I’m not paralyzed, am I?
Austin nodded quickly. “Yes.”
“They left two days ago.”
His world stopped.
James promised he wouldn’t take her away. Then why? Why was she gone?
The neighbor continued, “Their daughter was admitted to the hospital. For delivery.”
Austin’s heart twisted at the word.
“The parents left first,” the man added, seeing Austin too stunned to speak. “She left a day later.”
Austin’s lips parted. “Dora…”
Hearing the name, the neighbor looked at him more closely. “Are you Austin?”
Something shifted in Austin’s chest. His heart pounded.
“Yes,” he whispered.
And for the first time in days, some colour returned to his pale face.
He Thought He Had Time, but She Was Already Gone.
“Yes, I am,” Austin replied, hoping the man might share something, anything, about Dora.
Before leaving, the man paused and pulled an envelope from his pocket. “She asked me to give this to you,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to show up the next day.” He walked toward the drawer and handed it over.
The moment Austin took the envelope, he didn’t say thank you. He didn’t even look back. He just turned and walked out, ignoring the man’s voice behind him.
“You forgot your phone!” the man shouted, but Austin didn’t hear. Or maybe he didn’t want to. His mind was too clouded, his chest too tight, his thoughts spiraling.
Finding a quiet corner, Austin ripped the envelope open with shaking hands. Inside was a folded letter… and a ring. His wedding ring, the one he had given Dora on their wedding night.
His heart raced as he unfolded the letter, the words blurring even before he began reading.
I knew you would come looking for me. I just hope that someday, you stop denying the truth and accept it. I’m returning the ring, not out of anger, but because I need you to understand that I don’t want to be with you anymore.
Austin’s fingers trembled as he held the page. The tears he had held back for so long now streamed down freely.
I’m leaving this place. I’m leaving you… with our child.
I know how stubborn you are. You’ll go to Sienna. You’ll ask Douglas. You’ll try to convince my family. But no one knows where I’ve gone. That’s why I wrote this. If you weren’t so persistent, I wouldn’t have said anything at all.
He gasped, struggling to breathe, a lump forming in his throat as he read on.
I don’t know why things happened the way they did. I don’t know why you hurt me. And honestly… I don’t care anymore.
For the sake of the good moments we shared, please let me go. Move on. After the tenure ends, I’ll courier the divorce papers.
That was it.
Austin sank to the ground, letter clutched in his hand, pain crushing his chest. This wasn’t just heartbreak, this was the end. Dora was gone. Truly gone. She didn’t just leave their home. She left him. And this time, there was no second chance.
He hadn’t apologized. He hadn’t told her how much he loved her, how he dreamed of their life together. He missed the chance to feel the first kick of their baby… to hear its heartbeat… to watch Dora smile as she grew life inside her.
He thought he had time.
But everything shattered in just one moment.
Austin lost all sense of reality as he read the final lines. Darkness swallowed him once again, and before everything went black, he whispered, “Dora…”
When he opened his eyes, he was back in the hospital room. The same dull walls. The same quiet beeping of machines. Paulina was curled up on the couch nearby, fast asleep.
His eyes landed on his phone on the side table. It didn’t take much to figure out someone had brought him back here, probably Paulina.
He let out a soft groan as pain shot through his chest. At once, Paulina sprang up, rushing to his side in worry.
“How do you feel now?” she asked anxiously.
“Fantastic,” he replied with a dry chuckle, staring up at the ceiling.
“You need to rest. Please,” she whispered, placing a hand on his arm as he tried to sit up.
“I’m not paralyzed, am I?” he said sarcastically, brushing her off.
Paulina sniffled quietly, and though guilt tugged at him, Austin looked away. He didn’t want to feel anything. She watched him struggle to get up on his own. Once or twice she moved forward to help, but knowing how stubborn he was, she stopped herself.
After a few moments of effort, he gave up. His body was too weak. He collapsed back onto the bed, drained and defeated.
There was nothing left inside him. Just a hollow space in his chest where his heart used to be. He felt like a living corpse, breathing, moving, but completely empty. The plain white walls around him only made it worse, closing in, making him feel even more trapped.
He wanted to go back home. To their apartment. To the place that still smelled like her. He believed, deep down, that maybe her scent could fill the aching hole inside him.
Then, the letter came to mind.
His eyes snapped to Paulina with a shar
pness that made her flinch.
“Where is the letter?” he asked, his voice low but firm.
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