Several weeks earlier.


    “What else, Devina? What important matter do you really want to discuss with me?”


    After previously contacting Lucas by phone and inviting him to meet, Devina finally came to visit Lucas at his office. If one were to pay close attention, from her serious expression, it seemed like she wanted to convey something very important.


    “It’s about our wedding,” Devina whispered softly. Currently, she wasfortably seated on the sofa avable in her fiancé’s room.


    Hearing Devina bring up the topic of their wedding ns, Lucas let out a long sigh reflexively. He had just discussed this with his father, and now it was Devina again who seemed to be pushing him to get married soon.


    For heaven’s sake, Lucas felt like his head was about to explode. The issue with Deasy was not resolved yet. Now, whether he liked it or not, he had to take action on the promise he had already made to his father so that the problem involving Deasy didn’t need to be handled by the authorities.


    However angry and disappointed Lucas might be, there was no denying that he still loved and cared deeply for Devina. That’s why he tried his best to protect the woman who had once filled his heart.


    “Are you here to elerate our wedding process as my father wants?”


    Instead of affirming Lucas’ question, Devina shook her head. Her previously rxed expression now turned serious.


    “There’s something important I need to tell you, Luc. And I think you should know this before it’s toote. I also want to take you to an obstetrician if it’s possible.”


    Lucas was taken aback. He furrowed his brow, wondering why Devina suddenly wanted to go to an obstetrician. Was she pregnant with someone else’s child? Or was something more serious happening that he wasn’t aware of?


    “To an obstetrician? Why?”


    “You’ll find out soon enough. After we see the doctor, I’ll exin everything,” Devina replied.


    “But I can’t go right now. After this, I have a work schedule that I can’t miss. What if we postpone it toter this evening? I’ll pick you up then.”


    Devina nodded in agreement. Besides, her regr obstetrician’s practice didn’t open untilter in the evening.


    “Okay then. I’ll leave for now. You can pick me upter this evening. I’ll be ready.”


    Ending the conversation, Lucas allowed Devina to leave. And when evening came, after finishing all his work, Lucas kept his promise to pick up Devina and take her to one of the obstetricians who turned out to be Deasy’s long-time doctor.


    Upon arriving there, without the need to wait, Devina and Lucas were immediately ushered into the doctor’s practice room. They were even asked to sit right in front of the doctor who seemed to have been waiting for their arrival.


    “Doc, I’m sorry I’mte. This is Lucas, my fiancé. As I asked before, I want you to exin my current condition to my fiancé.”


    The doctor smiled and nodded. Shifting his gaze, he then looked at Lucas. However, before he could speak, Lucas interrupted first.


    “Wait… wait… what’s actually going on here?”


    The doctor smiled again. Understanding Lucas’s curiosity, he immediately provided the exnation the man needed.


    “Well, Mr. Lucas, I want to exin that Ms. Devina is currently suffering from uterine cancer. There’s a possibility that your fiancée may need to undergo a hysterectomy or the removal of her uterus to prevent the spread of cancer cells to other organs in her body.”


    Lucas was stunned. He had never imagined that Devina was suffering from a serious illness. Throughout their close friendship, she had never shown any signs of being unwell.


    “W-what, Doctor? Uterine cancer?”


    The doctor nodded, confirming and assuring what Lucas had asked.


    “There’s no other option but a hysterectomy. And most likely, after the removal of the uterus, your fiancée won’t be able to conceive or have children.”


    At that moment, Lucas immediately turned to Devina, unsure of how to respond. Meanwhile, Devina herself remained calm, smiling. From her expression alone, it seemed like nothing major was happening to her.


    “Devina-”


    “Sssttss…” Devina whispered while smiling. “It’s okay. This is why I told you the other day that I didn’t want to marry you, Luc. I’m aware that my condition is not stable.”


    “But… do your parents know you’re sick?”


    Devina nodded confidently.


    “My parents know about this condition, Luc. But they insisted on keeping it from your family because they didn’t want our business partnership between our families to fail.”


    “Well, let’s go ahead with the wedding.”


    Lucas then reached for Devina’s hand, gripping it tightly while gazing at his close friend with apassionate look. Little did he know that Devina had been carrying such a heavy burden all this time.


    “No need, Luc. You don’t have to marry me out of pity for my condition. Besides, why should we get married if I can’t even give you children? I intentionally came here so that you could hear about my health condition directly from the doctor.”


    “But, Devina-”


    “I know you really love Deasy, right? The woman you told me about the other day? Well, this is your chance to be together and marry her. Tonight, I’ll also meet Uncle Andreas to exin my condition to him. But one thing’s for sure, you don’t need to marry me.”


    After a lengthy discussion and conversation with the doctor, as nned, Lucas brought Devina to meet her father.


    Furthermore, when they left the doctor’s office, Lucas and Devina briefly crossed paths with Deasy, who also seemed to be seeking prenatal care.


    For whatever reason, Lucas wanted to approach her. He missed the moments of apanying Deasy for prenatal check-ups. However, due to his lingering anger, Lucas chose to ignore her. Besides, there was something more important that he needed to address.


    So, by driving a bit faster, Lucas brought Devina straight to meet her father that very evening. Fortunately, when they arrived, Andreas was already at home, having just finished dinner.


    “What do you two want bying here again?” Andreas asked, looking alternately at Lucas and Devina.All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    “There’s something important that Lucas wants to discuss regarding his and Devina’s wedding ns, Dad.”


    “What’s going on with your wedding n? Do you want to speed it up?”


    As if having a telepathic connection, Lucas and Devina both reflexively shook their heads, denying what Andreas had just asked them.


    “It’s not that, Dad.”


    “Then what is it? Don’t tell me you want to cancel the wedding. No! Papa won’t cancel your wedding ns, no matter what. Don’t embarrass me, Luc!”


    Lucas sighed deeply. It was indeed difficult to exin something that had already be his father’s firm decision. When the tribal chief says A, it must stay A forever, unless there’s a valid reason to challenge it.


    “Please listen to Devina’s exnation first, Dad. Maybe after this, you’ll have some enlightenment and stop grumbling without reason.”


    Devina immediately pinched Lucas’s arm to get him to stop rambling. It was unbelievable that, at such a serious moment, he was speaking so thoughtlessly.


    “Uncle Andreas…”


    Devina took over the conversation, taking several deep breaths as she searched for the right words to convey to her future father-inw.


    “There’s something important that Devina wants to convey. It concerns the wedding ns for Lucas and me. Devina believes that this n cannot proceed.”


    “On what basis can it not proceed?” Andreas asked, sounding intimidating. His calm face slowly began to show traces of emotion.


    “Hold on, Dad. Let Devina exin everything first,” Lucas said, trying to calm the situation.


    Devina then retrieved a white envelope from her bag and handed it to Andreas so he could read and check it immediately.


    “What is this?” Andreas asked, puzzled.


    “Just read it, Dad,” Lucas urged with a serious expression.


    Andreas reached for his reading sses that had been on the table. He put them on quickly and began to read the paper that Devina had given him.


    Andreas continued to read attentively. Five minutester, Lucas and Devina noticed that the middle-aged man’s face suddenly turned extremely serious and surprised.


    “Devina…” Andreas looked up, gazing at Devina intently. “Are you ill?”


    “Yes, Uncle,” Devina nodded repeatedly. There was absolutely no intention in Devina to hide what was happening to her. “It’s because of this reason that Devina can’t continue with the wedding ns with Lucas. If you’re curious, Dad and Mom are well aware of this illness. But they still forced Devina to keep quiet and agree to whatever happens in the future. Dad and Mom don’t want to miss out on the business opportunities that woulde from being rted to Uncle Andreas. On behalf of Dad and Mom, Devina apologizes, Uncle. No matter what, Devina can’t proceed with this wedding n.”


    Devina spoke with so much emotion that Lucas reached out to immediatelyfort her by patting her shoulder.


    Meanwhile, Andreas remained silent, pondering quickly about the decision he should make.


    “Furthermore, Uncle…” Devina continued, “Even if this wedding is forced, the fact is that Lucas won’t be able to have children. I’m sorry if this sounds forward, but instead of struggling to marry me, why not just approve of Lucas and Deasy’s rtionship, which is clearly carrying Morales’s future sessor?”


    “Approve of their rtionship after what Deasy has done to thepany?” Andreas retorted, seemingly unwilling to ept that idea.


    “Dad…” This time, Lucas spoke up. “Deasy has already returned thepany’s money intact. She confirmed it earlier today. Deasy also personally apologized to thepany. Why not forgive her? Lucas admits he was disappointed with Deasy’s behavior, but all of this happened because of a misunderstanding. Why not give her a chance? Deasy is also pregnant, Dad. There’s Lucas’s blood in Deasy’s womb.”


    Andreas took several deep breaths. Looking at Lucas’s face, he couldn’t deny that his son deeply loved the daughter of his old friend.


    However, simply approving without consequences didn’t sit right with Andreas. Moreover, Deasy had crossed a line in his eyes. It wouldn’t be fair to forgive her without some sort of deterrent effect.


    “Alright, Papa will approve of your request to marry Deasy. But…”


    “But what, Dad?” Lucas asked impatiently. In his heart, he was overjoyed to finally get the green light for something he had wanted for so long.


    “Papa wants you to teach Deasy a lesson first. Let her know what it’s like to fight for something. Let her understand that her actions were truly fatal and harmful to many people.”


    “What do you mean, Dad?” Lucas asked, puzzled.


    “Well, if she tries to get back together with you, just reject her for now. Or whatever it takes to make her feel the loss.”


    “But what if Deasy really leaves for good, Dad?” Lucas worried. Besides, why not just get married right away? Why go through all this schooling?


    Andreas sighed deeply. He was frustrated with himself for having to exin.


    “If Deasy truly loves and is serious about you, she will keep trying to win your heart,” Devina chimed in the conversation.


    “The problem is, I’m afraid that Deasy might get angry and resentful, Devina.”


    Devina smiled and patted Lucas’s shoulder repeatedly.


    “She won’t, Luc. Later on, we’ll also n a surprise for Deasy. We’ll make sure we arrange everything as best as possible so that Deasy doesn’t leave, and in the end, you two still get married. I promise I’ll help as much as I can.”


    Lucas nodded in agreement. That evening, he spent time with Devina and his father to n and strategize what they should do to provide a “little” punishment and surprise for Deasy.