Chapter One

Jeff Hardy picked up a car magazine, then impatiently slammed it back down onto the glass coffee table after five minutes of half-heartedly leafing through the glossy pages. He groaned as he ran a hand through his longish hair, then shifted over in his seat to get a better view through the halfway opened door of the doctor's office. Specifically, at the petite, curvaceous brunette who was sitting on a rather uncomfortable-looking chair and listening intently to what her doctor had to say. Not that Jeff was purposefully trying to eavesdrop on their conversation, mind you. He already knew--and dreaded--what the doctor was going to say. Six months at the most, Jeff remembered, grudgingly calling up the memory of the doctor's devastating words, as U2's hit single Beautiful Day played melodically on the radio in the background. Beautiful Day, indeed, Jeff thought bitterly to himself, before randomly selecting an issue of Sports Illustrated and reluctantly resuming his wait outside the office.

Nora Greenwald sat woodenly on the cold, hard-back chair, frozen with shock. In front of her, the sympathetic doctor was saying something, but his words fell upon a pair of deaf ears, as Nora unwittingly tuned out his voice. Six months at the most. The news, repeating over and over in her numbed mind, felt like a cruel slap to the face. Six months at the most...six months at the most...six months at the most...at the most...at the most...Nora's slim hand came across the diamond engagement ring that so promisingly adorned her finger, and her numbing shock abruptly turned to anger. How could God do this to me?! her mind screamed despairingly. I have so much to live for! I can't die now! I won't!
"Miss Greenwald?" The doctor's concerned words broke sharply through her wall of anger and despair, as he looked worriedly at his patient. "Miss Greenwald? Are you all right?" His words seemed to snap Nora out of her trance, as, cornflower-blue eyes flashing as fiery as the rage she currently felt, she lashed out violently.
"Bastard! First you tell me that I'm going to die on the day my wedding's supposed to take place, now you ask me if I'm all right?!" Her normally sweet voice had taken on a venomous edge. "Oh, I'm just fine and dandy! Why wouldn't I be?" Her doctor was taken aback by the arsenal of bitingly sarcastic words. He had been expecting anything from anger to despair, but certainly not such dark hatred--which seemed so genuine it was downright frightening--directed at him. He reached forward, trying to console his patient.
"Miss Greenwald, you have a right to be upset..." And he reached out and tried to take her hand. Nora recoiled violently, as though she had been burned, before winding up and slapping him so hard, a painful red welt would surely adorn his face for the rest of the week.
"Don't you dare touch me, you lying S.O.B.!" she hissed venomously, angry tears threatening to spill over. Her doctor was taken aback at being struck so violently by such a tiny, delicate creature--the sweetly beautiful Nora Greenwald barely stood at a couple of inches above five feet--and one hand automatically reached up to his injured cheek, gingerly feeling the tender red mark slashed across it.
"Miss Greenwald--" the doctor started to say, but Nora didn't bother to stay long enough to hear the rest of his sentence as she flew out of his office, leaving him staring in both surprise and concern after her.

Jeff looked up, startled, as Nora stormed out of the doctor's office, and hurriedly placed down the old sports magazine he had been listlessly perusing. He quickly got out of his seat, intending to console the petite brunette, but one look at her face and all words of comfort flew out of his brain, and Jeff just stood there, looking both awkward and ill at ease.
"So...I guess you found out about the...um, about the...you know..." he finally stammered intelligently. Nora shot him a disgusted look, before impatiently pushing past him and heading toward the parking lot.
"Nora..." Jeff hurried to chase after his fiancée.

Nora emerged from the tall, white hospital building, walking stoically toward her car, her heels clicking hollowly on the concrete. Soon afterwards, Jeff burst out of the hospital, sprinting to catch up to the petite brunette.
"Nora, come on!" he called out, but Nora pointedly ignored him and instead increased her speed, jogging over to her silver Volvo and getting into the driver's seat. She slammed the door shut just as Jeff approached the car, and twisted the key in the ignition. Jeff wasn't ready to quit, though, as he hurriedly circled over to the driver's side and tapped urgently on the tinted window.
"Come on, Nora, open up!" he pleaded, his voice coming across as a muffled squeak through the dark glass. Nora ignored her fiancé's attempts at an explanation as to why he had been withholding the particular news from her, and instead steadily backed out of her parking space. Jeff finally gave up, and leaned back, watching in concern as Nora pulled out of the parking lot at a dangerously high speed, tires screeching as they ground against the cement.