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I had been so fucking wrong. He wasn’t running from Ovi. He was trying to protect her from the pain he was trying to deal with. I had wanted his help, but now I realize that he needs mine.
“I’m glad you are getting the help you need,” I said.
“I should leave. If Ovi is as bad as you say, then staying here would be selfish,” he stated.
“No. It’s not. What you’re doing is so you and Ovi can be there for each other again later. She’s doing okay. Keeping busy with work.”
“I can’t believe she is still working for you. How is that going?” he asked.
“Surprisingly well. She thinks about things differently than I do.”
“That she does. If you haven’t noticed, she is like a breath of fresh air. You don’t know how much you need Ovi until you’re around her. Her mother was the same way.” There was a short pause and he said sadly, “I can’t believe she was taken away from us so young. I promised her that I would give her a great life, and she promised me that we would grow old together. Neither happened.”
“Trye, I saw the photos in your home. She was very happy. She looked pleased with her life. You didn’t take that away. The cancer did.”
“Do you know what the doctors told us?”
“No. What?”
“That Ovi could develop it too one day. Because my wife had it, Ovi has a thirty percent chance of having it too. I...I can’tstand the thought that I could lose her to cancer just like I did my wife. I...I can’t bear to even think about it.”
That felt like a knife twisting in my gut. I knew nothing about cancer except that it killed way too many people. “Which doctor told you this?” I had no idea whom they would seek out for treatment. I knew some people in Tabiq didn’t trust hospitals and used natural medicines only. Not something I would think you’d want to do with cancer.
“Dr O’Connor.”
Finn O’Connor not only was the husband of the president of Tabiq, but he was also the Chief of Staff at the hospital. I was glad to hear that Trye’s wife had gotten the best care she could here, but it sucked that it still wasn’t enough to save her life.
“Does she know? I mean that there is a chance she could develop cancer too?” Ovi didn’t act as though she did. Then again, out of nowhere, she is talking about traveling the world and not worried about the risk. Was it possible that she already had cancer?
Fuck. I hope not.
“We couldn’t bring ourselves to tell her. I know I will need to one day, but I just can’t do it now. It would change her life.”
“Trye, catching it early couldsaveher life. You have to tell her,” I said firmly.
“I tried, but I can’t,” he sobbed. “She cared for her mother, washing her, helping her dress, and towards the end, feeding her and giving her medication. She drove her to all her treatments and appointments. Not only was I losing my wife, but I was watching my daughter lose a piece of herself too. Can you imagine how scared she will be if she thinks she could go through that herself?”
I could, and that scared me as well. But ignoring it could prove to be fatal. Unfortunately, Trye was not strong enough to have that conversation with Ovi right now. He was where heneeded to be, getting help. But someone had to tell Ovi. No way was she going to suffer the same fate as her mother. Not if I could help it.
I know this was hard on Trye, but I needed more information from him. “What kind of cancer did your wife have?” I asked.
“Triple-negative breast cancer. It’s the most aggressive form of breast cancer. It spreads quickly and, in many cases, it is fatal. My wife fought for four years until she passed.”
“I’m sorry.” There was nothing else I could say. I wish I had known what he and his family had been going through. Maybe I could’ve been a little kinder, and more compassionate when things started to slip at work. I could’ve returned to shoulder the load so he could be home with his wife, especially during those last few months.
He wasn’t ready to come back to the factory to work. Not sure he would ever be able to handle the kind of responsibilities he had before. But when he was ready for work, I’d have some for him. Just not sure what that would be.
It’s not my fault his wife died. It is my fault that I wasn’t more invested in my employee's lives.
“Please don’t tell Ovi where I am. She will worry about me. I don’t want her to worry. She deserves to be happy.”
“I won’t tell her,” I promised.Not that at least.
“Thank you. And I need to ask one more thing.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Watch over her. Make sure she is okay. She is strong and independent, but she still needs someone. We all do,” he replied.
