43 You Can Pay It With Your Body

???? Extra Characters:

(1) Luo Shen - Nick's friend

(2) Trinette Li - grandmother

(3) Julia Chen - Anthony Chen's wife

(4) Karlie Chen - Anthony's sister

(5) Vivian Li- the bride of Tang Qi

(6) Francine Tan - orig. chosen wife/ guest to the wedding

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July 18, 20xx

Piraeus, Athens

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Nick entered Luo Shen's suite. On his way back to the resort, the man sent him a message. He said he got the initial findings on his hands already. So he made a detour to his place. His suite is on the opposite side of the property. Unlike theirs, Luo Shen balcony opens to the view of the whole city.

"What do you want?"Luo Shen inquired as he was pouring himself a drink.

Nick shook his head and grab a bottle of cold water inside the fridge before occupying the leather upholstered sofa.

Being used to his friend's demeanor, Luo Shen ignored him and started. "The biopsy report will come out tomorrow, but the rest was expedited by the Dean as he promised."

"And?"

"Even without seeing the result of her biopsy, the doctor confirmed the same diagnosis with the previous one she received three months ago. It's Hodgkin Lymphoma Stage 2B. The 4 cm tumor is on her chest."

Nick momentarily closed his eyes. Last night, he read a bunch of information about this disease on the internet but his questions were never answered. That was the reason he asked him to come.

Perhaps, it would be easier to hear it directly from a doctor.

"What's your opinion?"

Luo Shen wanted to puff some air in exasperation and tell him he's a surgeon, not an oncologist.

But he can sense his friend's troubled emotion based on his appearance. His usual clean-shaven face showed stubble. Hence, joking at this moment seemed inappropriate.

"Since it's in the early stage, continuous treatment will cure her."

He paused and sipped the Pinot Noir in his goblet. He savored the slightly chilled red wine as it passes through his tongue down to his esophagus. He enjoyed this French blend because there was a hint of vanilla and cinnamon adding to that silky, berry flavors. He needed the drink to calm his nerves. In all honesty, notifying his patients they have illnesses was way easier than telling a long term friend about his wife's cancer. Normally, he'd have to beat around the bush to calm or put the patient on the right state of mind. However, Luo Shen didn't know how to deal with Nick.

Noticing his expression, Nick urged, "Just say it. No sugar coating."

Luo Shen took that as a cue and continued, "Her oncologist put her in 4 rounds of ABVD (a) chemotherapy regimen for 6 months. In a nutshell, she needs to undergo the chemo treatment every 6 weeks which she started in June."

Surprised with the information, he asked to make sure he heard the correct information, "She did?"

All along, he thought she never started one except for the oral medications she was taking every day.

"Yeah. I called her doctor and found out, Dr. Fei made prior arrangements for your wife. She was even with Blythe when she took her first round of treatment."

Nick was quiet and rested his back. He felt a bit relieved. With the thought of her going through it alone, he felt the pain for her.

Sensing the worry with the other man, Luo Shen assured his friend, "Your wife is a doctor. She knows what to do. On top of that, she kept track of the symptoms she'd been experiencing for the last three months. Hence, it was easier for the doctors here to rule out possible escalation of the disease."

He squinted and mouthed out what had been bothering him, "Could she travel in her condition?"

"Of course. Who says people with cancer can't travel? They can. Provided that the patient take precautions and the doctor allows them to. The stage she is in, it's fine. Dr. Fei reiterated that she'd given Blythe the go signal. I personally think it's better to be distracted with something else because living in the hospital will make one's emotions unstable which could lead to depression. Being diagnosed with the disease itself can kill a person."

A part of him felt relieved it was safe for her to travel. That it didn't make it worst.

The surgeon sipped his wine first before he voiced out his opinion, "To be honest, I quite like the way your wife dealt with it. Instead of wallowing herself with pity for having the disease, she chose the opposite. Quite a strong woman, eh?"

Nick didn't know if he should be amused or angry with another man's admiration of his wife. In the end, his brows rose.

Luo Shen cackled in laughter. He can't believe it.

Shaking his head, he blurted, "I didn't mean anything else."

Nick's face returned to its original state and listened to his friend's statement, "Not all can be like your wife. Perhaps the doctor in her conditioned the mind in dealing with her illness."

That's what Nick find surprising too. Because he never perceived her to be sick. Although he noticed how she easily gets tired and falls asleep, there was no other indication that made him wonder. She appeared as a healthy young woman to his eyes.

"Most people think that once you have cancer, you'll lose your hair and become ugly or you'll be vomiting or eating less. However, the experiences vary from one patient to another. You might have to pay attention though because she started with new medications. The one she's taking now was of stronger dosage so she might feel differently. Mood swings and loss of appetite are its common side effects."

This validated what she said at noon today.

"When will her next treatment be?"

"She's scheduled for another round on the 22nd of this month."

Nick felt a bit unhappy. It's like 4 days later but she never said a thing. Despite that, there's no anger in him.

At this point, he came to a decision to talk to her about it. How they're going to deal with it.

He's here now. So she didn't have to face it alone.

"What's the success rate of being cured?"

In all honesty, he dreaded asking this question.

"If it was 20 years ago, it would have been less than 30. But the advancement of medicine led to a higher rate of survival. Around 90%."

"What about remission?"

"It's low. Less than 50% according to the Dean. There are many cancer research programs now and with the speed, higher chances that it will drop even lower."

"Your cousin's hospital is leading in this research breakthrough." Luo Shen added.

Nick didn't speak as his brain was mapping out the things he had to do.

The silence dragged on for another 5 minutes before Luo Shen popped the question, "Why are you going down this road again?"

Nick knew the answer to this.

He identified her as the one for him. He'd rather take a chance with her on this road of unpredictability than regretting for the rest of his life. His wife is the reason he is breathing now.

"She is my wife. Even in death, I'll follow her."

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Following the conversation with Luo Shen, Nick called his cousin and told Dr. Moreau what he wanted.

NL Industries will fund his hospital's cancer research program.

Even though Luo Shen's words were reassuring, he has to prepare for the inevitable. A man has to protect his wife no matter what.

Putting down the phone, there was a feeling of being tapped out after talking to his father and Alissa.

He needed his human tonic.

With a grin, he went to the bed and pulled Blythe to his arms.

"Wake up."

His stubble on her skin stirred her up. It felt ticklish. But instead of opening her eyes, she looked for a more comfortable position and went back to sleep.

The amused man slightly bit her shoulder to tease her but her eyes remained closed.

'Fine.' he thought then slip a hand under her shirt, pinching her waist.

This action startled her and she yelped, "Stop it, Nick!"

She elbowed him and sat up.

Eyeing him sharply, she asked, "What are you doing?"

However, the man shrugged his shoulders and locked her in an embrace.

The next second, he savored the sweetness of her lips.

Inside the bedroom, the two became cozy and whatever heaviness that Nick felt, disappeared without a trace.

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July 19, 20xx

Piraeus, Athens

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Blythe gave herself a once over and when was satisfied with her ensemble, she came out of the room.

Noticing that her husband wasn't in the living room, she took a seat and went into thinking.

Today is Vivian's wedding. It will be an afternoon wedding by the beach. But they needed to leave 2 hours earlier to meet Nick's mother. She thought she'll finally see the woman last night at the Li Mansion, but she wasn't there.

Her nervousness has dissipated greatly when Nick's grandmother warmly welcomed the two of them last night. The whole evening, the old woman tried to engage her with her conversation with the rest of her grandchildren.

Blythe also found it surprising that Francine Tan who gave the impression of being a snob in their previous encounter, was actually a quirky lady and fun to talk with. Blythe surmised that perhaps the huge family pressure on the woman's shoulders was the primary reason why Francine was all restrained and never showed her true self to everyone.

As usual, the sisters-in-laws, Karlie and Julia dominated the conversation last night. But, she has no complaints because they kept her entertained while Nick was somewhere inside the house with Tang Qi and Anthony. She overheard that they were going to discuss Bastien Dubois' case. He was Nick's uncle who got stabbed in Montenegro and the same person who she promptly saved.

Her reverie was interrupted when something cold and firm circled her neck. Then there was that warm skin touching hers as the fingers clasped something behind her.

It took a moment for her to realize he was slipping another jewelry on her. The white gold diamond ruby necklace made her gasp in awe because it was eye-catching, especially when light reflects on it.

Just this morning, he gave her a beautiful set of diamond earrings which she was wearing now. He said it will go with her dress so she'd better wore it. His way of giving her things was always done with subtleness.

And she's completely an idiot if she didn't realize it by now that the man simply wanted to pamper her.

Blythe eyed him helplessly.

She's literally carrying millions on her body.

She let out a sigh before muttering, "It must be expensive. What if I lose it?"

Behind her, his breath sprayed close to her ears when he whispered, "You can pay it with your body."

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???? Tidbit of Info:

ABVD is a chemotherapy regimen used in Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It stands for the name of the drugs in this combo: Adriamycin, Bleomycin, Vinblastine, Dacarbazine

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????Extra:

Nick: ???????? It's been more than 40 chapters but still no snu snu?

TC: ???????? I liked to prolong your agony?

Nick: ???????? Why?

TC: Have you forgotten? I'm a sadist. ????????