Chapter Fifty–Five
Kyle’s POV
Noises
That was the first thing I became aware of immediately I gained consciousness.
Sharp and heated voices rising over each other like war beats. I knew those voices too well. One was my mother’s, sharp and angry, rousing with anger. The other was Lillian’s, with equal energy.
“I’m his wife! You don’t get to tell me how to manage my family!”
“And I’m his mother, Lillian! I know my son and my family, and you clearly don’t even know yours, or else you would have noticed something wrong before this happened!”
“Yet, you also failed to notice.” Lillian hissed.
What the hell?
A dull ache spread across my skull as I tried to make sense of my surroundings. My body felt like it had been run over by something heavy, while my head felt like a balloon, light and filled with pressure. My chest felt tight, and my throat felt dry. I tried to blink, but my eyelids refused to obey, like they had been sewn shut with an invisible thread. A soft groan slipped from my throat as I tried to push past the fog that seemed to weigh me down.
The voices stopped. Then footsteps.
Theard shoes rushing towards me, before I felt the pressure of a hand on mine, and another frantically brushing hair from my forehead.
“Kyle?” my mother’s voice cracked. “Oh, my baby, are you awake?”
I forced my eyes open, squinting against the lights until my vision focused on the blurred figure hovering over my face. My mother was hovering over me, her face red and blotchy, with tears already streaking down her cheeks. Behind her stood Lillian, arms folded tightly across her chest, eyes cold and angry, and more focused on my mother than me.
“Oh God, you’re awake!” My mother screeched, her hands roaming my face.
My throat was dry as hell, but I managed to speak. “What… what happened?” I croaked, blinking against the harsh light as I refocused my eyes on the stark white hospital walls, oozing with the strong smell of antiseptic.
“You collapsed,” Regina sniffled. “Why didn’t you tell me you were sick? Why, Kyle?!”
Sick? Collapsed?
My brow furrowed as I tried to recall what happened, then like a freight train, the memory hit me hard. The sharp pain in my chest. How my heart had started beating erratically in my chest, how the world around me had blurred along with their voices, and then the fall. I had fainted in front of the world.
f**k!
“You knew something was wrong, you were fainting, yet you didn’t think of telling us or seeking medical help
immediately. Why would you do this to me?
Wait what?
“How did you know that?”
+3 Points)
My mother’s nostrils flared at my question. “How did I know? Well, your secretary did. She told me everything. That you’d fainted before. That you’ve been hiding this. That you even wathed her not to tell anyone.” Her voice was loud and angry.
Damn it.
I sighed, dragging a heavy hand down my face. I had specifically told my secretary not to say a word when
she found me passed out in the restroom the second day the media drama began. I had been exhausted and didn’t sleep, so I shrugged it off as an aftereffect of stress. She had looked at me that day, eyes swimming with worry and had begged me to go to the hospital, but I had brushed her off.
Looks like she didn’t brush me off back. She found just the right moment to spill it out.
Just as I was about to ask what else had happened, the door opened and my personal doctor walked in, Dr. Deen. The one who had practically nagged me for months to come in for a proper check–up to no avail. He was in his mid–fifties, lean, always calm, but today, he looked… off. His expression was tight, mouth pressed into a line, eyes brimming with something between disappointment and sympathy.
“I see you’re awake,” he said. “You gave almost the whole world quite a scare.”
I managed a weak smile as my mother hit the button that slowly lifted the bed’s upper half. “Not my
intention, believe me.”
He sighed, and my mom stepped back as he came to my side, clipboard in hand. “I warned you, time and time again. You were supposed to come in months ago for tests. You postponed and postponed and made a
series of excuses.”
I didn’t respond. What could I say? He was right.
He continued anyway when I didn’t interject, “We ran several tests after you were brought in. And based on your symptoms and the lab results….You’ve been diagnosed with Aplastic Anaemia.”
I blinked. “Apastic….What?”
“It’s a condition where your bone marrow stops producing enough new blood cells.” He explained. “This might be related to your kidney transplant meds, which would have been avoided if you had come for a check–up as you should.’ He gave me a stern look, then proceeded. “Your case is a serious one. You’ve likely been dealing with early symptoms for weeks, if not months. Fatigue, migraines, dizziness…”
I nodded slowly. “I… I thought it was just stress.”
My mother gasped beside me and grabbed my hand. “God, Kyle. You could’ve died! You could’ve…” She broke off into a sob. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because I didn’t think it was this serious,” I muttered. “I’ve been tired, yes, but I…”
“But you hid it!” She cut in, her voice thick and trembling with tears. “How could you do that? You could have died just like that because of your negligence. What would be left of me if that happens, huh? Tell me?” Her words hit me like a punch in the gut, but instead of focusing on her and feeling guilty, I turned my
attention back to Dr. Deen.
“So what next? How is this treated?”
+ Pants >
Dr. Deen glanced at my mother, who had left my side to blow her nose, before turning to me, then cleared his throat. “We’ve already begun preliminary treatment to stabilize you, but Kyle… you’ll need a bone marrow transplant. Sooner rather than later, and preferably someone related by blood.”
My breath caught in my throat. That word. It was like a deja vu.
Transplant.
My heart thundered wildly in my ears. The last time I heard it, I was lying in a similar bed, fighting for my life. Last time, it had been a kidney, and the outcome nearly…. no, it completely destroyed my entire existence, from my happiness to everything I know.
I felt myself tense up.
Dr. Deen must’ve noticed because his tone softened. “It’s not the same as last time, Kyle. A bone marrow transplant is a different process. It’s not as invasive for the donor, and it is harmless. The most compatible match is usually a blood relation, and the best chance we have now is a transplant from your child.”
My stomach churned.
But before I could process that, my mother, who had returned to my side, interjected, “That’s fine.” Then turned sharply to Lillian. “You heard him, don’t you. So what are you still doing standing there? Call the caretaker. Tell him to bring Neo.”
“No!”
The air turned cold.
Mom turned fully toward Lillian, her voice low but filled with anger and disbelief. “What did you say?”
“I said no,” Lillian repeated, her voice firm and her eyes hard with equal anger.
“You can’t be serious,” My mom snapped. “What do you mean no? Are you out of your mind? Is it your plan to kill my son?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lillian hissed, rolling her eyes.
“Don’t be ridiculous?” Regina, my mother screamed. “My son is lying here, weak and fighting for his life, and you’re saying no?”
The room erupted into arguments.
“I’m his mother! I get a say in protecting my son, too!”
“And I’m his father’s mother, and I’ll drag your selfish ass out of this room myself if I have to!”
The room turned into chaos in no time. My mother was shrieking, Lillian was snapping back, and I…God…I just sat there, utterly exhausted and confused, watching the drama unfold like a TV episode I had no strength to turn off.
It all felt too familiar, but also completely different.
Once in this sterile room was a woman who had once held my hand in a moment like this. I could see her in my memory, Ava. With her swollen, tear–streaked face hovering over me, her small hands gripping mine
tightly as if she were anchoring me to the world. She had whispered that I wasn’t allowed to die. That she’d never forgive me if I left her.
Now, the seat beside me in which she had occupied in my memory, was empty. The whole peaceful and emotional memory was replaced by a shrieking mother and a wife who stood at the foot of the bed, arms
crossed, face red as she pursued her argument with my mother.
I turned to Dr. Deen. “What is the procedure for the transplant?”
The doctor looked relieved, as if he was happy to be pulled away from the drama between my mother and wife. “It’s not like in the old days where we had to drill into the bone or perform any major surgery,” he said softly. “Now we collect the stem cells from the blood. It’s still a bit uncomfortable, but it’s safe, especially for someone his age. And he’d be closely watched the entire time.”
I nodded slowly. “And if we wait?”
Dr. Deen’s expression turned hard, as if he didn’t like where the conversation was heading. “Your odds drop. Every day we wait makes things more dangerous. Your immune system is already extremely weak, and without the transplant, things can go really bad.”
“I won’t allow it,” Lillian said suddenly, cutting into our conversation. “Neo is too young. I’m not going to risk
his life.”
“He’s not going to die!” My mother snapped. “Why are you acting like we’re sacrificing him? It’s a safe procedure which would save his father’s life!”
“That’s what they always say, until it’s not.” Lillian’s eyes glistened now, shooting daggers at us all. “He’s my only child. I won’t lose him.” She said it’s more like he is a prize to her than a motherly love. Maybe it was the medicine in my blood system that was making me overthink things.
But she was right about one thing. “That is what they always say until it’s not!”
That was the exact case with Ava. We were told it was just a normal transplant with no side effects, but look how that ended. She lost half of herself. Her immune system turned against her, and in that time of her life, I
had pushed her away.
I would rather let this… apa…apastic, or whatever this illness is, eat me alive than drag a young, innocent child who’s just starting his life into something that could traumatize him, especially if the transplant ends up hurting him. I couldn’t live with myself if that happened
“He’s Kyle’s son, too!” My mother shouted.
“So?” Lillian said coldly. “Do you care about risking other children for your son? Because that’s what this feels like, sacrifice one child to save another.”
The doctor looked like he wanted to flee; his eyes bounced from my mom to Lillian.
Before my mom could counter Lillian, I opened my mouth.
“It’s okay,” I said quietly. “She’s right.”
The room dropped into a stunned silence, all eyes snapping to me.
My mom stared at me like I’d lost my mind, her lips parted as she gasped out. “Kyle…”
1 let my eyes bounce from one person to another before finally settling on the doctor.
“Yes, I agree with Lillian.”
I wouldn’t let my son suffer to save me.
Even if it meant I might not make it.
s
