All Chapters of One Year To Lose You: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

MAYA“I’m sorry, Maya. But from the test results… You barely have one year to live.”For a moment, I thought Dr Mike was joking.People don’t just walk into a hospital and get told they’re dying. At least not at twenty-one.I waited for him to laugh and say he was kidding.He didn’t.Every other word coming out of his mouth started sounding distant, like someone had dropped me underwater.“Maya.”His voice came louder this time.I blinked slowly and looked at him.“You have an aggressive autoimmune hematologic condition,” he said carefully. “It’s already advanced.”Advanced?That word echoed in my head.I knew something was wrong with my body. The constant fatigue. The migraines that made me want to smash my head against the wall. The nosebleeds that came out of nowhere.But dying?That wasn’t part of the possibilities.“Does anyone else know?” I finally asked.My voice sounded strange, even to me.“No,” he said.“Good.”I grabbed my bag before my hands started shaking.“No one should

MAYA“He just sent me a message. We’re meeting him at twelve tomorrow. You’ll come with me as my lawyer.”I cut Lilly off before she could start another lecture.She stared at me for a moment, then sighed.“Fine. I know how you get when you’ve already made up your mind.”She stepped closer and took my hands.“But I’m not giving up on you, Maya.”I forced a small smile.I’ve been doing that a lot lately.“I’m going to bed,” I said quietly. “Goodnight.”When I opened my eyes again, sunlight was already slipping through the curtains.Morning.The migraine hit immediately.It felt like someone was hammering inside my skull.Then I smelled it, blood.I touched under my nose and sighed.Another nosebleed.At this point, it almost felt routine.“May…”Lilly stopped the moment she walked into the room.Her eyes widened.“Oh, my God. Are you okay?”She rushed toward me.“We should go to the hospital. Did you bring your medication?”What she didn’t know was that I had already decided to stop ta

MAYA“Ray… you’re here.”I broke away from the kiss almost immediately. Jay was clearly caught off guard. The look on his face said everything.“Raymond,” I said quickly, trying to steady my voice. “Meet my boyfriend, Jay. And my love, meet Raymond, the guy I told you about.”My heart was racing. I tried so hard not to look directly at Ray. I was silently praying Jay would catch up with the lie and play along.But before I could say another word, Jay walked forward and lightly smacked Ray on the shoulder.“There’s no need for introductions,” he said casually. “Raymond is my little cousin.”My world almost collapsed.Cousin?How was that even possible?Ray’s eyes slowly moved between Jay and me. The cold look on his face made my knees weak.He didn’t say a single word.He just turned and walked out.That silence hurt more than if he had yelled.The emotions I had been holding in finally exploded. Tears streamed down my face before I could stop them.This was hurting more than the sick

CHAPTER 7MAYAThe ride to Stamford was quiet. Just me, Lilly, and the chauffeur.Two hours after accepting her offer, we were already on the road. She had everything figured out: the doctor’s appointment, the hospital, even the tests. It was almost like she knew I would eventually agree.“How do you feel?”Lilly’s voice pulled me back to the moment.“Mixed feelings, I guess,” I said. “If they actually find something that can help me… I can’t even imagine how Ray will react when I tell him the truth. The contract I have with Jay alone will already be a mess.”I sighed and looked out the window.“I wouldn’t even mind losing everything to lawsuits if I had enough time to be beside Ray again.”I paused before finishing quietly.“But on the other side of the coin… I might actually be dying.”A small smirk slipped onto my face.Funny how I had been doing that a lot lately, Jay’s influence.My phone suddenly beeped with a message.Speak of the devil.Jay: Hi, snoring head. You good?Snoring

CHAPTER 9RAY’S POV“This is not a good idea, Ray,” Josh said, running his hands through his hair. “It’s bad enough we lied about the accident, and now you want to add amnesia? Come on, man.”I didn’t even look at him.I wasn’t about to change my mind. Maya hurt me in a way I never saw coming.Losing her was one thing. But losing her to my own cousin? That was worse.My whole life… everything I planned… it was all built around her.And she threw it away like it meant nothing.I haven’t slept properly since that night.Just lying awake, asking myself the same stupid questions.Where did I go wrong?What did I do?Jay took my first crush, and now… he has taken her too.“Josh,” I said quietly, “you’re my best friend. You know you owe me.”He exhaled slowly.“Nothing will go wrong. Just stick to the plan.”I finally looked at him.“Watch everything unfold.”He didn’t argue again. He knew better. I once saved him from going to jail. Now it was time for him to return the favor.Still…I don