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HE sat up, now seated across from her. His face showed that concern. What about Leonard now? He needed to be sure what he heard.

“About who?” his voice cut through the silence of the bedroom, his tone carrying both worry and irritation.

“Leonard,” she repeated, softer this time, her gaze dropping to her lap as though saying his name was heavy.

Adrian leaned back against a pillow. He could already feel where this conversation was headed. 

“What about Leonard?”

“Talk to him,” Amelia said, her voice barely above a whisper now.

Adrian gave a short laugh that lacked humor. 

“Why should I talk to him?”

Her eyes shot up. 

“Because you are his friend! Who else do you expect to do it?”

The irritation in her tone made Adrian rub his forehead. 

“Amelia…”

“No, Adrian, listen.” She leaned forward, her hands clasped tightly together. “Clara spends virtually all her days at the hospital. Do you know what that means? The doctor’s office has practically become her second home. Every week, she is in and out of there, treating different kinds of infections. Different kinds, Adrian. And you want me to stay quiet? She is my best friend.”

Adrian set the glass down on the table with a soft thud. 

“You make it sound like it is my responsibility.”

“Well, isn’t it?” Amelia’s eyes shone with frustration. “You and Leonard sit together, drink together, joke together. You share laughs and have good times outside of work and family. But while all that is happening, Clara spends her days in the hospital, suffering silently. This isn’t right, Adrian. It isn’t fair.”

Adrian sighed, a long, heavy breath that filled the space between them. He could see the genuine concern etched across his wife’s face, the way her brows knitted together and her lips trembled with restrained emotion. Still, he shook his head slowly.

“Leonard is a grown man, baby. An adult. I don’t think barging into his marriage is a good idea. What do you expect me to say… ‘Leonard, stop hurting your wife’? Do you think he will listen? Or even thank me?”

Amelia frowned. 

“So you will do nothing? Just sit back and watch Clara fall apart piece by piece?”

“Don’t twist my words,” Adrian countered firmly, though his voice remained calm. “I’m not saying I don’t care. But marriage… marriage is delicate. It is between them, not us. If I meddle, it could make things worse.”

“But he is your friend,” she pressed.

“And that is exactly why I can’t,” Adrian replied. He shifted uncomfortably, tapping his fingers against his knee. “Sometimes friendship means staying out of places you have no business in. If I confront Leonard about this, I risk our friendship. And if I lose that, what good will I be to anyone?”

Amelia exhaled sharply and sank back into the bed.

“You men are all the same. Protecting each other while women like Clara carry burdens they never should.”

“That is not fair,” Adrian said, his tone more defensive now. “You think it is easy for me to ignore this? I see it too, Amelia. I see Clara’s pale face, the way she drags herself home after another hospital visit. I see her exhaustion. Do you think I don’t feel something? But feelings don’t solve problems.”

“Then do something!” Amelia’s voice rose, then cracked as she lowered it again. “Adrian, she is my friend. My sister, almost. And I can’t stand to see her suffer like this.”

Adrian leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. His eyes softened as he looked at her. 

“I know you care. I know you want to help. But sometimes trying to help makes things worse. If Clara hasn’t spoken up about it herself, maybe she doesn’t want anyone to.”

Amelia’s lips quivered. 

“Or maybe she is too ashamed. Too scared. Is that what you think now?” she asked rhetorically.

The room fell silent after that, broken only by the faint hum of the standing fan next to her. Adrian reached for his phone, more to keep his hands busy than to scroll through. He hated seeing his wife this distressed. But he also knew there was no easy way to solve this without stepping into a minefield.

“Look,” he said gently. “I will… I will keep an eye on Leonard. If I see an opening, a moment when it feels right, then I will talk to him. But not like this. Not when it could explode in our faces.”

Amelia studied him for a long moment, her shoulders slumping as though weighed down by helplessness. She finally gave a small shrug. 

“I have tried my best,” she whispered.

Adrian nodded, though the guilt lingered in his chest. He had stopped the conversation, but he hadn’t stopped the storm swirling in his wife’s heart.

And deep down, he knew this wasn’t the end of it.

***

A few hours before nightfall, Claire visited. Adrian was already out for his usual hangout with the boys, over drinks and talks. So Claire had met only Amelia. She was seated on the couch in the livingroom and looking at the ongoing play on the TV, but her mind wasn't really there.

“You look like someone carrying the weight of the whole world,” Claire teased lightly, though her voice carried concern. She sank into the couch. 

Amelia turned and saw her. She sighed.

“It is Clara again. She has been treating infection after infection. I’m worried, Claire… I don’t think it is normal. I know Leonard is to blame, but Adrian won’t even try talking to him.”

Claire tilted her head. 

“You are sure it is Leonard? That is a heavy accusation, Amy.”

“I know what I’m saying. Clara doesn’t deserve this. If he is careless, if he is… doing something outside their marriage, then she is the one suffering for it.” Amelia’s voice shook.

Claire tapped her fingers against her purse, her expression unreadable. She stayed quiet for a long moment, then finally said, 

“What if Clara already knows the truth, Amelia? What if she is keeping something from you?”

Amelia frowned. 

“What are you talking about?”

Before Claire could answer, her phone rang sharply in her purse, she took it out. She glanced at the caller ID and stiffened. Amelia caught the sudden flicker of unease on her sister’s face.

“Who is it?” Amelia asked, leaning forward.

Claire’s fingers hovered over the phone, her lips parting slightly, as though she wanted to say something, but instead, she silenced the call.

Amelia’s heart began to pound. 

“Claire… what aren’t you telling me?”

Claire looked away, her jaw tightening.

And then the phone rang again.