Broken Strings

C H A P T E R T E N

Andrew looked at his father, his eyes blazing with anger. Anger at himself, at his wife, at his parents. "And what? You'll hand over the rest of my company to my wife? Isn't what this is all about? After Cassie died, you certainly had no problem transferring those shares to Anisha's name."

"Andrew. This has nothing to do with-"

"Fuck this. Fuck you. I just can't right now. See you around." Andrew Hayes was honestly sick of it; of the pretending and the lying, of the faking and hating.

And he turned around and walked away, as fast as he could, leaving the ballroom. He walked away from the pained expression on his wife's face. Away from the hope in his mother's eyes. Away from the anger in his father's words.

Away from all the mistakes he had made and the people he had hurt.

He didn't need to be reminded how badly he had managed to fuck his marriage up. He was more than well aware of his doings.

His eyes dampened and his heart felt heavy as he looked into the night sky. A gentle summer breeze and bright stars across the dark California sky. It was all a reminder of how he had fallen in love with her in the first place.

He still remembered it. Remembered all of it.

It had been a Thursday night in late June, a typical evening by the California coast. He had taken her to the small Italian restaurant, located two blocks from the pier. And then after, she had demanded he buy her strawberry ice cream. And so, he had brought her two scoops of strawberry ice-cream from the ice cream shop just across the street.

She had picked a table, outside because she liked the summer sky. He liked the sound of the waves smashing against the sand as they sat outside and listened. And the gentle ocean breeze as she had snuggled closer to him, complaining about how she had forgotten to grab a jacket. The way she had twirled the spoon around, playing with the cup of strawberry ice cream, asking him if he wanted to try it.

And then smiled against the evening sky, snickering at something he had said. The lights had lit up all around her while the palm trees swayed to the wind. And she had bit her lip, smiling and looking up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he had gently placed his lips on hers.

And in those few seconds, Andrew Hayes knew he was in love. And that he always would be. In love. In love, with her.

And fucking hell, he would do anything to feel like that just once again.

"Nice evening isn't it."

Andrew rubbed his eyes, brushing away any tears that had gathered and turned to face Sebastian. He didn't say another word but instead eyed his wife's best friend. And perhaps lover.

He knew of their past. But who knew what was going on between them now. It would only be fair if she too was cheating on him.

But even if she was, he wouldn't blame her. Because it would all be a result of the mistakes he made.

Andrew could see it from the way Sebastian looked at her; the fucking bastard still loved her. But Anisha never paid any attention to the loving eyes of her best friend. And Andrew hoped that there was truly nothing going on between them. Because if there was, it would make winning back his wife a whole lot harder.

"What do you need Knight?"

Sebastian shook his head. Clearly there was something wrong between Andrew and Anisha. He had known about the failing marriage for years but had just learned about the cheating. But it wasn't his place to ask. He and Andrew were far from friends, perhaps mutual acquaintances but nothing more. But he just had to tell Andrew one thing.

Because no matter how much Sebastian still wished Anisha would love him instead, he knew she never would. Because she had stopped loving him a long time ago. She had moved on. And now, more than ever, he wanted her to be happy. Even if it wasn't with him.

"I was going to wish you a happy birthday but it's clear you're having a pretty bad day." Sebastian paused before continuing, it wasn't his place to tell Anisha's secret but Andrew needed to know. "And I get that you and Anisha aren't at the best point of your relationship right now. But tell her you love her before it's too late."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Andrew furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. The last thing he needed was advice from his wife's ex-boyfriend.

"I hope you can figure that out before it's too late." And Sebastian turned to leave but instead stopped and looked back at Andrew. Because there was still a lot more that he had to say. And he knew Anisha would hate him for saying anything more but he had to. He just had to.

"Twenty-seven days. You have less than twenty-seven days to show her that you love her." His voice held an undeniable pain. And Sebastian looked away, wanting to do nothing but cry. Because earlier that day he had received a copy of Anisha's latest blood test results. The blood test results that proved that she was extremely sick, sick and a lost cause.

And he wasn't sure if she even had twenty-seven days left.

Because no matter how hard Sebastian had pushed for her to try different medications and treatments, no matter how many times he had encouraged for her to seek various opinions, no matter how much he had prayed and begged that she would get better, it was all in vain.

Her normal blood cell count was deathly low. And he knew now it was just a matter of time now. A matter of time until he would lose her forever.

Twenty-seven days at the most. If she was even that lucky.

"What the fuck are you talking about? Twenty-seven days for what?"

Andrew really was oblivious. But that was because Anisha was one hell of a liar.

And whenever Sebastian had asked Anisha why she didn't want her husband to know, she had brushed it off saying something along the lines about how it was her problem, not his. And that he wouldn't care. He had no right to care.

But after seeing the light vulnerability and fear of losing Anisha in Andrew's eyes, Sebastian wanted nothing but to tell Andrew the truth about his ill wife. About the many pills she was taking. About the number of blood transfusions she had. About how close to the end she really was.

But still, it wasn't his place to tell. All he had wanted was for Andrew to at least make Anisha smile and feel loved, even if it was just once, in her last few days. Because Sebastian knew, that all Anisha wanted was Andrew to be the one to tell her that he loved her.

Just once. Even if it was a lie.

Shrugging his shoulders, Sebastian walked away without another glance. He had already said too much.

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I'm so sorry it took so long to rewrite the first three chapters. But my summer class is over and I don't start school again until late August so hopefully I can update a lot more often now.

Question: Sebastian is the only one who knows what's really wrong with Anisha. He is her doctor and he's the only person who she really trusts. So, what kind of doctor is he?

And I went through the comments on the last chapter and added up the totals:

Andrisha: 41

Sebanisha: 39

Too bad she gets neither. JK I haven't decided yet.

175 votes for the next chapter.