Taken By My Fiancé's Uncle - Chapter 125: Chapter 125

Lorraine froze. Her hands, which rested on the table, slowly clenched into fists. She just stared at him, completely stunned.
Every word he'd just said felt like it had been etched into her heart. It was unforgettable and undeniable. She looked dazed like a little lost teddy bear.
Eugene rubbed his nose against hers and kissed her again. "Okay?" he whispered. "Say yes?" He sounded just like a kid begging for a new toy.
She tried to speak, but nothing came out. And tears came. "Is this really the biggest and best birthday gift you're giving me?" she whispered.
After losing that baby, after all they'd been through, she had convinced herself that just being by his side was already more than enough. But still, she thought about it sometimes. And sometimes, her lower stomach would ache with a kind of quiet, hollow pain.
Her tears kept falling, running down her cheeks and into his mouth. They tasted bitter. Eugene kissed the corners of her eyes, brushing away her tears with his lips.
The second she called it "the biggest and best gift", he understood everything. If they hadn't lost that child, maybe they would've already been holding it in their arms by now.
He closed his eyes for a second and whispered in her ear, "If we have a daughter, I'll treat her like a princess. And if some jerk tries to go after her, I'll break one of his legs."
Lorraine laughed through her tears. "Why just one?"
"So she can't blame me."
Lorraine just stared. She ran her fingers through his short hair. The rough stubble tickled her palm and sent a warm, tingly feeling up her arm. She was laughing, but tears kept coming.
They rolled down slowly, warmly leaving her eyes, cool on her skin, then warm again when his lips kissed them away. So this is what it felt like crying with someone right there.
"Don't hold on to your tears," he said softly. He gently patted her back, his fingers tracing the bumps along her spine. She couldn't hold it in anymore.
They leaned into each other. The cake behind them was a smashed mess. Nobody knew how long she cried. Finally, she was spent. She reached out and touched his arm. "I think something's ringing."
"That's my phone," he said.
"You're not gonna answer?"
"Ignore it," he said. But the phone kept ringing, over and over, impossible to ignore. Eugene got up and went to the couch to grab it.
Just as he was about to hang up, he saw it was a call from Maria. He hesitated, glanced at Lorraine, then answered.
"Eugene, can you come home?" Maria sounded like she'd been crying.
"Okay," replied Eugene. His mom seldom cried. She was usually upbeat, the kind of person who always looked on the bright side.
"Bring Lorraine with you." Maria hung up right after.
Eugene stared at the phone for a moment, grabbed his car keys from the coffee table, and helped Lorraine up. "Come with me. We need to go back for a bit."
"Me?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
Lorraine saw the serious look on his face and didn't ask anything else. She followed him outside. As they crossed the yard, she almost tripped. Eugene caught her quickly.
"What's all this?" Lorraine pointed at the piles of cardboard boxes everywhere. There was barely any room to walk.
"Fireworks. We'll light them when we get back."
"Oh, cool." Her eyes lit up. As he shut the door behind them, she glanced back once more at the yard, her gaze lingering on the fireworks.
Eugene drove fast. When they pulled up at the Moore manor, they got out one after the other. The door wasn't locked. Maria sat alone in the living room. When she heard them, she turned her head.
The moment she saw Lorraine, her eyes flickered. There was something complicated there, cold, maybe a little disappointed. Eugene hadn't even stepped inside yet.
He pulled out his wallet and turned around. "Go buy me a pack of smokes."
"Right now?" asked Lorraine.
"Yeah. The usual brand." He shoved the wallet into her hand and gave her a little push. "Grab some snacks too, if you want."
Lorraine nodded, took the wallet, and ran off. Eugene walked inside alone. "Mom, why is it so dark in here?" He flipped on the lights.
Maria didn't move. "You didn't have to send her away on purpose. What, you think I'm gonna bite her? Your sister is back from Jonalesburg. I already know everything I need to know."
When he took the call earlier, Eugene had guessed it would be something like this, and now it was confirmed.
He walked over and sat on the couch across from Maria. "Yeah, she was married to Stephen. But from the wedding night on, she was with me."
Maria had a whole speech ready, but his words shut it down before she could start. She sat there, mouth open, and was unsure what to say. "You mean..."
"Yeah. Her first time was with me. She even got pregnant. But Stephen pushed her down the stairs. She lost the baby."
Maria didn't know that. Neither did Queenie. She sat there stunned for a while. Then a flash of pain crossed her eyes.
"I didn't ask you two to come here to scold anyone. I met Lorraine. I know people pretty well. She's a good kid. It's just... well... you explain it to your sister." Maria sighed, stood up, and went upstairs.
Eugene stayed on the couch. After a moment, he heard footsteps coming down. He could tell it was Queenie and turned to talk. But the second he saw her, he froze.
Queenie was still Queenie, but she wasn't the strong, capable sister he remembered. Her usually bright, lively face looked pale and kind of scary once she took off her makeup. Her eyes were sunken, and her lips were dry and cracked.
After a long pause, Eugene finally asked, "What happened to you?"
Queenie gave a weak smile. Her eyes looked tired and dull. She sat down across from him and pulled a paper from her bag. She handed it to Eugene.
The words "diagnosis report" made him feel stunned. He took a deep breath and flipped to the last page. It said cancer.
His hand shook, and he almost dropped the paper. He couldn't believe it. "Cancer?"
"Late-stage uterine cancer. Could be three months or up to three years," Queenie said quietly. "That's why I've been acting like the bad guy around you all this time. Because I don't have much time left."
Eugene stared at the report. The words seemed to float in front of him like sharp knives stabbing into his chest.
"Norah was supposed to come with me, but I said no. I thought you needed time to sort things out," Queenie said, leaning back a bit.
'Sort things out,' Eugene thought in his heart. He knew exactly who she was talking about. The pain in his chest grew even worse. Just an hour ago, he was full of hope, asking Lorraine to have his baby. But now...
"Eugene, I just want to see your brother-in-law once before I go," Queenie spoke softly. There was no pressure, no threat.
But Eugene finally realized that he owed them. No matter how much he delayed, he had to pay it back eventually. It was like the child he lost.
Maybe it was because Queenie, who, shocked by her husband's imprisonment, lost a child too. Maybe it was karma. After all, debts must be paid. He didn't want to think about it anymore. Honestly, he just couldn't think anymore.
"Eugene, did you hear me? What I meant was—" Queenie continued.
"I know. Just give me some time," he said, bending down to pick up the report from the floor. "Have you made an appointment with a doctor? I'll contact Lesvinton and ask them to send the best medical team. Okay?"
"The best doctors are already here with me in Jonalesburg," Queenie said shortly.
"Okay." Eugene squeezed the paper gently, trying to hold on, but he had no strength left. It slipped from his fingers again, like a pale, drifting heart.
Queenie stood up. "I'm going upstairs to rest now."
"Okay. Go ahead." Eugene stood as well and kindly walked her to the stairs. "I'll find someone to take care of you and Mom soon. Stay here. Don't go back to Jonalesburg for now."
"But the Pedler family—" Queenie wanted to say something.
"I'll handle the Pedler family myself. You don't have to worry," he said with a soft smile.
Queenie looked at him deeply, nodded, and headed upstairs. Eugene stayed by the stairs, watching her disappear down the second-floor hallway. Even though it was late summer and the air conditioner was off, he felt a chill all over.
He slowly walked outside to the yard. He pulled out his phone and dialed Lorenzo. His hands trembled as he pressed the buttons.
"It's me. Check on the doctors in Lesvinton. Who's with Queenie? And her condition," he said.
"Condition?" Lorenzo almost fell down the stairs in shock. "Queenie? Sick!?"
"Yes. She didn't want us to know before. Find out for sure. Ask right away!"
"Okay." Lorenzo hung up quickly.
Eugene stood under the banyan tree in the yard. Suddenly, he thought back to when he was a kid. He climbed a tree once and got stuck at the top. He was really scared.
Back then, the grown-ups weren't home either. Queenie was standing under the tree, gently trying to get him to come down. Finally, he loosened his grip and fell right onto her. He hit her so hard that she broke two teeth.
Queenie's mouth filled with blood from the pain, but she kept telling him she was okay. Eugene could not remember how old they were at that time. It seemed he was five, and Queenie looked to be about eleven or twelve.
Feeling tightness in his chest, he reached into his pocket for a cigarette. He pulled one out and stuck it in the corner of his mouth. Just as he lit it, Lorenzo called.
"Late-stage uterine cancer. She knew about it the whole time, but kept it from us because she didn't want to come back. She wanted to stay in Jonalesburg and tried everything just to see her husband once. But she never got the chance."
Eugene coughed. The smoke burned his throat, sharp and painful, making Eugene's eyes water. Honestly, he was about to break.