Married to the Wrong CEO

Chapter 111: Cancer

The next month was quieter than Dora expected. Nothing unusual happened, and even her father didn’t bother her after she informed him of when he could get the money.

The only thing she was uncomfortable with was the fact that her stomach got much bigger than she expected as she slowly approached her sixth month. It was something she expected, but experiencing it was different, heavier, more real.

Still, she had no complaints even though her heart seemed to intermittently race in fear, worried that Dante would still go along with sending her away. The thought alone made her chest tighten.

Her only reprieve was Elder Bellini, who made sure she was aware of the fact that he was staunchly by her side and had no intention of leaving. Dora would intermittently visit him, conquering her fear of the outside only because he was ill.

To everyone’s complete shock, Elder Bellini had suddenly fallen sick—and it was pretty bad. Bad enough for Dora to worry. She had assumed that his cough was nothing more than a bad cough, but surprisingly, she was wrong. The cough was much worse, enough for them to keep the state of his true illness a secret.

Dante didn’t speak about it, even though from the tension on his face it was clear that he was extremely worried. And he wasn’t the only one. Dora, for her own reasons, needed Elder Bellini to be fine—especially as she approached her third trimester and the end of her pregnancy. She needed him steady. Alive.

But instead of him getting better, he went ahead and was admitted into the hospital, which terrified her—and only worsened when it was announced that he was battling stomach cancer.

The worse part? It was a late-stage kind that terrified everyone. Even Dante got a little sober when he heard it all, except his uncles and aunties who simply nodded their heads like they had been expecting it. One of them even dared to mutter that he was old under his breath and that it was something they had all been low-key expecting.

Dora, as she stood by his bed staring at the old man, couldn’t help but feel anger well up within her as she glanced back at them, wondering if they possibly could have had something to do with it. The thought was ugly, but it refused to leave her mind.

Yet the more she glanced at the old man, the harder it was to fathom that his own family would want to hurt him—or kill him. It was difficult to simply imagine.

And while Dora was trying to figure it out, Dante, who stood beside her, was quieter than usual. He didn’t even speak, neither did any expression flash across his face. His gaze was simply blank and empty as he stared at the old man resting on the bed with his eyes closed, machines humming softly beside him.

As they all waited around for him to wake up so they could speak to him, an hour later—when he continued to sleep—that was when their impatience began to shine through. freёweɓnovel.com

They complained about the hospital smell even though the VIP room might as well have smelled like roses. They complained about the chairs provided, so much so that Dora, who had been waiting quietly, was frustrated enough to want them to leave. Their voices grated against her nerves.

Yet regardless of how much they complained, Dora was surprised to note that they didn’t leave no matter how many hours passed or how many meetings they had to cancel on the spot.

Dante also quietly sat in his seat, not picking calls but intermittently sending out messages, his expression unreadable no matter how hard Dora tried to figure out what was going through his mind. That scared her more than his anger ever could.

The doctors came to check up on him while giving a detailed description of what the treatments would entail. It was clear that his body would barely be able to take it, and even if he did, it would come with huge side effects.

"...his age is a huge factor to consider!" the doctors kept bringing it up even as they mostly listened quietly—until finally Namira opened her mouth to speak.

"...so how long does he have with and without the treatment?" she coldly asked, even as all eyes snapped toward her. All she could do was shrug as she responded,

"Look at him! Even young people don’t survive late-stage cancer! He’s dying!" she snapped, and Dora couldn’t tell whether or not it was from concern or rage.

It was hard to tell, but one thing Dora could hear was the coldness in her tone, which the other two of Dante’s uncles seemed to instantly mirror.

Furrie and Warren had the exact same expression as they slowly began to speak.

"It is true! It’s obvious that he only has a limited amount of time to live," Furrie pointed out, even as Warren went ahead to agree with him.

"Cancer is deadly! This treatment is only going to make his end worse, isn’t it?" he added, and it was all Dora could do to stay seated even as her hands balled into fists of anger. Her nails dug into her palms.

She was mad, and she herself couldn’t identify why—except for the fact that she couldn’t believe that family could actually say those words.

The doctors went ahead to reassure them about the treatments, but Dora knew that the three of them were already slowly making up their minds.

Glancing at Dante, she was stunned to see him continue to type gently on his phone, almost like whatever was happening or being discussed was none of his business. That hurt more than she expected. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

This worried Dora a little even as she glanced at the face of the old man who was still fast asleep, trying to mentally urge him to wake up and take control of his life. Please wake up.

But he didn’t.

It wasn’t until late, when Dora was dozing onto Dante’s shoulder—something she was surprised he allowed—that they finally realized that the old man Bellini was waking up.

They were all already seated by his bed when Namira, Furrie, and Warren, who sat by his left, instantly got to their feet with concern plastered onto their faces.

"Father!" they echoed with concern, even as the old man simply nodded his head, glancing to the right where Dora sat with Dante. Dante got up as she moved to get up too, only for the man to wave his hand.

"You can sit! There’s no need to stand like the rest of them!" His tone hinted at the beginning of a joke, but the tension in the air instantly squashed it.

Dora was beyond concerned as she looked at him—unlike the man she knew him to be. He already looked thinner, and with all the wires connected to him, she slowly realized that he might indeed not survive it.

He could die, and the thought terrified her.