The Wife He Regretted Too Late

Amelia Sterling sat alone beneath the harsh white lights of the hospital corridor, her hands folded neatly in her lap .. She should have been nervous. Instead, she felt calm. Perhaps it was because somewhere deep inside, she already knew that whatever the doctor was about to tell her would change everything. For weeks, her body had been sending her warning she could no longer ignore. The exhaustion, dizziness that came without warning, sharp unfamiliar pain beneath her ribs that sometimes woke her up in the middle of the night. At first, Amelia had blamed stress, then lack of sleep, , then the endless responsibilities she had sometimes convinced herself she needed to carry alone. She had told herself she was tired because Ethan had been busy. That explanation had become easier to accept than the truth. Her husband had stopped making room for her. . Amelia lowered her gaze to her phone. No messages, no missed calls from Ethan. She stared at the blank screen for several seconds before locking it and slipping the phone back into her handbag. It shouldn't have surprised her , after three years of marriage, she should have stopped expecting him to notice when something was wrong. Yet some foolish, stubborn part of her still waited and hoped that one day, Ethan Sterling would look at her and see his wife instead of a stranger occupying the other side of his bed. A nurse walked passed and offered a polite smile. Mrs Sterling? Amelia looked up, yes? The doctor will see you now. Her heart gave a small, unpleasant twist She stood, but the moment she did, the hallway seemed to tilt beneath her feet. Her hand shot out, catching the wall. The nurse immediately stepped closer. Are you all right? . Amelia straightened herself. I am fine. She had been good at saying it. The nurse studied her for another second before nodding. This way please. Amelia followed her to the consultation room. A middle aged doctor sat behind the desk , a folder resting in front of him. His expression was serious, his tired eyes fixed on her as she entered. He gestured toward the chair opposite him. Please sit down, Mrs Sterling. Amelia obeyed. For several seconds, neither of them spoke. The doctor didn't open the folder. That was when she knew something was wrong. Is it serious? The doctor drew a slow breath. We received the results from your scans and he finally opened the folder. The test shows that you have cancer. For a moment, Amelia didn't understand the sentence. She just stared at him. Cancer, the word sounded strangely ordinary. Like something that happened to other people. Not her. Is it treatable, she asked. The doctor hesitated. There are treatments options, he said carefully. But the cancer is advanced. Amelia swallowed. Advanced? Yes. How advanced? It's terminal cancer. Amelia repeated the word inside her head. Terminal, as if saying it silently might somehow make it mean something else. How long? The doctor leaned forward slightly. There's no exact timeline. Every patient is different. Treatment can help manage the disease and may extend your life, but - How long? Her voice was barely a whisper. Possibly months. Amelia stared at the wall behind him. Months, not years. Twenty seven years of imagining a future suddenly felt like something that belonged to another woman. She thought of the things she hadn't done, the places she had never visited, the children she and Ethan had never had , their anniversary dinner she had planned alone, the birthdays he had forgotten. And suddenly something inside her broke.....her first thought was Ethan. Not because she expected him to save her, because she realized something far more painful. She had spent years waiting for Ethan to love her. Now she might not have enough time left to keep waiting. Outside the consultation room, Amelia sat on a bench with her phone in her hand. Ethan's name was right there, she could tell him. Ethan, I am sick. Her thumb hovered over his name. She imagined his reaction. Perhaps surprised, perhaps irritation at being disturbed while he was working, perhaps that familiar cold expression before he asked why she couldn't handle it herself. Amelia closed her eyes. Memories came rushing back . The time she had been sick with a flu and spent the entire night alone, the day her mother had been hospitalized and Ethan had barely looked up from his phone, the countless nights she had cried quietly in their bedroom because she felt like a ghost in her own marriage. Ethan had always been somewhere else and yet she had stayed because she loved him That was the humiliating truth. Even now, knowing she might only have months left, she still loved him. She wouldn't call, she wouldn't bear the thought of spending whatever time she had left begging her own husband to care that she was dying. She slipped the phone back into her handbag and stood. Then she walked toward the hospital exit. She had taken only a few steps when she saw him. Amelia stopped so suddenly that a man walking behind her nearly collided with her. For one foolish second, relief flooded through her. He came, maybe he had somehow found out. Then she saw Victoria standing beside him. Amelia faint smile disappeared. Victoria stood beside Ethan with her young son, one hand resting protectively on the boy's shoulder. And Ethan was different with them. Amelia watched from a distance as he crouched beside the boy. Speaking to him in a gentle voice. The child nodded. Ethan smiled. The kind Amelia couldn't remember being directed at her . Then Ethan turned toward Victoria. Are you sure you are feeling all right? I'm fine. Ethan reached out and adjusted the boy's jacket. Stay close to me. Amelia couldn't breath. She had been married to Ethan for three years. She couldn't remember the last time he had spoken to her with such tenderness . Victoria noticed her first. Her expression changed. Amelia? . Ethan turned, their eyes met. For one heartbeat, Amelia forgot how to breath. She waited. Somewhere inside her, the foolish woman who still loved him hoped he would cross the distance between them. What are you doing here? Not are you okay? Amelia looked at him. The words rose to her throat. I'm dying Ethan. She imagined the look on his face., she imagined seeing fear in his eyes. Finally making him to understand that she wasn't going to be here forever. But then she remembered the doctor's voice. Possibly months and something inside her went still. She didn't want her remaining time to be measured whether Ethan Sterling cared enough to notice her suffering. She smiled. I had an appointment. Ethan's eyes flickered over her face. What kind? Amelia's heart stumbled. For one second, she thought he was asking because he cared. Then the boy beside him tugged at Ethan's sleeve. Can we go? Ethan looked down, of course And just like that, Amelia's answer no longer mattered. He didn't ask again, didn't notice the tremble in her fingers, didn't noticed how pale she had become. Amelia watched them walk away together. Victoria glanced back once. Their eyes met. There was something unreadable in Victoria's expression. Amelia looked away first. Outside, the evening air was cool against her skin. Amelia stood on the hospital steps for several minutes, watching cars pass in distance. Her fingers brushed against the edge of her medical report. Her life changed today.She told herself that she would go home and look at the life she had spent so long trying to preserve. Then she would decide what to do with whatever time remained. Because for the first time in three years, Amelia Sterling understood something terrifyingly simple. She did not have to spend the rest of her life waiting for a man who had never chosen her and she would no longer wait for Ethan Sterling to love her