Love Knows No Bounds

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Emma poured herself some tea and took a sip before setting the cup down again.

Toddy paled as he stared anxiously at her.

He chided himself for not thinking before he spoke. Why did you say that? What if she marries Roger just to stop me from bothering her anymore?

He knew he'd regret that for the rest of his life.

"Marriage is a big deal, Emma. You can't just do it in the spur of the moment. If I'm bothering you too much, I can just stay a little further away from you. Don't marry Roger just because you can't stand me hanging around. Neither one of you will be happy that way," Toddy advised worriedly as he was afraid that Emma would go off and get married at once.

"It's easy for me to get married, but I don't want to marry anyone, and I don't want to hurt Roger."

Emma picked up her bag. After thinking about it for a little while, she took out a few medical reports.

She passed the medical reports to Toddy and said, "I did a health check when I joined Parker Corporation. There were a few anomalies, so the doctor advised me to do a more thorough check-up. I found the time to get it done and I got the reports back. I have a terminal illness, Toddy. The doctor said that no matter which treatment I receive, I have no chance of survival. With luck, I have a year or two left to live. If not, it could be as quick as six months."

Toddy was thunderstruck.

He didn't believe her, so he flipped through the medical reports himself. Once he finished looking through everything, he cried out, "Emma, even though Orapolis General Hospital is a highly rated hospital, you can't determine that there's no hope in your situation just because of their reports. You should see other specialists at different hospitals. It's best if you can see a doctor in Imperia. The Imperia Oncology Center has a lot of experience treating all sorts of cancers and tumors. Submit your resignation right away. I'll apply for leave too and I'll accompany you to Imperia. Maybe you were misdiagnosed. You're so young! How can you have cancer?"

Toddy grabbed Emma's hand and declared, "Don't be scared, Emma. I'm here. No matter what happens to you, I won't leave you."

Emma yanked her hand away from his and averted her eyes. "You need to think carefully, Toddy. I have cancer. Even if I receive treatment at the best hospital, it'll only be delaying the inevitable. I don't want to suffer through treatment only to die at the end of it. That's why I chose conservative treatment. The doctor said I can only hold out for another eighteen months or so. You're a young and accomplished man. What are you going to do when I die? I'm thankful that you're willing to stay by my side even though I'm sick, but I can't be that selfish."

She rubbed her waist and added, "I've already looked it up. My illness spreads quickly. I'm definitely going to die."

"No. Stop talking about dying. I'm sure it's a misdiagnosis. And, even if you are sick, I won't abandon you. Even if you'll… I still want to stay by your side."

Emma took her medical reports back from him. "Don't be like this, Toddy. You should go home and think things through. Talk to your parents about it too. They're looking forward to having grandchildren. Also, don't tell Kendall about my illness."

"You're sick! Are you still thinking about staying in the job?"

Toddy widened his eyes and stated disapprovingly, "What's most important right now is for you to go for treatment. Submit your resignation tomorrow. If you don't say anything, I'll tell President Coleman. If Kendall found out that you're working despite being ill, she wouldn't agree to it either."

Emma still chose to avoid Toddy's gaze. She stuffed the reports back inside her bag.

"Talk to your family first. If they support your decision, then I'll let you accompany me to a few other hospitals to run a few more tests."

"Emma."

Toddy grabbed her hand once more and stared at her in all seriousness as he asked, "Are you just trying to scare me off, Emma? Is this a test? The reports are fake, right?"

He didn't believe that Emma would have a terminal illness at such a young an age and suspected that she was just trying to fool him so that he would give up.

Does she hate me so much? Is she willing to say she has a terminal illness just to get away from me?

"Who'd wish cancer on themselves? I have a growth on my esophagus and many doctors suspect that it could be primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus. I have a growth in my lungs too. I've had to watch as a few of my family members passed on so I've made my peace with death. That's why I'm able to face this calmly."

In reality, Emma didn't have a confirmed medical result yet.

The reports the doctor gave her were all inconclusive. He told her to do more tests.

She hadn't even done the pathology test yet.

Nevertheless, the reports were true too.

If she did have primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus and decided against getting treatment, she would die fairly quickly.

At the moment, she felt fine and didn't seem at all like a cancer patient.

Naturally, she chose to bring out these reports because she wanted to test Toddy.

Was he truly willing to accompany her in her final days if he knew she had cancer?

Would his family agree to it too?

Emma was going to test Roger as well.

As they say, it's easiest to test a person's sincerity when you confront them with matters of life and death.

Emma had no other choice. She couldn't decide between the two men who were after her, and these medical reports came at just the right time, so she decided to test them.

Roger was Kendall's brother so she couldn't let Kendall find out about it first.

"Emma…"

Toddy's heart ached when he confirmed that she didn't seem to be lying.

"There's no way you're sick. It has to be a misdiagnosis. You don't look like someone who has cancer."

"I don't look like one? Who'd look like a patient unless they were on their deathbed?"

Toddy couldn't say anything in response.

"I haven't changed my stance, Toddy. If you truly want to be with me, you're going to have to think things through carefully. If either you or your family can't accept this, you should let me spend the rest of my life in peace and not bother me ever again. When my body can't take it anymore, I'll resign and go back to my hometown."