I swallowed. “Mom, I can explain.”
“What did you do?”
I inhaled shakily, forcing myself to say the words—
“I got married.”
The silence that followed was thick, suffocating.
And then—
She coughed violently.
I quickly patted her back, trying to soothe her as she drank another sip of water, still struggling to process what I’d just said.
When she finally caught her breath, her eyes locked onto mine, filled with unreadable emotion.
“You got married?” she repeated hoarsely. “I don’t understand. Am I… am I dreaming?”
“You’re not.”
I held her hand tightly. “I had to, Mom. You needed the operation. I couldn’t just let you slip away.”
She exhaled shakily, her fingers pressing against her forehead.
“You sacrificed your happiness… for me?”
“It’s just for six months,” I whispered. “I’ll
