Broken Strings

C H A P T E R T H I R T Y - O N E

Sebastian ran a hand over his face as Andrew sat down across from him. But then Sebastian didn't feel bad for Andrew. He didn't want to.

"I remember a few months ago, I took Anisha out to lunch. She was smiling and laughing but we both know, she's good at hiding at her feelings. She's good at pretending like she's happy when she's really not. And I knew she was feeling down, even if she wouldn't admit it."

"Anisha said you were on a vacation with your mistress. She was talking about you took her somewhere to celebrate, I don't even remember. And you should have seen the way she smiled, it was heartbreakingly painful, like she couldn't even be bothered. She muttered something about how it was her wedding anniversary and no one even called, especially you. And I swear, I never hated you more than I did that day."

"It was the first day that I truly realized how devoid of color she was. It was like she was dull and empty and..." Sebastian kept his gaze on the table, forcing himself to hold down a sob. He was forcing himself to talk. "But there's been a lot more days like that."

"That same week, a few days later, we were having lunch in the cafeteria and she fainted when she was getting up to throw a napkin away. They did routine check-up procedures on her and I thought it was no big deal. She said she was stressed with everything and that she hadn't been eating a lot lately."

Sebastian looked at Andrew, his own eyes glossy and his sharp gaze piercing. "And again, I couldn't hate you anymore than I did that exact moment. She looked so weak and broken. But more than anything, she was all alone."

Sebastian rubbing his nose. He let out a deep breath, pausing before continuing. "You don't realize the extent of your mistakes but you will. Real soon, you will. I want to feel bad for you. You don't even know how sick and close to death your wife is. But you deserve it. You have no idea about what you've put her through."

"The blood tests came back. And they weren't normal. We did other tests and it was confirmed."

Sebastian looked around his office, avoiding Andrew's gaze. His voice was a little low, almost as if he himself didn't want to admit it.

"Anisha has acute myeloid leukemia. It's a fairly aggressive cancer but people do get better. The five year survival rate--"

"She's going to get better." Andrew believed it. Anisha would be fine. "I don't care. I'll pay as much as I have to. I will. I'll..." He'd do absolutely anything.

His voice quavered, unsure of what he could do, would do. The truth was slowly setting in around him. A part of him still refused to believe it.

Anisha had to be fine. She was going to be fine.

Just this morning, she had been laughing with Mira and Ryan. She'd promised Mira she'd buy her the new Cinderella doll Mira wanted and then teased Ryan about his math grade. Anisha had been perfectly fine.

"People get better. There's so many new drugs and people have gotten better." Andrew's eyes lit up, nodding frantically as he tried to convince himself that Anisha would get better. "Your sister had it? Didn't she? Leukemia or something and she's perfectly fine. Anisha will get better. She has to get better."

His words faded into a sob. His breathing was a little swallow.

Everything around him dulled and it came crashing down. The same dull gray now colored Andrew Hayes.

Anisha had cancer. Cancer, cancer that could kill people. She was sick, extremely sick.

But people got better. Anisha would get better.

He hadn't noticed. He hadn't. He didn't know what was wrong with her. He.

Andrew shook his head. No.