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Chapter One hundred and Seventy-eight

Author: Bunmi
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56

Lana’s POV

Finally, I would return to reality, with all its challenges and responsibilities.

Cameron took my hand as we walked back to our suite. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, squeezing his hand. “I'm just going to miss this place.”

“We’ll come back,” he promised. “And who knows? Maybe someday we’ll find a way to stay longer.”

I smiled at the thought. As much as I loved Cartonica, it was the people I shared it with that made it special.

***

The next morning, the sense of calm and happiness from the day before was replaced by a bittersweet feeling. As we packed our bags, preparing to leave Cartonica, the reality of our departure sank in.

Cameron, Andre, Marcus, and I were returning to Hastvin, while Sally was still bent on staying behind for a few more days or weeks of vacation.

Perhaps even months. The truth was that I would miss her, and if there was a way, I would have tried to walk her out of this decision she had come to. But she was right. In the last few months, a lot had happe
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    Andre’s POV I took her hands in mine, my eyes pleading. “Lana, this isn’t about complicating things. It’s about giving Zoe the best possible chance. If there’s even a small possibility that my blood could be a better match, we owe it to her to find out. Please, let me do this.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at me. The fear and desperation in my voice mirrored her own. “Andre, I…” “Lana, please,” I said, my grip tightening. “For Zoe’s sake, Let me be tested. Let me know if I can help her.” She took a deep breath, her mind racing. This wasn’t just about the past or our unresolved issues. This was about Zoe and giving her the best chance at life. She nodded slowly, wiping away her tears. “Okay, Andre. I’ll talk to the doctor.” The next few hours were a blur of activities. Nurses bustled in, explaining the procedure to me as they prepped me for the blood test. I sat still, the sterile smell of antiseptic filling my nostrils as a nurse drew a vial of my blood. Lana and C

  • TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY   Chapter One hundred and Eighty-one

    Lana’s POV Zoe’s fingers gripped mine, and the nervousness that she felt as the doctor took us through the bone marrow transplant process seeped slowly into me. It was as though I were a sponge, soaking in everything. “Since Andre is a match,” the doctor explained. “We would take stem cells from his bone marrow to help fight the leukaemia.” His gentle eyes stayed on Zoe’s face and then mine. “This is a complex procedure, but if it’s successful, then we would have achieved our main aim.”Zoe looked up at me, her eyes wide with fear and curiosity. “Mommy, is it going to hurt?”I forced a reassuring smile, pushing back the wave of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me. “We’ll make sure you don’t feel any pain, sweetie. And Daddy and I will be right here with you the whole time. You’re going to be brave, just like always.”The doctor continued, “We’ll need to run some tests to make sure she is ready for the transplant. These tests will help us understand her health better and prepare

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    Lana’s POV An awkward silence followed. I had been trying to avoid this. To keep my children away from Andre and his family, but it looked as though even that now was impossible. There was no way to deny it to him now; denial was all I had done in the past. Still, I did not want to accept it. Yet, the test that had been carried out said something different. She was his blood; biologically, they matched even more than me. I would have rebuked him immediately, but I was too tired. Thankfully, Cameron came to my rescue. “The doctor wants us to go home and get some rest. We’ll be back tomorrow.”Andre nodded. “That’s a good idea. You all need to take care of yourselves too.”I was numb from everything, so Cameron did the talking for both of us. “We’ll see you in the morning. Get some rest, André. Thank you.”“Did you hear him?” I asked as soon as we were outside the hospital. “Maybe all of this is a mistake. Maybe...“Cameron pulled me towards the car and peered into my eyes. Taking a

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    Lana’s POV “You’re right,” I whispered, closing my eyes and letting his words sink in. “But it’s so hard, Cameron. Every second feels like an eternity, and I can’t help the feeling that I should be doing more.”“You’re doing everything you can,” he reassured me, his hands never stopping their soothing motions. “We all are.”I leaned back further, feeling the warmth of the water and the comfort of Cameron’s touch. “I know. And I’m grateful for that. It’s just...”“I know,” he said softly, cutting me off. “It’s a lot. But you don’t have to carry it all by yourself.”For a moment, we sat in silence, the only sound being the gentle sloshing of the water as I shifted slightly. Cameron’s hands moved from my shoulders to my neck, gently kneading the tension away. I sighed as I felt the weight lift from my shoulders.“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.“You’ll never have to find out,” he replied firmly. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

  • TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY   Chapter One hundred and Eighty-four

    Andre’s POV The process was slow, but at least it had begun. I had been made to spend four excruciating days in the hospital, doing nothing most of the time but lying down, conducting tests and more tests, eating, wandering about the hospital premises, and doing it all over again, but it was not all bad. There were days that I now store as sacred memories in the most precious parts of my heart. Days that I had hoped would never end. Those days were the ones I had to spend with my baby girl. Zoe, whom I had now confirmed was my biological daughter,. I had yet to meet her brother, Joe, but I was sure that was a work in progress. Today, though, was not one of those days that I wanted to end. In fact, I hoped for nothing more than for the day to quickly come to an end and open up on the last day I had to spend here. I was lying on the hospital bed on this day, and my arm was connected to a machine that, according to the doctor, collected my stem cells while a nurse monitored the proc

  • TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY   Chapter One hundred and Eighty-five

    Andre’s POV“Doctor, what are you saying?” Lana croaked. Days ago, when she had arrived at the hospital after returning home for the much-recommended rest, she had looked like a semblance of her former self. The colour returned to her pale cheeks, and the dark circles around her eyes were almost invisible. But now, she was almost like a ghost. Her red, sunken eyes glared at the doctor, and her patched lips trembled until she caught the bottom lip in between her teeth, but it was so hard I thought I smelled blood. “We need to stop the collection process immediately to prevent any further damage to his body.” The doctor offered. It was all he had been offering us for the past twenty minutes, and even I was getting tired of it. “Think of it like stopping a car before it goes off a cliff. We need to hit the brakes and figure out what’s going on before we can move forward.” “And my daughter?” At this point, Lana was desperate, and it was obvious in her voice. We all were. “We’ll only n

  • TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY   Chapter One hundred and Eighty-six

    Andre’s POVI was confused; we were all, and after a while of silence, Lana asked the question that was on all of our minds. “Is there any chance we can continue with the current treatment?” His grip tightened around the bedpost, and I saw the white of her knuckle bones. I had the urge to reach out and calm her down, but with Cameron standing behind her, I didn’t think that was a good idea. The doctor shook his head. “At this point, continuing with the current treatment poses too much risk to his health. We need to prioritise stabilising his condition.”Tears welled up in Lana’s eyes, and I felt a pang of guilt and helplessness. “How long will this take?” I asked. “And what are the chances of finding another match?”“We’ll begin the medication immediately,” the doctor replied. “As for finding another match, it can be a lengthy process, but we’ll be working with international donor registries to expedite the search. We’re also exploring advanced cell therapies that might be suitable.

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  • TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY   Chapter One hundred and Ninety-nine

    Lana’s POV Fred smiled warmly, taking a seat beside Clara. “It’s been a long time, Aunt Clara. We have so much to catch up on, but there’s something important we need to ask you about first.”Clara looked at him. “Of course, anything. What do you need to know?”Fred glanced at me, and I handed Clara the letter. “We found this among my father’s papers. It mentions a promise to protect you. We need to understand what happened.”Clara took the letter and began reading it. As she read through it, I noticed the change in her expression. She took a deep breath and glanced up at us. “This... this brings back memories I thought I’d buried. Your mother and Mr. West were the best friends I ever had. But there was more to it, and it brought trouble or would have brought trouble had Mr. West not decided to act in what he believed to be the best interest of everyone, including your mother. Fred’s face lightened up, as did mine. “What do you mean?”Clara sighed. “Secrets.” She whispered. “Anne an

  • TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY   Chapter One hundred and ninety-eight

    Lana’s POVFred shrugged. “She hinted at societal expectations and family obligations,” he replied. “But she didn’t give specifics. I think she knows a lot more than she’s letting on.”I nodded slowly. “My father never mentioned anything about your mother or you and Kathy. And I started going through his papers; maybe I would find something.”Fred’s expression softened. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but it is not to be helped. I cannot say I know how you feel or what you are feeling right now. Finding out that a person you think you know has another side, which you have no idea of, can really do something to you.”I reached out and touched Fred’s hand briefly. “We’ll figure it out together. I have some of my father’s old letters and documents that might help us piece things together. Maybe we can confront Freda again with more concrete questions? What do you think? Right now, she’s the only person who can give us answers, and we are not even on good terms.”We returned to m

  • TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY   Chapter One hundred and ninety-seven

    Narrator’s POV Freda’s smile faltered for the briefest of moments, a shadow crossing her eyes before she quickly regained her composure. She leaned back in her chair, interlacing her fingers and resting them on her desk.“That’s quite a heavy topic, Fred,” she said, her tone now more serious. “Why are you suddenly interested in this?”Fred shrugged. “Perhaps after Kathy’s death, I realised something. I just want to know why he abandoned my mother, why he chose his other family above us, and why he caused us so much pain and loss. I want to understand all of these things; perhaps it would help me forgive, let go, and move on.”A shadow of a smile crossed Freda’s face. “Ahhhh... I guess it runs in the family then.” Fred narrowed his eyes, wondering what she meant by that statement. “I don’t understand. What runs in the family?”Freda stood to her feet and approached the floor-to-ceiling window, which offered a great view of the city. From here, he could view the city’s skyline and wat

  • TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY   Chapter One hundred and ninety-six

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  • TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY   Chapter One hundred and Ninety-five

    Lana’s POVI took tentative steps towards the bouquet. Whether unconsciously or by some reflex response in our system, we all had taken steps away from the bouquet. For some reason, we felt threatened by it. This was not the first time we would receive threats disguised as gifts, and I guess that has taught us a lesson. Slowly, I pulled out the card in the bouquet and glanced at Cameron and Sally, who both gave me curt nods. I opened it and began reading it aloud. “Congratulations on Zoe’s recovery. Best wishes for the future. – Freda.”The room fell silent as the implications of the message sank in. Sally was the first to break the silence. “Freda has acted once again. First of all, it was an almost dead bird on my door, and now congratulatory bouquet?”My grip on the card tightened. “Is this supposed to mean something?”Cameron stepped closer, resting his hand on the small of my back. “Hey, we’ll keep our guard up. She’s only trying to play mind games, but we won’t give her the sat

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