Caleb\u2019s hand was cold as it pressed the paper into mine, the faint rustle the only sound between the relentless beeps of machines.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmily, it\u2019s time you learned why I really married Grace,\u201d he whispered, his voice barely louder than the ventilator\u2019s hiss.<\/p>\n
I stared at the folded sheet, the edges crumpled from his grip, feeling the weight of his secret settle on my shoulders.<\/p>\n
Behind the swinging doors, I could hear the frantic shouts of nurses, the metallic clang of a gurney being wheeled away.<\/p>\n
Grace\u2019s name was being called for emergency surgery; the doctors spoke in clipped, urgent tones that I could not make out.<\/p>\n
My heart hammered against my ribs, each thump echoing the sterile fluorescent lights buzzing overhead.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked me to tell you if she couldn\u2019t\u2026 if she couldn\u2019t explain it herself afterward,\u201d Caleb said, his eyes flickering to the hallway floor.<\/p>\n
I clenched the paper tighter, feeling the thin fibers bite into my palm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does she want me to know?\u201d I asked, voice shaking, the words tangled with fear and curiosity.<\/p>\n
He swallowed, the color draining from his face as if the hallway itself were sucking the life out of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to see something,\u201d he said, turning away from the doors that led to the operating theater.<\/p>\n
He led me down a side corridor, the smell of antiseptic growing stronger with each step, the distant beeping now a distant drum.<\/p>\n
When we stopped, the hallway opened into a small, dimly lit staff lounge, the only place left untouched by the chaos outside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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