Chapter 1

The scorching heat of the sun somehow mirrored Mavis Charter-Briar’s beaming excitement just by the expression on her face as she sat near the glass windows where she could overlook the city. Clutching at her purse, her thumping heart went along with her anticipation as she heard the staff of the restaurant seemingly in a fuss. It only meant one thing... her husband, Grayson Briar, had arrived.

Her eyes were locked onto the entrance and just as she expected, he came walking in with his usual formal clothes. Despite the indifferent expression on his face, Mavis could still notice how Grayson turned the heads of other women.

"I already ordered some food. You can add something if you want," she said with enthusiasm that Grayson immediately noticed it.

"No need." He looked at her with intrigued eyes and was about to ask her if something good had happened but he chose not to do it. He also found it odd that she was wearing a long-sleeved dress amidst the hot weather, however, he simply brushed it off, thinking that it was probably because of the cool air conditioning inside the restaurant.

As their orders were served, Mavis clenched her fist since she could feel that cold silence covering them once more. If she does not speak as soon as possible, they would end up finishing their lunch date without having a good conversation.

“H-How’s work lately?” she asked.

“Things are busier now since the company’s big project will soon launch. I might come home later than usual.”

“Do you want me to bring you food for lunch for the next few days?”

Grayson stopped for a while, his gaze locked onto his plate, but he shook his head afterwards.

“No need.”

After that, silence had hovered over them once more. Mavis actually wanted Grayson to initiate the conversation and try not to just kill it after saying a few words, however, she could not bring herself to say that out loud. Hence, she gathered some courage as she took out a piece of paper from her purse and unfolded it before handing it to him.

“I… I am working on wedding dresses today since my boss wanted to see my original works. W-What do you think?”

Grayson took the paper and looked at the several sketches of the dresses. He could not deny the fact that his wife was indeed talented in this sort of thing that one of her sketches caught his attention. It was the one right in the middle. It was similar to a ball gown, however, what made it stand out among the others was its regal vibe that whoever wore it would make the impression that she was a royalty. And not to mention, the veil was grandeur as well as it fell on the floor, adding some sort of dramatic feeling to it.

“The one in the middle is great,” he simply commented before handing the paper back to her.

“I think so, too. That will be my priority as of the moment.”

Mavis was expecting some more feedback from him but her shoulders slowly slumped forward when she realized that he seemed uninterested anymore. She could only try and understand him… probably he was just tired of working early in the morning and that he needed to reserve his energy for the afternoon. She no longer tried to start a conversation since it made her feel like she was being pushy once again.

“About our 5th anniversary,” Grayson stated after drinking some wine.

Mavis looked up to him with expectant eyes, only for their conversation to be interrupted by a phone call. Grayson checked his phone and upon seeing the caller, he knew that he had to answer it so he excused himself and left the table for a while.

“Could he have prepared something for our anniversary?” Mavis asked herself, pursing her lips to suppress a smile. “If he did, then this would be the first time he’d arrange the celebration. I… I can’t wait.”

She was about to finish her food when Grayson returned and took his suit. 

“I’m sorry but I have to leave now. There are some urgent matters I have to attend to at the moment,” he said, which immediately killed the expectations of his wife. He noticed how her shoulders lowered and once again, he saw the fake smile she always wore in front of him.

“It’s okay. I am almost done here anyway. Be careful on your way back,” Mavis stated with her usual calm voice. 

Even though he did not truly love her as a woman, Grayson was not dumb enough to notice if his wife was faking things or not. He walked towards her and bent over, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

“Don’t get in trouble,” he said before turning his back on her and hurried to the parking lot.

Mavis, on the other hand, could not take her eyes off of the hallway where her husband disappeared to. Their lips may have just met in a brief second but she could still feel that faint warmth from him and it was enough to make her cheeks turn pink. It was rare of Grayson to show such affection towards her so each time he surprises her with simple sweet gestures, her heart would go racing like crazy.

After finishing her meal, she headed back to the parking lot.

“Madam, are we returning to the mansion?” the driver asked.

Mavis shook her head and replied, “Let’s drop by the hospital first.”

This made the driver look at her with a worried look because he was reminded of the time when Mavis suddenly had a nosebleed. When their gazes met, Mavis could already tell what he was thinking so she simply smiled.

Upon arriving at the hospital, she immediately headed to the office of her doctor and lucky for her, the doctor just finished checking on her last patient. Sitting right across from her, Mavis somehow felt some sort of negative energy from her doctor but she wanted to stay positive.

“Did the results come out? I hope it is not something serious,” she said, only to receive a shake of the head.

Dr. Julie took the results of Mavis’ tests and handed them to her with a heavy heart. 

“I am sorry to tell you this, Mrs. Briar but the reason why you had those sudden nosebleeds, bruises, and weakness is due to the fact that you have leukemia… acute leukemia to be exact.”

Mavis gulped as she stared at the documents. It took her about a minute to finally be able to speak and look her doctor in the eyes.

“There is a treatment for that, right?”

“Yes, there is.”

“Oh, that is great news, then. If this is more serious that I have to lose hair or something, that is okay as long as I get treated after.”

The doctor could sense how much Mavis was trying to be as upbeat as possible despite the bad news she had spoken of, however, she could tell that her patient was also convincing herself that everything would be alright. Hence, she found it a bit hard to break another news to her that was supposed to be good news, but with her current situation, it would make it even harder for Mavis.

“Mrs. Briar,” Dr. Julie said, helping Mavis snap out from spacing out. “Look at the next page.”

Mavis did as she was instructed but before she could process what was printed on the paper, Dr. Julie announced the second result of the test.

“You are also pregnant.”

Hearing those four mere words, Mavis’ eyes widened as she stared back at her doctor. She waited for a moment, hoping that Dr. Julie would repeat what she just said to confirm if she heard it right.

“What?” she questioned with her eyebrows almost meeting at the middle of her forehead.

“You are four weeks pregnant.”

Mavis could not believe what she heard that no words came out from her mouth, however, her eyes sparkled. It’s been some time since she wanted to have a child so this news uplifted her in more ways than another, making her temporarily forget her first diagnosis.

“I… I am pregnant,” she managed to breathe with her hand rubbing her belly. With a smile, she added, “H-How should I tell this to my husband? I… Would he be excited as well? Oh, I badly want to tell him…”

She could already imagine a toddler running around the mansion, filling their home with giggles and warmth and happiness. Who knows? Their child could also be the one to thaw the icy heart of her husband. Plus, she won’t have to be all by herself in that huge house as well. 

“Mrs. Briar, please, hear me out.”

Mavis looked at her doctor, who was wearing a somehow sad expression as if her pregnancy was not some piece of good news at all. Tilting her head a little, she waited for her to continue speaking.

“I want to congratulate you for your pregnancy but I have to be honest with you.” Dr. Julie clasped her hands together. “I am sorry to tell you this but if you want to go through your treatment, we will have to abort the baby.”

“W-What do you mean? C-Can’t I keep it? I… I mean… there has to be a way for me to keep it while going through the treatment.”

“Well… that is possible but if you give birth after going through the procedures in treating your leukemia, there is a high possibility for birth defects and for the baby to be stillborn.”

Mavis shook her head, refusing to believe the words of the doctor. She did not want her future with a child to just crumble into pieces.

“T-Then, I will wait… My treatment could wait. I want this child… I want to give birth first, then I can proceed with whatever treatment process you want  me to go through. Dr. Julie, please… Please, do not make me choose.”

“I’m sorry but if you won’t get treated as soon as possible, you won’t last that long. You will only have a few months to live… and worse, it could only be weeks.”