Contract Marriage starring Love and Revenge
Chapter 62. Test results.

Chapter 62: 62. Test results.

I know I said the weather today was warm, and I was telling the truth. But right now I’m feeling a different kind of warmth.

And it’s coming from Duke.

"What were you talking about with Mary?"

He’s asking when he clearly already knows. He wants to hear me say it with my own mouth while facing him. Is this one of what he meant when he talked about being intentional?

"Why did you run off?" I’m sure he knows the reason. My blushing cheeks must be screaming the reason to him right now. "What are you trying to hide from me?"

Since it has come to this, I can only get more embarrassed, nothing more. It’s time to come clean. No more hiding, no more holding back...

"I love you." I profess.

"Pagne—" He calls my name... Better still, he breathes it out.

"Why do you look so astonished? You already knew that I love you." I say with a soft smile on my lips. Damn I’m really embarrassed to say this to his face. It was a little embarrassing to admit it to Mary, but to him, the subject of my love, it’s five times the embarrassment and excitement.

"Duke, I don’t know what you see in me to love me, I sincerely don’t. I lack everything a woman could possibly give to you." Compared to Duke, I have nothing. Nothing at all to offer him, yet he says he loves me. He doesn’t just say it, he shows it.

"And I know in some sort of way I might seem like an uncertain and unstable woman, but I’ve decided to confess this to you. I am in love with you, Duke Grand... Madly." I say with a laugh.

"As you already know, I’m the kind of person who falls in love quite easily. And you’ve shown me so much love that I just can’t stop myself from falling for you. You might think that I’m confusing gratitude for love, but that’s not true. B_because I’ve been in love before. I know how it is to be in love. And with you, I feel double the way I felt in my previous love life. No, scratch that... triple it."

My hand reaches for his face and he allows me to touch him by bringing his head a little lower to my reach. I lift myself to my tippy toes and place a kiss by the side of his face.

"I love you." I confess the words while still standing on the tip of my toes. "I am in love with you." I affirm it once more.

"And I know we entered this marriage for certain reasons, and we made an oral contract when entering the marriage, but," I take in deep breaths before talking again, "will it be too selfish of me to hope that this b_becomes a completely real marriage? I_" I pause and turn my face away from him because I’m feeling so shy right now. The look in his eyes is making me feel embarrassed, "I want to become a real wife to you and I want to remain that way for a very long time... T_that is if you’ll have me." I tilt my head to the side and put on a very bright and true smile, "Hmm?"

Before I can say any more words, his hand envelopes me, his head buries into my shoulder and I’m lifted off my feet.

"Oh Champagne," He groans into my neck, "you sincerely drive me crazy." He says while hugging me tightly and I wrap my arms around his neck

"What am I supposed to do when you confess to me with such a sweet proposal?" He asks while still holding me tight.

"Say yes." I shrug.

"Of course I’ll say yes. There was never a question." He says as he finally lifts his head from my shoulder and faces me.

"The plan has always been to keep you by my side, forever and ever." He confesses. So he knew this was going to happen eventually.

"You have me caught up in the web you wove, right?" I say with a soft laugh and he shakes his head.

"If anyone is caught up in a web, then it’s me. I’ve been stuck on you longer than you can imagine." He always says that, but I don’t really understand and honestly, I don’t care as long as he loves me and I do too.

"I love you Duke." I say again and he instantly dives for my lips.

"Stop saying it now." He seems to be begging. "I think I’m discovering another fetish I didn’t know I have." Is he blushing? Oh my gosh.

"Another fetish?" I ask and he nods.

"You have no idea how crazy it’s driving me to hear you say you love me again and again." Oh he’s still crazy... And I love him. I really do.

I want to stay in this bliss forever. I want to remain in his arms forever.

I want things to always be this peaceful with us.

...

Sometimes what we wish for is different from what we get. What we pray for is different from the answers we get. We pray for peace and we get a heart-wrenching discovery instead.

It’s been way over two weeks since I’ve started sleeping in Duke’s room. We still haven’t gone all the way, but we’ve been sleeping comfortably together, caressing and kissing at times but nothing further.

Since I’ve been in this room, not once have I been compelled to go through his bedside drawer. But somehow my search for my glasses on a faithful Monday morning, the first in the month of February, caused me to open the drawer while Duke was in the shower.

And inside it I find a yellow file with a huge logo on it. And I quickly remembered it to be the logo of the hospital I visited with Duke.

I guessed my medical reports were out. I’d totally forgotten about them. And seeing that Duke did not mention anything about collecting it all this while even though he had it tucked inside a drawer, I was certain it was because he found out that there was sincerely nothing wrong with me and was too shy or proud to admit he was wrong.

With a playful shake of my head and a smile on my face, I opened the file even though I knew I would not be able to read a single thing without my glasses.

But then, funny enough... for some reason, I could suddenly see some words written on the white sheet of paper. They were blurry but I guess it caught my attention because they are words I haven’t heard before.

No one ever understands these medical terms.

But then again, I squinted my eyes as I read some words, "After thorough examination, it was found that the patient had a hysterectomy procedure."

I wondered what a hysterectomy procedure meant. Was it another word for stomach cancer surgery? I wondered...

But I never would have imagined what it actually was.

...

"What?" I feel my hands shaking, my eyes are staring at Duke who just got out of the shower to find me with the file in my hand. I innocently asked him if hysterectomy was another name for stomach cancer surgery b_but what the hell is he telling me right now?

"I_ It’s the removal of—" He pauses I can see him struggling to repeat himself but I need to confirm what he said a moment ago, "S_simply put, It’s the removal of the womb."

Oh dear God, I don’t think I am breathing.

My eyes are getting dizzy, my stomach is starting to feel like my intestines are twisting and turning into knots. I’m feeling nauseated and my knees are getting weak.

"Pagne!" I hear him scream as I sway and he catches me. "I_ I didn’t know how to tell you." He says, "I could tell you were not aware of it but, I know how much you love children and—"

"Duke," I say his name, "W_was it because of the cancer?" I ask. When I don’t get a response I look up at him and he’s biting down on his bottom lip, his face is contorted... Oh dear God, please don’t let what I’m thinking be true.

"Duke," I call him again, but he turns his head from me and I can tell he’s angry at something, or someone... BUT, "DUKE!! Answer me!!!" I scream. "Please," I beg with my hands tightly gripping the sleeve of his robe

"It is true that stomach cancer could sometimes lead to hysterectomy but—" he pauses again, gritting his teeth,

"But?"

"The doctors didn’t find any trace of cancer in you."

"O_of course th_they wouldn’t f_find any trace of cancer in me. I_ I was cured, right? Right?!"

"Pagne, even though a cancer patient is completely cured, they are still able to detect if a person once had cancer. They found nothing at all. Their diagnosis is that you never had cancer in the first place."

Dear God!