(A/N) Copyright © TURTUREL, 2021.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from from me, the only legal owner of this book.

Please keep in mind, that "The convenient marriage" is only lawfully published on Wattpad. If you are reading this book on any other site it is illegally published on that particular site.

Please also note that I will take legal actions against any infringement of my copyrights.

***

Life is too short to not make the best of it ... quite a famous quote.

A good quote actually, but does it apply to everyone's life?

One might think that a human lifespan of eighty, ninety or even a hundred years is quite a long one. It would be a reasonable amount of time to do whatever you have dreamed of and more, regardless of who you are.

A lifespan of fifty, sixty or seventy years is still quite sufficient to make your most fervent desires come true, regardless of where you come from.

Even a lifespan of twenty, thirty or forty years, although shorter, should still be enough to leave some meaningful and everlasting memories behind, regardless of your faith and gender.

But, in reality, as a hundred years old man or woman , when you look back down the road, you would still, perhaps, think that there were so many things that you could have done more, more precious memories to make.

Perhaps, you could have had one more time to enjoy a dance, one more hobby to take on, one more vacation with your family, one more Christmas with your loved ones fighting over warm cocoa and cookies, one more kiss to share with your chosen one, one more day in his or her company.

At the end of the day, even a hundred years, perhaps, might be too short.

So the quote above is quite useful reminding you of one of the most important gifts you can receive, an irreplaceable one ... time.

Getting the meaning of it, between working long hours and stressing jobs, at least from time to time, humans try to make the best out of their time on Earth.

But, what happens when you can't even make the best with what time you have left, when even the short time that has already passed was only lived for the sake of living.

Connected to machines for most your life, sick from the moment of your birth, abandoned by the ones who should have loved you, without even once holding your small baby body... can you still make the best of the time you have?

Can you enjoy your life, when even breathing comes with great pain, when you feel you are just a moment away from complete suffocation, if not for the machine that constantly pumps air in your tired and weak lungs?

When the IV filled with fluids are the only nutrients that can keep your body alive and running?

Can you be happy, when all you can do is stare at the care center's ceiling, listening to the small raindrops incessantly hitting the windows of your room, and think when would all these finally come to an end?

Even the books that at least offered some soothing thoughts in the past, helping you travel with your mind's eye, making you imagine a different kind of life, encouraging you to see anything but the cruel reality, no longer offer any comfort, as you no longer even have the strength to read them and no one else would bother to read them to you.

What happens when you only have a day left to live? A dark cloudy day, a day in which even the sun does not grace you with his presence, a day as cold and as lifeless as the sickly body of your being. One last single day, and even that one day you cannot make the best of.

What happens, when out of the 86400 seconds of this particular day, you are left with only 4 seconds more?

'Three!'

'Two'

'One!'

A solitary tear fell from her hazel eyes that were closing under the heaviness of her eyelids, as the heart rate machine showed only a terrifying straight line, and the previous beeping sound transformed into a single sound of death.

The clear sparkling drop of water that ran down her pale thin cheek was not for the bitterness of dying alone, not from the pain that haunted her body for so many years. No, not at all ... but only, perhaps, from the inability to at least make the most of the short time of twenty years that was reserved for her on this planet.

Life is too short to not make the best of it.

... but some cannot make the best of it, even if that is all they desire with every fiber of their being.

For some, this particular quote is only a hypocritical mocking joke.

At the same time, in another place

'Beep!'

'Beep!'

'Beep!'

The heart rate machine could be heard clearly in the deafening silence, it was a sound that showed she was still alive, a sound that should have made the husband, who was looking down at her, sigh in relief. But in reality, this particular sound had no effect on the calm looking man.

The heart rate of this man was normal, and his heart would probably still beat at a normal rate even if hers stopped. His cold handsome visage would probably not sketch the slightest of emotions, even if she drew her last breath.

A stranger looking at them, could not even tell this was her husband, if it weren't for the matching wedding band he wore on his ring finger, mirroring the one she had on hers.

He kept fidgeting around with that said ring, as though he was feeling uncomfortable wearing it, and wanted nothing more than to take it off.

'So, you are saying she is pregnant?' He coldly asked, taking his eyes from the bed and directing them towards her attending physician, without giving her another cold glance.

'Yes, she is. I know you wanted to terminate the life-support, but we ran one last check to make sure there was indeed no brain activity left.

The blood work that accompanied the last checkup showed her body is producing the HCG hormone, or commonly known as the pregnancy hormone.

We also did an ultrasound to confirm it, and she is indeed pregnant.' The doctor briefly explained. He had already started to sweat since he came in the room, but now the air became even more chilling.

To inform one of the most powerful men in the country and the owner of the hospital he was working at, of his wife's state, he felt like he was testifying in front of a judge who was moments away from sentencing him to the death penalty, should some of his words slip in any way.

'Hmmm...' was the only vague reply he got from the stern man, signifying that he was listening and that he should continue.

'We have informed your assistant first, mister Jacobs, as we were instructed before, and the gentleman told us to also run a DNA test against your blood sample from the blood bank. The DNA matches with a probability of 99,999%. You are the father, sir!' The doctor explained.

It was the first time, any problems he had with a patient were run through an assistant rather the immediate kin, but he did not dare comment on it, nor on the fact that he was asked to do a paternity test as well.

The director of the hospital, who unfortunately was away traveling and was not here to give the news himself, had previously informed him that the patient's husband would most likely never come to visit, and any problems he might have to just discuss with that person's assistant.

A few days ago, unfortunately the woman's brain waves disappeared completely and the comatose state transformed into a persistent vegetative state.

As he was ordered to, the doctor called the assistant who, after consulting with the person in front of him, informed him to cut the life-support of the patient.

As the hospital's protocol dictated one last final checkup to be done, he performed all the necessary tests, concluding with the situation they were currently in.

'Alright, I understand. How far along is the pregnancy?' The gentleman asked, still devoid of any visible emotions on his face.

'From the ultrasound, the pregnancy is estimated to be at the end of the first trimester, In months that would be three months.' The doctor said, trying to maintain his surprised state hidden. He wondered what could possibly make this cold man show some kind of emotions. He reckoned that, even if one would point a knife at his neck, his expression would not change.

Three months, the man pondered. The time matched, the last night they spent together was indeed that long ago ... what a joke.

The political marriage he had with his wife had the sole purpose of producing an heir. They had tried for three years already, with no results for all this time. He was even beginning to give up since longer than a year ago, after two years of trying. And he finally gave up, when the accident one month ago, rendered her in the current comatose state.

The most expected baby, the child that would have solidified the bonds between their families would not see the light of day. It wasn't possible for a coma patient to give birth, right?

'So what happens now? Can a coma patient give birth?' The man asked casually, but did not have any expectations for a positive solution.

'It has happened before, the patient can still successfully carry the pregnancy to term, even in her current state. The probability is not high, but it is also not zero.

The major trauma your wife suffered during the accident was at her head, specifically her brain. The rest of her body had no major problems.

If her body is cared for appropriately there is a thirty percent chance of keeping the babies.' The doctor started to explain, he was not sure of what the man intended to do with the information, but he was certain that he must share all the data he held.

'Babies?' The man asked, interrupting the doctor.

'Yes, the ultrasound showed two heartbeats and, from the information we got from the OBGYN, the babies are identical twins.'

'Gender?' The man asked summarily.

'We cannot determine it accurately at twelve weeks, but from the look of the ultrasound they should be boys.' The doctor said, finally noticing a little emotion from the man's face, even though it was only his eyebrows lowered in a frown.

'Use all the money necessary, the cost is not an issue. Keep those babies alive, doctor!' The man said, giving one final look to the woman on the bed, before walking out the door.

The doctor was stunned, he had never seen a more concise person before this man. The talk took at most 10 minutes, and the man had already decided on the next course of action. He guessed the quote he was known of saying "time means money" fitted him like a glove.

'President, your mother called while you were in the room. I have informed her you will call her back!' His assistant informed him, as he handed him his phone.

The man took the phone, while he was still walking down the hallways, and directly put it near his ear, as the assistant had already dialed the number.

The ongoing call was picked up by the other person not even 2 seconds later.

'Well, how is it?' His mother asked, without even exchanging a greeting.

'I will still keep her on life-support. There's a thirty percent chance she will be able to bring the pregnancy to a full term!' He briefly informed his mother. He was not even surprised of how she knew of the pregnancy. Who else had the authority, other than him, to make his assistant order the doctors to do a DNA test ... She was a pragmatic person, just like always.

'A boy or a girl?' His mother simply asked.

'Two boys, twins!' He answered.

'Good. Then the chances should go up a bit. Perhaps, at least one of them might survive.'

'Yes.' He calmly answered, then lowered his hand and returned the phone to his assistant, he did not have the custom of personally carrying it at work.

There was no need to check if his mother had something more to say. The conversation between them had unfolded like this since childhood. One person would ask and the other would simply inform.

That was the norm between them. In fact just now, the conversation was a bit longer than it usual was.

'What's next on the schedule?' The man asked, as they waited for the elevator.

'A meeting with mister Michaels. I have already prepared the contract, it is in the car. There should be enough time for you to read it until we reach his office. Then lunch with Mister Jones, and after ...' The assistant swiftly informed him of his schedule, as the elevator's door opened, having finally reached their floor.

The man no longer spoke, only listened to the rest of the things that were on his to do list for the day. It seemed that even coming to the hospital was one of them.

Three months later

'Sir the hospital called!' Ryan Jacobs, informed, as he briskly entered. The news he was about to give his boss, had left him stunned.

'What is it? The caesarian was scheduled one month later, as far as I remember. Did they move it up?' Asked the cold man, frowning.

The pregnancy of his wife was only at six months currently. Against all odds, the doctors did indeed manage to keep both babies alive until now. A team of doctors cared for his wife 24/7. Could something have happened to them, or his wife?

'No sir, that's not why they called ... it is because?' Ryan said, trying to catch his breath.

' Speak up, Ryan, what is it?' Asked the man again, getting impatient.

'Your wife, sir. S-she woke up!'