The Faceless Billionaire Celebrity Wife-Chapter 221: Death

Shikera nodded, remembering that Grandma Cooper had thought Mignon was bored from staying at home with an old lady, and that was why she always came home late.

"Alright, enough of talking about me. Let’s talk about you, how’s baby doing?" Mignon took a deep breath in and asked.

Shikera froze, having not expected the question. Slowly, her eyes moved down to her belly and she exhaled. How could she tell how the baby was doing in her belly when she was this disorganized?

"You know what, Mi—Leah, I have to visit an hospital. I...I don’t think I’m pregnant even if those kits are proving that I am. Is there any hospital on the island that can be trusted?" she asked.

"Hmmm, I understand you but, you shouldn’t deny this, Kera. It can be harmful to the baby if you—"

"I won’t deny the baby, Leah. I will be very happy if I turn out to be really pregnant, but I have to confirm it first. I have to make a lot of preparations in case things go wrong and the baby has to be born prematurely...You know, I’m...I don’t trust my ability to support a life inside of myself," Shikera’s words came out in a rush, as she said it out just the same way it was in her mind.

Mignon waited patiently until Shikera was done talking before stepping forward to place her hand on her shoulders.

"Is anything the matter, Kera? Do you have like an health issue or something that can make your pregnancy dangerous to you? If that’s true, then you have to..." she trailed off, and Shikera completed the sentence with a sad smile.

"Abort the baby?" She laughed when Mignon’s face fell, confirming to Shikera that that was actually what she had wanted to say.

"You know, Leah? Since today seems to be secret sharing day, I should tell you a little bit about me too. I uh...I have five years left to live," she stated.

Mignon stared at Shikera like she was looking at a crazy person, unable to believe what she just heard.

"Kera, you do know what you are saying, right? Are you terminally ill?!" she asked.

Shikera tilted her head as if trying to think about what Mignon just said.

"You won’t understand, Leah. Just know that I have—no, I used to have five years of life to live. Now that I’m pregnant, it’s shortened to one even if I am provided with the best care in the world. My doctors tried to check if there was a way out, maybe through surgery or alternative medicine, but there was no way to check. My case is peculiar to them too so don’t bother yourself trying to think about it—"

"Hold on, Kera. So you mean if you are confirmed to be pregnant, then you have only a year to live? That’s the more reason why you should abort the baby. You aren’t even sure that— Before i say much, who’s the father of the baby?" Mignon questioned impatiently, worry etched all over her face.

’Your brother,’ Shikera almost blurted out but she restrained herself. "He’s a good man but there’s nothing he can do, Leah."

"Was he aware that you would only have a year left to live if you get pregnant?" she asked again.

Shikera shook her head,"He doesn’t, and he needs not know. Just forget about persuading me, Leah, and let’s move to the problem at hand. Five years is already too much for someone like me who can’t even see any hope in the future so this baby is already identified as my hope, and my will to live. He or she is my family, not fake or kidnapped or framed or whatever it is! But my own blood and kin. If the hospital confirms I am good to go, what I should worry about is how to keep the baby safe during and after pregnancy. I won’t get greedy for more time but at least, I need to make sure the child will be taken perfect care of after my death—"

"Stop blabbing, Kera! Why do you talk about death like it’s a very normal occurrence, and your own death at that?!" Mignon was almost screaming, but she held herself back so as not to scare Shikera.

Shikera stayed silent but answered inwardly, ’Because death is a very normal occurrence to me. Half of the friends I’ve had who understand my suffering are dead...And some months of happiness are not enough for me to be convinced that I can escape death."

"I’m...I’m sorry, Kera. Calm yourself down and let’s leave here. We will talk about this later when both of us are stable, alright?"

Shikera gave a nod. She would talk about anything as long as she did not need to mention Ethan, Liam or anyone from those people whom she missed.

★★★

Mignon tapped her heels on the bare ground. She appeared to be in deep thoughts as she didn’t even notice when Grandma Cooper walked into the room.

"What are you doing in my room?" the old woman asked.

On receiving no answer from Mignon, she repeated, "I am talking to you, Leah. What are you doing in my room?"

Mignon finally realized there was someone else in the room with her, and a smile of relief broke out on her face.

"We have to talk, Grandma. I think we might need to find Kera’s family," she stated.

Grandma Cooper frowned, "What rubbish are you suddenly saying?"

"This is not rubbish, Grandma. And when I say her family, I’m especially talking about her husband. You should have noticed yourself that she comes from a well to do family, yes?"

"And what does that have to do with reaching out to her husband. She left her husband because she was having an hard time living with him so what right do we have to look for him behind her back?"

"Exactly, Grandma. What right do I have to know that Shikera’s pregnancy is just like a death sentence to her when her husband doesn’t know?"