He took a deep breath.
“I’ve been diagnosed with something,” he finally said, his voice so quiet I almost didn’t hear him. “It’s… it’s not good, Lacy.”
My heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?
What’s wrong?”
Damien looked up at me, his eyes filled with tears. “It’s cancer,” he said, his voice cracking. “Terminal.
The doctors gave me six months, maybe less.”
I felt like the floor had just fallen out from under me. The room spun, and I had to grab the edge of the table to steady myself. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered, my voice breaking.
“Why did you try to hide this from me?”
He stretched out and took my hand, his grip feeble and quivering. “Because I didn’t want you to go through this,” he explained, tears running down his cheeks. “I didn’t want you to have to watch my passing.
I thought… I figured if I simply kept it to myself, it would be simpler for you.
Easier?” I repeated, my voice rising in disbelief. “How could you think that shutting me out would make this easier?
We’re supposed to be a team, Damien. We’re supposed to face things together. You can’t just decide to go through this alone.”
“I know,” he whispered, his voice filled with regret.
“I know, and I’m so sorry, my love. I was scared. I didn’t want you to see me like this, weak and broken.
I thought I could protect you, but all I did was hurt you.”
I grabbed him and pulled him in for a tight hug, fighting back tears that threatened to spill over.
“You don’t need to shelter me from this, darling. I am your wife. I want to be there for you regardless of what happens.
Let’s confront this together, okay? “No more secrets.”
He nodded and hugged me back, his eyes full of thanks and sadness. “I don’t deserve you, Lacy,” he said softly, his voice strangled with emotion.
“But I’m so glad I have you.”
We hugged each other for a long time, grieving over everything we were going to lose. I knew the path ahead would be extremely difficult, but I also knew we’d face it together. After then, I couldn’t stop thinking about all the time we’d wasted, all the moments we could have had together if he’d just given me the truth.
But I understood that obsessing on it would not change anything. What mattered now was that we were in it together. We went on walks in the park, had movie nights at home, and even started working on a bucket list of things we wanted to do together before it was too late!
One day, as we sat on the porch, watching the sunset, my husband turned to me with a sad smile. “I wish I had told you sooner, Lacy,” he said sadly. “I’ve wasted so much time hiding from you, from us.”
I shook my head and squeezed his hand.
“Don’t think about it now, sweetie. We are here together, and that is all that matters. We can’t undo the past, but we can make the most of what time we have left.”
He nodded, his eyes welling with tears.
“I don’t want to leave you,” he said softly, his voice breaking. “But I am grateful for the time we have enjoyed. You’ve made the past few months pleasant, my rabbit.
I’m not sure how I would have done it without you.”
My eyes welled up with tears as I leaned in to rest my head on his shoulder.
“My angel, you don’t have to do anything alone anymore. “I’m with you every step of the way.”
We sat there, wrapped in one other’s arms, as the sun fell below the horizon. At that point, I realized something significant.
I had set out to catch Damien in a betrayal, believing that he was keeping something dreadful from me. And, while I had discovered something even more tragic, it had also brought us closer than we had been in years. For however long we had left, we would face it together, side by side, as we always should have.
While Damien did not fraud, Ryan’s wife believes he is cheating after discovering incriminating evidence in their bedroom. The evidence led her down a rabbit hole, and she realized she couldn’t trust him anymore. Her concerns were realized when she discovered evidence of his infidelity in his car.
Her retaliation was both sweet and fast!
