Our typical serene Friday evening turned into a nightmare. Michael and I were settling into our usual routine of dinner followed by a movie. Everything was as it always was—comfortable and familiar.

However, peace was abruptly shattered when Michael went upstairs to shower, and a blood-curdling scream echoed from the bathroom. Heart racing, I dashed upstairs and was met with the horrifying sight of Michael unconscious next to the bathtub. Cradling his head in my lap, I managed to stammer out a call to emergency services, desperate for them to save him.

At the hospital, while doctors swarmed around Michael, now in a coma, a doctor pulled me aside. “Mrs. Smith, your husband is in a coma. We’ll update you as soon as we have more information,” he informed me with a grave look.

Back at home, while collecting Michael’s essentials for his hospital stay, I stumbled upon something unexpected in the bathroom—an envelope peeking out from under the bathtub, addressed to me in handwriting that I recognized all too well—it was from my estranged sister, Emily, who had moved away under mysterious circumstances.

Trembling, I opened the envelope. The contents were as shocking as they were heartbreaking. Emily confessed to an affair with Michael, an affair that had resulted in a child—my niece, whom I’d always thought was her husband’s daughter. The reality was devastating: Michael was the father.

The letter was a desperate plea for forgiveness, filled with Emily’s confessions and regrets. It also included a photograph of my niece, who, now looking with knowing eyes, clearly had Michael’s features. A medical report was attached, confirming a genetic condition that ran in Michael’s family, undeniable proof of the painful truth.

Flooded with a tumult of emotions, I called Emily. Her voice, thick with tears, broke as she begged for my forgiveness. “I never meant to hurt you, Sarah. I thought I could spare you the pain, but I can’t carry this burden alone anymore,” she sobbed. The conversation was brief; the truth was too much to bear.

How could I face Michael, lying in a coma, knowing our life together was based on lies? After days of turmoil, I made a decision—I filed for divorce. It was the hardest decision of my life, but I knew I needed to free myself from the web of deceit.

“I can’t do this,” I confessed to Michael’s mother when she visited. “I can’t wait for him to wake up, knowing everything will change. It’s better to face this now.”