100 Days with My Ex-husband

Chapter 3: Accident

I woke up with a sharp inhale, the sudden rush of oxygen catching in my lungs as I sat up too quickly. My head throbbed, a dull pain that seemed to pulse in rhythm with my heartbeat. Everything was blurry at first. I blinked, trying to focus, and the reality of where I was hit me like a ton of bricks.

A sterile, white room. The smell of antiseptic. The rhythmic beeping of medical equipment. I wasn’t at home. I wasn’t with Cross. I wasn’t anywhere familiar.

A bandage was wrapped tightly around my head, and I instinctively reached up to touch it. My fingers trembled as I traced the cloth, panic starting to take hold. What had happened? Where was I?

I tried to stand, but a wave of dizziness hit me like a crashing wave. I slumped back against the bed, breathing heavily, trying to steady myself. That’s when I saw him.

A man walked toward me slowly, his presence calm, steady. He had dark hair and a reassuring look in his eyes, but I couldn’t place him.

"Hey, hey, take it easy," he said gently, holding his hands up in a calming gesture. "You’re safe now."

I opened my mouth to speak, but the words caught in my throat. He sat beside me, his eyes kind but firm, as if he’d been through this before. "You’ve had quite the scare, but everything is alright now. Just breathe."

I tried to process what he was saying. "Who... who are you?" My voice was hoarse, barely a whisper.

"Vincent," he said, offering me a small, kind smile.

"I’m Emily’s cousin." He paused for a moment, his eyes softening.

"You’re in the hospital. You’ve been through a lot, but you’re going to be okay."

"Emily..." The name felt foreign on my tongue, like I hadn’t heard it in ages. "Where is she?”

Vincent hesitated, his smile faltering. "Emily’s here, just outside.”

The door to the room opened, and Emily stepped inside, a cup of coffee in her hand. Her face lit up with a smile when she saw me awake, but it quickly faded when she saw the tears in my eyes.

"Nora," she said softly, walking over to me. She placed the coffee cup on the side table and immediately pulled me into a tight hug. "How are you feeling?"

I shook my head, my chest tight with emotion. "I don’t know, Emily.”

I could hear the strain in my voice as I continued. "Cross left me for Lia. He... he said he didn’t want me anymore. And now, I don’t know what to do."

Emily pulled back slightly, her eyes narrowing with anger. "That piece of trash doesn’t deserve your tears, Nora," she said fiercely, her voice shaking with rage. "Cross doesn’t deserve you. He never did."

I wiped my eyes again, but the tears kept coming. I couldn’t stop them. "Where will I go now, Emily? What will I do?"

Emily took a deep breath, her expression softening. She reached into her bag and pulled out a piece of paper. "I have something for you," she said quietly, handing it to me.

I stared at the paper in my hands, feeling my heart race. I unfolded it, my eyes scanning the words. I didn’t know what I expected, but what I read made everything inside me freeze.

My hands trembled as I stared at the letter in disbelief. The words blurred as tears streamed down my face, falling onto the paper in thick, heavy drops. It took me a moment to understand what I was reading. The handwriting was familiar, but the message was almost too much to bear.

My dearest Nora,

I know you’ve been angry with me, and I don’t blame you. I left you, and I know how much that hurt. I didn’t have the right to choose them over you, but I made a decision that I thought would protect us both, and I was wrong. I thought I could find peace in their world, but I was just running away from the pain I had caused you. I should have been there for you, and I wasn’t.

The truth is... I have stage 4 cancer. It’s spread, and the doctors say I don’t have much time left. I don’t know how long I have, but I want you to know how deeply sorry I am. I regret every moment I missed with you, every holiday I missed, every conversation we ever had. I can’t undo the damage, but I can ask for your forgiveness. Please, Nora...

I don’t know if I will get the chance to say this to you in person, but I hope you’ll come and see me. Please come to me. I need you now, more than ever.

With all my love, Mom

The letter trembled in my hands as I read the final lines over and over again, as if I could somehow change the words, make them mean something different. Something easier.

The anger I’d held for so long, the resentment and the bitterness... it all melted away in an instant, replaced by a deep, aching sorrow. I had spent so many years hating my mother for leaving me, for choosing her family over me, for abandoning me when I needed her most. But now, after everything—after this—I don’t know what to feel.

Stage 4 cancer. My mind couldn’t wrap itself around the idea. Cancer. The word seemed so final, so cruel. I couldn’t believe it. After all the years of silence between us, after all the time that had passed, now she was asking for my forgiveness. Now she wanted to see me.

I sobbed harder, the tears coming in violent waves. I thought I had cried myself dry after Cross, after everything that had happened between us. But now this... this was a grief I couldn’t control, a sorrow that tore at my heart in ways I hadn’t thought possible.

I wanted to hate her. I wanted to stay angry for all the years she had abandoned me, for all the moments I had missed without her. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t hate her. Not now. Not when I knew how little time she had left.

I stood up from the bed, clutching the letter tightly to my chest, my mind racing. I had to go to her. I had to see her. Now.

My thoughts were abruptly interrupted when Emily spoke again, her words shocking me to the core.