JANICE'S POV
I don't sleep because every time I close my eyes I hear the doctor's voice from yesterday and see Jack lying pale beneath hospital lights, so I sit beside his bed watching his chest rise and fall while the same thought repeats endlessly inside my head.
Telling me to stop waiting, tell him today, tell him now and tell him before it's too late.
Morning arrives anyway and the hospital begins moving around us as nurses change shifts, doctors make rounds and machines continue their steady rhythm, but nothing feels normal anymore because every new test, every new form and every new conversation pushes the truth closer to the surface.
I used to think this secret belonged to me, something emotional and deeply personal that I could choose to keep hidden for as long as I wanted.
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