Her Return, His Regret

"Uncle, help me look for my husband," Lora asked Aiden Davis when she walked into his office.

Aiden arched an eyebrow. He hadn't been expecting his niece, but seeing her look so anxious made him worried. "Don't tell me he's already cheating on you," he said.

"No, Uncle... Ryan would never," Lora stated, pacing back and forth in the office. "I haven't seen him in two days. I have a bad feeling about this. He's avoiding me and I feel like something serious has happened. I need to find him and talk to him." "Perhaps he just wants time to sort himself out..." Aiden remarked. "He will come to you when he's ready-"

"And when would that be? What if I go crazy from being anxious and worried? I need to talk to him and find out what the problem is... he's my partner," Lora remarked, her stomach twisting and turning. "How can I ignore my husband when he's not acting like himself?" Just like the other night, Ryan returned home very late the previous night. He slept next to Lora and left before she could wake up after preparing the children for school.

Lora didn't get a chance to ask him why he was behaving so strangely. She had to find out what was going on with Ryan. This was why she gave her uncle a visit to his company.

"So, you want me to trace his phone to find out where he is? Or do you want me to find out what he's been up to?" Aiden asked.

"I want to know where he is right now... I went to his company and he's not there," Lora replied, the lump in her throat refusing to go down.

Aiden nodded before typing away on his keyboard, the soft clicks filling the silence in the office. Lora waited with bated breath, her heart racing at a thousand miles per second. After some time, Aiden frowned and said, "He looks like he's all over the place. Perhaps he's really busy because he keeps moving from town to town."

Lora frowned.

Was she overthinking?

"Why don't you wait for him to be done with whatever he's working on?" Aiden suggested. "I'm sure it's pretty serious for him to come home late and leave early."

Lora bit her lower lip before replying, "I know... it's just that, I have a bad feeling about this."

"Well, if he can move around like that, it means he's ok... don't worry," Aiden remarked.

Lora glanced at her uncle, hoping he was right.

She didn't want to assume things but Ryan was really acting strange. And although she trusted him, she couldn't shake off the feeling that he was hiding something and purposely avoiding her.

"I guess I just have to wait... I'll wait for him if he comes late again tonight," Lora said and left after thanking Aiden for the help.

She went back to the company and spent the day working on some designs, attending meetings and forming new partnerships.

When it was time to knock off, Lora left the building and paused when she walked out of the doors and saw a striking figure before her.

Ryan, her husband, was standing outside in front of a sleek black car with a bouquet of red and gold roses in his hands.

He looked at her lovingly before saying, "Hi, baby. I'm sorry for being off the last two days-"

Before Ryan could finish his sentence, Lora rushed towards him and flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

"Oh, thank goodness you're ok," she uttered, relief washing over her. "I was so worried about you. I missed you... never, ever do that again."

Ryan hugged Lora back, lifting her

off the ground briefly. He kissed the side of her neck and remarked, " was wrong... I'm sorry, my love. I missed you too... so very much. You have no idea." en

When Lora pulled back to look at Ryan, the light in her eyes faded when she saw the sad look in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" She asked, worry twisting and turning her stomach. "Did something happen, Ryan?"

Ryan forced a smile. He reached up and cupped Lora's cheek, brushing her skin gently.

"I need to tell you something," he said softly. "Let's go for dinner."

A little while later, Lora and Ryan were settled in a private room at a fancy restaurant. They ordered their food and although they did try to eat, they couldn't finish their meal.

en

Lora was anxious about what Ryan wanted to talk about and Ryan looked like he had lost his entire world.

"Ryan, can you tell me what's going on?" Lora requested. "I hate being kept in the dark."

Ryan glanced at Lora before quickly averting his gaze.

Lora frowned. Was that guilt that she saw in Ryan's eyes? Why would he be guilty? Did he do something wrong?

"I'm going crazy with worry, Ryan. Please tell me..." Lora appealed, her voice low and laced with concern.

Ryan sighed heavily. He looked at Lora again and said, "I hid something from you... I thought I had it under control but the tables have changed now." Lora's heart sank. "What do you mean? What are you hiding from me?"Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

"I was going to tell you soon... I

swear, I just needed to have my plan

work and then I would tell you everything. I didn't expect it not to work out-"

"Ryan, tell me what's going on," Lora said, her throat feeling parched from worry.

Ryan gulped, pain flashing through his eyes as he uttered in a low voice, "I may not be able to keep my promise to grow old with you."

Lora's heart sank to the pits of her stomach.

She leaned over the table, her heart pounding hard in her chest as she asked, "What does that mean? Are you break-"

"I only have a few months to live, Lora. I'm so sorry."