The Last Option
Chapter Sixty-Eight: A Broken Heart

The next morning, Bernard had verified what he had suspected the night before: that Bernadette was in dire need of love and affection. He realized from the ardor and passion with which she gave herself to him, that possibly she had been without a partner for a long time. He woke up first from her and watched her for a few seconds. She woke up a minute later and snuggled into him.

Bernadette thought that maybe he was getting a bad opinion of her because of how quickly they went to bed. She was partly sorry, but deep down she didn't regret the wonderful night they had. She turned and rested her head on his chest, stroking his sparse hair, which reminded him for an instant of Margaret, who she used to do as well. He felt some sadness and made up his mind not to be affected anymore while Bernadette was there.

"I don't want you to think I'm a woman-"

Bernard didn't let her continue speaking, putting a finger to her lips.

"Don't say anything," he requested. "Let's not ruin the moment."

"Okay. But we still have to talk about all this at any time."

"Bernadette, please, you must understand that-"

"Are you going to die?" she turned to look at him again. In his eyes Bernard thought he saw a glimmer of hope, and once again he felt bad for having let this happen. Although he felt some tenderness for that girl and he wanted to make her feel loved, he didn't want that meeting to become something more personal.

Yes, he made the mistake of allowing that to happen, and he beat himself up once more for it. How long would he continue to feel remorse about it?

"Yes," he replied with some dryness. "That I am going to return to New York and that I am going to die, and that in a few months this will only be a memory for you, which I am trying to make a beautiful one."

She stopped looking at him and after a few seconds she sat on the bed, her back to him.

"You're right," she said, still without turning to see him. "This should only remain a one-night stand."

She got up and started looking for her clothes to put them back on. She did not want to turn to look at him so he would not see her eyes beginning to fill with tears, with a great effort she managed to contain them and finished dressing. "In the first place this should not have happened, Bernadette. I got carried away. We let ourselves be carried away."

"Well, I don't regret it," she turned and looked at him convinced of it, at least apparently, pretending that all that didn't affect her. "I really liked it, and I wish there was a way to repeat it. Seriously." "Please don't try to look like Rebecca. We both know you are not like that. Come here."

He held out his arms to her and she could hold back no longer. This time her tears flowed without restraint and she again threw herself at his side, hugging him and giving free rein to crying.

"You are a wonderful girl, and I am sure that you will replace someone who knows how to value you and loves you very much. I can't do it, no matter how much I want."

"All the good men I have found on my way do not stay. Sometimes I think there must be something wrong with me."

"I'm sure they didn't love you. The right one will come."

"I thought I had already found him. I was desperate to win you over and not let you fall into Rebecca's clutches. She has taken many men from me and made their lives hell, making them disappear forever."

"She's not your friend if she does that to you."

"Sometimes she is a real bitch. I don't understand how I'm still her friend."

"How about we just keep being us and pretend this didn't happen?"

"That's going to be hard for me. This has been one of the best nights I've had in a long time. I can't help but feel this way."

For Bernard that girl felt something really genuine for him. He couldn't believe that he was so attractive to girls. But then he thought that on her part he knew absolutely nothing about her: he didn't know about her family, or about her job, nothing about her. He wanted to take advantage of that in his favor to pretend to be a bit suspicious, but it wouldn't be fair to the girl. She didn't need any more rejection in her life.

He preferred not to replace out anything about her life so as not to become more emotionally involved. He needed to try to push her away as subtly as possible.

They agreed that they would go replace Rebecca for breakfast. Bernard got in the shower to take a bath and at that moment Bernadette, realizing that Bernard's cell phone was on the nightstand, was tempted to check it. She thought that if he left his cell phone there within his reach and maybe unlocked, he must have nothing to hide.

It took her a few minutes to make up her mind and she picked up the phone.

In the bathroom, Bernard knew that she might check her cell phone, so he took the time to buy a new one when he arrived to town, storing his old phone in the small safe in the bedroom closet that the hotel included in the service when he booked it.

Bernadette wanted to know exactly what the message he had received the previous afternoon said. She opened the messages section and was surprised by the fact that he only had that one message.

"Hello Bernard. The results of your last exams were not encouraging. You will need to start treatment with chemotherapy to try to stop the abnormal cells that produce the protein that forms amyloid that is affecting your organs. It is not a guarantee to heal, but I think it will at least give you a few more months. I hope that when you return from your business trip you will come immediately to my office to discuss the start date. Greetings. Dr, Christopherson." The phone number in the message was obviously unknown to Bernadette, so she did not doubt its veracity, although it seemed a bit suspicious that it was the only one Bernard had received in all that time since he arrived in Dubai. In the image gallery there was one or another photograph taken of some places and buildings in the city, such as the Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Fountain, some sectors of the shopping centers and the International Financial Center. It was understandable that the man in the shower did not have so much to photograph because of his occupation and that he had little social life, but what about the messages? Why only one? The only possible explanation was that the phone was new, as it appeared to be, but she did not think any further when she realized that the water in the shower had stopped running. She put the phone back on the table. After a few seconds Bernard came out and began to dress. "You can take a shower, too, if you want," Bernard offered.

"No, thank you. I prefer to do it in my apartment and take the opportunity to change my clothes."

"As you prefer. Shall we meet for breakfast?"

Bernadette nodded and grabbed her bag, preparing to leave.

"Please, wait for me to get dressed. I will accompany you to take a taxi."

Bernadette nodded again. While he dressed, she watched him with a slight glimmer of sadness in her eyes. Bernard did not want this wonderful girl to end up with a broken heart, as she indeed had.