Rebirth: Second Chance At Love, War

THE TRUTH ZARA'S POV The sterile walls pressed in around me, my skin itching with their stifling touch. Beyond the glass, life continued in its colorful, carefree dance; cruel reminders of all I stood to lose. I traced numb fingers over bandages covering wounds around my head, the poisons they pumped through my veins leaching the beauty from each passing day. In the window's foggy reflection, a stranger stared back at me with a thumbs up and a smile, reminding me that everything was going to be okay when it really didn’t seem like it was. My eyes fluttered open at the flash of color in my hospital room. There, silhouetted in the doorway, stood Elena. Her fiery red shoes, a beacon of warmth. But the sorrow on her lovely face cut deeper than any pain. "Elle..." I croaked. Her kind eyes met mine, brimming with tears. She clasped my limp hand and didn't have to say a word. I saw in her gaze what my battered form revealed. My thoughts turned, as they often did these days, to Mark. That coward had left me to decay among strangers without so much as a goodbye. Not that his absence came as a surprise. Our love had withered long before the diagnosis. Bitterness welled in my bone-dry throat. "Hey, you don’t need to feel bad Elle, I’m under supervision. Just that my husband doesn’t care about me” I watched her features harden at the mention of his name. She knew his negligence well. But then her expression softened as she lifted my hand, folding her warmth around it. "None of that vile man's doing can diminish the light in you, Zara. Just know that whatever happens, I won’t leave your side." She assured. As the hours dragged, Zara’s company offered small comfort. A question burned within—one I feared its voicing could no longer be left unasked. "Elle...be honest with me. Do you think he’s cheating on me?" My ragged whisper filled the stark room. Elena’s eyes widened, then softened with compassion. "Zara, Mark's coldness stems from his own flaws, not yours” she soothed, grasping my hands in hers. But I could not be swayed from the pit deep in my heart. "I mean, look at the way he dumped me here for weeks without a single visit. I can’t even remember the last time we shared intimacy. He must be seeing someone else." I choked on rising bile. "Better to face the truth than live a lie!" Then Elena’s kindly face creased with sorrow. "Mark isn’t cheating on you. I doubt that. It’s just there are times in marriages where two people fall apart temporarily. I don’t know much about Mark, but this I know: you, Zara, are worth far more than any fleeting thrill could offer that fool. You have so much love left to give—focus your strength on healing, not haunting 'what ifs.'” She advised. Her calm words soothed me. I leaned into her embrace, finding solace. Few minutes later, she bade me farewell. My feet padded the sterile halls of the hospital as nurses and doctors rushed to attend to a patient. Anything to get my mind off the fact that cancer had me hanging on a thin line. Rounding a corner, I spied through the glass. Two grandparents gathered around a woman alongside her husband after her delivery. They were all so happy and that sight resurfaced the thought of my mother-in-law's pinched face and how she treated me. My lip curled up in perpetual distaste. She already hated me from our wedding day. I was not family. I was an outsider daring to sully their line. No warmth graced holidays at their table, her cutting remarks more poisonous than the chemo in my veins. Not once did she see me as a daughter, or offer motherly comfort in my darkest nights. Her cold shoulder had pierced deeper than any needle since. A harsh laugh escaped my chapped lips. How thrilled she must have been to hear that I was diagnosed with cancer. My weary feet dragged as I made my way back to the impersonal room that had become my prison. But any hope of relief fled at the sight awaiting - Dr. Singh. Regret etched upon his amiable face. Dread clutched at my failing heart. "Doctor, what is it? Has...has the cancer spread?" I asked cautiously. He sighed, adjusting his glasses almost nervously. "I'm afraid this matter is not medical, Mrs. Zara. It has come to light that your bills here are accumulating. Much as I wish to focus solely on your care, hospital policy..." His words confirmed the fears I'd shoved down, knowing in my heart of hearts no escape from reality's grasp was possible. I was ill and alone with the impression that if Mark wasn’t going to show me affection after being diagnosed with cancer, he would have at least paid my bills. "Please, Doctor, there must be something more you can do. I don’t know what to do" I pleaded, almost in tears. Desperation curled my shaking fingers around his pristine white coat, searching his eyes for any shred of hope. But pity and frustration warred upon his face, though resignation also shone through it. "I am sorry, but my hands are tied. Unless payment is arranged, in good conscience I cannot release you." Immediately he left, I picked up my phone and called Mark. “I know you no longer feel the same way but please pick up” I begged. I phoned him five times and he ignored them all. It was then I decided to find out why he was ignoring the calls. I picked up my sweater and put on a cap, hiding from the nurses as I successfully found my way out of the hospital, unnoticed. I quickly flagged down a taxi and headed home to our apartment. While in the car, the driver kept on looking at me. He could tell that I had just escaped from the hospital. “I couldn’t pay the hospital bills” I said, answering the obvious question why he was staring at me but he didn’t say anything. He just kept mute. “If you could have one wish, anything at all, what would it be?” He asked. “I don’t know, happiness I guess” I replied then he nodded his head. A few minutes later, he got to my house. Before I stepped out of the car, he offered me a coin. “What is it for?” I asked, confused. “Have it, just in case” he replied with a smile. I took the coin from him then he drove off. I found my way to our apartment floor and by the entrance, a familiar red shoe welcomed me. It looked exactly like the one Elena wore to visit me. I went in and noticed that the house looked very tidy. Mark wasn’t one to keep the house tidy and we didn’t have any help, so he was either with someone or he had changed overnight. On my way to our room, I heard a woman’s giggle. I stepped closely and steadily so I could eavesdrop on their conversation. “Should I just push her off a cliff already? I’m tired of paying that dying b***h visits” Elena whined. “She’s almost dying babe, let nature take its course” Mark assured. “Mark, my love, I can’t wait for it to be just us” Elena said as she leaned for a kiss. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing so I barged in on them. “Za..Zara” Elena stuttered as she stood up from the bed nervously. “How long has this been going on for?” I asked almost in tears. “Zara why don’t you shut the f**k up and get out of my house” Mark ordered violently. I was shocked at his command. He really didn’t feel anything for me at all. “You left me all alone in the hospital. You didn’t even pay for my bills yet here you are with my best friend” I retorted. “Zara, in my defense, you’re dying anyways so it’s only right that as your best friend, I inherit everything you own including your husband” Elena claimed. I got angry and slapped her. Elena got angry at my action and we started hitting each other. Mark only cared that I was hitting Elena, so he roughly pushed me away. I noticed I was falling from the back and I landed on the center glass table which broke immediately I came in contact with it, I began to bleed profusely. With blurred vision, I saw Mark touching Elena as he checked for any injury she might have gotten from our fight. None of them had noticed I was bleeding, not until Elena noticed my absence. “Oh my God! She’s bleeding! Mark, she's bleeding!” She panicked as my eyes slowly shut until they were shut completely.