Chapter 1

I had hurt Claire, and after seven years of studying abroad, she finally brought her new boyfriend home to meet her parents.

The doctors finally told me that after seven years battling cancer, I had lost the fight. I could go home and wait to die.

When Claire saw me, my mom helping me into the wheelchair, she smirked.

"Seven years, and look at you, all messed up. Can't even walk anymore," Claire said.

Hearing her voice full of disgust, I quietly pulled my jacket sleeve down to hide all those needle marks on the back of my hand.

"It's nothing. Took a tumble and broke a bone," I replied.

Claire let out another mocking laugh. "Since that's the case, I'm getting married soon. How about you be my fiancé's best man?"

I gave her a calm smile. "No, I'm leaving for somewhere far away soon."

Then, I patted my mom's hand, letting her know to take me home.

*****

As soon as I got home and was lying in bed under my mom's care, Claire's mom showed up.

She stepped inside, giving me a tentative look, as if she wanted to say something but was unsure.

"David, I have a favor to ask, if it's not too much trouble," she said.

Her face was flushed, and even though she didn't say it outright, I knew she was here for the same reason she had been seven years ago.

Back then, the moment she found out I had cancer, she rushed into my hospital room, anxious and guilty.

Before I could even accept the diagnosis, while I was still crying like my world was falling apart from fear, she bowed low before me. "David, I'm begging you, don't hold Claire back. She got accepted into a school overseas.

"If she finds out you have cancer, she'll never want to go abroad. You two have grown up together and been in love for years. Please, for my sake, don't hold her back. Break up with her, okay?

"I've already figured out a way. I've set you up with a girl. All you have to do is pretend to kiss her downstairs, let Claire catch you, and then pretend to break up with her."

Because of what she said, when I first got the cancer diagnosis, my immediate reaction wasn't to rush to the hospital for treatment.

Instead, I put on a cold act, pretending to cheat, forcing Claire to break up with me, and heartlessly driving her away, sending her overseas.

Sure enough, in no time, Claire's mom looked at me with guilt written all over her face. "David, please don't blame me. I had no other option.

"Claire's boyfriend now is someone she met while studying abroad for her master's and PhD. They're a perfect match in every way. I don't want to mess up such a great match for her.

"You know how much Claire has always clung to you. If she ever finds out the truth about what happened back then, I'm scared. I'm scared

"So, could you please not see Claire for a while? You're not exactly in good shape right now, are you? You shouldn't be going out, right?"

When Claire's mom dropped the word, my mom was furious and hurled my adult briefs onto the bed.

Seeing her about to explode, I quickly tugged at her arm, then calmly turned to Claire's mom. "Mrs. Sutton, I can promise you I won't tell Claire about what happened seven years ago, but I can't promise I won't see her."

Yeah, I can't stay away from Claire.

After all, during these seven years battling cancer, there wasn't a single moment I wasn't thinking about her.

Whenever I felt like I couldn't make it through chemo, I'd clutch the photo of Claire and me together, which was the only thing that gave me strength to keep going.

I've been through dozens of surgeries, big and small, and sometimes I didn't even wake up after being rushed to the ER.

It was my mom, standing by my bedside, shouting herself hoarse at me. David, did you forget? You promised you'd keep fighting, that you'd go overseas yourself to find Claire and clear up everything between you two.

"You said once you got better, I'd take you abroad to bring Claire home. If you die now, you'll never see her again."

It was my mom's desperate cries, every word about Claire, that pulled me back from the edge, again and again.

But in the end, I couldn't beat cancer. Claire had moved on. She had a new life, a new boyfriend, and was about to get married.

But even so, in my final days, being able to spend a little time with Claire, even if it was a simple moment, would mean the world to me.

That's why, when I found out Claire was back in the country, even though the doctors said walking out of the hospital would mean certain death, I still forced myself to leave.