He leaned over his dying wife and whispered something to her Minutes later, he regretted his words.
Edward had been to the hospital so often that the corridors felt familiar nowbut never comforting. Each visit left him exhausted, irritable, and detached from his own life.
He always took the stairs. Not for exercise, but to avoid pitying glances and hollow pleasantries.
That day, he carried a small bouquet of white roses. For appearances. Elizabeth, his wife, had been in a coma for weeksshe wouldnt see them, wouldnt feel them. But the flowers reassured the othersdoctors, family. He played his partthe devoted husband.
Behind the act, everything was crumbling. The care costs were astronomical. Days slipped by, bills piled up. And Edwardsilentcouldnt take it anymore.
Deep down, he had already let go. Sometimes, guilt gnawed at him: What if Elizabeth never woke up? Hed inherit everything. A terrible thought and yet, strangely liberating.
That day, he entered the room, placed the flowers in a vaseand whispered something.
But only minutes later, he deeply regretted his words. Heres why:
He leaned over his dying wife and whispered something to her Minutes later, he regretted his words.
Elizabeth I never loved you the way you thought I did. This is destroying me. If you were to go it would be easier.
What Edward didnt know: Just inches beneath the bed lay Sophie, a young volunteer. She had hidden there to escape an emotional meltdownand now heard a devastating truth.
When Elizabeths father, Charles, arrived shortly after, Edward slipped his mask back on. He spoke tenderly, soothed. But Charles sensed it immediatelysomething was wrong.
Sophie faced a dilemma: Should she speak up and risk everything? Or stay silent and let worse unfold?
In the end, she spoke:
He wished for her to die, she told Charles.
The man frozebut he wasnt surprised.
The next day, a plan was set in motion: Edward was never allowed alone with Elizabeth again.
When he returned, he felt the shiftsuspicious glances, constant supervision. And a cold warning from Charles:
One mistakeand you lose everything.
He leaned over his dying wife and whispered something to her Minutes later, he regretted his words.
Edward tried to keep up appearances. Until the day Elizabeth stirred. A twitch, a flutter of eyelids She was coming back.
And then, everything changed. Memories of her, of their past, of her laughter flooded him. Shame washed over him.
He stayed. Day after day. Not out of dutybut because he truly wanted to.
And when she finally left the hospital, she murmured softly:
You stayed. Thank you.
His voice thick, he replied:
Im sorry it took me so long to understand what really matters.
No one knew what the future held. But instead of bitterness, something real grew between them. Fragile. True. A second chance.
