Ch. 2 The Mail

Odette’s POV

Disbelief scratched into every fiber of my being as Chris, my ex-boyfriend, blocked my only escape. “Get out of my way, I don’t have time for this,” I snapped, trying to sidestep him, but his hand clamped around my arm, a handcuff of false remorse.

“Please, I need to talk to you,” he pleaded, his eyes begging for forgiveness I no longer possessed. “I-I was a fool for breaking up with you. My life hasn't been the same without you. I have gone to your house to look for you a few times, but your family always chases me away.”

I caught a glimpse of my boss, a predator in a tailored suit, prowling down the corridor. Panic spurred me into action, and I wrenched free from Chris’s grasp. “Move on, it’s been two years since we broke up,” I hissed. “Like you said years ago, maybe I was the problem somehow, now I am learning to love myself and focus on my career.”

“Please, princess, give us another chance, you can’t tell me that I am the only one who feels this way.” He reached for me again, denial on his lips, but I was already sprinting away, my heart a drumbeat of desperation.

“Princess, wait up, give me a chance!!” He yelled, his voice rumbled with regret, but I didn’t give a damn. The hotel lobby was a busy place, with people minding their businesses, and I loved it.

The cool morning air slapped my cheeks as I burst through the doors, and as if summoned by my sheer will to vanish, a taxi skidded to a halt before me. I dove inside, barking a hasty, “Just drive!”

Through the rearview mirror, I saw them—my boss and Chris—the two people I needed to get away from, their expressions a mix of shock and something darker. The taxi drove away, and I allowed myself a single, shaky breath.

“That was close,” I muttered under my breath.

***

I tiptoed into the apartment, the festive remnants of a celebration I had missed mocking me from the walls. “Happy belated birthday to me,” I muttered, sidestepping the balloons that littered the floor like a colorful landmine.

A sudden pop! The sound of my misstep echoed through the silence, and I winced. Steven, my nephew, emerged from the kitchen, his green eyes wide and curious. “Aunty, where have you been?” he asked, his voice loaded with the worry of the night.

“I, um…” I opened my mouth to weave a tale of late-night work, but May, my elder sister, appeared her detective’s nose twitching. “Wait a minute, you smell funny, like a he-wolf’s cologne,” she accused, her eyes narrowing and sweeping over my body.

“Who is the new guy?” she inquired with a serious face. “I know it was right about time, my sister started dating someone new, I thought you were going to be a workaholic for the rest of your life.”

I rolled my eyes, and my body stiffened. “There is no one, Sis, if I was seeing...” I said, but my words were drowned out by the insistent ring of the doorbell.

Fear gripped me, images of my boss’s furious face flashing before my eyes. “I-I will get it!” I called out, rushing to the door. My hand trembled on the knob, my mind racing with possibilities. Who could it be? A friend, a foe, or the Alpha from the night before?

With a deep breath, I swung the door open, bracing myself for the face that would greet me. The door creaked open, and there stood a deliveryman, an unexpected harbinger with a parcel in his hands.

“You have got a mail, I am sorry I couldn’t bring it earlier, I was stuck in traffic,” he said, a statement so ordinary yet so out of place.

“I didn’t order anything, I think you are at the wrong house,” I replied, my voice a mix of confusion and irritation. “Why don’t you try asking my neighbor if they ordered something?”

He pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows. “You are Ms. Odette Brown, right?” he insisted, and suddenly, the world narrowed to the slip of paper bearing my name, a letter from a hospital.

Memories of doctor’s visits and unexplained blackouts flooded back. “Oh, yes, I visited to conduct a test a few weeks ago, I told him to mail me the result.” I signed for the envelope with a trembling hand and closed the door on the man’s retreating back.

“Who was that?” May asked, but I was engrossed in the envelope.

The envelope tore like a verdict, and the words within were a sentence I wasn’t prepared to read. **Diagnosis: lung cancer*** Six months.

The room spun, and I was falling, falling, but May’s arms were there to catch me. “What’s wrong, Ody?” Her voice was filled with concern, but I couldn’t form the words. I—I had lung cancer, and it’s already spreading to my other organs. I had six months left to live. I still had a lot I wanted to achieve, I wanted to open my own university, but it seemed like the moon goddess had already planned my miserable death.

“What are you reading? You look like you have seen a ghost.” May inquired. My fate was there on that paper, and as she reached for it, I found my voice.

“No!” I cried, lunging for the diagnosis that spelt out my doom. But it was too late; May’s eyes were already scanning the lines that could change everything.