VICTORIA

"There is new information," The doctor said, his eyes moving from my mom to me.

"The recent test results show that...." He suddenly stopped, as if realising that he wasn't supposed to be talking in my mom's presence.

My heart sank when his voice trailed off. Silently, I prayed that my mom would just be fine. I turned to look at my mom and a chill ran down my spine, as I saw her eyes widen in confusion and worry.

"What is it?" She asked, her voice now shaky.

"Please, come with me to the office." The doctor beckoned on me in a measured tone.

"What is the problem? Is her health getting better? She looks bright and better." I blurted out, as I walked behind the doctor into his office.

He hesitated for a while before he said, "you might want to sit down, Victoria." He said out of concern.

"No, don't worry, I just want to know what the situation with my mom is."

He sighed, "The cancer is progressing." He dropped the bombshell.

"How? But she looked better when I saw her." My voice had already started breaking.

"Calm down, Victoria. We are going to need to..."

Before he finished, a nurse rushed in looking disheveled.

"You might want to come see this, we seem to have a problem in ward 029. The patient's heart rate is dropping." She announced.

My heart sank into my belly. "What?!" I yelled.

The doctor's expression changed to a sadder one as he rushed out of his office. I ran with them as well, my beating steadily pumping against my chest in loud beats.

From a little distance, we could hear a loud beeping sound coming from my mom's ward. I was confused as hell.

It felt like giving a child a candy, only to snatch it away from her just as she was about to have a taste.

"We need to stabilize her, asap." He barked, as he rushed into the ward and to my mom's side.

A nurse quickly attached a monitor to my mom's finger and the beeping sound grew even louder. As the medical personnels got into action, my panic and anxiety increased.

I started to sob.

"Hey sweetie," The nurse said, as she gently pulled me by the arm. "Let us work, okay? We need to get your mom back to stability."

She pulled me from the bed, she kept pulling me away until I was out of the door and then she shut the door.

And there I was outside the door, standing helpless and terrified.

After what seemed to be thirty long minutes, the doctor finally came out, holding his stethoscope firmly in hand.

"She is stable for now," he said smiling. "But we still have some tests to run, we have to know what exactly we are to do in this case. Your mom is a strong woman." He added as he patted me by the shoulder.

I knew this journey was a hard one but I was super grateful that my mom was still alive. At least, it showed that we were a step ahead.

****************

Finally, the day for my little wedding ceremony was here. It hurt me to know that my mom wasn't going to be here and at the same time, she didn't know about the marriage.

The sun's rays travelled slowly into the wedding venue, casting a gentle and cute glow on the family and friends outside the hall, waiting for the event to begin.

The event finally began. I, beautifully and gorgeously dressed, stood at the altar beside Samson, who no doubt appeared handsome, bold and confident in his black suit.

We had exchanged our vows and just as the minister got ready to pronounce us husband and wife, the door burst open and like a flash of lightning, a woman stormed in, her face twisted in anger.

She was dressed in a bright red gown, her hair was dyed a loud shade of red as well. It looked like she chose those colours specially for this occasion.

Her eyes were fixed on me as her high heels clicked noisily on the marble floor, as she strode down the aisle.

"You are not going to marry her," She yelled, her voice echoing through the four corners of the hall. "Samson, you must marry me."

Whispers and murmurs erupted from all angles of the hall. The ceremony had been strictly by invitation and for a few people, I wasn't even sure that the lady had an invitation. She only carried a bold aura around her.

Samson looked like he had just had a bucket of ice poured on his body.

"What are you doing here, Gladys?'' He roared, his eyes flashed red with anger as he stepped forward.

"I have come to marry you, I should be the one exchanging vows with you and not her!" She said firmly, as she pointed her long finger nails which was polished with an angry shade of red at me.

"Who are you?" I asked, as my eyes locked with that of the woman who had just come to embarrass me.

Her eyes flashed with anger.

"I am the one who has been in love with Samson for years." She spat. "I am not going to let him marry you."

The whispers and murmurs in the room grew louder as the guest turned in their seats in shock. I, myself couldn't believe what was happening, that wasn't what I signed up for.

Samson had already lost his temper and looked like he was about to burst into angry flames.

"Leave this place at once," He scowled.

But the woman was already enjoying the attention she was getting.

"Marry me." She said, looking into Samson's eyes.

To everyone's dismay and surprise, she bent on one knee and produced a ring. She offered it up to Samson, saying, "I am the perfect one for you. We have always been perfect together."

At this point, it all looked like a movie to me.

"This is ridiculous!" Samson raged on.

"Ridiculous? Ridiculous you say? The only thing I have done is love you all this time but now you are running away from me. Well, since you said ridiculous, I will show you what ridiculous actually means.

Like the speed of light, she swung her hand to my face and I felt a heavy slap land on my left cheek. In great shock, my eyes scanned the hall, at once my eyes locked with that of a man, who was sitting at the far end of the hall.

He had a scary and sinister smile which got goosebumps of fear spread all over my skin. Drama was just beginning!