Ten Days to Goodbye

Tears streamed down Finley Morton's face. Grief and shock poured from his eyes as he kept murmuring under his breath, "How could this happen?"

I couldn't answer him because I didn't know either.

All I could say was, "You won't be happy if you marry her, Finley. Promise me you won't."

He wiped away his tears and looked at me with bloodshot eyes.

"But she's not with me right now. She went to Redstone County to ask a reclusive miracle doctor to treat my legs."

I froze.

Right.

I'd almost forgotten.

Back then, a racing accident had crushed both of my legs so badly that I could barely stand.

Claire suffered even more than I did. She stayed by my bedside night after night, changing my bandages and massaging my legs until dawn.

Then, by chance, we heard about a reclusive miracle doctor living in Redstone County who might be able to help me.

Without a second thought, she left to find him.

She waited outside his cabin for three days without food or water. By the time he finally agreed to see her, her calves were swollen so badly she could barely stand.

That's how she convinced Dr. Hugo Castro to save my legs.

But now… I couldn't help reaching down to touch them. My legs had healed, but our marriage hadn't.

The cruelest part was yet to come.

"Do you know who the man downstairs is? The one named Kenneth Hale?"

He shook his head, his eyes red and swollen.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips. "He's Dr. Castro's grandson."

He stopped breathing. A broken sob escaped him. "So... Claire... fell in love with someone else while she was trying to save me?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. Maybe it wasn't love back then. They didn't reconnect until two years ago... five years after where you are now."

Silence settled between us.

Just then, the electronic lock at my front door beeped.

Instinctively, I hid my phone behind my back.

Claire looked over. Her gaze lingered on my awkward movement, but she didn't ask about it. The corners of her eyes were red, and exhaustion clung to her whole body.

"Happy now?" A mocking smile curved across her lips. "I sent him away."

I looked at her expressionlessly.

Behind my back, my fingernails dug so deeply into my palm they hurt.

"Happy… Claire, is this marriage only my responsibility? Am I the only one who's supposed to fight for it?"

She yanked off her tie and tossed it onto the couch. "Stop being ridiculous."

With that, she brushed past me and headed for the bathroom, slamming the door hard enough to shake the walls.

I stood there, frozen.

A long time passed before I finally lowered my head and took my phone back out.

The younger Finley was crying uncontrollably. "That's not the Claire I know... it can't be..."

I couldn't cry. I wanted to let everything out, but no matter how many times I blinked, not a single tear fell. My eyes were so dry they stung.

"People change."

I picked up my luggage and was about to leave when thunder cracked overhead, and rain came pouring down.

A notification flashed across my screen. My flight had been canceled.

I let out a weary sigh. Looks like I wasn't leaving tonight after all. Resigned, I carried my suitcase into the guest bedroom.

"You... you've been sleeping in separate rooms?" he asked quietly.

My hands froze for a moment before I forced down the bitterness in my chest. "Yeah. It's been almost a year."

He broke down crying again. "But at this point... Claire couldn't even fall asleep unless she was holding me..."

My gaze faltered.

It had been so long that I'd almost forgotten. Claire used to struggle with severe insomnia. The only place she could sleep peacefully was beside me. We were never apart.

I spoke softly, "She's found someone else who helps her sleep now. Kenneth's an exceptional doctor."

A long silence followed.

Finally, the younger Finley looked up at me through reddened eyes. "Three days. Claire will be back in three days. Give me those three days so I can finally give up."

I nodded. "Okay."