"ONE DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING"

IN the following days both of them became busy fixing everything for their wedding. Daniel's mother has been the one helping them. The wedding will be held at Judge Arcega's office. 

The judge is a friend of Daniel's parents who will be the one to marry them.

"Where are we going?" Ara asked one day before their wedding.

It was a Saturday, no classes, while their wedding would be held the next day.

"Let's buy a dress for you to wear for tomorrow. I want you to be very beautiful," the young man stared at her then stroked her cheek.

"Can you still drive?" she asked the young man in a worried tone.

"Of course, I'm taking advantage of the opportunity while I can because I know I won't be able to do all this soon, especially when my treatment starts," her boyfriend told her as they left the garage.

But that was the intensity of the shock that Ara felt when the young man looked back at her again and she saw the rapid flow of blood from his nose.

"Oh my God, Daniel!" she said terrified as she approached him then took out the handkerchief inside her small bag. "Ma! Mama!" her loud cry despite the trembling of her hands she immediately reached the young man's bleeding nose then put the handkerchief that she was holding.

"What happened?" it was Marielle followed by her daughter Danica.

"I-I'm okay, this is just normal with my kind of illness," Daniel laughed softly then took the handkerchief in her hand.

"No, you need to rest," said Danica who approached her brother to lead him back into the house but the young man refused.

"I said I'm okay. Don't worry about me. Come on, sweetheart," he said pulling her hand but she quickly pulled it back which surprised the young man. "Ara, come on," he told her again.

"I think it's still early, even tonight we can do that can't we? Listen to Danica, please?" she pleaded to him in a calm tone.

It was then that she saw him let out a sigh as a sign of his surrender to what she wanted to happen. After that, he laughed softly then removed the handkerchief that covering his nose.

"Okay," he told her.

"Thank you," she replied with a smile then glanced at Marielle and Danica who were just watching.

*****

"TELL me the truth, this is just your way to stop what I wanted to happen before, right?" it was Daniel when the young man remained to lie on his bed while she was on the side of the bed and sitting.

Danica had already taken care of the young man so the two of them were left there.

Daniel, in fact, requested her to stay in his room for a while. And because she wanted to make sure he would rest she agreed to keep an eye on his boyfriend.

Ara rolled her eyes then laughed softly. "You were right when you said that nose bleeding is one of the symptoms of your illness. But it is also normal for us to worry about you."

"Sweetheart, the doctor said that my disease is in the terminal stage already, there are others that take five years. But in my case, two doctors said that it is only possible for me to last four to six months. Haven't you accepted it already? You have to get used to it," Daniel moved then rested his own head on her thighs.

She couldn't even show it but Ara felt like her heart was being torn into small pieces because of what Daniel said. It was not because of the fact of what he wanted to remind her but the way the young man speaks instead.

In fact, it has been less than a month since his illness was diagnosed, but in the way he has been said before, Daniel doesn’t seem to be that affected anymore. In other words, he was able to accept everything and that is how she felt about what he said.

"Go to sleep now. Tomorrow will be our wedding day so you have to have more strength," she told him with her desire to erase the sadness that she could feel in the atmosphere.

It was then that the corner of Daniel's lips rose as he left her thighs. After that, he tapped the vacant part of the pillow in such a way that he is asking her to lay down there.

"Stop it ah, it's embarrassing for your sister and mother," she said unable to help herself be affected by what she knew Daniel wanted to convey.

The young man clicks his tongue. "Come on, I'll just kiss you. Do you know how much I miss you? Then didn't I lock the door?" Daniel said to her with so much tenderness then tapped the vacant part next to him again.

Ara immediately felt a great longing for what the young man had said. Because like him, she also misses Daniel. But because of the more limited time they have, the moments they have are often stealthy. So maybe that is why the young man wants to kiss her.

"Sweetheart, please?" Daniel whispered to her again as she remained sitting on the side of his bed.

At that moment, Ara just sighed.

She had memorized that tone and she knew that was the type who would not stop until he got what he wanted, so in the end, she decided to give Daniel what he has been asking.

When she lay down next to him, the young man immediately put her head on his arm. Then he raised his head and kissed her lips earnestly.

And that's when Ara finally proved that she was right to give what Daniel wanted to happen. Because she felt the way his lips caressed hers is the same way that he had told her a while ago, he missed her very much.

She was the same as Daniel. And that feeling was exacerbated by the thought that they were together under one roof but the two of them had limited chances. It's embarrassing for his mother in case she accidentally catches them in such scenes, especially since they're not really married yet.

With that thought, Ara decided to release her lips from Daniel's still passionate kiss on her.

"Hey," the young man complained though his eyes glazed over with amusement.

"Have you forgotten already? I stayed here to make sure you will rest," she said chuckling pinching the young ma's cheek slightly. "You have to wait, tomorrow night we will be sleeping in one room," Ara continues then smiled at him meaningfully.

Daniel's smile widened as she said that. "I think I can still do it for tomorrow night," he added.

Ara couldn't help but giggle at what her fiancé said. "Are you really thinking about that?" the question she asked.

"I would be lying if I said no. I miss you so much and it's no joke that I've been patient since the first time," he said, hanging up the last thing he said and then emphasizing it.

Ara's face blushed profusely at Daniel's words although she could not deny the thrill in her heart despite all the two of them were going through.

Ara stared at Daniel's handsome face for a long time. His dark eyes show tiredness and his lips are not as red as before because the truth is, she also notices the gradual effect of the illness on the young man. A warm emotion was what Ara felt next which caress her heart afterward.

"You know, I want to have a baby?" Ara's unequivocal words caused the young man to draw shock on his perfectly handsome face.

"A baby? Are you sure?" Daniel asked her in a tone of disbelief.

She smiled then nodded consecutively. "Of course, and hopefully a baby boy. I want him to look just like you," after saying that, Ara herself felt the intense anticipation of what she said.

She knew that it was still possible for her to get pregnant because Daniel's chemotherapy had not yet started. The said treatment possibly affects the young man's ability to have a child or in other words, it could be the cause of his sterility.

"Oh sweetheart, what did I do to deserve someone like you?" Daniel hugged her lovingly and she responded in the same way.

"You loved me, so much," Ara replied then released herself from his tight embrace.

Daniel remained quiet. But any word she knew could not be matched by the gleam in the young man's eyes. So in the end for the second time he bowed and then kissed her, and this time Ara did not refuse but instead wholeheartedly surrendered to the man she loved while at the same time she also responded to him in the same way that he kisses her.