"I can't keep lying to her."
I froze, caught between running and needing to know more. I heard him again, softer.
"I can't do this, Dr. Samson. I can't watch her figure it out after I'm gone. She deserves more than that. But if I tell her... she'll fall apart. She gave up her whole life for this. I just, I just wanted to know she wouldn't be alone."
My legs went numb. My hands shook so hard I had to grab the doorframe.
Joshua was crying now. "How long did you say, Doc?"
There was a pause.
"A year? That's all I have left?"
The silence on the other side of the door stretched, and Joshua started to cry again.
"I can't do this, Dr. Samson."
I stepped back, stumbling. The world felt tilted and unreal. I clung to the banister, trying to catch my breath.
He'd been planning his exit. He had let me quit my job, become a mother, and build my whole life around a future he already knew he might not be in.
He didn't trust me to face the truth with him, so he made the choice for both of us.
I wanted to scream. Instead, I walked straight into our bedroom, packed a bag for myself and the twins, and called my sister, Caroline.
"Can you take us in tonight?" My voice sounded alien.
She didn't ask questions. "I'll sort out the guest room now."
