I don't know what love is but I Love You

Chapter 11

When Leo arrived at the hospital, he learned that leukemia had once again invaded his sister's body. Mia's condition was described as severe and only a bone marrow transplant could allow her to live a normal life. After some time, Rebecca, Ali, Victor, and Joe arrived at the hospital. The earlier disagreements between Leo and Joe didn't matter at that moment. They were all here for Mia.

All five registered in the bone marrow donor registry and asked their families and friends to do the same. Ali also shared Mia's story on Facebook and Instagram, and the response from her virtual friends exceeded her wildest expectations. When they had done everything they could, all that was left was to wait for a miracle.

And a miracle happened. Mia's father learned from her doctor that there was a good chance Joe could be a donor. Of course, both Mia and Joe had to undergo further tests. Leo canceled his trip to Italy and spent most of his time with Mia in the hospital. Ali knew that if the transplant was possible, Joe would agree to it without hesitation. She also knew that her support meant a lot to him, so she tried to show it to him as often as she could. She decided that she'd not talk to Joe about their situation until after the transplant. At the same time, she felt that Leo, who seemed strong and indifferent to many things, also needed someone who would sometimes just hold him and tell him that everything would be all right.

After all the necessary tests were done, a transplant date was set. A few days before the transplant, Mia received chemotherapy to destroy her bone marrow. Both collecting stem cells from Joe and transplanting them into Mia's body went smoothly and without complications. Now all that remained was to wait and see if Joe's bone marrow was accepted by Mia's body. 

The next day, after Joe's stem cells collection, he was told that there was no objection to him leaving the hospital. Leo offered to drive him home in Victor's borrowed car. When they arrived at their destination, Leo broke the awkward silence.

"Thanks for what you did for my sister."

"Our sister," Joe corrected him.

" I'll never forget that," Leo added.

Joe wanted to get out of the car, but one thing stopped him.

"Listen, I wanted to ask you about Ali, if–"

Before Joe had time to finish his sentence, Leo answered him.

"She's a great girl, and she loves you more than life. You're doubly lucky."

"Will you come in for a minute?" Joe asked as if what he had just heard made no impression on him.

On the inside, however, he jumped for joy. Leo's words meant he'd no intention of getting between him and Ali.

Things couldn't have gone better, Joe thought.

"I have an important meeting," Leo replied.

As soon as Joe got out of the car, Leo drove ahead. He didn't think about where he was going. He wanted to get away as quickly as possible from this place, from Joe, from this conversation.

Later that day, Joe was visited by Ali. She brought him his favorite chocolates and a portrait of him that she had drawn while sitting by Joe's bedside in the hospital waiting for him to wake up. 

Ali insisted that they should talk, but Joe would rather not know what she had to say to him. Things had been going well between them for the past few weeks, so Joe hoped that Ali had forgotten about the kiss with Ana. She explained to him that there would always be a place for him in her life, but a long-distance relationship was too difficult for her and they should remain friends for now. Joe knew that it wouldn't do any good to try to convince her or set conditions, so he agreed to her proposal. He believed that if they continued to be close, he would have a chance to prove to her that they were made for each other and that no one could take better care of her than he could.

 Ali and Joe also agreed that since only they and Vicki knew about their breakup, they wouldn't tell anyone about it for now. Ali would feel bad about leaving Joe after everything he had done for Mia, and Joe knew that keeping quiet about the fact that they were no longer together would help him save his relationship with Ali.