When Nella notices her husband, Eric, acting a bit strange, she follows him to see where he goes off to. A few nights into this new routine, she decides to just ask him the truth. But the truth is deeper and darker than Nella could have expected. And it changes her life forever…
It all started when my husband, Eric, told me he needed some space to think things through.
We’ve been married for 12 years, and while we’ve had our share of ups and downs, this was the first time he’d ever said something like that.
A newly wed couple | Source: Midjourney
“It’s not about us, Nella,” he insisted. “I just need time to clear my head.”
But of course, my mind went to the worst possible place.
Eric was always the steady one in our marriage. He was reliable, grounded, and calm. So, when he packed a bag and casually mentioned that he would be sleeping in his car for a few nights, my anxiety went into overdrive.
A man packing a bag | Source: Midjourney
Was Eric cheating? Was this his way of leaving me? Was this how he was going to slowly slip out of our lives?
“Are you sure?” I asked. “I can give you space here, at home. You can take the guest room, or we can make the pool house into something cozier?”
“Nella,” he said, smiling slowly. “It’s not about us. But this is important to me, okay?”
A worried woman | Source: Midjourney
For ten nights, Eric would leave the house right after dinner and return just before sunrise.
He looked like hell, honestly. His hair would be disheveled, he had dark circles under his eyes, and he would move very slowly like his body just didn’t want to cooperate.
But every single time I asked, he’d brush me off with a forced smile, saying that he just needed a break.
A close up of a man | Source: Midjourney
“I promise, it’s nothing like that. Trust me, please,” he would say whenever I pushed him about whether there was someone else.
But how could I? My imagination ran wild. I pictured him in a hotel room with someone else, living a double life.
By the fifth night, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I decided to follow him.
A frowning woman | Source: Midjourney
Honestly, I felt ridiculous. It was like some cliché out of a soap drama. But I had to know what was really going on. I waited until he drove off and tailed him a few blocks behind.
He didn’t go far. Just to the local park, where he pulled up under a tree and killed the headlights.
I parked a little farther down the street and watched from the shadows. I was nervous, like I was expecting something… or someone to get into the car. Was this where Eric’s mistress met him?
But the longer I sat there, the more I realized that nobody was going to show up. He just sat there, staring at his phone, then stretching out with his pillow and blanket.
A car parked in a park | Source: Midjourney
It was just him, alone, in the dark.
For the next few nights, the same routine played out.
Eric would go to the park, curl up in the front seat, and spend hours there before driving home. My mind was just spinning.
Why would he sleep in his car unless he was hiding something? Why suffer through all that discomfort unless it was for someone else?
A man sleeping in a car | Source: Midjourney
On the tenth night, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had had enough. I needed answers. After putting the kids to bed, I locked them in and drove out to the park. This time, I wasn’t just going to watch from the sidelines.
No, we were too far into this.
I pulled up next to his car and tapped on the window.
Eric looked up, startled. He quickly unlocked the door and motioned for me to get in. The air between us was thick with unspoken words, and as I slid into the passenger seat, all my emotions came rushing to the surface.
A shocked man sitting in his car | Source: Midjourney
“What the hell is going on, Eric?” I demanded. “Why are you doing this? Be honest, are you seeing someone? Is that why you’re here? Are you afraid that the kids would see or find out?”
I spoke too fast, as though all the words just needed to fall out as quickly as possible.
Eric sighed deeply, rubbing his face with his hands. I could see the exhaustion in him now, the kind that went deeper than just losing sleep. It was like he’d been carrying a weight he didn’t know how to put down.
A close up of a woman | Source: Midjourney
“No,” he said quietly. “It’s not like that, I keep telling you. There’s no one else.”
“Then what is it?” I pressed on. “You’re scaring me, Eric. Why are you out here every night?”
He glanced at me, then reached into the backseat, pulling out a small stack of books and a recording device.
“I didn’t want you to know,” he said softly. “Because I just didn’t want to worry you. But I’ve been out here recording bedtime stories for the kids.”
A stack of children’s books | Source: Midjourney
I blinked slowly.
“Bedtime stories? Why would that worry me?”
He hesitated, his hands trembling slightly. “I went to the doctor a few weeks ago. They found something, a tumor. A biopsy was done, and the results came back. It’s cancer, Nella. And it’s bad. Borrowed time is all I have.”
A doctor’s office | Source: Midjourney
It felt like the ground had crumbled beneath me. I couldn’t breathe.
“What?” I gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to put that on you,” he said. “I wanted you to be normal around me, and with the kids. But I also wanted to make something for the kids to remember me by.”
An upset man | Source: Midjourney
I grabbed his hand and held it tightly, as the reality of what he’d been hiding hit me all at once. This wasn’t about some other woman.
This was about my husband preparing for a future that I didn’t want to imagine.
“I refuse to let you go through this alone,” I said. “We’re going to face this together, Eric, whatever it takes.”
He nodded, tears slipping down his face, just as they slipped down mine.
A crying woman | Source: Midjourney
The months that followed were a blur of doctor’s appointments, treatments, and nights spent huddled together, clinging to each other as we tried to stay hopeful.
Eric spent all this time with the kids, playing with them and taking them on walks if he could manage it. He made them pancakes for dinner and pizza for breakfast.
He told them that they could choose their Halloween costumes months in advance.
Children in Halloween costumes | Source: Midjourney
And he fought harder than I ever imagined, but despite everything, the disease was relentless. He’d known from the start that the odds were against him.
He’d known it when he started recording those stories in his car, preparing for the worst while still trying to give us the best of himself.
“I’ll try for as long as I can,” he promised me one night when we were in bed. “But I’m getting… tired.”
A voice recorder on a table | Source: Midjourney
“I know, my love,” I said, gripping his hands under the covers. “Whatever you do, listen to your body, too. Rest when it tells you to.”
Eric passed away in the quiet hours of a winter morning. I remember the stillness of the house, how empty it felt without him there. Our kids, so young and full of life, didn’t yet grasp the enormity of the loss.
But they sat at the funeral, looking glassy-eyed and lost.
A funeral setting | Source: Midjourney
Just like me.
A few days after the funeral, when the house was filled with the muted sounds of family members and well-wishers, I finally felt ready to listen to those recordings.
I went out to his car and took the recorder out of the bag he had left it in. I scrolled through the files, seeing the familiar titles of the kids’ favorite stories.
A voice recording device | Source: Midjourney
But then, one caught my eye:
Our Story.
I took a deep breath and pressed play. His voice was warm and steady and filled the space around me instantly.
“Once upon a time,” he began. “There was a princess. She was kind, smart, and braver than any knight in the land. But most of all, she had the biggest heart anyone had ever known.”
I smiled.
An upset woman | Source: Midjourney
“One day, she met an ordinary man, just a guy from a village with no title, no riches. But the moment he saw her, he knew his life would never be the same.”
Tears welled up in my eyes as I listened, his voice wrapping around me like a hug I so desperately needed.
“The princess and the man lived many happy years together,” he continued. “Raising a prince and princess together. And even though the man grew old and weary, he knew that his princess would go on. She would continue to rule their home… with love and strength.”
Eric’s voice faltered on the last words. I could almost imagine his upset face.
A crying man | Source: Midjourney
“So, my love,” he said softly. “If you’re listening to this, know that you were my fairytale. You turned my ordinary life into something extraordinary. And even though I can’t be with you anymore, your fairytale must go on.”
It was just what I needed.
And now, whenever the days feel too heavy, I listen to Eric’s voice again. And somehow, I can smile again.
A smiling woman | Source: Midjourney
What would you have done?
If you enjoyed this story, here’s another one for you:
My Husband Surprised Me on My Birthday — When I Saw Who Jumped Out of the Gift Box, I Broke Down in Tears
As Amelia’s 30th birthday approaches, her husband, Jared, keeps hinting at a major surprise for her, causing her imagination to grow wild. On the day of her birthday party, she discovers that her birthday surprise is a man who she never wanted to see again…
I could tell that something was up. My husband, Jared, had been buzzing for weeks about this “life-changing” gift. Every day, another cryptic comment came my way.
“You’ll love it, babe, trust me!” Jared would say, practically bouncing on his feet.
An excited man | Source: Midjourney
When I asked him about it, he’d just smirk and say, “You’ll see!”
Honestly, by the time my birthday party rolled around, I was convinced that it was something practical. Like maybe an appliance, or the recliner with the massage functions I’d been eyeing. I would have been happy with the ice cream machine that I wanted, but honestly, Jared’s enthusiasm made me feel good that he’d gone to so much trouble.
“You’re worth all the effort, Amelia,” he said. “I just want you to feel special and know that I listen and I care.”
A recliner with a green bow | Source: Midjourney
So when he walked in on my birthday, he struggled to roll in a massive gift box much bigger than our washing machine.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
I highly doubt that the post will be read carefully or shared, but I will still make it.
Even though I have a very slim chance of the post being carefully read or shared, I will nevertheless publish it.
Of course, our gratitude and indignation would be overwhelming if the post contained pictures of cats or dogs, which the majority of us adore and take good care of.
But there are no photos of people in their underwear in the post.
Regretfully, our nation’s use of pesticides has resulted in thousands of dead bees. Sadly, this is where our life cycle ends.
We humans will not have more than four years left to live if bees vanish off the face of the Earth one day.
Why do bees rank as the most significant organisms on Earth?
Since we were young children, we have benefited from the exceptional qualities of bee products, and we are all aware of the enormous significance of bees in our daily lives. The following are the findings of research done on their existence:
In the most recent Royal Geographic Society discussion held in London, the Earthwatch Institute came to the conclusion that bees are the most significant living thing on Earth. But experts also declared that bees are now considered insects with a high risk of extinction in addition to this news.
“At most, humanity would only survive for four years if bees disappeared.”
-The late Albert Einstein
Recent studies show that bee populations have decreased by up to 90% globally, with regional variations in the causes. Massive deforestation, a lack of secure nesting locations, a shortage of flowers, careless pesticide usage, altered soil, and a decline in beekeepers are a few of the primary factors.
These insects are essential to almost 70% of global agriculture, and it may be argued that bees are responsible for 70 out of every 100 items that humans eat.
In addition, bee pollination is necessary for plant reproduction, which provides millions of animals with their primary food source. The fauna would eventually start to disappear without it.
Exist answers for this issue?
There are answers, but given the detrimental agricultural and production practices in Romania, they are difficult to apply in today’s society.
However, some expert ideas have been put out with the hopes of being put into practice as quickly as possible:
restricting the use of harmful pesticides, not just outlawing them. The recommendation is to switch to insecticides that don’t harm pollinators.
encouraging all-natural alternatives for farming.
investigating and keeping an eye on bee health, welfare, and conservation on a continuous basis.
encouraging initiatives that allow the public to assist beekeepers and contribute to the bee-saving effort, such as buying organic honey or participating in national initiatives like “Adopt a Hive.” You can take part in this kind of endeavor by using the initiative.
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