tears but they flowed freely, streaming down my face.

Then I thought about my sister, Adiana. She was someone I loved so much and would do anything for to make her happy. Although she might not be my blood-related sister, but I loved her. Her father was our family butler, but after his sudden pass, my father adopted her since she had no one to take care of her. She too lost her mother earlier like me. My father brought her home, hoping to make friends with me and not make me lonely since I was lonely then. We grew up together and got attached to each other, we loved each other so much that we could exchange one's heart for another. My heart hurt at the thought of leaving her alone in the world.

Then my thought travelled to my fiance, Mark, the only man that stole my heart. The man who showed me love and promised to love me forever. The man who loved and cherished me so much. I wondered what could be of him when I'm gone, and my heart tightened at the thought.

After what felt like an eternity, I wiped away my tears and drove out of the hospital, headed to my destination. Adiana had told me to meet her at a hotel, where she had a surprise waiting for me. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was already past six, and I need to be there by seven. I accelerated, and my heart raced with anticipation as I drove. I didn't want to disappoint her, and I need to spend more time with her so that when I'm gone she would miss me less. I didn't want her to miss me like I missed my mother. While she was sick she didn't even spend much time with me, all she did was working, but some minutes before she died she wrote me some note that she regretted not spending much time with me.

As I arrived at the hotel where she wanted us to meet, I made my way to the Italian restaurant where she said she would be. I took the elevator, my mind preoccupied with the thought of the reason why she suddenly asked me to meet her when we can just talk at home. When I got there I checked my watch and saw that it was exactly seven. I released a relief breath. I dialed her number to locate her, and she told me where she was sitting. I scanned the place, and my eyes locked onto her waving hand. I disconnected the call and made my way to where she was sitting.

As I approached her, I noticed she was with a group of people, including my fiance, Mark. My eyebrows drew together in a confusion. What's going on?

I walked to them and greeted the old couple who were sitting at the opposite of my sister and my fiance at the table.

“Who is she?" The old woman asked as she scrutinized me before she shifted her attention to Adiana in curiosity.

“This is my sister, Carly." Adiana replied, smiling. My gaze shifted to Mark, my fiance, but he kept his head low as he was unable to make eyes contact. Then I felt a growing sense of unease.

“What's going..." I began, but Adiana cut me off.

“Father, mother. Meet my sister. Carly, meet my fiance's parents. Mark's parents." She introduced, and immediately the air in my lung ran out and I was frozen at where i stood, trying to process her words.

“What..." My voice cracked. “What are you talking about? Your fiance?"

“Yes, and we are doing the introduction today. So they needed to meet you, since you are my only family." Carly continued, oblivious to my distress.

I looked at Mark, wondering why he went silent when she was talking rubbish.

“Mark, what is she talking about?" I managed to mutter. But before Mark could reply, Adiana chimed in.

“I'm pregnant with Mark's child, so we needed to introduce our family to each other, so that we can plan our marriage soon." She said blatantly, and my breath cut in my throat. Pregnant?

My breath seized and It felt like world had come to halt, and by the time I would start breathing again, I found it hard to do so. I gasped for air, struggling to breath, but the air couldn't supply to my lungs. Then suddenly I became dizzy, but immediately held onto one table, preventing me from falling. Without saying anything, or should I say too hurt to say anything, I walked away silently with my mind reeling in shock.

I wobbled though the hallway, my legs trembling beneath me, it was like they weren't mine. I leaned against the wall, exhausted, and tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn't believe two of them were fucking each other without my knowledge. I didn't know both of them didn't give a fuck about me, when I cared about them so much. The tears fell shamelessly, dampening my dress.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed my wrist, and I spun around to face Mark. I jerked my hand away immediately, and shook off the feeling of disgust.

“Don't you dare touch me!" I roared at him, trying to walk away, but he pulled me back.

“Carly, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. It just..." He began, but I cut him off.

“I don't care what your reason is. How dare you fuck my sister?" I asked, my voice shaking with rage. “How could you betray me when all I ever done to you was to love you."

“I know, I know you love me. And I'm sorry for hurting you." He said, “I don't love her, and it's a mistake. Also I don't have the intention of marrying her, it's just for the baby. I only want the baby, and then you and I can move on..." Before he could complete his words I slapped him, my stomach burning with rage.

Was he insane? Thinking of getting back to me after fucking my sister?

“You think I'm some kind of animal, don't you?" I uttered angrily, “thinking that I would take you back after fucking my sister?" I demanded fiercely. Mark's face contorted in pain, but I didn't care. I turned and walked away, leaving him behind.

“Carly wait!" He shouted, but I didn't stop. I could sense him following me, but I quickened my pace, desperate to get away from him.

When I got to the reception, a man suddenly approached me.

“Where were you babe?" The man asked, wrapping his arms around me in a warm hug.