The End...
1488 Words
Barely holding herself together, Juliet left the hospital.
Every step drained what little strength she had left, but she forced herself forward anyway. After flagging down a taxi, she quietly gave the driver her address and leaned back against the seat.
The ride home felt unbearably long.
The silence inside the cab pressed against her ears, heavy and uncomfortable.
Streetlights passed by outside the window, illuminating roads that somehow felt unfamiliar even though she had traveled them countless times before.
When the taxi finally stopped, Juliet paid weakly and stepped out.
She stood outside her house for a long moment.
Something felt wrong.
Not visibly wrong.
Just… wrong.
A feeling sitting heavily in her chest that she couldn’t explain.
The front door wasn’t locked, that meant her husband had already returned home from work.
Maybe he was asleep already.
Slowly, Juliet pushed the door open and stepped in. Silence greeted her first, then emptiness.
Her eyes widened slightly as she looked around the living room.
Most of the furniture was gone, only a single sofa and the small center table remained.
She had been hospitalized for nearly three months.
Had he moved without telling her?
Questions crowded her mind as she slowly approached the staircase.
Then she stopped.
A pair of familiar brown suede heels sat neatly near the bottom step.
Katie’s shoes.
Juliet froze completely.
Her mind scrambled desperately for a reasonable explanation.
Slowly, she climbed the stairs, each step heavier than the last due to her illness, or maybe because of the unease growing in her mind.
Then she reached the bedroom door.
It was slightly open, and voices drifted out softly.
Then after a while, it became clearer.
It was her husband’s voice. He sounded so relaxed and comfortable, the way he was supposed to sound when he was talking to her.
He definitely didn't sound like a man whose wife was slowly dying alone in a hospital bed.
Then she heard another voice. A woman.
But it wasn't just any woman, it was her best friend, Katie’s voice. That same calm tone Juliet knew so well.
The one she only used around people she genuinely cared about.
The same voice she used to have whenever she spoke to David.
Juliet’s fingers slowly tightened around the doorframe but before she could even step inside, she heard her husband speak again.
“You know,” David said casually, “I found out she had cancer last year.”
Juliet’s body went still.
“We were given a free couples’ medical checkup during our trip to Korea,” David continued lazily. “She left early for work, so I was the one who collected the results afterward.”
Korea.
Juliet remembered immediately that the hotel had offered complimentary health screenings.
She’d rushed back early and never bothered returning for the results.
Then he laughed softly. “Honestly, since my dearest wife never gave me much while she was alive, I figured I should at least profit after her death.” There was a pause, then he added, “That’s why I bought the cancer insurance.”
Juliet felt like her heart stopped beating.
Then Katie’s voice followed calmly, almost amused. “It was clever. She never suspected anything.”
David laughed again. “Of course not. Juliet trusts me too much, and you know your friend is an i***t for love.”
Something inside Juliet cracked quietly. She he pushed the bedroom door open hard enough for it to slam against the wall.
The sound startled both of them.
For a second, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then Juliet’s voice finally came out.
Low.
Shaking.
“…What exactly am I looking at?”
She had suspected her husband might be cheating.
But somewhere deep inside, she had prayed it wasn’t with Katie.
That was the part that hurt the most. Not the affair itself.
Not even the betrayal.
But her.
Out of everyone in Juliet’s life, Katie had been the one person she trusted without hesitation.
The one constant that never changed.
Even when everything else in her life slowly started falling apart.
Even when Katie’s presence became too frequent.
Too convenient.
Even when her husband became colder, even when he stopped answering her calls.
Even when things stopped adding up, Juliet still convinced herself she was imagining it.
That she was simply exhausted.
Sick.
Paranoid.
Because accepting the truth standing before her now felt impossible.
And yet there it was.
Clear.
Ugly.
Unavoidable.
Juliet let out a shaky breath as her trembling hand grabbed the insurance documents lying openly on the bedside table.
“You planned this,” she whispered.
Her voice grew louder with every word. “You both planned this?”
Katie didn’t even look guilty.
She remained sitting there calmly, adjusting the blanket around herself as though Juliet was merely interrupting something inconvenient.
“You’re overreacting dear,” David said flatly.
Juliet almost laughed. “Overreacting?” she repeated. “You took out life insurance on me because you knew I was dying.”
He stepped forward slightly. “Listen dear—”
“I am not your dear!” Juliet snapped so suddenly her voice cracked. “And you don’t get to speak.”
He stopped immediately.
For the first time, hesitation flickered across his face.
Juliet looked between them, her breathing becoming uneven. “All this time…” she whispered. “You were just waiting for me to die?”
Katie rolled her eyes impatiently. “You were dying anyway, there's no need to be dramatic.”
That sentence hurt more than anything else.
It was so simple, yet so cruel.
Juliet’s fingers tightened harder around the papers. “I’m reporting both of you,” she said, trembling but firm. “I'll expose you as the insurance frauds you are. I’ll make sure you pay for this.”
David’s expression shifted slightly, but he didn't look guilty. He didn't even look scared, rather he glared at his wife with annoyance.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Katie muttered as she stood. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Instinctively, Juliet stepped back away from the couple. “Watch me.”
She turned toward the door, but before she could leave, Katie grabbed her wrist.
The grip was stronger than Juliet expected, or maybe Juliet had simply become too weak.
“Let go,” She hissed through clenched teeth.
“You’re not thinking clearly,” Katie snapped. “You’re sick. You don’t even understand what you’re saying.”
Juliet tried pulling away, but her strength failed her immediately.
“Let go!” she shouted louder this time.
David moved suddenly.
Too fast.
“Juliet, calm down,” he said while reaching for her.
“Don’t touch me!” she yelled.
But of course he ignored her.
His hand grabbed her arm and tried to pin her to the wall, but in that moment, everything changed.
Katie shoved her forcefully.
There was no hesitation in her action, she didn't oause at all. Just one deliberate movement, and Juliet stumbled backward violently.
Her weakened body couldn’t steady itself in time.
Her heel caught the edge of the glass table behind her, then before she had the chance to prepare for impact, she met the ground.
The glass table shattered across the room.
Sharp. Violent... final.
Unbearable pain exploded through her skull the moment her head struck the table.
For one blinding second, everything turned white before darkness began swallowing the edges of her vision.
She barely realized she had collapsed until she felt the cold floor beneath her.
Then warmth spread beside her head.
Slowly at first.
Then terrifyingly fast.
Blood.
Her vision blurred while she stared upward, breathing shallow and uneven.
She tried to move.
Her body barely responded.
Above her, their voices sounded distant now. Distorted and muffled.
“—you pushed her too hard—”
“She was going to expose us!”
“Are you insane—”
“I didn’t mean to—”
The words barely mattered anymore, none of it did.
Her phone slipped from her weakening fingers and landed beside her on the floor.
The screen lit up brightly in the dim room.
May 13, 2026 — Reminder: Sixth Wedding Anniversary
Juliet stared at it.
Her vision struggled to focus, but she could still read it clearly enough.
Six years.
Six years of trying.
Six years of hoping things would improve.
Six wasted years.
A weak breath escaped her lips.
Then suddenly the old man’s voice echoed faintly through her mind.
'You can choose another path."
Juliet’s fingers twitched weakly, a tear slipped slowly from the corner of her eye into her hair.
“…I wish…” she whispered faintly.
If only she could go back.
If only she had realized it sooner.
If only she had chosen differently.
If only...
Darkness closed over her completely.
And this time...
She no longer had the strength to fight it.
- Writer
