Chapter 4

I asked her to come with me to the hospital for my test results.

She replied with one word.

[Okay.]

But at seven the next morning, another message came in.

[Last-minute business trip. I'll be back the day after tomorrow. If you're not feeling well, have the driver take you. Love you, Natalie.]

I called her.

Her phone was off.

So I called the company's front desk.

The receptionist said Natalie wasn't scheduled to leave on any business trips that day.

I took a cab to the hospital alone.

In the hallway, one wife straightened her husband's scarf.

Another helped her husband walk.

And me?

I was by myself.

The doctor said there was a tumor in my stomach.

They needed a biopsy as soon as possible.

"Is your family here?"

"I'll sign the paperwork myself."

The doctor looked at me.

"Where's your wife?"

"On a business trip."

She didn't ask anything else.

While I waited for the results, I found one of Ryan's posts.

A photo collage of an ocean sunset.

The caption read:

[Someone said the ocean is the best cure for stress. Got dragged here today. Having a great boss really hits different.]

In the bottom-right corner of the last photo was a woman's hand.

A ring sat on her left ring finger.

It matched the one on mine.

Around ten that night, the pain in my stomach became unbearable.

I took a cab to the ER alone.

A nurse rushed me into the operating room.

"The tumor ruptured. You're bleeding internally," the doctor said. "We need to operate right now."

"Has your family arrived?"

"I'll sign."

The surgery was over by three in the morning.

I sat alone in the hallway, calling Natalie again and again.

Her phone stayed off.

In the end, I sent a text.

[Natalie, something happened. Please come back.]

She didn't call until the next afternoon.

I could hear waves and a car engine in the background.

"I just got off the plane. What happened?"

I swallowed the pain.

"It's already taken care of."

"Good. I'll be home tonight. I'll bring you some seafood."

Natalie came home that evening.

I sat alone on the couch in the dark.

"Why didn't you turn on the lights?"

She dropped a bag of seafood on the dining table like it was nothing.

"Got you seafood for tomorrow."

I didn't answer.

She came over and sat beside me.

When she saw how pale I was, she reached for my forehead.

I leaned away.

"I have something to tell you. They found—"

Her phone rang.

Ryan's ringtone.

She glanced at the screen.

I knew that look too well.

She lifted a hand, telling me to wait.

Then she answered right away. "What's wrong?"

His voice was low, but I was close enough to hear every word.

"Natalie... I think I have a fever. I feel weak. Could you..."

"Did you check your temperature? How high?"

"One-oh-one point three."

She stood and headed for the door.

"Wait for me. I'll be right there."

Halfway there, she finally remembered I was still in the room.

"Jake, Ryan has a fever. He's home alone. No one's there to take care of him. I'm going to check on him. I'll be back soon. We can talk later."

The words I wanted to say died in my throat.

I listened to her footsteps fade toward the elevator.

The apartment went quiet.

The bag of seafood still sat on the table.

Whatever I had left for her was gone.

***

Third-Person POV

The next morning, Natalie rushed home.

A weird, uneasy feeling sat heavy in her chest.

The second she opened the door, her eyes locked on the surgical consent form on the coffee table.

She froze.