Chapter 5: The Devastating News

As though he’d been scalded by boiling hot water, Matthew wrenched himself out of Allison’s arms, spinning his entire body towards Lily in surprise. Lily approached the two of them with a puzzled expression on her face, peering closely at Matthew’s companion.

“Oh, Lily,” Matthew exclaimed, nervous sweat dripping down his brow. He hadn’t been doing anything wrong, had he? It was only a friendly hug meant to comfort…

Matthew realized at that moment that he had been unconsciously insensitive of Lily’s feelings. Even though Allison was his first love and his ex-wife, he should’ve restrained himself from getting close to her, at least out of respect for his current girlfriend.

But just as he opened his mouth to say an apology, Lily’s face suddenly brightened, and her lips curved into a delighted smile.

“Oh! I know you. You’re that talented scientist, aren’t you?” Lily said, politely stretching out her arm for a handshake. “You’re Allison Whitney. You’re also Matt’s ex-wife, right? It’s really nice to meet you in person!”

Allison was extremely confused, her gaze traveling back and forth between Matthew and Lily before she hesitantly accepted the latter’s hand. “Y—Yes… and you are?”

“Oh, how rude of me.” Lily chuckled nervously, feeling a little embarrassed. “I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Lillian Hanson. I’m…” She sent Matthew a hesitant glance. “…Matt’s girlfriend.”

The air was instantly filled with an awkward tension. Matthew’s gaze was lowered to the ground, while Allison looked like she was in shock. Lily could feel the subtle tension coming from the two of them and kept smiling to help lighten up the atmosphere as she didn’t know what else to do.

She knew that Matthew had had a hard time moving on from Allison, and she respected that, for she also had a hard time moving on from her own long-time boyfriend a few years back. She and Matthew were like two broken souls woven together by the red string of fate, meant to support and heal each other’s scars.

At least, that was what Lily thought the nicest description would be. She was a romantic, after all.

Now, as she looked at Allison Whitney, she wondered how the latter couldn’t have known that she and Matthew were in a relationship. It had been publicized greatly a year ago, when reporters spotted them sharing a kiss at the park, and then the photos began to spread everywhere until their faces were revealed in the news.

For Allison to look so shocked and taken aback must mean that she hadn’t been following the news for at least a year now.

Lily wondered why.

“So… um…” Lily began hesitantly, unsure of how she should approach this type of situation. She didn’t want to seem like the jealous type of girlfriend, because she truly wasn’t, but she didn’t want to make it appear like her and Matthew’s relationship didn’t hold any meaning, either. “What a coincidence, huh? What brings you here by the way, Miss Whitney?”

Meanwhile, Allison’s head was filled with turbulent thoughts. ‘Miss Whitney, huh?' she thought to herself wryly. 'Right… I’m no longer Mrs. Laurier.'

'Even after six years, it’s still so hard to accept.'

“I just came… to get a checkup,” Allison finally managed to say, her voice coming out stiff and unnatural as if she were holding something back.

“A checkup?” Lily looked at her in genuine concern, not failing to notice her tear-stained face. “But… you look like you’re—”

“What did the doctor say?” Matthew interrupted quietly, looking at Allison straight in the eyes.

Having been with her for two years and being lovers for six years before the marriage, Matthew knew very well when she was trying to hide something or not. It wasn’t always obvious since Allison was used to restraining her emotions, but Matthew had taken note of all her little habits a long time ago, and that was how they could communicate well with each other.

As to how they couldn’t seem to do that halfway through their marriage, Matthew had no idea. However, there were just things in life that didn’t work out in the long run, and he learned that the hard way from his divorce with Allison.

Allison was now looking at him in surprise, and tears sprang to her eyes once more. Lily, alarmed, took out a handkerchief from her pocket and offered it to Allison. The latter politely accepted it and wiped the tears away, looking like she was in great despair.

It must be really serious, Matthew knew. Allison usually never expressed her emotions like this, especially in front of people she barely knew. She often prided herself in being a strong, independent woman who could handle herself and didn’t need to be comforted by anyone. Matthew, with his empathetic personality, couldn’t understand this and wanted to support her emotionally, but she would always push him away politely, refusing his consolation.

Perhaps that was also the reason why her stress had accumulated at that time, with all her overtime work and research that she herself willingly took on. She kept her emotions bottled up and worked and worked without stopping, never glancing his way, never accepting his help.

Face-to-face with her vulnerable appearance at the moment, Matthew was at a loss on what to say. He wanted to prod her about what it was, wanted to understand why she was acting so alarmingly like this, but something akin to fear began to surface inside of him, something that made him feel scared to know the answer. It was like a foreboding sensation threatening to swallow him up whole.

Eventually, Allison calmed down and thanked Lily for the handkerchief. “I’m so sorry, I…”

“Please, you have nothing to apologize for,” Lily told her softly. “But… um, pardon me if I’m crossing a line here, but… did something happen? You just look so sad.”

A rueful expression came over Allison’s face at that moment.

“I guess you could say that.” Chuckling humorlessly, Allison lifted her head to look both of them in the eyes.

“Today, I found out… that I have cancer.”