"I do not want radiotherapy or chemotherapy, they will only make me go through pain when I can just die at nature's dictated time," I blurted. "No," dad argued. "I have made my decision and you are not changing it this time. I cannot be healed so why go through all the stress," I said.
"I want to go home," I said. "If you want me to at least listen to your plans, then I must go home," I guess death was the only thing strong enough to push me into making such demands. Dad was going to refuse but mom stopped him. I got discharged with a lot of drugs and endless appointments for when I was going to start chemotherapy."So you will follow the doctor's instructions," dad said immediately after we got into the house."You know I should be given a chance to decide my life, I have been protected and you have decided everything I did since I was a baby, let me do something for myself for the first time in my life. You guys have had 22 years of my life, let me have this one year," I pleaded. Mom's eyes were already red and I could tell she wanted to continue crying, no I will not let her push me into agreeing to what they wanted this time."You have more than a year, my love, with chemotherapy and all the treatments, you can survive, people have fought cancer, and you will not be the first, we will be by your side," mom pleaded, she came close to me and held my face, she was crying, I have never seen my mom cry so hard but they are not listening. I pulled away from mom's hands and looked at my dad.He stood in the corner looking away from the whole commotion, mom was crying louder and I could no longer hold mine, I let them fall as I walked away from my mom towards my dad. "Father are you even listening to me, are you people listening to me?" I asked dad, he turned to look at my mom and gave her a stern look. "You have to stop all this nonsense Mei Xing, you need to focus on your treatment and if you want to have this freedom you seek, I will find you a husband," dad said and left the room.Hell no, I did not just have an argument with my parents to end up with my dad picking a husband for me, what does having a husband have to do with anything? "If you didn't want me you should have aborted me and waited for the perfect son you and your husband so desired," I yelled and left the room.I got into my car and drove off. I sighed and parked the car. What have I done? I do not know how to drive a car, I do not have a driver's license, and the last time I threw a tantrum I was five, I screamed and kicked the tires of the car.I sighed and got back into the car, I grabbed my phone and called my driver. "Miss Xiao Ming, where are you? Your Father will have my head if he finds out you left without me" he said in a panicking voice. "I know I am sorry, I was angry and needed fresh air. I am not too far from the gate, please find me without alerting anyone," I pleaded. "I do not want to lose my job," he said. I sighed and locked the door.The tapping sound on my window scared the hell out of me, I turned and saw my driver. I don't think I have ever been so happy to see my driver, I moved to the back seat and opened the door to let him in. "Where to ma'am?" he asked. "Anywhere but home'" I said and let him drive me into the city.The city was my escape, I loved how there were a lot of people and no one cared about me. "Thank you," I murmured, he nodded and slowed down."Look dude you can't fire me, I need the job," someone yelled, I looked out the window and told my driver to slow down. I was fascinated by the young man. "I will be back," I said to my driver and got out of the car before he could protest. "Hey," I said to the man after tapping him. He turned to me looking angry, "Didn't mom teach you how to talk to strangers," he said and started walking away from me. Mom, my mom, and dad were conniving to get me married cause I was about to die and he thinks he can talk about manners.I followed the stranger and said the most stupid thing I have ever said in my life. "Marry me?" I said. He looked at me and started laughing, "You want me to marry you?" he asked me and I nodded, I already started this, but I have to go with it. "You don't even know my name," he said. "we can talk about that later, I will pay you a hundred thousand dollars if you do," I said. "That desperate?" he asked me. "You need the money," I said referring to the job he just lost. I handed him my business card and urged him to think about it.Turning around I was met with the realization, I just asked a random stranger to be my husband, I do not know his name. I turned around but he was already gone. I guess I do not have to worry about it anymore, he probably thinks I am psycho and will not want to end up with me. What was I thinking? I wasn't thinking. I walked to my car and ordered the driver to take me back home."My dad must not know that I went into the city without his permission or that I spoke to a stranger or you lose your job and I get grounded for the rest of my life," I said and laughed at my stupid threat. I was only going to be alive for a year or less. "Yes ma'am," he said and smiled. "You drove me to the woods," I said and walked into the house.My mom was pacing around the living room while my dad was staring at the door waiting for the next person to come in and unlucky I just had to be that person. "Young woman where have you been?" he asked me. "I am not ten you know," I said and folded my hands. "You are my daughter and you will respect my rules as long as you still leave under my room and have no man to call your husband," my dad said and that really upset me and words I was sure off came spilling out of my mouth"I AM GETTING MARRIED…I am getting married," I yelled and closed my mouth immediately, how did I let that slip. He hasn't even called me. I don't even know if he has accepted the proposal or not but here I am blabbing and telling my parents about the so called marriage to a strange man, who could be a serial killer or a murderer, maybe one of my parent's enemies."Xiao Ming," my mom called and I snapped out of whatever was going on in my head. "Yes mom," I answered. "What did you just say?" Dad asked. I took three quick breathes and turned to him. "Yes dad," I whined. "I did not approve of any man…" I cut him off before he could finish, I didn't want him asking me question even I do not know the answer to. "Yes dad, you do not know him because I did this for myself and I picked a husband who loves me and not someone who is after my family business, I do not want a gold digging, back stabber. I am going to die soon so might as well as make decisions for myself in the next 365 days. It won't kill you no
Patience isn't easy when you need something done immediately, I stared at my phone patiently waiting for my phone to come on, it was taking forever. I stared at it waiting but nothing was happening. My patience was being stretched thin, I never wanted anything as much as I wanted my phone to come on, I realized my phone wasn't connected and all this while it wasn't charging. Life was making a deliberate mockery of me. I watched as my screen lit up slowly as it turned on. One minute felt like forever. I stared anxiously at my screen as it finally lit up displaying my wallpaper. I haven't appreciated the default wallpaper as much as I should have, I inputted my password and was about to call the number when mom walked into the room. I turned my phone off and turned to look at mom, everything had to pause until she left the room, my parents can't know that I was going to be getting married to a complete stranger. It sounded stupid to me too but it was the only way to achieve my dreams
I should get a new name, maybe bad luck because I don't understand why nothing was going well, first I get stage three cancer, isn't that good news. And now the one thing I need to complete my stupid plans won't even pick up the phone. It was a phone, all you had to do was swipe and listen to the crap I was saying. "There is lunch downstairs, you don't have to eat all your nails," my mom said and that scared me. How long has she standing by the door?“Hello," a strange voice murmured and I had to quickly end the call. "Lunch?" Mom asked and I nodded. I do not want to eat, I want to stay here and talk a stranger into marrying me. Standing up I watched my phone ring, I turned to look at mom and then my phone, I couldn't answer the phone and talk with with mom in the same room as me. I groaned and followed her downstairs. "Àmà" I whined as she dragged me downstairs. I could walk around erfectly there was no need for the rush. "Your dad is waiting and the food will get cold," she cauti
"Beep, beep, beep," I looked up at my reflection, I could see the sadness laced in my movements. "Hello," I heard a voice and I smiled happily. "Hello, this is Mei Xing," I said. "I was calling to book an appointment at the Lin firm but I changed my mind but you kept calling, I promise there is no issue," the person said hurriedly and ended the call. I stared at my blank cell phone, I just wasted my time, it wasn't even the stranger. He probably doesn't want to marry me. Why would he marry me? What am I, Cinderella? Fall in love, be a princess and live happily ever after? Defeated I went back to my room, this was not what I pictured, I pictured a perfect ending, one with me and the stranger. That was so stupid, I sounded right earlier but now the stupidity of my plan glared at me. I laid in my bed, staring at the ceiling, it was so white and so out of reach. I couldn't even leave a normal life and the one thing I wanted, I can't get it. Life just hated me, I never did anything. I
The gut feeling of being watched overwhelmed me, I looked up and saw two pairs of eyes staring at me, I got awkward and fled the building after paying for my meal. "Min Jun," I called out to the stranger. He looked at me and began to walk away again.I quickly stood up and chased after him. "Hey," I called out to him. He continued to ignore me and kept walking away. "Hey," I yelled and ran after him, I grabbed his hand and he turned to look at me. "What!" He yelled. His voice attracted people, they turned to look at us and I got shy. I hid my head avoiding their gazes, I didn't want anyone to recognize me. Min Jun dragged me into a flower store away from the questioning eyes. "What do you want?" He asked me. "You never called me, I just wanted to know if you wanted to be with me or not," I said. While I blurted out my thoughts, I stared at my hands and admired them to ignore his eyes."Be with you?" He asked, I nodded still staring at my hand. "Didn't know you were that desperate to
Rebelling was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Every time I looked at my driver, he seemed to want to drive me back home but I wasn't ready to leave, dad gave me an hour but I can be out here for as I want to be. "Miss your dad is worried," my driver informed me. "Don't worry about him, he'll get over it," I said alright I knew that wasn't true. Dad never gets over anything, he was always so serious. "I may lose my job miss," the driver said and I nodded. "We can leave now," I said and got into the car. I didn't want him to lose his job because of me and I didn't want to get another driver, he has been my driver for as long as I can remember and he understands me. I wouldn't want him to lose his job and make dad get me another driver who'll always report my affairs to dad. As I stood facing the front door, my heart kept beating fast, was I ready to face dad after ignoring his calls all day and coming home later than I was meant to? I raised my hands to pull the door open bu
He looked at me and I should have known what his answer was going to be. He was my dad, he was impossible and never changed his mind. Why was I sad that he said no? He does this all the time, he always wanted to be in control of my life, well not anymore because from now on I was going to determine how my life was going to go. I stared at my phone waiting for Min Jun to call me. Maybe I made a mistake, I never should have given him my business card, I should have gotten his number and reached out to him on my own. But that would be desperate and I didn't want to look desperate although I really am. I took a deep breath and kept waiting for my phone to ring, a new number to flash across the screen, something, anything. No one ever called me so I knew immediately it rang, it had to be Min Jun. But there was nothing, not a mistake dial. An error or a prank call nothing. Should I have offered more money, if he didn't take a hundred thousand, how was I sure he was willing to be trapped
I stared at my blank phone and wondered if he would pick up the call if I called him again. I was going to try to talk to him this tie and not panic. I took a deep breath and dialled his number. It kept ringing but he wasn't picking up. I can't blame him for not wanting to pick up the call after I called him twice and didn't say anything. He was clearly not as desperate as I was. He didn't need me to marry him but I needed to marry him and I needed to do it soon.My second appointment with the doctors were coming soon and although I don't plan on ever going to any of the appointments, I needed to make sure my parents accepted him with no questions asked. "I guess I can wait a while you think," I heard a familiar voice and immediately snapped me out of my thoughts. I stared at my screen unable to form words and making sure I didn't end the call. "I guess you are still thinking," he said again and I smiled.Why was I smiling? He couldn't see me smile. "I guess I will have to call you ag
It has been a year since Mei died and I was starting to get used to her not being around. Although today that I remembered that she would have been alive with the bay and I, it hurts. Our daughter is a year old and she looks so much like Mei. Her hair is really long, it already reached mid back. She’s shy and lives the rose bushes. It seems like she’s a reincarnation of her mother. She plays around at her house. She also loves the rose vase where Mei’s things are being held. They gave me the rings and the locket and buried her like that. I have my daughter the locket but the rings were stored in the rose. I would make sure to keep it somewhere safe and away from Mei. It’s too precious to get lost. “Mei,” I called out to her. She ran down the stairs, stood in front of me and smiled. She was still wobbly and I always warned her not run down the stairs. She started walking three months ago and now she thinks running down the stairs is such an easy task. “Mei, I keep telling you to
Maybe I should have told her to save her breath, I shouldn’t have let her tell me everything, but did I let her explain all her feelings? I know how she felt about me, she didn’t need to narrate our love story to me. She didn't need to tell me everything, but I sat down and listened for hours while she said everything. I felt like the worst person on earth as I watched her lay on the bed breathless and lifeless. She used to have so much life, so much joy, she was always so beautiful. I had the best thing ever but like everything else she was taken away from me. I tapped the call button immediately she closed her eyes but there was nothing they could do. I watched the doctors run around me and I just drifted from the space and went back into the time when it was just me and her. The first day I met her when she asked me to marry her. I was surprised by her confidence and it scared me. I loved how persistent she was and kept chasing me until I was signed to a contract that brought me
The next morning, I woke up with the same pain that was now familiar but it hurt more. it felt harder to talk, to come up to words, my head was banging and I wanted it all to end, the pain, me. it was too much to handle. My radiotherapy was set for four and my drugs weren't helping to make me feel better. My head still hurt after taking two dosages of the pills. I stopped not wanting to overdose, although I already did. I was up before Mom, Dad, and Min and I couldn't sleep back although it was four am. I got out of bed and tried to come down from the bed. I lost my balance and before I fell, Min caught me. I smiled at him and fainted. When I woke up it was already afternoon and my radiotherapy session had been moved to the next day. I groaned when I found out. Can I get over the whole process already? It was starting to annoy me."Are you alright?" Min asked and I nodded. "My head hurts a little, it must have caused me to lose my balance," I explained to Min and he nodded. He touch
I woke up and realized I was in the hospital. How did I end up here? The last thing I remembered, was hugging everyone goodbye, and Min and I were ready to go to bed. in smiled at me as I turned to look at him. He looked really stressed and tired. He looked like he hadn't slept in a long time. I touched the eye bags and frowned. He took my hand and kissed it. I looked and saw that I was connected to an IV drip. I never understood why we couldn't just drink all the contents but its name says it all; drip, there's only ever a drop every second, and it's so freaking slow. "What happened?" I asked Min. "you fainted and I rushed you here," he explained. I heard shuffling in the background and noticed my parents were also in the room. Everyone looked stressed like they hadn't slept all through the night. "I called your parents when I got here," Min informed me. "You didn't have to call them, I'll be fine," I tell him and try to clear my throat, the pain made it hard to talk but not as ha
We returned to the condo the next day and decided we would move on Wednesday. Min had to be at the restaurant every day but he could take a break from Wednesday to Friday. The weekends were expected to be packed because the first day was a huge success and the men returned at six P.m. He had called me at least ten times today and each time he spent at least ten minutes talking to me. I kept asking if he didn't need to focus, and he said he had to and he was focusing on me. He was so cute and romantic and knew all the right words to say. He had come earlier to have dinner with me and had left the meal in the hands of his trusted chefs and the waiters that started working today. "Hey," I said when he walked in. “Hey baby, I missed you. Are you sure you don't want to come to the restaurant with me?" he asked me."What do you want me to do at the restaurant? I am not very cooking and I can't be a waiter, my baby wouldn't let me move around with that much ease," I told him. "Mei junior
My parents left our apartment at ten p.m and I should have gone to bed but I wasn't sleepy and neither was Min. i decided it was best to open my gifts and decided to ask Min for help."Can you help me unbox my present?" Min shook his head refusing to help me. "But it's so stressful and I need your help," I whined and he looked at me. "Come on Min," I pleaded."Fine, but I won't unwrap the gifts with you, I'll just watch you and bring anything you need," he negotiated and I agreed to it. Min pulled the bean he had bought for me. We unwrapped all the gifts and they were so cute. They had bought me little baby things, most of the essentials I would be needing. There were napkins, blankets, a baby carrier and some few things.“See we don’t have to buy that many baby things,” I said to Min and he laughed.I picked up the last gifts which were my parents gift. It was paper and it was put in a brown envelope, there was no fancy design, just straight to the point. I opened the envelop and saw
It seemed like my presence changed the atmosphere in the room because everyone turned in my direction and they looked surprised to see me there. I definitely wasn't dressed like them and I was a very pregnant woman. "Good afternoon," I greeted with a very wide grin."Who are you?" Someone asked. "The restaurant doesn't open until four," Someone else said. "Who left the front door open?"Another one asked. "You did, you were the last person outside," another said. "Oh," the door person asked. "Miss would you like to wait till the restaurant opens or are you going to return by four?" the curious one asked. "Oh! I am here for Min," I said feeling shy. "The owner?" The curious asked. "Yeah, he's my husband," I announced. I barely got to ask for him. again when I saw MIn walking in with his chef outfit. He looked so cute. Sorry handsome and all those masculine features. He looked at me shocked to see me here. "Hey," I said shyly. "Babe? What are you doing here?" he asked me. "I
After my little announcement, everyone made a toast to Min and to the opening of his restaurant. He pulled me into him and drank from his glass. I smiled at him and he kissed my forehead. "You know Min steals all your brain cells with those forehead kisses right?" June asked and everybody laughed. "I actually feel smarter and more loved every time he kisses my forehead. are you sure he isn't just pouring his brain cells and love in my head?" I asked. "That's they get them all," June said. I loved June and how she made everywhere funnier when she had had a sip of her daily dose of coffee. She was standing in between my mom and dad and smiling at them. I could tell Dad was uncomfortable but he deserved the little torture for everything he has done to Min and I. Min might have let it slide by inviting Dad to my birthday but I'll need more than him coming here for me to forgive everything he's done. "Thank you all for the toasts and celebrating the restaurant but today's about m
I remember telling Min my birthday date on his birthday, he had purposely not told me about his birthday, but I wanted him to know mine for it to be fair. I also barely got the chance to prepare or buy him a gift but I wasn't letting him do that to me, also Min makes the best surprises and they always blow my mind. He needed time for it to be more effective. I am also glad, I listened to my thoughts and told him earlier. He has been so busy, I doubt he has the time to do anything special for my birthday. If I hadn’t gotten the information from Cheng, I probably wouldn’t know Min’s birthday and that is wrong. I was going to give him the chance to feel this way so I told him about my birthday. I woke up feeling pumped about my birthday. I also spent all night praying that my hormones acted right. The last dinner on the roof was amazing but I ended up balling my eyes out for absolutely no reason. I had the best time after crying, but I wished I didn't have to cry. We watched a movie, a