Monday morning, Nara sat in the hospital waiting room that had quietly become her second secret home over the past few months.
She glanced at her watch again and again, counting the time she had left before she had to return to the office without arousing anyone’s suspicion.
“Ms. Nara Calistha,” a nurse called from behind the reception desk.
Nara stood and followed the nurse to the examination room of the doctor who had been treating her since the beginning of her diagnosis.
“How am I doing this week, Doc?” Nara asked as soon as she sat down in the patient’s chair.
The doctor examined several pages of her latest lab results, his expression more serious than usual.
“The latest results show a slight development that we need to keep an eye on. I recommend moving up the schedule for your next procedure.”
“How soon?” Nara asked, her voice trembling slightly.
“Ideally, within the next two weeks,” the doctor replied.
“I know this isn’t the right time, especially with your wedding plans. But we can’t put this off for too long.”
Nara fell silent, processing the information.
Two weeks—the exact same timeframe as the official family meeting scheduled to discuss the final details of their wedding ceremony.
She calculated in her head, trying to find a way to keep the two things from colliding, even though deep down she knew it was impossible. It felt as though the two worlds she had managed to keep separate all this time were now being forced to meet at the same moment, with no room left for pretending.
“Do I have to… tell the people closest to me before the procedure, Doc?” Nara asked softly, even though she already knew the answer.
“That decision is entirely up to you. But as your doctor, I recommend that you don’t face this alone, Ms. Nara. Support from the people closest to you can have a major impact on the process ahead,” the doctor replied cautiously, looking at Nara with deep understanding, as if he had often seen other patients choose the same path—hiding their illness to protect the people they loved, only to make everything even harder to endure alone in the end.
Nara nodded slowly, even though in her heart she already knew she wasn’t ready—perhaps would never be ready—to reveal everything.
After leaving the clinic, Nara returned to the office with her face arranged into something as normal-looking as possible.
She sat at her desk and tried to focus on her work, but her thoughts kept drifting back to the doctor’s words—two weeks.
The number kept spinning through her mind, as if it were a countdown she couldn’t stop.
Her phone vibrated. It was a message from Arka’s mom in the extended family group chat.
Arka’s Mom: Nara, we’re still getting together in two weeks to discuss the final details of the wedding ceremony, okay? I’ve already told all the relatives. Hopefully nothing comes up for you or Arka.
Nara stared at her phone screen for a long time. Two dates that should have marked the beginning of the happiest chapter of her life now stood side by side with a date that could mark the beginning of the most terrifying chapter. She typed a short reply, her fingers trembling slightly.
Nara: Okay, Mom. I’ll do my best to be there.
The sentence felt like the latest in a string of lies she had told this week—not because she didn’t want to be there, but because she herself had no idea what condition she would be facing two weeks from now.
That afternoon, before heading home, Rifana passed by her desk and noticed that Nara looked more tense than usual.
“Na, you okay?” Rifana asked briefly, pausing beside Nara’s desk.
“I’m okay. There’s just a lot to think about with the wedding preparations,” Nara replied with a faint smile, her eyes avoiding Rifana’s gaze, which was far too sharp to fool.
Rifana nodded, though the suspicion in her eyes still hadn’t gone away. She didn’t know exactly what Nara was dealing with, but the instinct that had been bothering her for so long now felt stronger than ever—as if something big was waiting to be revealed, sooner or later, and all she could do was wait without knowing when that moment would come.
After work, Nara sat alone in her car before starting the engine, staring at the phone screen that still displayed the message from Arka’s mom. She let out a long breath, trying to calm her heartbeat, which refused to return to normal.
Two weeks, she thought again and again. I just have to make it through two more weeks, until everything is clear.
Yet deep in her heart, a small part of her had begun to wonder whether two weeks would really be enough—or whether it was simply too little time to prepare herself for a reality she was no longer able to control completely.
To be continued in Chapter 8