Love after Death

Chapter 12

7 YEARS AGO

At seventeen years of living in this world, for the third time, the young woman's chest tightened again. She placed her hand there and weakly headed towards the kitchen. The surroundings were dark since it was already late at night, and she didn't even bother to turn on the light because it felt like her heart was being sliced little by little. This was the third time it had happened to her, yet she was only applying water to it. She went to the refrigerator and weakly opened it...

After getting bottled water, she immediately drank it, water spilling onto her clothes, but she kept drinking. She took a deep breath and collapsed onto the floor, clutching her chest. She felt a little better after drinking, but the pain returned when the young man Liam suddenly appeared before her. She grabbed her chest again, gasping for air, and released a heavy sigh.

"What's wrong?" the young man asked in surprise, but she couldn't answer, so he immediately sat down in front of her. He was shocked when he noticed how hard it was for her to breathe. "Monique!! What's wrong?? What's happening to you, huh???" he asked again, anxious and not knowing what to do... "Look at me! Look at me, Monique, please... Look at me..." he added, panicking, but the young woman collapsed in front of him, so he positioned himself beside her and emotionally patted her cheek. "Mom! Mom!! Help!!! Mom!!!!!!" he called out desperately, unable to let go of the woman he was protecting.

"What's going on, Liam? It's so late at night, and you're shouting like that!!" the woman exclaimed, but when she saw the young woman's condition, she too panicked. She immediately went to the woman and gently patted her cheek. "Sweetie, what's wrong?? Wake up. Wake up, sweetie, please. Wake up..." she said emotionally, her voice shaking as tears streamed down her face. "What are you waiting for? Get her to the car, Liam!" The emotional young man stood up, glanced at the woman one last time, and then carried her. The sudden redness in his eyes and nose showed the depth of his concern. "What's the problem, my love? Please, just be okay, I'm begging you..."

When they reached the nearest hospital, they immediately took the woman to the ER. What was supposed to be a doctor's appointment at dawn happened at midnight. Unbeknownst to the mother and son, they had no idea about the woman's condition.

"Doc, what happened?"

"Follow me," the doctor said, but the woman couldn't let go of the young man's arm, who was filled with worry. The shock was evident, and confusion lingered in their minds until they reached the doctor's office.

"Please have a seat," the doctor instructed, as both mother and son shared the same feeling in that moment: worry about Monique's condition.

A brief silence followed before the doctor finally spoke.

"How many times has the patient lost consciousness?"

The mother and son exchanged looks before Liam spoke up. "F-for several times, doc," the young man stammered, his eyes wet as he stared at the doctor, waiting for a response.

The doctor sighed deeply before answering. He glanced at the woman, then placed his hands on the desk, looking down.

"The patient is in danger," the doctor said as he shifted his gaze between the mother and son, who couldn't process the gravity of the doctor's words. "She's in Stage 4 Heart Cancer." The doctor paused and watched the woman stand up and hold her forehead in disbelief while the young man stood frozen, stunned by the news of his beloved's condition. He wanted to cry again but couldn't yet accept what he had just heard.

"Doc, you must be kidding us," the woman replied, her voice trembling, her right hand covering her mouth. "That girl is so good. She can't have such a disease, doc," she continued, sitting down as the doctor watched her weep. The pain in her heart was unbearable, and it was as if the doctor was feeling it too.

"The patient is experiencing an extremely rare form of cancer that affects both the primary and secondary tumors in the heart," the doctor explained, making sure the mother and son understood. He looked at Liam, who now had tears running down his face, feeling the weight of the situation. "Malignant tumors are her primary condition. They grow rapidly and can spread quickly to other parts of the body," he added, his own emotions starting to show. "The patient's condition is very delicate, Miss."

"She's my daughter, stop calling her 'the patient'... I don't want to hear that word!" the woman snapped, upset by the doctor's use of the word 'patient,' as she couldn't accept that her daughter was in this condition.

"Mom," Liam said, holding his mother's hand as she bowed her head.

"I don't want my sweetie to go through this, son... I can't accept it if something happens to her, Liam," she explained, devastated, as she continued to cry. The young man could do nothing but try to console his mother in that moment.

Liam calmed his mother enough for the doctor to continue explaining. He forced a smile at the doctor so they could proceed, even though it was hard to hear.

"At Stage 4, the cancer will likely continue to spread, which can lead to respiratory failure. If the tumors spread to the heart, the patient may experience heart failure," the doctor continued, his voice trembling as he shared the devastating prognosis. "Because they grow rapidly and affect important heart structures, it will be very difficult to treat."

The doctor took a tissue from the drawer, unable to suppress his emotions as he watched the family's heartbreak. "A positive response to treatment could extend survival. But there's nothing we can do to save her life. I'm sorry, but all treatment can do is prolong her time here."

"No! No! This can't be... No, no, no!" the woman exclaimed, shaking her head repeatedly. "Doc, it's your duty to treat your patient. Do whatever it takes... How much? I'll pay anything, just save my daughter."

"I'm sorry."

Both the woman and Liam walked toward Monique's room, feeling as though their world was shattering. It was as if the day before, they had seen a young man who couldn't control his emotions for the woman he loved, but now he was in tears, devastated by what had happened.

The woman emotionally held the doorknob of the hospital room but couldn't bring herself to open it to see the unbearable condition of her daughter.

"Mom, it's hard, but we need to be strong... For her," Liam said, his voice steady but filled with pain as he tried to comfort his mother.

"Why does this have to happen, son?" the woman replied, her head lowered in despair. "Why Monique, Liam... Why Monique!" She cried again, collapsing into her son's arms as the pain from the news overwhelmed her. Her son, feeling the same sadness, couldn't hold back his tears. The older brother, Michael, who was caring for another patient at that moment, had no idea what was happening to the young woman he considered a true younger sibling.

"M--om-m..." Liam's voice trembled, his emotions pouring out as he leaned on the door, tears falling like a storm. The pain in his heart mirrored the suffering of the woman he loved. To him, there was no cure except for the person he loved, the person who had made his heart beat, now suffering before him.

Please, hold on, my love...

To be continued...

Love after Death