Chương 2
Daniel looked down.
The guilt on his face was impossible to miss.
But Eleanor no longer knew if guilt meant regret or fear of being exposed.
“I never wanted to hurt you,” he said.
She slowly turned back.
“Then why does it feel like you already did?”
Daniel had no answer.
The monitor beside Eleanor continued its steady rhythm.
A nurse walked past the room outside, and the sound of footsteps briefly filled the silence.
Then everything became quiet again.
Finally, Daniel whispered, “There are things you do not know.”
Eleanor studied him carefully.
She saw the hesitation.
She saw the fear.
And for the first time, she realized Daniel was not only hiding something from her.
He was afraid of what would happen when she discovered the truth.
“What things?”
Daniel looked toward the phone on the table.
Then he looked back at her.
“I was trying to protect you.”
Eleanor felt a cold feeling move through her body.
People always used those words when they wanted forgiveness before admitting what they had done.
“Protect me from what?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
The silence lasted too long.
Then he finally spoke.
“From the truth.”
Eleanor felt her breathing become heavier.
The oxygen machine continued quietly beside her, but it did nothing to calm the storm inside her.
“What truth?”
Daniel looked like he wanted to answer.
Like he had been carrying the weight of those words for a long time.
But before he could speak, his phone suddenly vibrated on the table.
Both of them looked at it.
The screen lit up.
A name appeared.
Eleanor saw it clearly.
Her heart stopped for a moment.
It was a name she recognized.
A name she had not seen in years.
A name that belonged to a chapter of Daniel’s life he always claimed was finished.
Daniel reached for the phone immediately.
But Eleanor saw his reaction.
She saw the panic in his eyes.
And she knew.
Whatever secret he had been hiding was not new.
It had been waiting.
It had been buried.
And now, lying in that hospital room with nowhere left to run, the truth was finally coming back for him.
Daniel reached for the phone immediately.
But Eleanor saw his reaction.
She saw the panic in his eyes.
And she knew.
Whatever secret he had been hiding was not new.
It had been waiting.
It had been buried.
And now, lying in that hospital room with nowhere left to run, the truth was finally coming back for him.
Daniel’s hand stopped inches above the phone.
For several seconds, neither of them moved.
The name glowing on the screen seemed to fill the entire room with a silence heavier than any words could create.
Eleanor stared at it, trying to understand what she was seeing.
Her memory searched through years of conversations, old arguments, and moments she had once ignored.
Then suddenly, everything connected.
“Rebecca,” she whispered.
Daniel’s face changed.
Not dramatically.
Not like someone in a movie.
It was smaller than that.
A slight tightening around his eyes.
A brief loss of color in his face.
A reaction only someone who had loved him for decades would notice.
Eleanor noticed.
She had spent half her life learning every expression on his face.
She knew when he was annoyed.
She knew when he was lying.
She knew when he was afraid.
And right now, he was terrified.
“Eleanor,” Daniel said softly.
“Don’t.”
She looked at him.
The pain in her chest returned, but she refused to look away.
“Don’t what?”
Daniel lowered his hand.
“Don’t make assumptions.”
She stared at the phone.
“Then explain.”
He said nothing.
The silence became unbearable.
Eleanor turned her head slightly toward the window, watching the reflection of the hospital room on the glass.
Two beds.
Two people.
Two lives that suddenly felt like they belonged to strangers.
“Rebecca was your first love,” she said quietly.
Daniel closed his eyes.
“She was before you.”
“Yes.”
“And you told me she was gone.”
“She was.”
Eleanor looked back at him.
“Then why is she calling you?”
Daniel swallowed.
The question was simple.
The answer was not.
“She found me a few months ago.”
Eleanor felt her stomach tighten.
“A few months ago?”
Daniel nodded slowly.
“I didn’t know how to tell you.”
A bitter smile appeared on Eleanor’s face.
“You always say that.”
Daniel looked hurt.
But she continued.
“You didn’t know how to tell me you were unhappy.”
“You didn’t know how to tell me you were worried.”
“You didn’t know how to tell me you were keeping secrets.”
Her voice became weaker.
“But somehow, you always knew how to hide things.”
Daniel looked away.
That hurt more than anger would have.
For years, Eleanor had imagined betrayal as something loud.
Something obvious.
She thought if someone destroyed a marriage, there would be a moment when everything broke apart.
A confession.
A fight.
A dramatic ending.
She never imagined it would feel like this.
Like slowly discovering that the person beside you had been living another life in small pieces.
“Did you see her?”
Daniel hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
Eleanor closed her eyes.
“How many times?”
“Eleanor.”
“How many times?”
Daniel looked down.
“Three.”
The room felt colder.
“Three times.”
“It wasn’t what you think.”
She almost laughed again.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
“Then what was it?”
Daniel rubbed his hands together nervously.
“She needed help.”
Eleanor looked confused.
“Help?”
“She was sick.”
The words made her pause.
Daniel continued quietly.
“She had been diagnosed with a serious illness.”
Eleanor’s expression changed.
For a brief moment, her anger softened.
Then another thought came.
“And you were helping her.”
“Yes.”
“While I was getting sick.”
Daniel looked at her immediately.
“That’s not fair.”
Her eyes widened.
“Not fair?”
“You think I wanted this?”
“No,” Eleanor whispered.
“I think you wanted to be needed.”
Daniel froze.
May you like
The words hit harder than she expected.
Because somewhere deep inside, she knew she had found the truth.
