Chapter 15
Kayla had waited from 7:00 pm to midnight. The dishes on the table had long gone cold, and the special birthday cake she’d ordered had melted slightly, the frosting smeared.
At 11:15 pm, just as she finished throwing out the meal and packing away the ruined cake, Jonah finally walked through the door, his face heavy with
sorrow.
Before she could even say a word, he started talking about Sally and Lily returning from Ostia–about the cancer diagnosis.
Kayla looked at his exhausted expression and swallowed her disappointment. She said nothing about her birthday. Instead, she pulled him into her arms and comforted him for a long time.
The truth was, on Kayla’s birthday, Jonah had actually left campus two hours early. He bought flowers and picked up a diamond bracelet he’d had custom -made for weeks.
But the moment he got Lily’s call, he dropped everything he was supposed to do without a second thought.
He’d rushed to the airport in high spirits, handing over the flowers and gift meant for Kayla to Lily, whom he hadn’t seen in eight years.
Now, thinking back, Jonah couldn’t believe how insane he must have been.
As he continued watching the footage, the house was almost nothing but Kayla’s presence.
On July 8th, Jonah finally went home–only because Kayla had called him multiple times, saying she wasn’t feeling well.
But the moment he stepped through the door, he got another message from Lily, saying Sally wasn’t doing well. She’d been crying nonstop.
All he did was pour Kayla a glass of warm water. He barely said anything to her before walking out again.
That night, Kayla couldn’t sleep because of her stomach pain. At 3:00 am, she had to order antacids through a food delivery app.
While watching the footage of the sobbing Kayla curled up in bed, Jonah slapped himself hard across the face.
He hated himself. He had taken the woman he once swore to cherish for granted.
Maybe it was his way of punishing himself, but Jonah watched every second of Kayla alone in that house, sleepless and without rest.
Those nights when thunder cracked through the sky and rain poured down; those nights when her body ached during her period–every single night when he should’ve been there, he wasn’t.
Desperate to prove to himself that he hadn’t completely neglected Kayla, Jonah combed through the footage for evidence. But the only thing he found was a clip from a month and a half ago–him stumbling home drunk.
That night, the doctor had told him there was nothing more they could do for Sally. She was terminally ill.
Jonah had drowned himself in alcohol and come home in pieces, sobbing into Kayla’s arms like a lost child.
Somewhere in that haze of grief, he ended up sleeping with her.
But when he woke the next morning, hungover and hollow, he didn’t remember a thing. Seeing that footage triggered a memory–Kayla’s ectopic pregnancy record.
He checked the date, then pulled up the corresponding footage from that night.
At 2.00 am one night, Kayla was doubled over in pain, drenched in sweat, calling him over and over.
But it was Lily who picked up the phone. She said, “Kayla, Jonah’s already asleep. If it’s not urgent, just talk to him tomorrow, okay? I’m hanging up now.
11
Jonah remembered that night clearly. Sally had been unwell and didn’t settle down until nearly three. He was showering in the hospital bathroom when Kayla called.
He never imagined Lily would answer his phone and shut Kayla down like that.
The video showed Kayla crawling from the bedroom to the living room, clutching her phone, in too much pain to stand. She dialed 911. Then, using what little strength she had left, she dragged herself to the door and unlocked it.
The surgery, the ectopic pregnancy–it was all real. Every word on that medical report was true.
Her ectopic pregnancy had been life–threatening. And yet, her husband, Jonah, never showed up. Not only was he absent, but he even sent her a message accusing her of being dramatic.
In that moment, a tidal wave of guilt and remorse crashed down on Jonah.
As he lay on the bare mattress, his vision blurred again and again. And finally, he understood why Kayla didn’t want him anymore.
Everything he was going through now—he had it coming. He brought it on himself.
