The Last Thing I Expected

Nyssa

I didn't know I was dying.

I thought I was just exhausted. I thought the dizziness, the weakness, and the sleepless nights were simply part of the pregnancy I had tried for three long years to conceive.

I was terribly wrong.

Leukemia... that was what the doctor had called it. I wanted to believe he was wrong. I couldn't accept that after finally becoming a mother, my body was beginning to fail me.

***

The antiseptic smell stung my nose as I slowly opened my eyes.

"Where am I?"

The words barely left my lips. My throat felt like I had swallowed broken glass.

Confused, I slowly lifted a trembling hand and rested it against my swollen stomach. A shaky breath escaped me as I gently rubbed the large curve beneath my palm.

Please... be alright.

The door suddenly opened, and a middle-aged doctor stepped inside with a file tucked beneath his arm. The moment he noticed I was awake, he walked over to my bedside.

"Mrs. Black, you're awake."

I looked at him anxiously.

"What happened?"

"You collapsed at home," he replied gently. "You were brought here unconscious."

I froze.

Collapsed...

The memories returned in scattered fragments. Another argument. Another night spent waiting for Kieran to come home. The dinner I'd spent hours preparing had gone cold on the table.

My unanswered phone calls, his excuse that he was "busy." And then, the perfume that didn't belong to me lingering on his suit.

Serena.

Ever since she returned, everything had changed.

Kieran barely came home anymore, and even when he did, he looked at me as if I was a complete stranger.

"Mrs. Black," he said gently, "your body has been under an enormous amount of strain. Given your condition and your pregnancy, you need to be extremely careful from now on."

He sighed deeply before adding, "Your blood tests strongly suggest you have developed an aggressive form of acute leukemia. The disease is progressing quickly, and your pregnancy complicates treatment. We need to act immediately."

My fingers tightened protectively over my stomach. A lump formed in my throat as guilt washed over me.

So my body really was failing her...

She hadn't even been born yet, and I was already putting her in danger.

I'm sorry, baby.

I looked back at the doctor, my voice trembling.

"Can you... call my husband for me? I need to see him."

The doctor gave a slow nod. "Of course. I'll let him know you've woken up."

Without another word, he quietly left the room.

As the door clicked shut behind him, I closed my eyes and gently rested a hand over my stomach.

We couldn't keep going on like this.

Not anymore. Our daughter deserved better parents. I needed Kieran here for us to really talk... I needed my husband. Surely, he wouldn't leave us alone when we needed him the most.

Time crawled by, and the sound of footsteps approached. My heart leaped with relief as the door swung open.

"Kier—"

The name caught in my throat. The smile on my lips slowly disappeared when I realized it wasn't him.

Serena stepped into the room instead.

She wore a tailored cream-colored dress, her makeup flawless, as if she were attending a business luncheon rather than visiting a hospital.

The corners of her lips lifted into a faint smile.

"I guess you're finally awake."

My chest tightened.

"What are you doing here?"

She quietly closed the door behind her before turning back to face me.

"Kieran asked me to come."

I frowned, my fingers tightening around the bedsheet.

"...What?"

"He couldn't make it." She shrugged casually. "You know how important work is to him."

I stared at her.

"No, that's not possible."

She took another step toward my bed as her smile widened.

"Why? You think he'll come running to you because you're dying? Well, he already knows."

The room suddenly felt colder.

"He... knows? Then why isn't he here?"

Her smile widened.

"Because he no longer loves you. You really still don't understand?" She reached into her designer handbag before pulling out several papers. "I thought you'd at least deserve the truth."

She placed them gently on my lap. I lowered my eyes, and my hands immediately began trembling.

DIVORCE AGREEMENT.

My breath caught.

No...

No...

My shaking fingers hurriedly flipped through the pages until I saw it.

Kieran Black... his signature was already there.

"No."

"He only married you because he needed the image of a devoted husband. It helped him earn the board's trust while he secured everything he wanted."

She smiled.

"Now he has it all. He doesn't need you anymore."

I shook my head repeatedly.

"No. You're lying."

"Am I?" She chuckled softly. "You think the timing of your illness is just a coincidence?"

My body suddenly stiffened.

"What... do you mean?"

She walked closer.

"Tell me... didn't you ever wonder why you kept getting weaker during this period?"

I stared at her.

She smiled almost pityingly.

"You really believed it was just the pregnancy or the blood disease you were diagnosed with?"

My heart slammed painfully against my ribs.

"...What did you do?"

She tilted her head.

"Let's just say Kieran wanted to make sure your body would never recover."

My pupils contracted.

"No..."

My breath caught.

The room seemed to tilt.

Kieran?

No. It can't be!

"No. I don't believe you. You're lying."

Serena sighed dramatically and slowly approached my bed.

"You should. I have no reason to lie. Honestly, Nyssa, I actually sympathize with you because I'm also a woman and..."

She lowered her gaze and gently rubbed her flat stomach.

"...also a soon-to-be mother."

My eyes widened.

Serena's smile deepened.

"Kieran's child."

And my blood instantly turned cold.

No.

That wasn't possible.

Kieran wouldn't—

No!

My first thought was to refute her immediately, to deny everything Serena had said and push it away as nonsense... but a bitter question kept pounding in my mind.

Could he really be responsible?

Were his unusual behaviors over the past few months really just because he was busy with work?

Was his coldness toward me really just because he was too tired?

Or had I been lying to myself all along while he planned to get rid of me behind my back?

My chest tightened as the truth slammed into me with brutal force.

I instantly felt something rise inside my throat. A metallic taste filled my mouth, and before I could stop it, I coughed up blood.

Serena wrinkled her nose as disgust flashed across her face. Yet she continued approaching until she stood right beside me and leaned closer.

"Unfortunately, Nyssa..." she whispered poisonously in my ear. "Your body is really useless. Giving birth to an unwanted child is the worst thing that can happen to Kieran. He doesn't want your child bringing bad luck to ours... I hope you understand."

Tears blurred my vision.

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Only a large amount of blood continued to spill from my lips. I bent forward violently, my body convulsing as more blood stained the sheets.

It hurt.

Everywhere hurt.

I couldn't stop.

I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't think.

It just hurt everywhere.

Serena stepped backward, covering her nose in irritation, but I could barely see her. My vision was becoming dark and blurry, and the room spun around me.

The machines beside my bed suddenly erupted. Sharp, loud alarms pierced the air. My breathing became increasingly difficult. Each breath felt like climbing a mountain.

The alarms continued screaming.

Serena stumbled back another step.

"This wasn't supposed to..."

Footsteps suddenly echoed down the corridor. Serena's expression changed for the first time. She glanced toward the door before quickly forcing tears into her eyes.

"Doctor!" she screamed, her voice suddenly filled with panic.

The door burst open.

"Nyssa! Nyssa! Doctor!"

Her voice sounded far away. I could barely hear her. I heard the door burst open, with footsteps thundering into the room.

I managed to lift my head to see the doctor and nurses surrounding me, yelling in distant voices I couldn't hear as the machines beeped louder and faster.

Then I saw him.

Kieran.

He pushed past the nurses, his face pale as he rushed into the room. Before he could even reach me, Serena stumbled into his arms. Tears streamed down her face as she clung to him as though she were the victim.

His first instinct wasn't to come to me.

It was to hold her.

He wrapped an arm protectively around Serena before his gaze slowly lifted to me.

For a moment, everything else disappeared.

The doctors.

The nurses.

The shrill alarms ringing around me.

All I could see was him.

The man I had loved for as long as I could remember.

The man I had trusted with my whole heart.

The man I had imagined growing old with.

The man I had endured countless injections, treatments, and sleepless nights for three years because I wanted nothing more than to give him the family we both dreamed of.

Three years.

Three long years of hope and disappointment.

Three years of pain, tears, and endless hospital visits.

Three years of putting my body through hell just to bring our child into this world.

And now, as I looked at him holding another woman, I finally understood.

None of it had mattered.

Every sacrifice.

Every prayer.

Every ounce of love I had given him.

It had all been for nothing.

Everything was becoming dark, and I didn't even have the will or the strength to resist it.

Someone grabbed my shoulders as another distant voice called my name.

"Mrs. Black... Mrs. Black…”