Her Return, His Regret

Miles Kingsley gulped and buried his face in his hands as he struggled to suppress his frustration and guilt.

He reflected on how he had lived his life so far.

How did he end up being distant from his son?

When Ryan's mother was alive, they used to live as one happy family. Ryan was free and always talked to him about anything.

What led to them being this far apart and yet, they were father and son?

After hearing the news of Ryan's illness, Miles regretted a lot of things.

He should have spent more time with Ryan. Even when he become rebellious, he shouldn't have ignored him thinking he was just being a spoilt brat.

Perhaps if he did that, Ryan would have felt safe to tell him about his diagnosis.

"I'm so sorry, Ryan," Miles said, his voice hoarse as tears streamed down his cheeks. "You must have hated me all this while. Instead of being your father, I spent the rest of the time finding faults in you."

Ryan's heart clenched when he saw how his father reacted to the news. He said, "No, I'm the one who's sorry, Dad. I shouldn't have kept it to myself."

"Perhaps you kept it to yourself because you didn't have faith in me as your father," Miles replied and looked up, his eyes red. "Forgive me, son. You're my precious son and I love you... I shouldn't have acted like you were my enemy. And now... I might lose you. No parent should outlive their children. If I could trade this illness with you, I would do it in a heartbeat. Why did it have to be you? It should have been me... I've done nothing in this life as your father-"

"Dad, don't say that. You may have made some mistakes along the way but you're still my father and I love you very much. I wouldn't ask for another father... I wanted to fix things between us earlier but I didn't find the right time. It seems my illness has acted as the bridge to fix our relationship," Ryan remarked, his eyes blurring with tears.

"Son..." Miles sobbed and got to his feet, spreading his arms wide. "Come, give your old man a hug."

"What?" Ryan's eyes widened. "I'm not five, Dad."

Lora nudged Ryan in the side lightly with her elbow. She signalled to him with her eyes, telling him to hug his father.

Ryan sighed but he got up anyway. He approached Miles and the two shared a heartfelt hug.

Miles patted Ryan's back and said, "My son. My precious son. I'm sorry for being a horrible father. I hate that it took you to be sick for me to realise this. But I promise to be a better father to you and Diane from now on."

"I missed you, Dad," Ryan uttered, his sobs becoming audible.

Lora who was watching couldn't help but cry with them. It was an emotional scene.

Miles glanced at Diane and stretched his hand toward her, saying, "Come, my princess."

Diane rushed forward and joined the hug. They stayed like that for a while, crying and comforting each other.

On the side, Lora and Charles shared a look before smiling slightly. Charles especially was proud of his son, Miles Kingsley, for finally fixing his relationship with his children.

When the father and children broke away from the hug, they settled in their seats once again.

Although the atmosphere was still somber because of the bad news about Ryan, it felt like this was the beginning of them becoming a united family.

Charles Kingsley cleared his throat as he sat back heavily on the one-seat couch. His trembling hands clutched the arms of his seat as his gaze lingered on his grandson.

For the first time in decades, the strong head of the Kingsley family looked defeated.

"Ryan," he began, his voice shaky from crying. I'm sorry you had to go through the weight of your illness alone. But don't worry, we are here for you. We are your family. As a family, we fight battles together as one don't care what the doctors

say- we'll fight this together and find a solution." Content Belongs to FindNovel

"Grandpa," Ryan croaked, his eyes filling up with tears again.

"No more crying... this is not the end," Charles remarked, sniffing back his tears. "We will find a way for you to survive this."

Ryan lowered his head, trying to fight back his tears. Seeing his family look so sad made him so emotional.

Diane wiped her tears and said, "That's right. Let's not cry... Ryan, you're going to survive this. We can search for another donor internationally or try experimental treatments. There has to be something that can be done!"

"That's right! Money is not an issue

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for the Kingsleys. We can use our resources as the Kingsley family to search for a new donor... that is if none of our cells match with yours, Ryan, Miles said with a firm voice. "First thing tomorrow morning, we will all go to test if our bone marrow matches Ryan's."

"Yes, we will explore every option!" Diane stated.

Ryan's heart swelled with emotion when he saw how worried his family was. If he died that day, at least he would leave knowing he was truly loved.

He looked at them and said, "I've

already started the search for a new donor and Lora has even undergone testing to see if she's a match... know should be hopeful but I don't want to give you false hope. bet's be ready for anything-"

"We will cross that bridge when we get there," Diane intercepted. "We are not giving up and neither are you. It doesn't matter if the odds are slim, we are going to fight together until the very end." Charles nodded, saying, "I'll bring in the best doctors and specialists! We are going to defeat this illness, no matter what!"

"Yes, my son! Together, we can beat this cancer!" Miles added.

Lora and Ryan shared a look before smiling.

"See, I told you," Lora remarked. "We are family and we are all in this together. You're not alone, Mr Kingsley."

Ryan wrapped an arm around Lora and hugged her before he said, "What would I do without you? I'm so blessed."

...

The next day, everyone went to the hospital to test if they were eligible to donate stem cells to Ryan. However, Celeste, Jason and Isabella were nowhere to be seen.

Charles glanced at Miles and asked, "Didn't you tell Celeste? This is important. Where is she?"

Miles sighed as he looked around before answering, "I did... maybe she's running late."

"No, she's not!" Diane said and showed her phone screen to Miles. "That witch is having an interview to tell the whole world how her stepson has cancer! The Kingsley Group stocks are dropping... rapidly."