The Secret is Out

The next morning, Kaia awoke still cuddled up in Alex's arms. The sun peeked through the curtains, giving the room a soft and hazy glow. Kaia slowly moved, trying to get up without waking Alex. Just as she was about to wriggle her body free from his embrace, Alex slithered his arms around her, pulling her back to him. He smiled as he nuzzled her neck. Kaia was startled but smiled. It felt so strange, yet comforting. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath, the warmth of being so close made her want to stay put.

After a while, Alex kissed her shoulder before sitting up slowly. "We should get ready. You still need my help with the preparations for the festival, right?" Kaia sat up with a small sigh nodding. "Yea, I'm gonna go take a shower first." She threw the blankets off and stood up. Alex smirked and quickly moved to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her once more. "I can wash you off." She could hear the teasing in his seductive tone. Kaia looked up at him and laughed lightly. "If you do that, we're definitely going to be late." Alex chuckled with a small sigh. "Fine then, I can do it next time. I'll go make breakfast." He released her and threw on sweatpants before going down to the kitchen.

Kaia smiled with a trace of sadness as she watched him go. She walked to the bathroom and took a warm shower. She just couldn't seem to get the nagging feeling out of her head. It just kept running through her mind. How am I supposed to tell him? Once she finished showering, she got dressed, wearing her usual business suit.

Kaia walked into the kitchen stretching. "Something smells good." Alex smiled. "It's a ham and cheese omelet, enjoy." He placed the pan in the sink and turned to look at her. "I've been thinking, do you have any childhood photos? I bet you looked cute back then as well." He grinned. Kaia blinked, looking up at him as she stuffed a bite of the omelet into her mouth. She swallowed the savory goodness with a small frown. "I don't have many. I didn't really have an ideal childhood, so I didn't take many photos," she said, softly poking her omelet with her fork.

Kaia looked up at Alex and saw a grim expression. She sighed and placed her fork down gently. "Fine, I do carry a photo of myself but I was sick then, so it was taken in a hospital," she said before walking out of the kitchen and going upstairs to the guestroom across the hall from Alex's bedroom. She figured this would be the best time to tell him about her sickness. Alex followed behind her.

Once they were in the guestroom, Kaia walked over to the side table and opened a drawer, pulling out her small photo album. She sat down on the bed and turned it to the very last page, looking at the lone picture of her. She gave a soft smile, tracing her fingers over it. "I'll show it to you, but you can't make fun of me. I was a fragile kid then," she said with a small laugh before looking up at Alex.

Alex walked over, sitting on the bed next to her. "I won't make fun of you but why is it the only picture you have?" he asked, tilting his head. Kaia looked at him. "Well, I was always alone. My parents worked and Annie had to go to school. I got sick a lot, so I basically lived in the hospital for a few months. I don't think I liked taking pictures back then, but there was this one time a nurse secretly took a photo while I was playing with a friend."

Alex looked at her before taking the photo album carefully and studying the picture. When he saw the photograph, he froze. He stared at the photo again and again. How could this be? It was a photo of both Kaia and Alex as kids. It was the day that they met and played together. In the image, there was an unfinished puzzle laid out on the floor in front of Kaia and Alex. They were both looking up at the camera and holding up peace signs with goofy grins on their faces. Kaia was holding a puzzle piece in her other hand while Alex had one arm wrapped around Kaia. Alex didn't know how to react, his face paled. He thought the little girl had died! Noticing his strange reaction to the photograph, Kaia blinked and scooted closer to him, placing her hand on his cheek. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" Alex took a deep breath before pointing at Kaia's figure in the photograph. His heart ached and raced at the same time. "Is this really you?" he asked with a slight tremble in his voice. Kaia was confused but still nodded. "Yea, it's me. It was my best memory as a child." She smiled wistfully.

Taking a deep breath, Alex pointed to himself in the photograph while looking at her. "This boy…" Kaia took the book back and smiled looking at the picture. "Oh, him? Remember that boy I mentioned yesterday? The one that reminded me of you when you put on your glasses? That's him. I only met him that day, but we quickly became friends. We played so many games together. It made me so happy." Alex was still trying to process things through his head. "Zander…" he softly muttered while staring at him intently. Kaia looked up at him in surprise. "How did you know his name? Do you also know him?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. The names didn't click at the moment for her.

Alex smirked, lightly running his hand over his face before taking his index finger and poking her nose lightly. "Bone narrow girl…" Those words made Kaia freeze up. Her whole body tensed up as she felt a rising fear in the pit of her stomach. "H…?" She was going to say something but she couldn't. Alex frowned looking at the picture in her hands. "I used to think that Zander sounded really cool, so instead of introducing myself as Alexander or Alex I used to call myself Zander," he simply stated. "The nurses told me you were gone... I guess I misunderstood what she meant because I thought you died."

Kaia was still at a loss for words. She closed the album and placed it on the bed before standing up. "I should go to work now. You need to get ready too or you'll be late," she said nervously as she walked to the door. How can tell him now? He already thought that she had died once. She didn't even want to imagine how devastated he would be if she told him now.

Before she even made it halfway down the hall, Alex grabbed her arm with a stern look. "Why do I get the feeling that you're avoiding me?" Kaia turned her head to look at him, panic rising within her again. Her body shook a little and her lower lip quivered, a few tears trickling down her cheeks. "I have something to tell you but I don't know how to tell you now…" Alex blinked, his grip loosening a little. "Tell me what?" Kaia bit her bottom lip for a second. She hesitated as the words that were stuck at the back of her throat finally tumbled out. "I might be dying. Back then, a blood transfusion saved me. They told me that transfusions wouldn't work this time and that I will need a bone marrow transplant." She couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want to see how he would react so she quickly struggled free from his loosening grasp and ran away as fast as she could. She wiped the tears that were streaming down her face. Alex wanted to chase after her but he stopped himself. He stood in that same exact spot for a long time. Rubbing his face with his hand, he let out a small sigh. Alex went to his room and grabbed his phone, calling the doctor.

When the doctor answered, Alex, was pulling out clothes for work. "Hi, this is Alexander Sabor, is this the doctor that did a check-up on my wife in my office last time?" The sudden phone call startled the person on the other end but she replied yes, that she was the doctor that was called in that time. "It turns out my wife, Kaia, actually does have a condition related to anemia. She needs a bone marrow transplant. I know that you're a doctor at Northern Star Hospital where Kaia goes for her checkups. I signed up to be a donor at your hospital before, so can you check our records and see if I'm an HLA match?" The doctor, Sasha Armstrong, finally understood what was going on and replied that she would go and check. Alex thanked her before hanging up. He took a deep breath, thinking to himself. He had to do something else. What if I'm not a match?

Alex pondered for a long time before he finally smiled. He had a perfect idea. He took a shower and went straight to work. Gathering a few singers and bands together, he set them up in a meeting room.

Alex stood in front of the room with his arms crossed. Once they were all standing in front of him, he motioned for Zac to close the door. Meanwhile, an online article began to spread like wildfire, blowing up the internet. It discussed juicy details about how the most eligible bachelor, Alexander Sabor, was married. It also discussed details about his wife within the article, although a name wasn't mentioned. At least not yet...