Too Late, My Ex-Wife: Her Regret After Our Daughter's Death

Chapter 1: An Innocent Wish

Nathan's POV:

"Mr. Cole, the results confirm Progressive Myelin Decay Syndrome." He turned the monitor toward me.

"It is a rare degenerative condition. Early intervention is what makes the difference in most cases. But your daughter’s case..." He stopped. Just half a second. "The optimal treatment window has almost completely passed."

I stared at the doctor, my voice trembled.

"What does that mean exactly?"

"It means your daughter has less than a month to live. Maybe even less if her condition continues to deteriorate." He sighed.

Less than a month?

I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The room seemed to tilt.

"Mr. Cole." He was watching me. "Do you have any questions?"

A thousand questions crashed through my mind.

How long had she been suffering?

Could anything still be done?

Was there any chance the diagnosis was wrong?

But when I opened my mouth, not a single word came out.

I swallowed hard.

"I... need a moment."

He nodded. Slid a printed sheet across the desk. "Take all the time you need. But please do not wait too long."

I folded the paper in half without reading it and put it in my jacket pocket.

My fingers felt numb.

Without reading another line, I folded it and slipped it into my jacket pocket.

Then I sat there for a long time, staring at nothing.

The signs had been there.

Lily wincing when she climbed the stairs. The meals she barely touched.The exhaustion she always tried to hide behind a smile.

And I had brought it up to Vivienne again and again. But she never listened.

"You're overthinking it."

"You always make everything sound worse than it is."

The memories hit like knives.

I should have pushed harder. Maybe if I had acted sooner...

My hands clenched so tightly my knuckles turned white. I took a deep breath, stepped a few feet away and called Vivienne.

Two rings. Then the noise hit before her voice did. Music, overlapping conversations, the high sharp clink of glasses being raised.

"Nathan." Her voice was flat. Like my name was an item on a to-do list she had not gotten to yet. "What?"

"I need you to come tonight. It is important."

"I am in the middle of something."

"Vivienne." I turned further from Lily, dropped my voice lower. "I just left the hospital. It is about Lily. I need you to hear this in person."

"Stop lying. I'm not going back.” Her voice turned cold. "Roman is back. He's helped me secure several major contracts. We're celebrating. I don't have time for another one of your scenes." 

Roman Shaw.

Of course.

Her first love.

The man who had disappeared several years ago, but had just returned now with her son.

"Our daughter is sick, Vivienne." My back molars pressed together. "This is not about us."

"Grow up, Nathan. I will be home when I am home."

She hung up.

I stood there with the phone against my palm. The laughter from wherever she was still came through faintly even after the call ended. Or maybe I was imagining it.

Lily was still on the bench outside. She looked up.

"Daddy. If I eat all my vegetables and go to sleep on time every night, will I get better?"

I did not answer right away. I pressed my mouth against the top of her head and kept it there.

"Sure. You’re totally fine. Trust me, okay?"

She smiled. Then she looked down at her bracelet. Started turning it around her wrist slowly.

"Daddy. My birthday is next week."

"I know."

"Do you think..." She picked at the edge of the paper. "Do you think Mommy could come home for it? She does not have to stay for the whole thing. Just the cake part.  I am going to be really good from now on. I will not leave my shoes by the door anymore and I will finish my dinner even when it is the broccoli kind."

"I think if I am good enough," she said quietly, "Mommy will want to come home more.”

I looked at the elevator doors. My hands tightened.

No gifts. No party. No list of things she wanted. Just her mother standing in the same room long enough to watch her blow out the candles.

That's all she asked for. Nothing else. 

“Sure, she will.” I smiled, gently touching her face.

I dropped her at home with Mrs. Pena from next door, who watched her on evenings I could not be there.

Then I drove to the restaurant where Vivienne had spent the evening celebrating her success.

The private hall was at the back, past the bar and the main dining room. I could hear it before I reached the corridor.

"Honestly the timing of everything since Roman came back has been remarkable." A woman's voice, someone I did not know. "Three major contracts in six months. Whatever he is doing it is working."

More laughter.

Then Roman's voice drifted through the door, calm and confident.

"I just make sure I'm there whenever Vivienne calls."

Someone laughed. "You make it sound like she can't do without you."

Roman paused for a beat before answering.

"Maybe she can't."

The room erupted with knowing laughter.

"Let's just say Vivienne and I have become very accustomed to each other's company."

A woman near the back laughed. "If only her husband was half as useful as Roman."

"Oh, come on," another guest said. "The man's a househusband. Vivienne should be grateful he hasn't become another dependent she has to support."

The room erupted with laughter.

"Honestly, I don't know how she puts up with it."

"Roman helps her close deals. What does her husband do? Fold laundry?"

I stood motionless outside the door, listening as a room full of strangers mocked my life, my marriage, and everything I had sacrificed for my family.

Then another voice spoke up.

"Speaking of kids, Roman, how's your son doing? I heard he wasn't feeling well last week."

Immediately, Vivienne answered before Roman could.

"He's doing much better. I made sure he saw the specialist I recommended."

Her voice softened in a way I hadn't heard in a long time.

"He still needs to be careful with his diet. I told him to call me if he feels uncomfortable again."

Several people exchanged amused looks.

"You're practically his mother at this point."

Vivienne laughed lightly but didn't deny it.

Roman's voice followed, warm and appreciative.

"Honestly, I don't know what we'd do without you."

The room laughed again.

My fists clenched.

That’s enough.

I put my hand against the door and shoved it open.

The door hit the wall behind it.

Every head in the room turned at once. The laughter stopped immediately.

Vivienne's glass was still raised. Roman was leaning toward her. They were close enough that their shoulders were almost touching.

He straightened slowly when he saw me. No surprise on his face. Just a slight adjustment of a man who had prepared for this particular inconvenience.

Vivienne set her glass down.

"Nathan." Controlled, but her jaw had tightened. "What do you think you are doing here?"

I was still looking at Roman. Tailored jacket. Easy posture. He looked at me with something close to comical sympathy, and that was somehow worse than contempt.

"Whatever is going on at home, this is not the place," Vivienne said coldly.

"Our daughter is dying.” I said, my voice trembled.