by S. G. Sonysa
Allison and I had tears in our eyes because we understood his pain better than others.
“Oh. Then why did you divorce her? Pray tell me, sweet son?” she asked him.
His eyes turned cold, and he glared at his mom.
“You really want to know why, mother?” he asked his mother, shouting.
I saw a flicker of fear in Eva’s eyes before she very skillfully concealed it and nodded. She knew he wouldn’t tell the truth in his father’s presence.
“I made my wife and child leave because of you, mother. I never wanted to divorce her and get separated from my then one-week-old son. But you made me do that by blackmailing me that you would sell your shares of the Edwards Investing Company and ruin my dad,” he yelled.
I wanted to stop him, to leave this place, and to never come back but a part of me also knew that he really wanted it out from his chest.
“Mom, do you know how it feels like to rip a part of your body with your own hands? No? That’s what I felt when I told Hailey that I wanted a divorce and made her leave with our son,” he shouted.
His mom looked shocked, and her mouth hung open at her son’s revelation.
“Mom, if I didn’t catch you that day with Kate talking about getting her an abortion, I would’ve never found out how dangerous you were for my son and wife,” he said, making everyone gasp.
“Eva, what’s Chase talking about? Is it true? Were you the reason behind their divorce?” William looked at his wife in anger.
“Yes, I blackmailed him. I told him I would sell our company’s share just to make him divorce Hailey. I could never hurt you, William. I just threatened him so he would divorce her. And yes, I was thinking of getting her abortion because I thought she was too young to give birth. I had doubts that the child was Chase’s,” she said, trying to explain.
“I just can’t believe it, Eva. I just can’t believe that I have spent thirty-five years of my life with you and I still don’t know you. Dammit! Hailey was his wife, Eva. She wasn’t just any random girl who he knocked up and didn’t want to take responsibility for his child. How can you ruin your own son’s life?” Chase’s dad looked really disappointed at his wife’s actions.
“But William, I thought I was helping him get rid of the unnecessary burden,” she replied, trying to appear innocent.
“Don’t call my son an unnecessary burden, Mom. Don’t! He is my son, not a burden, and not a mistake. You never noticed my love for him. You never noticed my connection with him or with her because you were so busy hating her. I spent countless nights talking to my son when he wasn’t even born yet and connected with him. But the first thing you did, when he was born, you asked doctors to run a paternity test. Even after, I repeatedly told you that he is my son.” Chase was shouting at his mother.
I glanced at Chase and realized how tired he looked. Sweat beads were forming on his forehead, and he was breathing heavily.
I was concerned about him, so I walked to him and hugged him. I felt his hand tightly wrapped around me, embracing me, and he kissed my head.
“I’m sorry, Hailey. It wasn’t a good idea to come here,” he murmured lightly in my ear.
“Chase… You don’t have to say sorry for anything. It’s not your fault.” I rubbed his back.
Then suddenly, I felt something wet on my cheek and looked up thinking that maybe they were tears falling from his eyes, but I was so wrong. My body became frozen in shock.
Blood was running down from his nose, and he looked dazed. I caught him in my arms in time and shouted for help.
Cameron and Evan ran to us and helped Chase sit on the nearest chair. I kneeled down in front of him and looked at him.
Allison got tissues and kneeled down beside me.
“Chase, your nose is bleeding.” I stammered and cleaned the blood with my trembling hands.
“Don’t worry, Hailey. Just promise me you will stay with me,” he said and pulled me closer to his chest.
I placed my arms around his neck and hugged him. Suddenly, his body went limp in my arms. My heart stilled at that moment, and I felt like someone tilted my world upside down.
Chapter Forty-Five
Never Leaving You Again
Hailey
After Chase fainted, we rushed him to the hospital. Now we were waiting in the waiting area for the doctors to come out of his room and inform us about his condition.
I was sitting on the chair lost in my own thoughts while tears rolled down my face.
We heard the sound of a door opening and then found doctor and nurses coming out from his room.
“Where is Chase Edwards’ family?” the nurse asked.
“Yes. I’m his wife. Is he alright?”
She gave me a small smile.
“He is fine, just sleeping at the moment because of sedatives. Dr. Carl will tell you the details if you would follow me,” she said.
I nodded my head and followed her. I could feel that Chase’s parents and Cameron were also following the nurse.
We all entered the doctor’s office.
“I’m Hailey, Chase Edwards’ wife, and they are his parents,” I told the doctor.
“Yes. Please take a seat.”
I sat down on the chair, and Chase’s father took the empty seat beside me.
“So we have a scan of your husband’s brain, and this point here shows an enormous sized tumor,” the doctor said, pointing at the scan.
Did my heart stop beating? It did.
“And I’m really sad to announce that his tumor is in the last stage. We have found some traces of medicine in his blood test, which he must have been taking for a while to treat this tumor, but they are just worsening his condition. We can remove the tumor by surgery, but at this stage, patients have a risk of getting long-term amnesia, and most of the time after surgery, patients end up in a permanent coma or if the condition gets worse, they end up dead. I believe that this kind of attacks like he had today would also increase if we will take more time in making a decision. For now, we have given him some sedatives to lessen his stress, and we are keeping him here tonight under observation.”
“What do you recommend we do? When is the right time to do this surgery?” Chase’s dad asked him.
“At this stage, we don’t recommend surgery because it sadly doesn’t go in favor of the patient. But if some patients take the risk, there will be only 20% chance that they will survive. Sometimes people stay alive, but they lose their memory, and that made it difficult for them to live, and some end up in a coma.”
His last explanation left me gasping for air.
I pushed my chair back and got up then left the room without saying anything. I went to the room where Chase was admitted. He was resting on the bed motionless. His breathing was even, and his eyes were closed. I felt my heart contracting in my chest and pain exploded, making me take a step backward. I leaned on the nearest wall for support but my legs gave up, and I slid down.
“You can’t leave me, Chase… You can’t. After, giving me hopes of happily ever after you can’t leave me… I will not let you go.” I chanted that lightly then my eyes shut and blackness consumed me.
Next morning, when I woke up, I found myself in the room, which I left three years ago. I sat up on the bed and saw Noah sleeping beside me. I kissed his head.
I went down to the kitchen where everyone was sitting and having breakfast. When they saw me, they stopped and stared at me like I was some ticking bomb.
“Why am I here? How did I even get here?” I asked them, feeling confused.
“You fainted last night, and we found you on the floor in Chase’s room, so we brought you here,” Allison answered me.
“I want to go to the hospital right now.” I demanded desperately.
“Okay. Evan will take you but first, have some breakfast. You haven’t eaten anything from last night,” she said, looking concerned.
“No, Al. I am not hungry at the moment. I just want to go to the hospital to visit Chase.” Tears
were pooling in my eyes again.
“Chase is fine. Cameron stayed with him last night. He just called me and informed that Chase will be discharged soon and will come back home,” she said, wiping the tears from my face.
“Really?” I couldn’t believe what she just told me.
“Yes. Now you go get freshened up. I have placed a dress of mine in your room,” she said to me, pushing me out of the kitchen.
I went back to the room and freshened up. Then I got changed into a blue long sleeved, knee-length dress. I went downstairs and there he was sitting on the couch, changed into a grey t-shirt and jeans, talking to Cameron.
When his eyes meet mine, he got up from the couch. I ran towards him and flung myself into his waiting arms.
“Oh, God. Chase, you scared me to death. Please, promise me you will not do something like that to my fragile heart again,” I mumbled while crying on his chest.
“Hailey, don’t cry, baby. You know I hate tears in your eyes.” He tightened his arms around my waist.
Finally, after a few minutes, I pulled away from him.
“I’m sorry for lying to you again,” he said, looking down at his feet in guilt.
It dawned on me what he was talking about.
“Chase, you knew about the tumor, and you never thought to discuss it with me? I am your wife, your partner, and you hid it from me.”
“Hailey, I just I…” He tried to find the right words to explain, but there was nothing he could say to defend his lie.
“Chase, how long did you know about this?” I asked him, making him uncomfortable.
“Hailey. I… I found out two years ago that I have a tumor.”
My breath hitched.
He tried to move closer to me, but I took a few steps back creating a space between us. A sudden hurt flashed on his face, making me sad, but at that moment I was way too hurt to care.
“Why? Why did you hide this from me?” I cried.
“Hailey, please. I know I’ve hurt you but please, hear me out,” he said, trying to reach me again.
“Save it. I don’t want to hear more lies.” I left and went outside to the backyard.
I had been sitting there on the grass under my favorite tree for the past fifteen minutes when he came outside and sat beside me.
“One day, I was working in my office when I felt a sudden pain in my head and fell unconscious. Jack came to visit me that day and found me passed out. He took me to the hospital where they ran a few tests on me. And next day, the doctor informed me that I have a tumor in my brain. He prescribed me some medicines, but nothing worked, my condition got worse. So I decided that I would never contact you again because death seems so near. I thought you will be better without me. But that day, when you called me, I broke all the walls I had put up all these years. I came to you and confessed everything. I never wanted to give you false hope, but I became selfish because I craved your love, and time with my son before death would snatch every chance away from me to be with you. I truly wanted to feel your love and die in your arms, Hailey,” he said, placing his head on my lap.
The tears were now falling from my eyes freely. I wanted to hate him for hiding this from me and stay angry. But I couldn’t blame him for hiding anything.
I wanted to kiss him and never let him go. I loved him so much that I wouldn’t be able to live without him. I wouldn’t be able to survive in this world if anything happened to him. This time it would be too difficult to repair my broken heart.
I ran my fingers through his silky hair and placed a kiss on his forehead.
“Nothing is going to happen to you, Chase. You’re going to be fine.”
“Hailey only 20% of patients survive at this stage. I don’t think I am that lucky,” he said, staring at the sky.
“I’m sure. I will ask God to take my life instead of yours.” I glanced at his face.
“Don’t say something like that, Hailey. As long as you are alive, healthy, and smiling, I would be happy too. It doesn’t matter if I will be dead or alive. I just want you and my son happy with me or without me.” He snuggled his face into my stomach to hide the mist in his own eyes.
“I don’t know how. But I promise you, nothing will happen to you. And did you forget your promise about giving Noah a brother?” I asked him, giving him a watery smile.
“Well, that’s really a great motivation you just gave me.” He smiled and placed a kiss on my stomach, making me giggle.
Then we just sat there for a few more minutes and enjoyed the peacefulness of our surroundings. After that, we got up and went inside where Noah was sitting on the table and eating pancakes. When he saw Chase and me, he jumped into his arms. Chase surprisingly caught him in time otherwise he would surely have fallen and injured himself.
“Daddy, where did you and Mommy go last night?” He asked innocently, glancing at Chase.
“We went to visit some relatives. Now, you tell me, little boy. Did you meet Chris and Susan?” Chase tickled him in the stomach.
Noah’s musical laugh made everyone’s eyes turned to him.
“Daddy, Chris knows how to play chess. He told me you and he played it all the time. Will you teach me, Daddy?” Noah asked Chase in a hopeful voice.
“Yes. I will teach you, son.” He kissed his head.
After that, we had breakfast and went back to the living room.
“We have a flight in three hours, so we need to leave.” Chase glanced at me.
“Can’t you stay here? We can arrange for the best doctors in New York and ask for their advice before we make the final decision for your surgery.” Eva suggested, looking hopeful.
“No. I think we should go back home and I will ask my doctor about surgery.”
Chase’s voice was firm when he replied to his mother, which left no room for discussion, but she tried her luck again.
“But Chase we are your family. We want to be with you. You’re my son. I can’t just sit here after knowing the state you are in while you go back to God knows where,” Eva said, staring at Chase with tears in her eyes.
“Mom, Hailey has a college to attend, and I have an office to take care of. We are going back home, and for your information, there are also good doctors where I live.” Chase angrily answered.
“Son, you shouldn’t travel in this state,” William stated, concerned.
“No, Dad. I’m perfectly fine. I don’t want to stay here in this house where people don’t respect my choices.” Chase glanced at his mother and Kate.
“Chase, I’m sorry. Please, forget everything and stay here.” Eva pleaded, crying.
“Mom, I am not going to change my decision and don’t ask me for forgiveness because it’s not easy to forgive you. I can’t forget everything you did.” Chase glanced at his mom, and his face turned soft.
“Chase, I think we should stay here. Don’t worry about my college. I will ask for leave, and your office will be fine without you for a few days, I am sure,” I said to Chase.
I really wanted him to spend this time with his family.
I knew they wanted us to stay here. I also wanted support from Cameron and Allison. They had been my best friends after all these years, and I couldn’t go through all this without them.
“Brother, you can live in my apartment if you don’t want to stay here. I just bought it a week ago,” Cameron suggested.
“Yeah. Cameron and I want to spend more time with Hailey and Noah. We haven’t even got the time to spend with you both.” Allison also added.
Now, I knew Chase wouldn’t be able to say no because frankly there had was reason left for him to state.
“Okay,” he finally said the words we all wanted to hear.
The whole day passed making appointments with the best doctors in New York. When night came, we went to his old room, which Allison and I cleaned earlier.
He pulled me close to his chest until there was no space left between us. Then he planted his lips on mine, kissing me passionately. After a few minutes, we pu
lled away breathing hard.
“I’ve been dying to kiss you all day,” Chase said, staring into my eyes lovingly.
I didn’t reply to him. Instead, I kissed him, pouring my love and my want for him.
“Chase, you’re the most important person in my life. I cannot live without you if anything happened to you, so you have to fight and win. I’ll die without you. Please, promise me that you wouldn’t leave me,” I said.
He pecked my lips again and placed his head on mine.
“I will never leave you,” Chase said.
I placed my lips on his and kissed him, wishing that time would stop.
Chapter Forty-Six
Taking a Risk
Hailey
Next day, we arranged an appointment with the best doctors in New York and discussed Chase’s case with them. They briefed us completely about the pros and cons of the surgery.
The risk of amnesia after surgery was measurably high, but to our disappointment there was no other way to remove the tumor. It was like a do-or-die situation for us.
But I was optimistic about the decision of surgery. There was this hopeful voice in my heart that assured me everything would go fine.
It was decided that tomorrow he would undergo surgery in the presence of five well-known doctors of New York City Hospital.
“Hailey. You have spaced out again,” Allison said, making me jump.
“Sorry. I was just thinking about tomorrow.” I stared at the lunch table we were setting.
“I can’t even comprehend what you’re feeling right now. But Hailey you have to be strong for him and your son,” she said, giving a light a squeeze to my hand.
I nodded my head, but tears had already started to pool in my eyes, making me blink to stop them from falling.
“Let’s go. They’re waiting for us,” Allison said, dragging me outside.
Chase smiled at me, and I took the seat beside him. He glanced at my face, and his smile disappeared.
“Were you crying again?” he whispered in my ear.
