Chapter 374 Don't Leave
Lucas laughed as he and Miley walked out of the Cinema while she complained about the movie they had just finished seeing.
"It was crazy, seriously. I think Elena should have ended up with Trevor, not Con."
"Why? Because Trevor is cuter?" Lucas asked curiously.
"Well, there is that. He's more my spec than Con is," Miley said, flashing him a grin.
"Or maybe you just feel sorry for Trevor because he's not as rich as Con," Lucas said, and Miley frowned as they both stopped by her car.
"You think so? You don't think Con was too cunning with his corny lines?" She asked, and Lucas chuckled at her deliberate wordplay.
"I think it was an interesting movie, and Sonia won't appreciate you referring to Bryan that way," Lucas said, since Bryan had played the roll of Con in the movie, and Miley rolled her eyes.
"Do you know I forgot for a moment that you personally know Bryan Hank?" She asked, and Lucas smiled.
"I won't exactly say I know him personally yet. We really didn't talk much when we met," Lucas said, and Miley nodded as she unlocked the car.
"It has been a nice day. Thanks for getting my mind off my problems," Lucas said with serious eyes as he watched her because he had actually not thought of anything serious all day, thanks to her.
"I'm better for you than the alcohol, am I not?" She asked playfully as she opened the driver's door.
"Yes, you are. I have to leave you now," Lucas said, and the smile left her face.
"Where are you going from here? Home? Why don't you get in, so I drop you off?" Miley offered as she got into the car, feeling reluctant to let Lucas go despite the fact that he had spent most of the day with her.
"As long as you don't try to convince me to stay an extra hour with you," Lucas said with a knowing smile, and Miley grinned at him unashamed.
"You were supposed to be my drinking buddy and be my audience while I wallow in self-pity. I haven't even had any drink yet," she reminded him as she glanced at her wristwatch. It was almost 7 PM already. Still too early for her to go to bed.
"You shouldn't drink either or wallow in self-pity. Instead, it would be best if you went home to your family so that they can comfort you and you can do the same," Lucas said, and she eyed him with mild annoyance.
"I already told you why I can't do that yet," she said as she distractedly tossed her hair back with lazy feminine grace.
"Because you don't want them to force you into receiving treatments, and you want to go home with a man and tell them you want to get married and live happily ever after with him before you die, am I right?" Lucas asked, summarizing everything he had learned from her thus far.
"Why are you making it sound like you think it's a stupid idea?" Miley asked, and Lucas scoffed.
"Because I think it is ridiculous."
"But you didn't say so earlier when I first said it," Miley pointed out.
"Only because I thought you were kidding the first time about the marriage and having a child," Lucas said incredulously.
When she had mentioned that one of the things on her bucket list was getting married and having a child before her death, he had dismissed it with a laugh and had brought up another conversation. But in the course of the day, she had mentioned it a couple of times again and was beginning to realize that she actually meant it.
"Why will I be kidding about something as important as that?" Miley asked, slightly pissed that he wasn't taking her seriously.
"For starters, it takes an average of nine months to carry a pregnancy, and you already stated more than once that you have less than six months. When are you going to find the man? When are you going to get married and then get pregnant? Do you plan on having the child within five months? I know this is important to you, but it is not realistic. I'm sorry," Lucas said reasonably as he watched her.
"And you think I haven't thought of all that already?" Miley asked with a slight frown, wondering if he thought she was an airhead.
"You have?" Lucas asked curiously.
"Of course. I'm sure I would be able to find someone decent to love me and marry me at the right price. I will make the man give me his sperm, and then with my eggs, we could get a surrogate. Even if I die, she can have my baby, and my parents will raise the kid," Miley said with a proud smile, and Lucas looked at her sadly.
"You want to pay someone to love you?"
She shrugged, "I'm sure none of those guys who claimed to love me in the past would be keen on being with me now if they find out I'm dying. Besides, I would only attract golddiggers anyway. So it's best I choose a man of my choice and pay him. That way, I can get all the love and attention I want before I die."
"What about you? Don't you want to fall in love? Do you think you would be satisfied with just having anyone in your life? Especially when you know you are paying them to love you?" Lucas asked curiously.
"No offense, but you were in love too. How did it work out for you? Love is beautiful and all, but I don't have the luxury of time to fall in love. I just want to be happy and..." The rest of her words trailed off when her vision suddenly blurred, and she winced when pain shot through her head.
"Are you with your med?" Lucas asked in concern when she raised both hands to her temple, and he quickly picked up her handbag and handed it to her so she would take the pills.
"I think so," she said in a very small voice as she reached for the prescription bottle she usually left in her handbag, but it was empty.
"Oh, no! Oh, God! Not now!" She cried as she poured out all the content of her bag as though she would miraculously find a pill inside.
"You don't have any stashed somewhere in your car?" Lucas asked with a frown, and she shook her head slowly as tears dropped from her eyes.
"I don't," she cried.
Lucas frowned as he looked around. There weren't any pharmacies around them, and even if there were, he couldn't just walk into any pharmacy to get it since it was a prescription medication and she wasn't his patient.
Without wasting another moment thinking about it, he got out of the car and went to open the driver's door, "I will take you back to the hotel as quickly as I can, and then you can take your pill," Lucas said as he placed an arm around her shoulder and helped her get out of the car.
Miley held him tightly as he escorted her around the car to the passenger seat, and once she was seated, he helped her buckle her seatbelt before getting into the car and driving off.
True to his word, he drove as quickly as possible while glancing at her at intervals and squeezing her hand supportively as she cried softly.
The moment he drove into the hotel premise and parked in front of her apartment, he picked up the key card, which had fallen out of her handbag, before getting out of the car.
Once he unlocked the door, he returned to her side of the car, and without waiting for her to get out, he unbuckled her seatbelt and carried her bridal style inside the apartment.
He headed straight to the bedroom and picked up the prescription bottle quickly alongside a bottle of water, and handed it to her. He sat on the edge of the table as he watched her swallow three pills hurriedly before breaking into another sob.
Watching her cry, Lucas felt his heart contract painfully, and he sat beside her and gathered her close to himself.
"This is not fair. I didn't do anything to deserve this pain. I didn't," she murmured as she cried.
"I've done my best to be a good person. Why do I get to die while someone as despicable as Rachel is alive and healthy? Why? Why me?" She cried bitterly, but Lucas said nothing as he held her and let her cry.
He didn't know what to say. He didn't have an answer to her question. The best he could do was to hold her and let her cry.
Lucas didn't know how long he sat there consoling her, but it was when he didn't hear any word from her again that he looked down at her and realized that she had fallen asleep.
Lucas sighed as he held her away from himself, but before he could stand up, she grabbed the front of his shirt, "Please, don't leave me," she said drowsily without opening her eyes.
"I have to take you to your bed," Lucas said as he gently detached her hand from his shirt and stood up before carrying her to the bedroom.
He lay her on the bed gently, but before he could straighten up, she grabbed his hand once again, "Don't leave."
Lucas sat down beside her with a sigh and covered her elegant hand with his other hand as he watched her sleep. Her face was pale, and her long lashes were still wet with tears.
He didn't like that he was becoming more worried about her or that he was feeling attached to her in a way. Watching her sleep now, she seemed so fragile and nothing like the lady who had been laughing beside him a while ago at the cinema.
He slowly let go of her hand, "I'm not leaving tonight," he assured her quietly as he stood up and pulled the duvet over her.
He was going to make sure to leave the next day and go as far away from her as possible. She was making him worry, and he didn't want to.
Once he made sure she was well covered, he returned outside to the car, which he had left, and shut the door. He gathered back the items she had poured out of her bag, as well as both their phones, before returning to the house.
Seated on the couch, he contemplated his options. Perhaps he should find a way to reach her family and inform them of her situation? She would be mad at him. He reasoned with a sigh. It wasn't his place to do that.
He thought about Lucy's secretary, who was her friend and who already knew about the situation, and decided to give Lucy a call. Maybe he could get the secretary's number from Lucy and give her a call.
Just as he dialed Lucy's line, he heard the door open from the outside, and he stood up to see who it was.
Amy, who had just opened the door and was dragging in her luggage bag, stopped when she sighted the man who she recognized to be her boss' twin brother, and they both stood still staring at each other.