“But I didn’t adopt the boys because of this,” he said, his voice breaking.
Silence. Then a rough sob.
“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 weak.
Joshua was crying. “How long did you say, Doc?”
A pause.
“A year? That’s all I have left?”
The silence stretched, then he broke down again.
I stumbled back, gripping the banister, trying to breathe.
He had known.
He had let me quit my job, build a life, become a mother—knowing he might not be there to stay in it.
He didn’t trust me to face the truth with him. He decided for me.
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I walked into our bedroom, packed a bag for myself and the twins, and called my sister, Caroline.
“Can you take us in tonight?” My voice didn’t sound like mine.
She didn’t ask questions. “I’ll get the guest room ready.”
