Terminally ILL

At the peak of life, where everything was starting to look up, usually one would be in their happiest moments. You would look ahead, into the future, with hope and excitement.

Whatever was ahead, you feel as if you could conquer it all.

"I... I have what?" But for Isabella who was only twenty-nine and was in the prime of her life, there was nothing she can look forward to. The piece of paper in her hands hammered in the last judgements.

"Late Stage Stomach cancer. I'm so sorry, Miss Chalice." The doctor recommended that she should clean up whatever she needs to and make arrangements- it was already too late, this was the blunt and harsh truth.

"... How long?" How long does she still have? Of course even without saying it, the doctor knew what she wanted to ask. It is painful for patients to face the truth of their future passing and some of them would become unstable- crying and begging him to redo the tests before ultimately coming to the same conclusion . It was already incredible how this patient was able to remain calm.

"Five months, including this month." Isabella tightened her hold on the paper.

Is this how it all ends? All of her hardwork, the nights she spent sleepless and the days where she starved herself just to reach where she is right now- All of it was for nothing?

She hadn't gotten any recognition yet from any of the people she wished to be recognized by... Why must fate be so cruel?

"I see, doctor. Then, is there anything else I need to watch out?"

"The pains will be more severe. So I will prescribe you some medicines for the pains and the nausea you are feeling. Also, don't eat heavy food or drinks. But. .. We can still fight if you really want to." But the woman infront of him just smiled.

"No. I am already in pain, I do not want to be in more pain and possibly look miserable when I die. You know what that the chemotheraphy does to the body, Doctor." The Doctor has seen all types of patients, he understood well.

"Should I help you with the Hospice proceedures or do you want to spend your last days with your family?"

"Please help me find a secluded and private hospice with a good view, Doctor. I want to be as comfortable as I could in the last days- I have a lot of savings anyway and a short time to live." it was sad, but humans comes and goes like this.

The elevator opened and Isabella walked in straight and calm. With a tall gait and a straight posture, she looked dignified and smart, as well as sophisticated. Her hair did not have any strand out of place, neatly placed into a bun. Her egg-shaped face looked pale but nonetheless held a calm and collected expression - almost serious and stern.

 Her office worker clothes consisted of a black pencil skirt, a white long-sleeve under a black business coat buttoned up neatly and accompanied with a small corporate sign brooch.

Isabella was the secretary to their family's corporation, QIN CORPORATION. The Corporation was from her grandparents. That's why it still has their surname, which had accompanied the company for many eras. The family started as merchants and now they were one of the biggest Business tycons in S city.

The current C. E. O is Isabella's only brother, William Igor Chalice. He was older than her for five years and they never got along.

Well, none of the family members seem to like Isabella. Well, it was not the case when they were children. The Chalice Father and Mothervloved all of their children- but you know parents, they have a certain favorite. That was her little sister Renna.

Renna is a miracle baby, born to the Chalice couple in their twilight years- at fifty. Renna was fifteen years younger than William and ten years younger than Isabella, so she was spoiled rotten by everyone. However, since she was spoilt rotten, she can do whatever she wanted.

Age five, she said she did not like Isabella because she pinches and spanks her - which never happened. Their parents warned her not to be mean to the child, even if she told them she did not do anything. It happened so many times, she was punished again and again even if she did not do anything.

That child was the devil itself. A devil her parents and brother indulged and created.

She could not blame her, so when she entered college - she moved out. She really did not want to work for their company, but her parents seem to have barricaded all opportunities , so she can only slave away in their company.

Sometimes it felt like they had something against her.

Walking out of the hospital, she felt the stinging heat of the sun against her skin. Looking up with her hand shielding her eyes, she saw the eves of the trees fall down and swept away by the humid wind.

Just like the leaves, her life blooms, withers, falls down and eventually swept away by the wind of fate.

She was not able to enjoy many things, she was not able to eat what she wanted, she was not able to go on vacations and take long breaks.

If she did, her brother was surely to call her back because of company affairs- even in the middle of the night. Her parents would surely scold her- saying that she embarrass the family.

"They're selfish." Even her birthdays, they seem to have forgotten. All they talk about was Renna all day long.

Why can't she also be loved like Renna?

Well, it's pathetic to think about it right?

The sound of the office air conditioning was almost non-existent if you do not bother to listen closely. The soft and crisp clicking of keyboards and the sounds of fax and printing machines, filled the whole place. No one talked loudly, heck - there was not even a time to talk casually. Occasionally someone calls for another colleague, but other than that the conversations that happens on the landline or the online hotline with customers, investors and other relevant people, barely anyone makes small talks.

Isabella arrived in the top floor, her heels clicking against the well-polished white tiled floor as she walked towards her secretary's booth near the door.

She had taken a leave for half a day, so she needs to go back to her work. Placing her handbag on the huge cabinet under her desk, she arranged herself, adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses and knocked on the double doors before entering.

"Sir, I have returned." The man on the desk did not even look up, his eyes trained on the papers on the table with great focus and seriousness.

If it was Renna who came, the man would put all of his work down to entertain her.

"Good. Go and print out the agreement papers as well as the contract for Miles Unlimited. I want that signed by tommorow in pronto, do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Arrange a team to deal with Miles Unlimited- You have to prioritize their stars and starlets- you know, one of them is the sworn sister of Tundra's C. E. O. We cannot offend him."

"I will assure everything is in place."

"Also, before I forget. Don't forget the venue for Renna's fifteenth Birthday. You can't mess it up again. I gave you a chance to make your mistakes right from last year's celebration which you ruined due to your narrow-mindedness." Isabella did not refute, and choked up on her words of rebuttal as well as anger.

It wasn't her fault Renna wanted to make last minute changes and also wanted to change the menus. She couldn't just undo all the preparations they made for at least MONTHS in just snap of a finger, and it pissed he off how Renna treated the servers and her who had to deal with her crap.

They blame her for making the party all about her anger when all she did was complain that she is not able to make the adjustments Renna wanted, which is by the way very ridiculous.

They won't listen anyway.

" Did you hear me clearly? "

" Yes ofcourse, Mr. Chalice. " She bowed her head and asked him if there was anything else he would like to add up.

"No. You are dismissed." Isabella walked out without another word, but she deliberately slammed the door on her way out, making William look up with a frown.

What the hell was that?

Isabella carried on with her duties, checking the agreements and contracts for errors, before printing it out and packing it up into a waterproof case. Then, she arranged a team of experts to handle the guests from Miles Unlimited. From the team dealing with photography, sound,venes, and even living arrangements.

Now all she needs to do is go to Miles Unlimited as the company's representative and have their C. E. O sign the contract.

She called her assistant, and instructed him to wait upon WIlliam again. Through the corridors she carried the case silently, entering the elevator like any other day.

"Ugh!" It was when the pains hit her right in the gut and down into her internal organs once again. Isabella's legs quivered, threatening to lose their strength as she clutched her stomach.

The searing pain felt like knives stabbing and slashing her abdomen open again and again, and a hand was thrust inside - twisting her guts one by one without mercy before trying to pull it out. She gasped, the case in her hand fell down as she desperately grasped the handle bar attached to the side of the elevator in an attempt to stay upright. Cold sweat dripped from her forehead, as well as her back and glanced at the numbers above the elevator.The counter showed fourth floor- goddamn it.

"Stop... Please stop..." She gritted her teeth, pushing her free hand over her stomach to numb the pain.

Even her brain seem to have become mush from all the pain.

"Come on, not now..." She doesn't want people to see.

The elevator opened, and Isabella walked out with her usual straight gait and almost strict face- nothing seems amiss as she even greeted a few employees who greeted her as they entered the elvator. If you don't look closely, you won't see anything a miss at all.

But a few hair was out of place, she was pale, and her lips was bruised from harsh biting.

Isabella was also trembling. Once she entered her car in the deserted and silent underground parking lot, she writhed in pain inside the vehicle - desperately grasping a few pills she had on the car's box. The pill bottle fell down the floor of the bullet seat, and she had to painfully lean down and take it amidst all the struggle.

Popping a few pills, she swallowed it without water. The burning feeling of the pill travelling down her throat threathened to make her cough- but she covered her mouth and used every ounce of saliva to lube her dry throat up. She layed on the car seat, heaving out of breath. Everything seems hazy, as if the world suddenly spun around her. Her ears were ringing painfully and her eyes were hazy.

Sweat covered her weak body, and Isabella once again felt the helplessness she buried in her heart.

It feels cold, painful, lonely, and miserable.

"..I want to die..." She stared above the car ceiling, eyes devoid of any emotion.

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