My Dreamy Old Husband

Fate was unpredictable; Cooper certainly did not think that he'd have to go through a separation like this twice in this lifetime.

Cade's condition had taken a turn for the worse. There were no medical treatments or procedures that had proven effective thus far, and since GvHD was a rare disease, there was only a 0.01% risk of anyone developing it, but when they did, it was almost always fatal.

Cooper tried to comfort himself. He had money, and he would invest billions into research and development if it meant he could come up with a miracle cure.

He didn't mind investing any amount of money if it meant he could save his son.

In the meantime, Cade had arrived in Africa, whereupon he would be put to cryogenic sleep.

It was uncertain as to what lay ahead of him

No one could tell what would happen after the cryopreservation. It would be ideal if he turned out to be the second Theo Fletcher, who had been put into a thirty-year-long cryogenic sleep, thereafter resurrected once they'd achieved technological advancement. Theo was living his best life now, and he experienced no side effects following the cryopreservation.

But what was considered to be an ideal situation was now only wishful thinking.

Upon hearing the news, Sophia and Linus flew over to Africa.

They were surprised to find out that Callum and Cade were also Cooper's biological children. In retrospect, Sophia understood why she could never hate the both of them, even though they'd stolen her baby alpaca and refused to return it.

The family was now gathered in Michel Town in Africa.

Sophia, Linus, Michael, and Carmen were all there, and they'd brought Louis along with them.

This was the first time that Louis learned the truth behind Anna's past, and along with that knowledge, he learned that Anna had another set of twins—a boy and a girl. However, he also discovered that Cade was about to be put into cryogenic sleep.

Louis had further been informed that Cade’s condition was deteriorating, and it seemed that nothing could stop it from worsening. All medical treatments proved futile, and in the absence of a miracle drug, Cade didn't have much time left. Cryopreservation was the only way to buy him time while they looked for a cure.

Despair hung thick in the air as everyone staked out a spot in the treatment room.

Carmen had pulled up a seat next to the bed, and her tiny hand clasped around Cade’s big one, which had been poked through with needles. “I'm here to tell you that you're qualified to become my uncle, and you will be my Uncle Cade from now onward. Promise me you'll spoil me and go on “Let's Go, Uncle!” with me,” she said before she turned around and glanced at Callum briefly. “Uncle Callum has promised me, so now, it's your turn.”

Cade nodded weakly. Over the course of a few days, he'd lost a significant amount of weight, and there was a green tinge to his skin. The disease was at its worst now, and the gunshot wound that Cade had sustained previously was now infected.

It had only been a couple of days, but it was as though a skyscraper had come crashing down without warning, and no one saw it coming.

“I'll go on the show with you when I recover.” Cade promised in a labored voice. He sounded as if he barely had enough breath in him.

“Pinky swear!” Carmen reached out and wrapped her pinky around Cade’s, her little face looking solemn, as if she was signing a very important contract. “Pinky swear. No going back.”

Cade recited the words as he gazed at Carmen lovingly.

Later, Michael brought Carmen out of the room after she'd given her Uncle Cade a hug.

She was still far too young to learn about life and death.

Before Michael left the room, he cast a glance toward Cade.

There was a deep sadness in Cade’s eyes. He was still so young, in his mid twenties. He had yet to settle down with a family of his own, and he had so many more milestones to achieve in his career. All it took was an accident to rip all of these possibilities away from him.

He had so many sentiments toward the world and his family. He didn’t want to die—he wanted to live, but he was only too aware of the fickleness of mortality.

After Michael had left with Carmen, Sophia sidled up to the bed where Carmen had sat and began talking to Cade.

It had been a while since Sophia found out that the Yard twins were her brothers, but what she didn’t know was that she shared the same pair of biological parents with them, too.

“Sophia,” Cade called out. He was so weakened by the disease that he barely had enough strength to lift his hand. Sophia wrapped her hand around his, surprised to find that he had lost so much weight. It hadn't been that long since they last saw each other, but Sophia could feel his bones through the thin layer of skin. At this, she felt as if she'd been gutted.

She nodded with tears in her eyes, saying, “I'm here.”

Cade gazed at her with fondness and teased weakly, “I'll give you back the alpaca I stole.”

Sophia's tears streamed past her cheekbones, and she choked as she spoke. “You don't have to. You can keep the alpaca. It's a gift.”

She thought back to the time when she first met the twins. They shone so brightly then—a painfully stark contrast to how they were presently.

Cade then turned his eyes to Linus and called out, “Linus.”

Linus nodded in acknowledgment as tears filled his eyes. It turned out that they'd been brothers all along; it was no wonder that he had never been able to dislike the twins, and he had always felt drawn to them even back when he thought of them as Jordan's kids.

“Callum,” Cade called out now as his gaze fell upon his twin.

Callum was his twin brother, and he felt what Cade felt. The pain and desperation that overcame him were those of Cade’s as well. He nodded in response, unable to say anything coherent as he sobbed silently.

Finally, Cade turned to look at Anna and Cooper. “Mom, Dad...” he called out.

Cooper walked over to the bedside and gently took Cade’s hand in his. “My boy, don't be afraid. You'll make it. I won't give up on you.” He promised.

This was more than enough to put a smile on Cade’s face.

Cooper's throat tightened. Cade had become so weak that even when he mustered all his strength to hold Cooper's hand, the latter still felt nothing.

Tears were streaming down from the corners of Cade’s eyes as he lay in bed, and as Anna wiped her son's tears away, she felt as though someone had stabbed through her heart with a knife. She put up a brave front nonetheless, for she had to remain strong.

“Dad, Mom, Sophia, Linus, Callum, Grandpa...” Cade uttered as he looked at every single one of them and managed a weak smile. “Promise me that you'll all still be here when I wake up, okay?” At last, Cade was transferred into the cryogenic chamber. Anaesthesia was used to put Cade into a deep sleep, followed by a special preservation procedure. The procedure would put a halt to his heartbeat, and the blood would stop circulating in his body. He would be cryogenically suspended, but he would not die.

By the end of it all, Cade was successfully cryopreserved. The thought of this was heart-wrenching. Presently, Sophia sat with her brothers, all of them looking mournful, while Anna and Cooper went to find out if there had been any breakthrough with the cure.

Theo had shown up as well, and was now carrying Carmen on his hip as he conversed with Louis. Louis had only just discovered the things that Anna had had to go through since her arrival at Johnson Family Village. Much to his surprise, Linus and Sophia turned out to be Anna’s descendants; he was even more surprised to learn that Theo was still alive.

Years ago, Louis visited Elizabeth, whereupon he met Theo for the first time. He was in his thirties, and decades had passed since then, but Theo still looked the same. Louis, on the other hand, was sporting a head full of grey hair.

Time was a curious thing, indeed.

Louis drew a long sigh while gazing at Theo, who looked much younger than Michael. He didn't know what to say. Meanwhile, Carmen decided to call out for him sweetly. “Forefather!”

“Hello, little one,” Louis responded affectionately while holding her little hand.

Who could have thought that he and Theo would end up as in-laws? His granddaughter was married to Theo's son, which meant he was now Carmen's great-grandfather.

He mused at the fact that Michael was his grandson-in-law. Finally, his idol had become an official part of his family; this was too good to be true.

Cade's disease had brought this family together for the first time, but unfortunately, Cooper and Anna had made themselves scarce for the next couple of days.

After all, saving Cade was their first priority.

Sophia still hadn't managed to get a word in with Anna, even on the day when she and Michael were about to return to Cethos.

Having returned to Bayside City, Sophia was furious when she saw that Tiffany was still around. She was about to give the woman a piece of her mind when shocking news arrived.

"What? Jordan found out that the Yard twins are not his biological sons? And he's sent someone to go after them?”