In The Arms Of Fate: A Christian Romance

Chapter 8

Before I could finish my sentence, the nurse I had spoken to earlier walked in, looking concerned. "I'm sorry to interrupt," she said, glancing between us, "but I heard raised voices. Is everything alright in here?"

I quickly wiped away my tears and took a deep breath. "Y-yeah, everything is fine. We were just having a discussion."

The nurse nodded, still looking a bit uncertain. "Alright. Please try to keep it down. Other patients are resting. If you need anything, let us know." With that, she left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

The moment she left; the room was filled with absolute silence. Elias made momentary attempts to speak but something held him back, and he kept quiet as if he was waiting to hear what I had to say.

So, taking another deep breath, I spoke up, "Isolating yourself and pushing me away was definitely not the right way to go about getting rid of my feelings or protecting me, as you may call it. Protecting me means being honest with me. It means letting me in, not shutting me out. We're supposed to face things together."

 I crossed my arms, trying to keep my voice steady.

Elias sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm really sorry for the way I did things, but if you were in my shoes, maybe you'd understand why I did what I did. You and Japeth are the closest I have to a family. I might have informed Japeth about everything, but should I have come up to the love of my life and been like, 'Hey babe, this is my diagnosis and I limited amount of time to live?' It would have broken you, but it would have wrecked me. You just got promoted; how could I steal your happiness? how could I burden you?"

"There you go again, Elias," I said, shaking my head. "My happiness comes from knowing you are okay. Dr. Cohen told me what you were going through, and I know it must have been hard and extremely excruciating." I moved closer, reaching out to take his hand.

"That didn't matter," Elias replied, squeezing my hand gently. "My happiness stemmed from knowing you were happy and without worry."

"Then don't withhold things from me," I said softly. "I'll be here to back you up no matter what."

"No matter what? You sure of that?" 

"Why would I lie?" I asked, holding his gaze.

"I can tell you aren't," He paused. " However, when I asked if you wanted to give our relationship a break, I really meant it and I want you to consider doing so."

"Excuse me," I stepped back. "You're joking, right?" 

"I wish I was, but I'm not," he added. "With the way things are now, our relationship will surely end after six months if I'm lucky enough."

 "Seriously!? I quipped clearly pissed. "The doctors said approximately six months, but if it is the will of God, six months can turn into six years, and six years into sixty. Even if that's not the case and nothing changes, I'm not breaking things off, I'll stick by your side to support you. Thats what I'm here for." I took a deep breath, trying to hold back tears.

"But it's hard to keep faith when every day feels like a battle I'm losing. I don't want to drag you into this pain. You deserve more than watching me fade away."

"You don't get to decide that. And in all seriousness, Elias, the next time you mention breaking up, I will definitely go ahead with it because I'm not going to force a relationship on you that you don't want."

"It's not that-"

I cut him off

"Don't" 

Having said that, I left the room without looking back.

What would you have done if you were in Serenity's shoes?

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