It started one night when Allison was getting ready for bed. How ironic. Perhaps it was because of that particular phone call, but she was slowly growing aware of the danger of Matthew leaving her, and she realized that she wouldn’t be able to bear it if that happened. When she remembered the sadness and longing in his voice as he talked to Lily, she felt a familiar heartache that was reminiscent of her feelings towards him during the time she left. She had missed him terribly and regretted it so much. However, she had no choice but to keep on going. She lived the rest of her life like an empty shell of her former self, only going through the motions and wishing that death would come for her sooner. How ironic that the heavens had granted her wish and given her more pain to endure instead. That was why they always said to be careful with what you wish for. Though Allison frankly couldn’t give a damn, because she had grown used to pain, anyway. The days leading towards her death w
Allison’s change was starting to confuse Matthew.Nowadays, she seemed to cling to him even more than usual. When he thought about it now though, it wasn’t actually that unusual. Weeks ago, whenever she talked to her doctor or even when the nurses approached her, she would grab his arm tightly and never let go until they were gone, which puzzled him greatly because it wasn’t that long ago that she screamed at him, saying she never needed his help.But now, not only did she retain that habit, but she also insisted that he stayed with her at all times, even panicking whenever he merely went outside or talk on the phone. Her sensitivity levels seemed to have heightened, and when he asked her doctor about it, the doctor assured him that feeling emotional and having mood swings were common during cancer treatment.“She’s going through a very difficult time right now,” the doctor had explained to him gently. “The loss of hair, the drastic changes to her physical appearance, the anxiety conce
“...So that’s what we’re going to do?” Lily asked softly. “All right, then.” Matthew couldn’t even begin to describe how much he missed Lily. He missed her voice, her presence, their warm conversations together... he missed them all. One year ago, they’d been like two broken souls who met each other by chance and noticed the respective scars in their hearts. At first, they started out with wariness, but after a few drinks, they became comfortable with each other’s company as they vented out their sorrows by talking. It had been a simple meeting, but it turned out to be the start of their own love story. Having exchanged phone numbers after that day, they began meeting up at the same bar, but this time in a private VIP room where they could talk to their heart’s content. It had relieved Matthew greatly to finally have someone he could talk to, someone whom he could unconsciously trust with his burdens. “I wonder why it’s so easy to talk to you about my problems...” Matthew had ment
“What, are you crazy?!” Bryce’s tone was filled with shock and bewilderment. “Why would you tell the Chairman the truth? Aren’t you already aware of what he’s capable of?!”Matthew said nothing, and that seemed to stir up Bryce’s annoyance even more.“Matt, he’s more than capable of tracking you down there and taking you away by force,” Bryce said seriously. “You know how much the Chairman hates bad publicity. He already let you off easy with your divorce years ago, but if you plan on getting strike two, the Chairman will get really angry this time.”“I’ll talk to him, Bryce,” Matthew said quietly. “I can’t just leave Allison here all alone… She needs me.”“Your company and Lily need you, too,” Bryce reminded him. “Why would you care so much for someone who didn’t even try to contact you for six years already? She was the one who left you and broke your heart, yet you’re placing her feelings above everyone else?”“Bryce,” Matthew said solemnly. “Don’t talk about her like that. Don’t yo
As the days passed by, the two of them were slowly changing. As they spent more time with each other, the comfort that was once there between them years ago now rose to the surface, rising from its dormancy. Sometimes, it felt like they were back in the past again, before they got married.Like they were teenagers again.“Do you still remember our promise back when you turned 18?” Matthew asked her one day while preparing for her to take her antibiotics.“Our promise?” Allison asked, sitting up weakly in bed with a slightly confused expression on her face. “Oh… that one?”“Yeah.” Matthew went to her bedside and gave her a glass of water along with a medicine pill. “Still remember?”Allison nodded slowly. “When we turn 30…”“…we’ll go somewhere far away,” Matthew finished in a soft voice. “Like the beach.”A tender smile curved Allison’s lips. “We’ll sit on the sand and watch the sunset…”“Wait for the stars to appear at night…”“And then we’ll make a wish on a shooting star.” A poigna
“I met her at a bar.”Allison’s eyes grew wide in shock. “A—A bar?” she repeated, unsure if she heard it right.Since when did Matthew like coming to bars?Were there a lot of things that she didn’t know about him, after all?“Yeah, I used to drink a lot back then, when you…” Matthew’s voice trailed off before he could finish his sentence, and the atmosphere between them suddenly shifted into a heavy kind of awkwardness. “Well, yeah. At that time, I would usually take Bryce with me so he could drive me home. I stopped drinking there after a few months though with the decision that I’d bury myself in work instead. But five years later, I came back to that same bar to drink away my stress, and then I saw her.”Allison swallowed heavily, but she forced herself to listen. After all, she hadn’t seen Matthew in a long time, and there were probably a lot of things that happened to him during this period.She wanted to catch up to him.She wanted to be a part of his life again.For about two
Matthew left it at that since it was time for Allison to go to sleep. When she closed her eyes, he was about to leave for a moment when she suddenly spoke, her voice resounding in the otherwise silent room. “Do you love her more than you loved me back then?” Matthew froze in his spot. Allison waited for his response with a heavy, anxious heart. She knew that she was starting to tread on dangerous territory with this one, but she couldn’t help it. Every day, every night, she dreaded him leaving her. She had left him once, and that made her harbor such deep regrets in her heart which she carried with her for years. If he was the one who left her this time, it would make her break down in an instant. Hearing Matthew talk about Lily and how they first met made her heart ache. Their love story seemed like it was arranged by fate, while hers and his story began in a mundane manner. After Matthew had asked her to become his private tutor, both he and Allison benefited greatly from the
Allison didn’t know if it was because of what she said to Matthew, but she could tell that something had changed between them. It was subtle, but noticeable.He had become… more indulgent. More reassuring.Like she would break if he ever said the wrong thing.And every small move she did made him panic.Allison didn’t know what to think of that.Had she made him too conscious and careful that he was beginning to tread on eggshells around her?But she didn’t want him to feel forced around her. That wasn’t her intention at all.Yet, at the same time, it felt like this was the only way she could keep him with her all the time, no matter how wrong that truly sounded.“Are you okay?” he asked in concern. “Are you thirsty? Are you hungry? Do you have any cravings?”“I’m fine, Matt,” Allison assured.“But… you look paler than usual,” he said hesitantly.“I’m just a little tired. The chemo is draining me a lot.”“I thought you were getting better.”“Not really… Well, I don’t know.” She gave a