Chapter 6 - The Hidden Pages
For three days, Hannah remained in a medically induced coma. Elias refused to leave the waiting room. On the fourth day, needing a change of clothes and a document for the hospital administration, he went to Hannah’s small apartment.
It smelled like her—lavender and old paper. The apartment was frozen in time. A half-drank mug of tea sat on the counter. Her mail was piled by the door. Elias went into her bedroom to find her insurance papers in her desk. As he opened the bottom drawer, a small, leather-bound notebook caught his eye. It was her journal.
He knew he shouldn't intrude, but desperation and grief overrode his logic. He opened it to the last entry, dated two days before she called him from the hospital.
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*The pain is getting worse. I finally went to the doctor today. They ordered a biopsy. I know it's bad. I can feel it in my bones. If I die, I want Elias to know I forgive him. I want him to know I hid the symptoms for six months because I was terrified that if I got sick, he would look at me with pity. I couldn't bear his pity. But God, I am so scared.*
Elias dropped the journal, his hands shaking. Six months. She had been suffering alone for six months out of fear of his emotional distance.
