CHAPTER 48

I spent the entire morning at home. Iris and I planned eat to lunch on the patio this afternoon, but our plan fell through. However, I texted her. I would not let her wait for me the entire morning just because I didn’t tell her that I couldn’t go out today.

“How are you feeling?” Seven asked. He was once again wearing his laboratory coat; he was also wearing spectacles and was holding a piece of paper.

“I’m all right.” I diverted my gaze and regarded the large window. The sun was setting, but I remained in bed. I fainted earlier while I was leaving the manor; this was the first time this had happened since we moved to the province. That was also the reason why Iris and I didn’t go ahead with our plan.

“I’m going to die soon,” I whispered. Seven did not respond, and all I received was a sigh. I was well familiar with my body. I might not mention it frequently, but I had a sense that it was becoming weaker daily.

“Seven.” He shifted his gaze to me and raised an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes and patted the vacant part of the bed to let him sit. He was skeptical at first but eventually complied.

“What? Are you in pain?” I shook my head gently and locked my gaze on his.

“This is the final time I shall request something; please, kindly grant me.” His brow furrowed even further. I knew that this was too much, but it was the only thing I could do for her. I simply couldn’t leave her if she was all alone.

“What is it?”

“I...I want you to protect Iris in the same way that you protected me, and please take care of her while I’m gone. She’s completely alone, Seven. I can’t die if she’s alone.” Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought of Iris. My one and only soulmate. He remained silent and simply stared at me.

“And my mommy and Auntie Nena too. I’ve been a selfish daughter for not listening to her solely for the sake of doing what I want to do. I don’t want her to suffer a life of regret simply because I died. I don’t want that, Sev. Regarding my aunt, please look after her; her only family is my mom.” I recalled mommy and I arguing just before I ran away; she apologized profusely for slapping me. If I could only turn back time, I would apologize without hesitation.

“And finally, Sev, take care of yourself. Even though we’re not blood related, you’re a dear brother to me. Mommy and I are extremely fortunate that you’re always there for the two of us. I want you to take care of your health. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. I swear to God, if I reach heaven and meet all the angels, I’ll wish to find a woman who’ll take care of you as well. I won’t allow myself to be useless when I got there.” I couldn’t believe I was expressing all of this right now; I honestly believed I was going to die without telling him all of these.

“Why are you saying all of this? You’re not going to die yet, Aurie,” he said, frowning and wiping away my tears as if he didn’t want to hear what I was saying. I chuckled again, knowing full well that he was just pretending that I was not going to die any time soon. He was the only person here who knew how much longer I could survive.

“Shut up; I’m hungry; bring me something to eat.” I wiped my damp face and looked at him. I was not interested in this type of drama. I wanted to die with no regrets. I wished to die peacefully.

I sat on the bed when I heard the door close. I was not hungry; all I wanted was to get rid of him. I despised it whenever he was lying to me; it was evident that I only had a few days left, yet he continues to insist that it was not true.

I pushed myself out of bed and stretched my body. The entire room was orange as the sun set, and the surroundings became more colder. I remained on the balcony for a few moments, gazing up at the sky.

I was curious about the existence of heaven and hell. Where could I go if they were true? Since I was a child, I’d been an extremely ungrateful human being. I frequently grumbled to my parents, despite the fact that they provided me with everything I desired. I once called my mother selfish; I was not sure if there was any forgiveness for that sin.

I surveyed the hacienda in its entirety. There were only a few gardeners in the area, seemingly preparing to come home to their families. My heart skipped a beat as I examined the entire land and noticed a man from afar. My heart ached as I curved my lips into a smile.

My one and only love, Pierre Cardinal.

Our eyes met at the same time as a tremendous blast of wind. Even from afar, I could see the range of emotions in his eyes. He did not speak, but he appeared to be communicating with me.

I diverted my glance and returned inside. I wasted no time to fix myself and rushed out of the room to go to where he was.

When I exited the manor, my hair erupted due to the powerful gust of wind. My long gown almost reached the grassy land because of its length.

When I saw where Pierre was, my chest throbbed. His back was facing me; he appeared to be going back to where they were staying. I was not sure if the guards permitted him to enter this area or if he simply snuck out. Well, I didn’t care about that. At this point; what mattered was that he was here.

“Pierre!”

I clutched both sides of my dress and run faster. I could feel my chest increasingly hurting because of my shortness of breath, which I didn’t paid attention to. When he came to a halt and looked back at me, I mustered a grin. He didn’t appear to anticipate my descent from the manor in order to get close to him. His face was flushed with surprise.

I bit my lip when I came near to him. He examined me thoroughly; initially, he showed no reaction to my outfit but suddenly grimaced when his gaze fell on my feet.

I instantly felt humiliated and rubbed my temples. I forgot to wear slippers.

“Do you need something?” he asked, nearly whispering.

“L-Let’s talk?” I stammered. For a few period, he remained silent and locked his gaze on me. Despite my nervousness, I bravely met his stare. He nodded softly after a few seconds. It seemed as if my heart was rejoicing.

I thought he would never speak to me again after I told him I love another man.

We began walking till we arrived to a large tree near the back of the manor. He sat next to me while I sat beneath the tree.

“What are we gonna talk about?”

I was silent for a few minutes before looking at him. I gave him a sour smile before scrutinizing each part of his face.

What a handsome man.

“I’m happy that you finally found your girl.” He frowned and raised an eyebrow at me. I thought he was about to say something, but a few seconds passed with his mouth remaining shut.

He didn’t deny it.

“If I only knew this would be the outcome of me, breaking up with you, I wish I had done it earli—”

“What are you saying?” he interrupted me mid-sentence. I gave him a beautiful grin before laying my palm on his cheek.

“I’m going to miss you in every way, but I’m glad you’re with Alyssa—”

“We are not together; what do you mean you should have ended our relationship sooner?” His brow furrowed even more. When I heard that, the smile on my lips suddenly vanished.

What purpose did his hug with Aly yesterday served? He never did that when they were simply friends.

“I thought—”

“No. What do you mean you’re going to miss me? You’re leaving? Where are you going? I thought you loved someone else? Then why are you going to miss me? As the day passed, a flood of questions began to flood my mind. I wanted to ask you everything, but I had no idea where you were. Then I saw you here, dressed and treated like a princess. I’m relieved to see you here, but I still want to know the answers to my questions. Do you really loved me? Did you cheat on me? Why did you leave me? I don’t believe you’re inlove with someone else.” I didn’t know what I was going to answer first in the amount of questions he had All I could do was sigh and avert my eyes. Should I tell him? I wanted to tell him. However, something was stopping me. I was not sure where to begin or how to tell him.

“I-I’m at a loss for words.”

“You know what to say; you just don’t want to tell me. For what, Aurie? Why can’t you tell me everything? Did you know when you left me? I’ve been wondering why you can’t tell me. I’m your partner, Aurie. But I don’t seem to know you. It’s as if I’m in love with a stranger—”

“I’m about to die.”

There. Finally, I said it.

“This is a serious conversation; this is not the time for pranks—”

“Do I appear to be pranking you? I’m telling the truth. That’s why we can’t be together. I’m going to die soon. If you don’t believe me, then don’t.” He became silent and looked at me seriously. Seconds passed with nothing but quiet between us.

I was looking down when he abruptly pulled me towards him. I nearly cursed him when I collided with his chest. I was about to release myself from his embrace when I heard a small sob on my shoulder.

I suddenly felt weak when I felt his hand trembling. I allowed my body to fall upon his and eventually allowed him to hug me.

He didn’t ask a thing; he simply held me and buried his face on my shoulder.

I closed my eyes gradually. I was beginning to feel drowsy. With the intensity of the wind, I was feeling more at ease now. With the closeness of his embrace around me, it seemed as though I desired nothing more than to rest in his arms.

I allowed myself to wallow in lethargy, despite the fact that I had no idea if I would still wake up after this.

#

“Pierre...” I spoke in hushed tones to the man who was resting his head on the empty space of bed. He looked up abruptly, as if he had been waiting for me to awaken. When I noticed how red his eyes were, I wanted to raise an eyebrow; what happened to those?

“I-I’m going to call Seven—”

“Don’t...” I knew he could hardly hear me due to my trembling voice.

“I’m going to call—”

“Shush. Stay with me.” I gently reached for his hand and drew it closer to me. He sat silently in the chair next to the bed, watching me. All I could hear was the sound of the vital sign monitor because of his silence.

We had a room that resembled a hospital here, huh?

“Now you know,” I stated, referring to my condition. I could see that he finally believed that I was not really pranking him. There were no more confusions in his gaze as there were previously. All I saw was anguish and misery.

“I hate you so much,” he said, his eyes welling up with tears as he met my stern gaze. I was anticipating him to say all of those things to me; I was just at a loss for words.

“How come you didn’t tell me sooner?”

“You are not meant to know.” He bit his lips as he leaned back on the chair’s backrest.

“You reticent woman...” I forced myself not to cry when he abruptly buried his face on my stomach. I could see the ups and downs of his shoulder because of the intense crying; it appeared as though he had been holding it back for some time.

“I hate you so much, Aurie. This is not funny.”

“Liar. You love me and I love you, that’s the truth. Stop telling lies.” He remained silent and continued to cry. I wanted to laugh and tease him, but even I was hurt too.

He already knew I was going to leave him soon, but all he could do was mourn and stay with me until I took my last breath.

We didn’t choose this, but this was what he had given us. Did I massacre an entire town in my past life and this was my punishment?

“I love you, Pierre. There are no words to express how much I love you. Don’t you dare think that you are unimportant because I didn’t tell you about this sooner. When I leave, please take care of yourself. Don’t be afraid to love another woman just because of me. Be happy and build a family. If you don’t, I’ll be mad at you for the rest of your life.” I couldn’t help but to sob. I felt his embrace tighten around my waist, as if he was determined not to let go.

I had no idea this type of goodbye could cause me such heartache.

“You’re not going to die on me, baby,” he whispered as he raised his eyes. I shook my head and gave him a sad grin.

“I can’t take it anymore...”

“You can. We can fight together. Please don’t die on me, hm?” he pleaded, kissing my palm repeatedly.

“Please, Aurie...Seven!”

I heard the monitor beside me beep. Pierre’s muffled wail as he called Seven’s name was audible to me. My grip on him gradually loosened due to weakness of my hands.

I suppose this was the end? I could do nothing except tell the man in front of me in my head how much I loved him, as if he could hear what my brain and heart were saying. I couldn’t do anything when my eyelid started to feel tired, until darkness enveloped my sight.