Fortunately, everything went along just as Beatrice had planned. After a whole day of pretending to have lost consciousness, It's finally time to wake up.
Hearing the occasional loud voices and arguments around her followed by a shush-ing voice, she knew that the people she wanted to see are here to witness her most promising performance yet.
As if waking up from a very deep sleep, Beatrice slowly opened her eyes, even going as far as to blink a few times to make it even more dramatic. She looked around the VIP room she carefully prepared a week ago and saw her family gathered all around her.
"Ma!" Clara Ford-Hill cried when she saw her mother's eyes open. She held the old woman's hand and started sniffing, clearly trying to hold her tears.
"Call for Dr. Fritz, Lucas." Clara's husband, Arthur, told his son before moving beside his wife.
Lucas nodded and walked out of the room in silence.
Beatrice tried to look confused and frail when she held on to her daughter's hand. "Help me sit up, my dear," she told her.
Cedric immediately went to his grandmother's side when his Aunt looks like she's about to have a nervous breakdown in front of his gran. He couldn't let that happen. Not when they just talked about keeping her free from stress and seeing her daughter cry her heart out would only do the opposite.
Beatrice made sure to look at his grandson in the eye with the gentlest of smiles. "Thank you, my boy."
The look of pain and guilt reflected in Cedric's face and Beatrice somehow wanted to stop the act. Steel yourself, she quietly said to herself. This is for his future.
Clara never once saw her mother weak so seeing her this way only shows how sick she is. She leaned on to her husband for support when her knees felt like they were about to give in at the realization.
Grateful for the distraction, everyone looked at the door when Lucas entered back into the room with Dr. Fritz following behind him.
Clara pulled herself out of Arthur's hold and immediately went to the old doctor. "What's wrong with her, doc?"
Beatrice watched Allan closely hoping his act would convince everyone in this room since he was never a good actor and to be honest, he really sucked at lying too but she still hopes that his expertise could cover it up. After all, he's an excellent doctor.
For a brief moment, their eyes met and she knew that this is a signal for her to start, "What's wrong with me, Al?" she began and for a second, his face turned grim but he immediately tried to cover it up with a serious expression.
Good Job, Al! she praised him in her head before wondering if he ever took acting classes to pull that off.
Doctor Allan Fritz was not only her family's exclusive doctor but also her dad's best friend so seeing the pained expression on his face convinced Clara that something is wrong with her mother and it only made her more anxious. She looked at her husband's face, hoping for some miraculous intervention but he only shook his head to her disappointment.
The silence continued to envelop the room so Beatrice continued with her part, "How long do I have left?" she asked him upfront and it earned a gasp from her daughter and an angry protest from his grandsons.
"Mom!"
"Gran!"
Almost everyone simultaneously called out after hearing the old woman's ridiculous question.
Clara couldn't believe what her mother just said that her body lightly trembled. Her head snapped at the doctor expecting that he'd dismiss what her mother said but the look on his face only became even more painful.
"About a year, Beth-" he started, "You'll only have about a year left to live."
She let out another gasp and this time, Clara couldn't hold it any longer to keep herself composed as she let out one shaky breath after another. "I-isn't t-there anything w-we can do?" her voice cracked at every word but Allan only shook his head.
"We already have the most advance medical technology there is but at this point, we can only hope for a miracle."
"No..." she whispered to herself in disbelief before walking out of the room.
The three men looked at each other as if in a silent conversation, "I'll go get her." Lucas announced before walking out to follow his mother.
Beatrice waited for Allan to look at her before giving him a very slight nod, so light that nobody could have ever noticed even the doctor himself, to let him know that he's doing a good job so far.
"There must be something we can do, doctor." Arthur Hill, the calmest of the group, said. Beatrice knew her son-in-law was clever and sharp-witted so before he could probe, even more, she interrupted them.
"I've already known that this is going to come sooner or later," Beatrice revealed with a resigned sigh. "To be honest, I've known about my situation six months ago. I had it secretly checked abroad."
"Is this why you're suddenly retiring?" Cedric asked his grandmother all while feeling vexed with what has been happening.
It was the first time she heard Cedric talk since her 'fake' rousing. Of course, this is not the reason she's retiring but Beatrice kept her eyes down for an even more dramatic effect.
The door to the room opened and an exhausted Lucas entered interrupting the conversation, "I've sent mom home for now. I told her to get some sleep. So, what did I miss?" he casually asked while sauntering inside the room to his gran's bed which earned him a glare from his father.
"I actually wanted to see my grandsons be happily married but since Lucas is still in university, I at least want to see Cedric at the altar before I go-" she took Cedric's hand to hers and patted it affectionately. This is the truth. She wants to see her great-grandchildren soon but most of all, she wants to see Cedric happy and content with his life.
"-That's my dying wish."
_to be continued_