"MOMENT OF TRUTH"

JUST as Daniel had told her, her parents and brother were in the mansion and that is where she caught up with them. Marielle smiled as she greeted her and hugged her. Then they quickly invited her and her family to eat because dinner was also ready in the dining room.

Although full of astonishment, Ara chose not to ask and just waited for what Daniel would say about the result of the examination.

After dinner, the young man invited her to the garden where there was a swinging bench with a canopy made of steel. They sat there, side by side.

For a moment silence fell on them. None of them seemed to want to start a conversation because they both knew what they were going to talk about and that was why they were there.

When Daniel took her hand, the young lady decided to lean her head on her boyfriend's shoulder.

She was nervous but she didn't want to be swallowed by that nervousness. She knew that when that happened, she would lose all the courage she had gathered in recent days.

"W-We can't pursue my birthday celebration party anymore, sweetheart," that broke the seemingly endless silence that had previously reigned around the two of them.

She turned and stared at Daniel. "W-What?"

Even though she didn't feel good at that moment, she still tried to ignore everything and tried to calm herself down.

"As soon as possible I need to go through the treatment," the young man smiled but obviously it was a forced smile and she noticed that when he turned to her.

Ara quickly felt the warming and pain of both corners of her eyes. As well as the unfair pain that drew in her chest.

"D-Does that mean ---,"

"Yes," the young man interrupted her questioning. "It's funny, it's like what the previous doctor told me was recorded. It's like the second one just repeated everything for my mother and sister to hear," Daniel continued then laughed softly.

Ara felt the bitterness in the laughter that the young man released. But she did not want to lose hope, so even though it was difficult, she tried to raise her voice to sound more hopeful when she spoke again.

"L-Let's get a third opinion, then ---,"

"Then I'll take you with me so that again you can hear what the doctor will say? No sweetheart, I don't want to see you in that situation, I'll have a harder time," he said, raising her hand, and then kissed it.

At that moment Ara felt only one thing, the gradual escape of all the courage and positive outlook she had stored up over the past few days. That was also the reason why she could no longer hold back her tears as she kept her head leaning on the young man's shoulder.

"Hey, I'm going to get more treatment, we might not know the four to six months that the doctor says will be six months to one year?" Daniel in a more cheerful tone then followed what he said with a light chuckle.

Ara's anguish was exacerbated by her boyfriend's words. "Does that really mean that you can only be with me like that? Four to six months?" she said in between her trying to be firm even though the truth is that she wants to cry out loud.

Then Daniel grabbed both of her shoulders then carefully turned her towards him. After that, he held her face tightly. There is no question as to whether it was soaked with her tears.

"I will fight, for you. You may not know, what if God will have mercy on us and give us a miracle?" the young man smiled."Don't cry, I need to see now that brave Ara who slapped me hard so I kissed her," he said with a smile that widened because of the last thing he said.

Ara chuckles softly with the memory and then nods consecutively. "L-Let's get married as soon as possible, please?" she did not force herself to sound more like she is pleading but that still came out in her tone of voice.

The young man nodded. "I'm not going back to school. But I want to teach you how to drive while I can, so you don't have to commute. It's safer for you and I'll feel more secure," he told her. "I'm going to be your husband so everything that I own will be yours as well. Do you know that this house is named after me? So as the woman I'm going to marry, it will be yours also," Daniel said kindly to her, which caused her tears to well up again.

She should have been happy with everything she heard the young man say. But she really feels the opposite, because all of that only makes her feel very devastated.

Her life and her future would be so much happier and so much better with him. In all the wonderful events of her life. But something else will happen and something different with a different outcome if she would only believe what the doctor said. And soon this man will be gone forever.

It was so painful and she couldn't seem to accept that. But she could not show the young man that she's like this. Because he himself does not lose hope that he will still be okay because of his great love for her.

"I will tell my parents about it, that I want to accompany you, starting tonight," she told the young man.

"Really?" Daniel asked her in disbelief.

"That's really our plan, isn't it? I told you, I love you so much and whatever comes out as a result or even the ending of all this, I will stay by your side."

It was when Daniel finally pulled her closer to him and hugged her tightly. "F-Forgive me just in case I can't be with you when you grow old. That I can't take care of you," the young man broke his voice completely at that moment.

With that, Ara also let her tears flow once again. Maybe it's not bad to cry because they are really hurt.

"Thank you, thank you so much for everything," Daniel said still not relinquishing his tight embrace with her.

"I-I don't think I can make it without you, I'm used to you being here," she replied with a tighter hug to the young man.

She did not hear any answer from Daniel. So in the end it seemed that only their feeble sobs converse.

What is happening right now is the truth. But she did not want to believe. With the kind of illness that befell her boyfriend, she knew that no matter how severe the kind of treatment he would go through, what she feared will still be the end of everything. Eventually, she will still be left alone.

It was painful to accept and she could not imagine that someone as good as Daniel had ever had this kind of illness. So she couldn't help but ask.

"I hope I die too, with you, I want to come with you, I love you so much, I don't want to be left here alone," Ara eventually chose to tell her boyfriend the truth.

She could no longer hide and endure everything. She felt she would not be able to be strong if she will continue to hide from him the fact that in the depths of her heart she was already struggling.

"Do something, don't leave me alone here, I can't make it without you, I'll die of grief when you're gone," she whispered then tightened her embrace with the young man in such a way that her life seemed to be with him even in fact, that is exactly the truth.