I am on borrowed time—too weak not to live a little before the nightmare descends.
I don’t want us to end.
I don’t want the dream to be over.
Then my phone rang, and I slipped out of the bedroom so I wouldn’t disturb her sleep. My uncle needed to talk to me, and from his serious tone, I expected it to be life or death.
It was. He’s dying.
The only person I needed was her, but she wasn’t home, so I tracked her to this bakery in Midtown by the river.
As I glance at my cousin, who looks genuinely happy for me, guilt churns in my stomach.
My uncle asked me not to divulge his rapidly declining health yet to Noemi. He wants his last months to be about celebrating life, not his illness. A deep sigh rocks my chest. I will lose another father figure, the man I trust with my life. No one could replace him, the loss already cementing itself into my being.
Zara stabs me with an angry look, not hiding that she’s mad, which means she wanted the morning to go differently. Fuck, I coveted that more than anything else.
She’s here in my city, with my cousin, and she didn’t return home. I take it as a sign.
I drag a hand down my face, fucking exhausted. I love her. I want her. I need her so much I am barely holding myself together.
Whatever she sees on my face, the fight leaves her.
“Let’s go home.”
She offers a small nod and hugs my cousin, who mouths at me, “What happened?”
“Not now.”
After opening the passenger door for Zara, I slip behind the wheel and spot the lingerie logo on the shopping bag.
“Want to drive me wild? No need, baby. I’m beyond mad for you.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and looks ahead. “I did it for myself.”
“Sure. If you say so, wife.”
We spend the rest of the drive in thick silence while an invisible alarm hangs suspended over our heads. Once the countdown ends, the repercussions will explode in our faces.
Parking in the underground garage, I grip the wheel tight enough to pop my knuckles, staring into space. I’ve given a fortune to research and will give more, yet it’s like this fucking sickness won’t be eradicated.
She palms my arm, saying softly, “What is it?”
I seek her eyes so she can see how earnest I am. “I crave you more than I crave my next breath. Nothing in this world would have dragged me out of our bed...” I exhale a long breath choked with despair.
“So, something bad must have happened,” she says tentatively.
A deep groan ripples in my throat. “My uncle is dying,” I say, a shiver running down my spine and freezing my blood.
“Oh, Vian.”
She unbuckles herself, making room in the small space to climb into my lap. It’s a tight fit in the sports car, but she’s not deterred. She places her palms on my chest, and I breathe her in. In this instant, she’s my tether to sanity, and I hold on with a death grip.
She strokes my jaw, eyeing me with so much warmth it brings me to my knees, and everything flows out of me. “I can’t win against this fucking sickness. My mom, my uncle. So many people every day.”
“But you’re trying, Vian. That’s all we can do. Never give up.”
“Noemi can’t find out. It’s his last wish, so please don’t tell her.”
