A Love to Last Ch. 09

Jim frowned, raising an eyebrow. "The only best news I can get is that my soulmate has returned. If not that then the news is useless to me. That's the only thing that can make me happy."

Elena beamed, shaking her head. "You're gonna love this because it comes with a bonus." She took his hands and brought him closer. "I just got off the phone with Claudia and she told me that David showed up at the office today."

Jim's lips parted in silent surprise.

"What?" He jumped like a child. "Are you being serious? My boyfriend is back home? Wow, I must go to him right now. I can't wait to wrap my arms around him. Finally. Yes!" He screamed.

"David isn't back home, yet!" Elena said abruptly, watching as her son's face became blank. "But he'll soon come home. But that's not the best news."

"I don't wanna hear it." He said harshly. "The only thing I care about is my David."

"Ben has cancer." She chuckled happily, staring deep into his eyes. "According to what David said, the only way that he can live is if he has surgery. But they have no money to pay the specialist that is to perform surgery."

A smile appeared on Jim's lips. He felt like his feet barely touched the ground as his joy unfolded like a flower. He felt fully and wonderfully alive. Then in a flash, he burst into laughter. He laughed and laughed until tears of mirth began coming out the side of his eyes.

"Oh my God... wow... wow..." He continued laughing until his mother joined him. "...never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I'd get to hear of such good news. Ben has cancer? So, what they say is true. Karma is a bad bitch after all. I always wanted him to burn in hell but this is even better. Serves him right for sleeping with my boyfriend."

"I told you, Ben might have won the battle but he's lost the war." Elena added, an evil grin gracing her face. "I am going to make sure that he never gets that surgery no matter what they do. This is a golden opportunity that I've been waiting for. I will ensure that he dies a painful and slow death."

"Count me in!" Jim said harshly. "I wanna see him suffer. Then I will get my David back. He's gonna realize that he's got no choice but to come to me."

"You've already won. And this calls for a celebration. Our enemy has fallen and we didn't even have to do anything. What could be better than this?"

"Nothing, mother!"

Elena squeezed her son's shoulder. "Let me go get us some expensive wine to celebrate."

She left and Jim remained standing there with the most beautiful smile.

'I can't wait for your death, Ben.' He thought. 'It's what you deserve for stealing and sleeping with my boyfriend. I won't pretend that I am sad because this is the best news that I have gotten in a long time. Now I will be able to have it all without sharing. Good riddance to bad rubbish.'

***

David was seated closer to Ben's bed with his face buried on the bed, holding his lover's hand. He had tried to sleep but God knows he couldn't. His mind was really crowded and he had a splitting headache that felt like someone was pounding on him with a wrecking ball.

"David?"

David didn't know if it was his mind playing tricks on him but he heard a sweet voice calling him. Ben hadn't woken up and it was driving him crazy. He wanted to talk to him, to hold him and to kiss him. There was a lot going on in his head and he just wished that everything was bad to normal.

"David!"

He felt a hand in his hair and he quickly raised his face to find Ben staring at him, wearing a weak smile. The boy looked so weak and pale. His eyes that were so full of life looked like nothing he could recognize. He felt pain slip through him slowly and tears build up in his eyes.

"My love," His hand found Ben's head and he leaned to kiss him. He was so hot. "You're finally awake. How are you feeling?"

Ben tried to put up a smile but he wasn't fooling anyone. "I feel weak and very tired. How are you doing, baby? Hope you're not beating yourself up."

"I am not fine." He said softly, a tear rolling down his face. "I can't bear to see you on that bed. I am not used to this. I feel so useless and..."

"Shhh..." Ben said as he weakly moved his hand and caressed his husband's. "You're not useless, baby. You're the best thing that has happened to me in a long time. You've made me so happy in the short time that we've been together."

David sniveled, kissing Ben's hand. "And I will still continue to make you happy. You just need to get better so we can go back home."

Ben didn't like seeing David suffering. He was suffering but all he wanted was to see his love happy and smiling. While David was gone, he had woken up and had insisted the doctor tell him what was wrong. He had cancer and it was spreading fast. He didn't have long to live.

"Yes!" He nodded. "But even if that doesn't happen, I want you to be happy, David. I know I am not fine and I don't know what's gonna happen today, tomorrow or next week."

David could no longer control his hands, they were shaking in an odd trembling rhythm.

"Please, don't say that." He cried softly. "You're breaking my heart, baby. You're gonna be fine. I just don't understand why this is happening to you. The doctor..." He paused and took a shaky breath. "...he said that you might have been experiencing this for some time."

Ben slightly closed his eyes. "I didn't want you to get worried. It's been over two months. It started slowly and I thought it was gonna go away. I visited a pharmacy and bought some painkillers. They were working until that night. I don't know what happened and... and.... I am so sorry. I should have said something but you were going through a lot as it was. I didn't want to add to your worries."

"It's okay." He nodded, wiping his tears. "I won't let anything happen to you. You're gonna be fine, my love. I promise you that."

Sorrowful tears streamed down Ben's face. "You're a good guy, David, and even if these were my last days, I would want to spend them holding your hand." He said in between sobs. "All my life, I never thought I'd meet someone that would love me so much but you did and I am thankful for that. You showed me more love than the people I called my family. You left everything and followed me."

"Please stop..." David cried, shaking his head. "...you're gonna be fine. I won't let anything happen to you. I still need you in my life. We still have a family to start, remember?"

"All the words we spoke." He nodded, smiling in his pain. "By the way, have you had anything to eat?"

David laughed. "Are you serious right now?"

"What?" Ben raised an eyebrow. "Can't I worry about my husband?"

"You can but not right now. Food is not that important to me." He said softly. "What I want is you out of that bed and back to your usual self. Besides, you too haven't had anything. Maybe I should go and get you something to eat."

"Weirdly enough, I am not hungry." He shook his head. "Seeing you here is satisfying enough, but I want you to eat something. You can't just stay hungry."

"I am not hungry." He shook his head. "I will eat when you are out of bed."

"You can't punish yourself. Besides, we don't know when and if I will be out of here." He took his husband's hand and squeezed it. "But whatever the case, I want you to..." he paused when he felt something sharp like a knife in his gut. He winced, brows furrowed tight with pain.

"Baby?" David rose from the chair and stared at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I..." But he felt it, the pain, sharp and heavy. "Ow!" He screamed, gripping David's arm tightly.

When David felt that painful grip, his heart began racing. Ben's pain became so intense that he began screaming, assuming fetal position again. His screams were so much that it didn't take the nurses time to get into the room to attend to him.

David held Ben the whole time. His heart was throbbing in his ears, loud and irregular, but he barely heard it, for his mind was clouded with fear as he watched the love of his life suffering. Whatever the nurses were doing seemed to be working as in no time, Ben's cries died down and, in a few seconds, he was asleep again.

David got scared again. He just sat there holding his hand with tears rolling down his cheek.

"Good evening, Mr. Paola." He heard a voice greet.

He raised his face and saw the doctor standing there with a sad face.

"Like you're seeing, his condition is getting worse by the day." He sighed, staring into his eyes. "We don't know what might come and like I said, he needs emergency surgery. By now, I was expecting you to have raised something. We can't keep sedating him as that's gonna bring other unforeseen side effects. I have managed to talk to the specialist and he's ready whenever you are."

David combed his hair with his fingers. "I am trying my best. Right now, my hands are tied and I feel so useless seeing him in this state."

"I understand, but you need to try harder, Mr. Paola." The doctor emphasized. "We need to do this as soon as possible. Otherwise, we may reach a point where not even surgery is gonna help him. Please, I have seen how much you love this boy and it would hurt me to see anything bad happen to him."

David sniveled and rubbed his eyes. He rose from the chair and stood in front of the doctor, staring deep into his eyes.

"Are you married?"

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "No, I am not married. But I have a girlfriend whom I love so much and plan to marry in future if everything goes in our favor."

David nodded. "What would you do if she was the one that was lying down here and you were in my shoes? What would you do if you were offered something that would ensure her survival but means that you have to be apart from her?"

The doctor sighed and smiled sheepishly. "I would do everything within my power to ensure that she survives if it means that we won't be together. That doesn't mean that I don't love her any less. But I also know that true love is about sacrifice, not to do the best thing but the right thing. Knowing that she's alive and very healthy would be good for me, even if it would hurt me."

Unhappy lines on his face etched deeply. He was in a dilemma.

"Why did you ask me that question?"

"It was just a thought." He said as his eyes landed on the sleeping boy again. "Thank you so much for your answer. It means a lot to me. I'll find ways of bringing the money for you. In the mean time, just help me in any way you can before that."

"You know I will," He said with a smile. "I care about my patients equally."

He left and David took his seat and began caressing the boy's hand. He had tears in his eyes.

"Do you remember the first time we met outside the hotel?" He asked, chuckling to himself. "If someone had told me that day that I was gonna meet someone I was gonna love to death, I wouldn't have believed them.

Ever since that day, I have never looked back. I have loved you with every fiber of my being. I thought we were gonna be happy together forever but it seems like our trials haven't really ended. It seems like every stage, there's an obstacle that we have to face.

I just didn't know that it was gonna be this big." He sniveled. "I love you so much, Ben, so, so much and I cannot imagine my life without you. My heart, my body and my soul all belong to you. God is my witness and I am making a promise to you this day with God being my witness, my love for you shall never fade. I'll always love you and I'll always fight for our love. We shall have that family we planned and our lives will get better. I promise you."

He leaned down and kissed the boy's lips.

"I love you so much."

He took the boy's hands in his and lay his head on the bed, staring at him. He could just die looking at that gorgeous body.

"I'll love you till my last breath."

***

Claudia was coming down the stairs, looking like a beautiful model. She had her hair tied in a ponytail and she wore a beautiful black dress with slippers on her feet. Before she could even reach the living room, the entrance door opened wide, revealing a surprise, her son standing there.

When their eyes met, she felt a shiver go down her spine. He looked miserable... his hair was messy... his eyes were a bit swollen and he wore the same clothes he'd worn when she had seen him at the office the previous day.

Seeing him, a smile popped up her face and she began rushing towards him. David on the other hand was rushing towards her because he was in a hurry. When they met, they stared at each other for some time that one would have thought there was staring contest.

"David, hey!" Claudia's hand found his cheek and gently squeezed it. "My baby, you don't look so well. Have you been sleeping at all?"

"Save Ben!" David said with so much pain in his voice. "Pay the money and let them commence the surgery. His condition is deteriorating and I have failed to raise the money. Please!"

Claudia smiled. "David, baby, it hurts me to see you like this." She shook her head. "But without me, you're like a lost sheep. I am ready to save that good for nothing boy as long as you give the word. His life is in your hands."

"I have already..."

"You know what I want to hear." She said harshly. "I am not Jesus Christ that goes around saving people for free. So, you know the magic words and I will snap my fingers."

"I will come back home and I will resume working in the company. I will take up every role as the son of the family." He said in pain. "Ben will not be coming with me here. I will leave him as soon as surgery is done."

Clkaudia burst into laughter. "And..." She placed a hand to her ear, getting closer to him.

David closed his eyes and warm tears rolled down his face like water from a dam. It was very painful and he felt his heart feel like someone had stabbed him.

"I will marry Jim."

He hung his head and let the tears flow.

"Excellent!" Claudia clapped, feeling she'd just hit a jackpot. "Now we're talking. Just give me a second and we'll finalize this."

She rushed to the table and got out a file. She brought a pen and handed it to her son. "This is the contract that states that you're gonna return home, go back to work and marry Jim. In this contract, you vow that your marriage to Jim will be real and you guys will stay together forever. Only until your marriage is done will I get to do my end of the bargain." She crossed her arms and watched him in tears without any remorse. "I have already signed my part. Now the only part remaining is yours."

There was a sudden darkness that completely surrounded David as he looked at the contract. It was a fog that wouldn't rise or fade. A single tear rolled down his cheek, as he stood by and thought about Ben and all the moments they had shared. He was too numb to move or think about anything else.

'I love you so much, David!' His voice rang in his head, tearing his heart to pieces. 'I want us to have a female child and we're going to name her Leah after my mother.

'You've showed me so much love in the short time we've been together more than I ever got from my family.'

An image of Ben smiling at him, hugging him and kissing him played in his head.

As his hand slowly held the pen and robotically moved to sign the contract, there was a shadow, vague but prominent and taking all his strength each second that passed, piece by piece by piece, tear by tear. As he signed the contract, the tears flowed like a river and he didn't even wanna stop them.

"Done!" his voice was raw. He slowly wiped his tears.

"Good!" Claudia clapped, putting the contract away. "Welcome back home, son. I missed you so much, my love."

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. David didn't even respond to the hug. There was something rising deep inside of him, hatred for his mother. He'd never thought he'd feel like that about his mother. She was a monster and she was destroying his life.

"Come here, my love." She broke the hug but held his hand sweetly. "Wipe your tears. This is the best decision you've ever made and I can guarantee that you're gonna be happy. You've got everything and a boy that will love you truly."

"No one will ever love me the way Ben does." He said, his voice barely above a whisper. "And I will never love anyone the way I love him. And mom... I hope you don't live to regret this decision you've made today."

"Why should I?" She shrugged. "I just saved my family from destruction and total embarrassment. I am a mother after all. Now cheer up..." She held his chin sweetly. "...you're gonna be a married man soon."

He furrowed his eyebrows and rolled his eyes. Then something happened, something that irritated him to the very core.

"David!" He heard a voice holler.

He didn't need to be a genius to know that it was Jim. He heard footsteps rushing towards him right before Jim appeared in front of him. He was hyperventilating, staring at him like he wanted to eat him right there. Jim felt tears build in his eyes and he covered his mouth which was shaking uncontrollably. After six months, he was finally able to look his man in the eyes.

"My love!" He gasped. "Oh my God, you're finally here." He took his hand but David retaliated. "I missed you so much, my love."

Claudia chuckled. "He missed all of us too. But he is right back with us and he's going nowhere. And guess what?" She raised an eyebrow, staring at them both. "You two are getting married in three days."

"What?" Both David and Jim shouted.

"What?" Claudia shrugged. "We wouldn't wanna lose poor Ben, would we? The earlier you two get married, the earlier he gets treated. Do you want us to postpone to a month?" David was quiet. "I didn't think so."

Jim couldn't contain his happiness. "Oh! This is the best day of my life. Finally, we're getting married. We're finally gonna be together, my love. I have been waiting for this moment forever."

David couldn't believe what he was hearing. "And you're happy about this?" He asked Jim. "Ben is your brother and he's dying in the hospital. You know I love him so much and yet you still wanna marry me after everything that happened?"

Jim smiled. "Ben is not my brother. I hate him so much with every fiber of my being. I have forgiven you for everything that happened but I will never forgive him for seducing you. Fate has brought us together and sooner or later, you're gonna love me too. My love for you will neutralize whatever spell he had cast on you. You'll see."

David couldn't believe it. Shaking his head, he made a quick turn and started leaving. But before he even made a step...

"And where do you think you're going?"

"I am going back to the hospital to be with Ben."

Claudia laughed. "You don't get it, do you?" She crossed her arms and wore a stern face. "You're never gonna see him ever again. You won't go near him or else... our deal will be done before it's over."

"What? But..."

"You signed the contract that forbids you from going near him. I won't stop you from going but..." She chirped. "...if you disobey me again, I'll make sure that I let that boy die. The choice is all yours."

"But he's all alone."

"I'll have some people take care of him until surgery." She shrugged. "You have a wedding to plan and you better start getting into it. You will act like Jim's husband to be, doing all things as a couple. You will plan this wedding, you will smile and you will attend every event related to this wedding. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, mother." Jim answered for him, coiling his arms with him. "I'll make sure that he does all that. After all, Ben is also my brother and I am gonna ensure his survival."

Just like a flash, Jim placed his hand at the back of David's neck and pulled him towards him. Before David realized what was going on, the crazy was kissing him. It was quick and even before he reacted, it was over. Jim was rubbing on his lips sweetly.