No Longer

Prologue: The Day

Happy New Years everyone! :D I honestly tried my best to finish this before the new year but sadly, I was too busy preparing my family's traditional New Years dinner :)) I feel like I didn't gain weight the entire holiday until last night xD So yesssh, I sort of had an outline for this a long time ago but I was just too busy :))

Anywhoooo, hope ya'll enjoy it! ;) And have an awesome year!

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The sun rose from the east like any other day. It woke her up by creeping in through the loosely shut curtains, just like any other day. She yawned and turned to the peacefully sleeping figure next to her and made him stir with a kiss, just like any other day. She stayed in his arms for a few minutes and he sighed contently before they reluctantly stood up to face the day together, just like any other day.

After their usual morning rituals, he entered the kitchen where the mouthwatering odor of fried eggs and bacon filled the air. He gave her an affectionate smile as he sat down on the table and she layed down the food. He savored the freshly cooked meal in his mouth before reaching across the table to take her hand in his. They ate in silence. Good silence. There was no need for words when it came to the two. Secret messages were exchanged through gestures and expressions that only the other would understand. And as cliche as it sounded, that was how they knew, as well as everyone around them, that they were met for each other.

She smiled up at the man who stole her heart and swore never to give it back as they headed out to the front door. But even though she still felt the usual butterflies in her stomach and fireworks in the background when they kissed each other goodbye, there was something off about him as he turned to his car. That was when she noticed him struggling a little to walk.

"Um, hold on. Why are you limping?" She bit her lip worriedly.

He knew exactly what was wrong but he just turned back to reassure her," Oh, my leg just feels a little sore. Probably slept in a wrong position last night, nothing to worry about darling."

Still not convinced, she just nodded slightly before he moved nearer and gave her a kiss on the forehead. His breath felt hot on her skin before he looked at her with eyes filled with love and admiration, and something different beneath them, and said," I love you."

"I love you too. Be careful", she wondered why she replied that way as he made his way to his car and left for work and she was left alone in the house once again, just like any other day.

***

The fire burned under the stove as she inserted the juicy raw steak to be cooked for their dinner. She had just finished washing the dishes and doing the laundry before preparing the meal that they would have eatten that night. Her stomach jumped with excitement as she headed upstairs to change into proper clothes, for the night that they had planned for. It was the night when he would be let off from work early and the night that they would finally have time to try. To try starting a family.

They had been married for a year and she had still not conceived, but he insisted on trying. He knew it was her dream to raise a family together. To grow old and help those kids go through the stuggles of life. To sit together on the front porch as their grandchildren played on the lawn. He wanted to fullfill at least one of those dreams for her. But they were not given time to do that. He had a job that required him to stay up until 9 and by then, he would be too tired to do anything else but hold her until he falls asleep. On the nights he did get home early, she would be too exhausted from cleaning and taking care of the house to do anything else but fall asleep in his arms.

That night, they would have time. He promised.

But it seemed that the universe had other plans, when the phone rang just as she was about to brush the tangles away from her hair. Thinking it would be him reported to her just how far he was from the house, she rushed to answer it. A nervous nurse from the nearby hospital was the last person she expected to have called. The nurse's voice quivered as she told her the unsettling news.

All at once, time stopped yet it felt like everything was speeding up. Her breathing stopped as her legs walked faster out to the street. The taxis seemed to be as slow as snails as her panic and worry increased. Once she got in the cab and ordered the driver to speed up, her tears fell faster than her already fast-pace heartbeat.

***

The doctor approached her at the corner of the waiting room and gave her a sympathetic look," Here are your husbands things. You may say your goodbyes before we bring him down to the morgue."

"W- What happened to him? Nobody has told me anything", she chewed on her lip to bite back the tears threatening to seep through.

He seemed surprised by her answer," Oh, I am very sorry. Well, the cancer finally got to-"

She snaped up at him," Cancer? What on earth are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry? You really did not know?"

"Well it seems like it. All I know is that I saw my husband perfectly fi- No..." Her knees suddenly felt weak and so she fell back down on the wooden bench. He sets down his things  before taking a seat beside her.

"I assumed you knew... Your husband had stage 4 Osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. We discovered it several months ago but there was nothing we could do to stop it from spreading to different parts of his body", he explained to her slowly being careful not to upset her even more.

She shook her head, as if trying to shake off the news she had just heard," No. No, it is not possible. He never told me. Why would he not tell me?" Tears streamed down her grieving face and her voice cracked as she told the worried doctor," Thank you. I will go down to where he is later."

As soon as he left her, she covered her face with her hands and wept. So many emotions crashed down on her that she was afraid she could not handle it. But as her lungs felt like giving out and her eyes felt hot with tears, she noticed something beside her and remembered what the doctor had placed. She fumbled to open a pastic ziplock that seemed to be carrying the clothes that he had worn that day. She took out each of the items and examined each and every one of them, holding them out in front of her. She remembered that those pants were the ones his mother had given him for Christmas two years ago, that blue polo shirt was the same one he wore on their visit to their old college, and that black suit was the one he had worn to their wedding last summer.

She took a deep breath before folding them to place back inside. But as she folded the last piece of clothing, she heard a crumpling sound from the pocket of his suit. As she unfolded it again, she saw a paper envelope jammed inside. Hastily, she took out a letter that had 3 neatly written words that caused a shiver to run down her spine, that made her weaker than she already felt, and threw back so many memories of those exact words escaping his lips.

I love you.

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Heehee, hope you liked it! ;) Cheezy ending, I know, but I couldn't help it ^_^ And sorry for not being able to post this before 2012 :( I really tried but like the characters in this story, I ran out of time... xD So this is my gift to you guys because I might not be able to post much since classes are starting again. Sigh, I really don't want to go back :-\

BUT! Stay tuned because in a month or so, I might just upload a new story I've been working on! ;) Thanks a ton for all the support! And as always, a comment (even a short one), vote, fan or etc will be much appreciated! :D

P.S.- Any recommended songs that I could put up for this final chappie? ;>

~ bloomelina