Chapter Text
For Colin Bridgerton, life was perfect. He firmly believed that destiny and luck were his best friends. He enjoyed the unconditional love of his parents, the unbreakable complicity of his seven siblings, and the chaos of all his nephews and nieces, who had arrived to make his existence much more fun. He had his lifelong best friend and had even found the "love of his life." Even his career as an influencer was at its peak. His life was a puzzle where not a single piece was missing; everything fit with a precision that, had he thought about it properly, was actually alarming.
That was why, when he went for that routine checkup, he felt no fear. To him, hospitals were just places people passed through. He had never suffered injuries that required hospitalization, nor an accident that forced him to stay for more than half an hour; not even on the day he was born did he spend the night at the clinic. He had always been a healthy person.
So, when the phone rang that morning and the neutral voice on the other end indicated that he should come in to "talk personally about the results of the studies," he didn't flinch. His only concern was the time he would lose in traffic only for them to tell him, at the end of the day, that he enjoyed incredible health and could return home in peace.
Before entering Doctor Henry's office, he received a call from his fiancée. She was anxious about the dinner that night: the event where they would officially announce their engagement to both families.
"Hello, fiancé," was the first thing he heard when he answered.
"Hello, fiancée," he replied with a smile that betrayed his happiness. "Are you at the venue yet?"
"Of course I am!" she answered excitedly. "It’s not every day you organize a dinner to announce you’re getting married."
"I should hope not," he laughed. "I’m anxious to see you and to give everyone the great news."
"I can’t wait for the world to know I’ll be Mrs. Colin Bridgerton, either," she said dreamily.
"But wait, how did it go with the medical results?"
"I’m waiting for them to call me," he admitted reluctantly. "I don’t even know why I came. All those studies will say is that I’m perfectly healthy."
"I wouldn’t say 'perfectly'... you’ve been very tired these past few days," she teased him.
"Age is already taking its toll on you."
"Age? I’m barely twenty-five years old and I’m overflowing with health," Colin replied with feigned offense. "The fatigue is just from the excitement of the news."
"If you say so... old man," she said, faking a cough. "Let me know when you get home. I love you."
"I love you too," he answered before hanging up.
At that precise moment, he heard his name. It was time to go in.
Doctor Henry did not greet him with his usual smile. He didn't even look up from the folder upon seeing him enter, and that was the first sign that something was wrong. The silence in the room became dense, charged with a weight that Colin did not yet understand.
"Please, take a seat, Mr. Bridgerton," the doctor said, pointing to the chair in front of him with a distant courtesy that didn't feel familiar.
Colin sat down, fiddling with his car keys.
"I hope this is quick, doctor. I have to get home soon to organize the final details of a very important dinner."
The doctor finally looked at him. There was no trace of warmth on his face, only a professional compassion that made Colin’s blood run cold.
"I’m afraid the dinner will have to wait... The blood tests and the CT scan show abnormal activity in your mediastinal lymph nodes," he explained seriously. "Colin, the biopsy results confirm that you have Stage IIB Hodgkin’s Lymphoma."
The sentence hit Colin like a physical impact, leaving him breathless.
"Lymphoma what?" The question left his lips as a broken whisper. "What is that? What are you talking about?"
"In short... you have cancer, Colin," the doctor confessed, his face clouded with pity.
"Cancer? There must be a mistake. I... I feel fine. I’m just a little tired," he stammered, incredulous.
"That fatigue is the symptom, not work exhaustion," the doctor explained, pulling an X-ray closer. "There is a mass in your chest that is pressing against your lungs. It is aggressive, but treatable. We need to start the first cycle of chemotherapy as soon as possible."
Colin stopped listening. The world he thought was shielded shattered in a second. The future was no longer a wedding, or trips, or perfect photos; the future was reduced to a bag of chemicals running through his veins and the devastated look on his mother’s face, which he could already imagine.
The way home felt different. He should have returned with his mind fixed on that night’s dinner; he should have bought flowers for Marina and been waiting for her to shower her with praise as soon as she arrived from the venue. They should have been preparing everything amidst laughter, nerves, and the happiness of a bright future. But now, that future felt distant, almost impossible.
As soon as he arrived, he took refuge in his room. He needed to think about how to tell Marina, his mother, and—damn it—his siblings and nephews. He didn't want to be dramatic, but the reality was crushing: his life would never be the same. He knew that as soon as the first chemical from the chemotherapy entered his body, the Colin everyone knew would disappear.
He was so deep in thought that he didn't hear the engine of Marina’s car. Only when the echo of the front door opening traveled through the house did he notice her arrival.
He went downstairs immediately and there he saw her. She looked splendid; she radiated a happiness so pure that it illuminated the entire entrance. Seeing her like that, Colin felt a knot in his throat. He didn't know how he was going to be able to release the words that, in a second, would snatch that smile away and change their lives forever.
"Baby," Marina exclaimed as soon as she saw him, approaching to wrap her arms around his neck and give him a kiss. "I missed you so much."
"You look radiant," Colin replied, trying to keep his voice from wavering. "Did you have a good time at the venue?"
"Of course I did. I needed to clear my head for a bit and calm my nerves," she said, taking refuge in his embrace.
Marina began to prattle on about the details of her day, but Colin could barely process her words. In his mind, only the news he still didn't dare to release echoed. She, who knew him better than anyone, didn't take long to notice that the usual sparkle in her fiancé's eyes had gone out.
"Colin... you're too quiet. What's wrong?" she asked curiously, pulling back a little to look him in the face.
"I have something to tell you..." he managed to articulate.
"Is it about the medical results?" Marina's curiosity instantly transformed into a sharp worry.
"Yes..." Colin took a breath, feeling the words burn his throat. "The doctor told me I have cancer."
"No..." Marina whispered, taking a step back as the blood drained from her face. "It can't be. You... you're the healthiest person I know. This can't be true."
"But it is. And I have to start chemotherapy as soon as possible," he added, his eyes fixed on the floor, unable to bear the weight of the pain.
Marina remained silent for a second, processing the impact, but then she approached with determination. She took his face in her hands, forcing him to meet her gaze.
"Listen to me carefully," she said with a firm voice, although her eyes were beginning to glisten. "We will overcome this. I am not going to leave you alone; we will go through this together."
"I love you," Colin whispered, leaning his forehead against hers, feeling that for the first time that day he could breathe a little.
"And I love you," she replied, wiping away a treacherous tear. "What will we do about the dinner tonight?"
Colin remained silent for a moment, thinking of their families waiting for a celebration.
"It is happy news. We can't let it be eclipsed by this," he decided. "Let's wait a few days. Then we'll tell everyone."
And so they did. They dined surrounded by family and friends, announcing their engagement amidst toasts and congratulations. When the inevitable question about the date arose, the answers were evasive; Colin would start chemotherapy as soon as possible and uncertainty dominated the calendar. They limited themselves to smiling, ensuring they wanted to take things slow and enjoy every stage. Colin and Marina made a titanic effort to fake normalcy, but Phillip—his best friend and his sister Eloise's boyfriend—noticed a crack in the facade. In a moment of general distraction, he pulled Colin aside to speak privately.
"All right, tell me the truth," Phillip snapped firmly, getting straight to the point. "What is really going on?"
"What are you talking about?" Colin asked, trying to dodge him to return to the warmth of the party.
"I've been your best friend for years, Colin. I know you like the back of my hand," Phillip insisted, blocking his path. "I know something is happening. You and Marina... you look satisfied with the news, but you don't look genuinely happy. There's something forced in your smiles."
"You're paranoid," Colin replied, avoiding his gaze. "Let's go back inside and celebrate my engagement."
"Is it about Marina? Is she forcing you to do this?"
"This is where I ask you to stop," Colin cut him off, his tone icy. "I know she is not to your liking, but she is the woman I love and the one I chose to spend the rest of my life with."
"Something is happening and you refuse to tell me. And yes, you know I’ve never liked her, not after what happened with George..."
"Enough!" Colin shouted at him, losing his composure for a second. "That happened years ago and it’s already part of the past. George was your brother and I respect him, but I am your best friend and I demand that you respect me."
"I’m sorry..." Phillip murmured, regretful for having touched such a sensitive nerve. "But I insist, I know there is something you’re not telling me. What is it, Colin?"
"Phillip, I..." he began to say, his voice cracking, just before being interrupted.
"What's going on here?" Eloise asked, appearing with a glass in her hand and a vibrant laugh. "Anthony has already taken over the karaoke and is looking for you guys to butcher a Backstreet Boys song. Is everything okay?"
"Eloise..." Phillip tried to speak, but Colin was faster.
"Everything is perfect. We're coming in, make sure Anthony doesn't start without us," Colin said, forcing a lightness he didn't feel.
Eloise nodded, turning around to return to the hall. Colin prepared to follow her, but Phillip's hand on his shoulder stopped him for a second longer.
"This conversation isn't over," he warned in a whisper.
Colin only nodded with a solemn gesture.
Upon entering, he saw Marina waiting for him and his older brother doing a mediocre imitation of Nick Carter. He scanned the room, observing the laughter of his family and that of his fiancée, and he couldn't help the knot in his throat thinking about how the news of his illness would blow everything up. The only thing he could do was close his eyes for a moment and try to treasure that last trace of happiness before the bomb exploded.