Chapter 4

After receiving that piece of good news, Mavis was able to spend the rest of the day forgetting the problems she had to carry around her. However, just after she got off work and was already in the car, the driver with her immediately handed her some tissue with a worried look.

  

“Madam, your nose is bleeding,” he commented with a hint of panic in his voice. “Tilt your head backwards for now and I will bring you to the hospital as soon as possible.”

  

Mavis clenched her teeth as she wiped off the blood. Leaning back on her seat, she replied, “There is no need to go to the hospital. I have some medicine at home so let’s just head back to the mansion.”

  

The driver was about to protest but he received a stern look from Mavis, forcing him to simply nod his head and follow her instructions. All throughout the ride, they were quiet unlike before that Mavis would be vocal, telling stories and whatnot. However, with her current condition and the situation that Grayson decided to put themselves into, Mavis found it hard to be her old self. 

  

Upon reaching the mansion, she looked at the driver and said, “Do not ever mention what happened a while ago to anyone. Please, do me a favor.”

  

Mavis headed back to their room and just like always, Grayson had not come home yet so she simply took her medicine before taking a shower. When she was done, she wore her white robe and stepped out of the bathroom, only to bump into her husband. She was about to say something but when she noticed that he was walking towards her for some reason, she could only knit her eyebrows in wonder.

  

“Good evening,” he greeted before he kissed her on the forehead. “Have you eaten dinner already?”

  

“Y-Yes. I had dinner with my co-workers.” Those were the only words she could manage to say because his sudden actions were uncalled for and unusual. “W-What was that for?”

  

Grayson removed his tie. “What is?”

  

“T-That… That…” she replied, referring to the kiss he just did.

  

“Ah… didn’t you say that you want me to act like your real husband?”

  

Grayson, then stood in front of her with an expression telling Mavis that she had to do something. The two of them stared at each other, Mavis clearly clueless of what her husband was trying to tell her. Only then, she pursed her lips when he motioned her to help him undress.

  

“I… did say that but n-not to this extent. And… you really d-don’t have to go that far. Besides, what’s the point of doing it all when you do not even want to celebrate our fifth anniversary?”

  

As she said those words, Mavis kept her gaze locked onto her hands as she unbuttoned his dress shirt. Her cheeks burned and she somehow felt dizzy with how things were suddenly unfolding right before her. She could recall that he told her about preparing for it, but she did not expect that he meant it to be right away. Though she was the one who asked him to act like he loves her, like he cares for her but she did not really expect that he would actually do it.

  

“About that matter, why don’t we spend our anniversary by going on a honeymoon?” Grayson suddenly suggested, making Mavis look up to him in surprise. “We did not go on a honeymoon after our wedding so why don’t we go tomorrow?”

  

“What about the project you are working on?”

  

“I am already done with the matters that needed my attention the most.” He, then, raised an eyebrow. “Why are you hesitant to go? Do you not want to?”

  

“Of course, I want to go. It was just so sudden.”

  

“I already have everything ready so you do not have to worry about it.”

  

Mavis simply nodded. Unable to keep up with how things were going, she excused herself just so she could go out for a while and take a breather. However, when she turned her back on him, she felt him grab her by the arm and forced her to face him once again.

  

Without saying anything, Grayson slightly slid her robe to the side for him to take a closer look at Mavis’ shoulder. Just as he suspected there were bruises all over her.

  

“What happened?” he asked.

  

“D-Did you really have to a-ask that?!” she exclaimed, embarrassed.

  

“I am asking because…”

  

At that very moment, it crossed his mind that just the other night, he left kiss marks on her. However, much to his surprise, he did not expect it to bruise her quite seriously. He thought that it would simply turn red for a few hours and then disappear.

  

“Maybe you should go and pack some clothes for tomorrow. I’ll take a shower first.”

  

That night, Mavis could barely sleep as she started to feel more and more feverish, and was unusually sweating even though it was not that hot. The AC was turned on and yet she felt like she was exposed under the summer sun. As she tossed and turned on her side of the bed, she also started to feel dizzy even though she had taken some medicine for her illness.

  

“Is something the matter?” Grayson asked with a rough voice and still half-awake. He was a bit of a light sleeper so Mavis’ actions woke him up, and not to mention, he was not used to her being awake at such late hours.

  

“N-No… Everything’s fine…” she replied as if she was out of breath. 

  

Her husband’s immediate reaction was to hold her forehead and upon feeling her hot temperature, it fully woke him up. Just when he thought that she was just having a fever, shock was plastered all over his face upon seeing some blood coming out from his wife’s nose. Without wasting another second, he remained quiet and just carried her out of their room.

  

“Prepare the car!” he growled as they descended the staircase.

  

The man who was assigned to guard for the night immediately headed to the garage and took the car. 

  

“Drive to the nearest hospital as fast as you can!”

  

Grayson could still not comprehend what was going with Mavis. Her lips looked too pale and her breathing seemed unstable.

  

“Mavis… please, don’t…” Those were the words he could only manage to say at that moment. His hands shook as he held her close to him but not too tight as he felt like she would break in his grip if he were to not be more careful.

  

Upon reaching the hospital, Mavis was immediately brought to the emergency room, leaving Grayson still astounded in the hallway. He ran his fingers through his hair, questioning himself if he had been so negligent towards Mavis that he could not even tell why she was sick in the first place.

  

Meanwhile, inside the emergency room, Mavis’ doctor and ob gyne were summoned to make sure that she and her baby were okay.

  

“I-Is my baby okay?” she asked with tears starting to flood her eyes. 

  

“Yes, Mrs. Briar. The baby is okay but you are not. It is best to discuss this matter further with your husband,” Dr. Julie stated, only to feel a tight grip on her wrist.

  

“Please, please… do not mention this matter to my husband. He does not have to know. Like I said, I will go through the necessary treatment as long as my baby is okay. If we have to delay them, then so be it. Please… I am begging you.”

  

“Mrs. Briar, your husband has the right to know about this.”

  

Even after saying that, Mavis still shook her head and stood her ground that her illness shall remain a secret from her husband. As much as Dr. Julie wanted to convince Mavis not to postpone her treatment, she truly could not do anything else since her patient herself was uncooperative. She could only agree with her, hence, after Mavis was given some medicine that would temporarily ease the symptoms of her leukemia, they transferred her to another room. When Mavis was able to fall back into sleep, Grayson spoke with her doctor to confirm her situation.

  

“Tell me what is wrong with my wife, Dr. Julie,” he demanded.

  

“Don’t worry too much, Mr. Briar. This is simply due to her pregnancy and since Mrs. Briar’s body is not that strong as an average person, her symptoms are like this. We have already given her the necessary treatment so the possibility of her experiencing this again decreased.”

  

“You are not hiding something from me, are you?”

  

“Mr. Briar, I am a doctor and I will not do such a thing.”

  

After their conversation, Grayson headed to Mavis’ room and found her asleep. Taking the seat just near her bed, he could not help but feel bad about almost everything. He knew he had never been that ideal husband, and not to mention, he was not able to reciprocate her feelings. And now that he confirmed that she truly was pregnant, he no longer knew what exactly to do… to divorce her and take the child with him or should he just live with the growing guilt inside him and stay with her.

  

When morning arrived, Mavis woke up and was greeted by the sight of her husband sleeping just beside her. He was still wearing his sleeping clothes and did not bother to change them the other night so it made her smile, thinking that he stayed beside her all night. Staring at him, she was once again reminded of Dr. Julie’s words, telling her that indeed, Grayson had every right to know of her illness. However, Mavis simply feared that he might force her to either abort the baby or it could become another reason for him to truly leave her. She still had two months left to make him change his mind and she would not let her illness be on the way.

  

A few hours later, Dr. Julie gave her permission for Mavis to be discharged, convincing Grayson even more that Mavis was not in a dire situation. With that matter somehow temporarily resolved, the couple headed to the airport for their scheduled honeymoon.

  

“Grayson…”

  

Just when Mavis thought that everything was going quite smoothly, she froze in her place upon hearing that familiar voice. And at that exact moment, Grayson let go of her hand as he turned to see who called out his name.

  

“Venice,” he said as he walked towards her. “I told you, didn’t I? You did not have to come here.”

  

“But you will be gone for a week. I will surely miss you.” Venice did not really care if Mavis was there and she just stepped forward and hugged the man she only loved. “Why don’t you just bring me with you?”