My best friend is marrying my husband novel Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The butler’s panicked cry, the nannies‘ sobs… none of it reached Stephen’s ears anymore.

His vision blurred at the edges, and the last thing he saw was Maria’s gentle smile in the framed photograph.

Then darkness swallowed the whole world. He drifted in that darkness, suspended between sinking and floating.

Somewhere far away, the shrill wail of an ambulance pierced the void, drawing closer and closer. He felt hands lift him

onto a stretcher, cold instruments pressed against his skin.

He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt weighted with lead.

“He’s crashing! V–fib! Get the crash cart in here now!”

“Acute stress–induced cardiomyopathy–prep epinephrine!”

“Where’s the family? Someone notify his emergency contact!”

Voices overlapped, muffled as if separated by thick water. He felt a needle pierce his arm, icy medication flooding

through his veins.

He knew he was in a hospital. He knew why. But he didn’t want to wake up. Consciousness was a predator, waiting to tear

him open the moment he opened his eyes.

Maria was dead. His daughter was dead. Six years of marriage and five years of fatherhood were both reduced to two cold

urns sitting in a small funeral hall.

In comparison, the dark was merciful. At the edge of consciousness, memories surged forward like a breaking tide,

swallowing him whole.

It was his daughter’s third birthday. Maria had taken a rare day off, decorating their home with balloons and streamers.

The little girl wore a pink dress, a tiny birthday hat askew on her head. The moment Stephen stepped through the door,

she came toddling toward him.

“Daddy! Up!”

He’d been exhausted that day with back–to–back meetings, a networking dinner scheduled for later, but those bright

little eyes dissolved all his irritation.

He bent down and lifted her into his arms. She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. “Daddy, my wish is… I hope

Daddy comes home earlier every day.”

Maria stood in the kitchen doorway, an apron tied around her waist. Her gaze was soft, warm as spring water.

Chapter 15

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“Stephen, go wash up. I made your favorite sirloin with that special sauce.”

He ate a lot that night. Their daughter sat in her booster seat, clumsily scooping food into her mouth, spilling half of it

onto the table.

María didn’t get angry. She laughed, gently wiping the girl’s messy mouth.

“Our daughter is amazing! She can feed herself now.”

After dinner, he sat on the couch reviewing documents, but the little girl crawled onto his lap with a picture book.

“Daddy, tell me a story.”

He set the files aside, pulled her close, and opened the worn–out fairy tale book. Halfway through the story, she fell asleep

against his chest, one tiny hand still clutching his shirt.

Maria tiptoed over to lift her. He shook his head softly. “Let her sleep a little longer.”

For a brief moment, the scene felt perfect. Warm lamplight, a sleeping child in his arms, and a gentle wife standing

beside him.

He had thought, this was the life he always wanted. But moments like that had been rare. More often, he came home

past midnight, Maria already asleep.

On the dining table, a pot of soup waited, still warm. On the refrigerator was a sticky note.

[Stephen. the soup is in the pot. Don’t forget to drink it. Go easy on the alcohol, it’s not good for you.]

He had stepped over her love every day, as if it were nothing more than a welcome mat.

Sometimes he came home drunk, irritated, ripping the note off and tossing it into the trash. “Worry about yourself first.”

The next morning, the trash was empty, the kitchen spotless, and a new sticky note was already on the fridge.

Maria never complained. She simply ladled soup into a bowl and placed it in front of him, quiet and patient.

Now he realized, for six years, she had loved him in silence. Waiting for him. Leaving lights on for him. Cooking for

him, nursing him through hangovers, raising their daughter almost alone.

And him? He had been busy preparing surprises for another woman. Busy planning another wedding. Busy chasing

another dream.

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