She knew she had no right to be depressed. Nobody had forced her into the decision she’d made. She’d gone and made that move all by herself so now she had to live with it.
But knowing it had been her call wasn’t making things any easier. She missed Max so much it hurt. Literally.
And, what made it worse, she hadn’t been honest. Not with Max and not even with her sister. She’d told Max she didn’t love him and nothing could have been further from the truth. And Suave, even when she’d practically gone into shock when Silken had told her the wedding was off, she’d simply told her they’d had an irreconcilable fight and that they’d both agreed to go their separate ways. She could never let her sister know the real reason for the cancellation of her wedding plans.
That evening when Silken saw Suave laying out her supplements on the kitchen table, her face glowing with excitement, she knew that the sacrifice had been worth it. She had stayed by her sister’s side during the worst period of her life, when she’d been numb, unbalanced and mentally confused. Now it looked like she was on the road to recovery and Silken could not have asked for a better blessing.
After that, life took a turn for the better for Silken and Suave. The low fat diet that Suave was following made her so vibrant, energetic and upbeat that Silken decided to try it herself. She was pleasantly surprised to find that she was sleeping better and feeling generally in a much better mood. Things were not perfect, by any means, but her outlook on life had shifted from depression to a generally more positive outlook.
And then, as if this was their time for a miracle, Suave got the best news of her life. She’d gone for her regular visit with her GP that afternoon and even before she returned to office she called Silken, so excited she was stuttering.
“I can’t believe it,” she shouted into the phone. “The latest test results came back and the lesions on my brain, they're gone.”
She’d rushed back and burst in through the office door. Silken was waiting for her and as soon as she stepped in she ran to meet her.
“What were you telling me on the phone?” she asked, her eyes searching Suave’s. “You’re healed?”
“No, not healed,” Suave said, laughing almost hysterically. “Even better. It looks like I never had MS in the first place.”
That stopped Silken in her tracks. She stepped back and stared at Suave’s flushed face. Was she sick again? Was she hallucinating this time? “Uhm, are you sure you know what you’re talking about, Suave?” She took her by the hand and led her over to her desk. “I think you’d better sit down.” She pushed her down onto the office chair then placed a hand on her sister’s forehead. “You’re not having a fever, are you?”
“Silken, will you stop being such a mother hen?” Suave laughed and pushed her hand away. “Just shut up and listen, will you?”
Silken did as she was ordered. She pulled up a chair across from Suave and listened open-mouthed as her sister explained what had happened.
“A misdiagnosis,” she said triumphantly. “That’s what it was. I didn’t have MS. I was deficient in vitamin B12.”
Slowly, Silken shook her head. “But that makes no sense. What about the symptoms? Weren’t those signs of MS?”
“As it so happens, the symptoms of MS and vitamin B12 deficiency are very similar, right down to the lesions on the brain.” Suave pushed forward in the chair and leaned toward Silken. “Do you know how they figured out they’d made a mistake? My last MRI on the brain. Not a single lesion to be found.”
Silken gasped. “But how is that possible? You can’t reverse these things, can you?” She held her breath, hoping against hope that the answer was yes, that Suave would make her question totally irrelevant.
"Apparently you can. In my case, anyway.” Suave grabbed her purse from where it perched beside her on the chair and dumped its contents on top of the desk. “Remember these pills I started taking after I read the book?” She slid a bottle across the table.
Silken picked it up and read the label. “Vitamin B12. So?”
“So that was the answer. Don’t you see? I reversed my deficiency in that vitamin so my symptoms began to disappear.”
Silken lifted her eyes from the bottle in her hand. "And so did the lesions?”
“And so did the lesions.” Suave was positively glowing now. “And the good thing is, I can figure out why I was deficient in the first place. I cut red meat out of my diet a long time ago but apparently it’s an excellent source of B12. My diet was almost like a vegetarian’s and they’re normally advised to take B12 supplements. I hadn’t even realized that until I started my research.”
Silken’s heart was beginning to do a happy dance inside her chest but she had to rein it in. Before she started celebrating she needed to know for sure.
“So you’re cured?”
Suave shook her head. “I don’t want to say that yet. They’re going to run some more tests just to confirm the results but it sure looks hopeful.” Then she drew in her breath and let it out on a sigh. “But I’m a happy camper right now, you can trust me on that.”
Then, before Silken could move, she hopped out of the chair, grabbed her purse and headed for the door. “I’ll soon be back,” she said. “I have to go share the good news.”
“Hey, where’re you going?” Silken yelled after her. She was getting up to follow her but Suave was already through the door.
Just before it slammed shut behind her, she yelled over her shoulder, “I’ve got to go tell Duke.”
Silken sank back down, a frown of confusion knitting her brow. What in the world did Duke Davidoff have to do with any of this?
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Champagne glass in hand, Max couldn’t help but shake his head and smile. It wasn’t a bitter smile, by any means. He was more than happy for his brother. But it was partly a smile of regret for what he’d almost had and had lost. And now his brother had found that happiness he’d craved and Max wouldn’t have wished it on a better person.