Chapter 210
Victoria's fingers resting on her knees gripped the edge of her trench coat tightly, the hem crumpled and wrinkled.
"You're being absolutely reckless! Ms. Gonzalez, you're such a difficult patient! I've told you over and over again that your condition is very serious. Cancer patients should not get pregnant—pregnancy will cause your cancer to spread even more. Why won't you listen? You got pregnant before, and you kept delaying the abortion procedure. After you finally had the miscarriage, your body became even weaker, and then you got pregnant again."
"When you were trying to conceive, why didn't you ask me first? I don't even know what to say to you anymore. Are you trying to cut your life even shorter?"
The attending doctor finished speaking angrily, then picked up his cup from the desk to take a sip of water.
Victoria didn't blame him at all for his harsh tone. On the contrary, she thought he was right.
"Doctor, please don't try to convince me to have another abortion. Let's just let nature take its course," Victoria said softly after a long pause.
The doctor was so frustrated he laughed, put his teacup down on the desk, and looked at her, "Ms. Gonzalez, even if you wanted to have an abortion now, you can't!"
Victoria bit her lip and looked at him.
He continued, "Your body is already extremely weak and can't withstand any surgery. You can't do anything about this baby now. See, this is what you get for being so reckless."
"I really don't understand you. Even if you're getting divorced and don't want any ties with your husband, you still shouldn't have gotten pregnant. You still want to have his baby? Even if you're divorced, there's no need to gamble with your own life."
Victoria suddenly felt the air in the office become scorching, oppressive, making it hard for her to breathe.
So her physical condition was even worse than she had imagined.
The cancer cells had already spread throughout her entire body.
How much longer could she live?
This was the question she wanted to ask but didn't dare to.
Victoria was afraid that if she asked, the answer would break her.
After hesitating and weighing the pros and cons, she felt she had to ask directly, because Hayden hadn't woken up yet, and she couldn't collapse.
She still wanted to see Hayden wake up with her own eyes, to personally confirm that her family was safe.
Only then could she peacefully accept her fate and disappear from this world forever.
"How much longer can I live?"
The doctor's fingers, which had been writing her prescription, froze.
He didn't answer Victoria.
She probably didn't have much time left.
Otherwise, the doctor wouldn't have reacted this way.
"Can I make it to New Year's Day?"
Victoria's persistent questioning made the doctor's brow furrow even more. When he looked up at her, his eyes were full of complexity and sympathy.
"Doctor, I have a good mindset. Please tell me the truth. I want to hear the truth. I want to say goodbye to this world properly," Victoria said, biting her lip with a bitter smile.
The doctor looked at Victoria with compassion.
He had seen many cancer patients who, upon learning their time was limited, would more or less lose their composure, fear death, and desperately want to live.
But Victoria was the only patient he had ever seen who faced death so calmly.
The doctor told her that the current painkillers were no longer very effective, and she needed stronger imported medication.
Two bottles a day.
No sex.
Come find him immediately if there were any problems.
Victoria listened quietly, then went to the outpatient hall to pay and get her medicine.
The painkillers filled an entire plastic bag. Victoria expressionlessly tore off the labels, put them in her handbag, and left the hospital.
At some point, it had started to rain.
And the wind was blowing hard.
The wind cut like a knife across her face.
Victoria hadn't brought an umbrella. The fine, dense rain fell on her face, her hair, her clothes.
She didn't take a taxi, choosing to walk home instead.
On a telephone pole, a lone sparrow perched.
Being battered by the wind and rain.
Victoria laughed bitterly. She and the sparrow were alike—both motionless, powerless to fight back, just waiting for fate to arrive.
She let out a breath.
"Doctor, can I live until the New Year?" Victoria remembered the question she had asked the doctor.
The doctor had said, "Ms. Gonzalez, with your current physical condition, you could die at any time. Ms. Gonzalez, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?"
Victoria thought about it. Her unfulfilled wishes—there seemed to be so many.
Like growing old together with Martin, being a perfect couple.
Like having a lovely child, a boy who looked like Martin, a girl who looked like her.
She would choose the formal name, and let Martin choose the nickname.
Or seeing Hayden wake up and confirming he was safe and sound.
Or taking care of her dear, respectable parents in their old age and seeing them to the end.
Victoria had so many, so many wishes she wanted to fulfill.
She and Martin had even agreed to make time to travel the world together.
Her footsteps had already covered most of the world because she loved to travel.
But she wanted to go with the man she loved most.
Victoria had also fantasized about warming Martin's cold heart, making him let go of his hatred and be kinder to the Gonzalez family.
Nothing had been realized in time. Nothing had been realized in time.
Her life had already turned red.
She would disappear from this world at any moment!
She couldn't even make it to the New Year!
When the cruel reality truly arrived, it still left Victoria breathless and heartbroken.
She was far from as calm and mentally strong as she had imagined.
She would still feel sad.
Still feel heartache.
Seeing Victoria silent for a long time, the doctor's thousand words turned into just a sigh, "Eat whatever you want to eat, do whatever you want to do. Don't leave any regrets—that's what really matters. Nothing else is important anymore."
Not important anymore.
Was it really not important anymore?
Victoria walked in the bitter wind and rain.
Her feet in snow boots were frozen numb.
As if those feet, those legs, were no longer hers.
"Victoria."
Along with the sound of a car horn, a man's deep and pleasant voice suddenly rang out.
Victoria turned around and saw Aaron's head poking out from the window of a Cullinan.
She was a bit surprised, not expecting to run into him here.
Aaron asked her to get in the car. Because the rain was getting heavier and it was evening rush hour, it wasn't easy to get a taxi.
She declined at first, but Aaron just parked the car by the roadside and waited for her.
She had no choice but to get in.
The driver thoughtfully turned on the heat.
Victoria sat in the back seat for a while before her whole body regained feeling.
Her body was like it had been frozen for a thousand years, finally melted by warm sunlight.
The temperature in the car was just right. Victoria hugged her arms around her body—it made her a bit warmer.
Aaron had the driver turn up the temperature even more.
The privacy screen slowly rose, giving Aaron and Victoria space to talk privately.
"I told your husband about your cancer," Aaron spoke first.
Only then did Victoria understand why Martin had suddenly wanted to take her to the hospital.
She didn't respond.
"Ms. Gonzalez, I still think life only happens once and should be cherished. If you don't mind, I can do a compatibility test for you. Who knows, maybe my liver will match yours," Aaron suggested again.