The sterile scent of antiseptic filled the air, mingling with faint hum and muffled voices drifting down the hallway.
Elena sat on the edge of the examination bed, gripping the thin blanket draped across her lap.
The doctor's face was calm but his eyes held the weight of what he was about to say. He cleared his throat and spoke slowly.
"Mrs Hart, your test results show you have liver cancer. It's treatable but the odds are fifty - fifty. If we start treatment early, there is a chance but it won't be easy.
Elena blinked, feeling the room was spinning. The words echoed over and over in her mind, bouncing off the walls she couldn't see.
Liver cancer.
Fifty - fifty chance.
The doctor continued but she barely heard him now. She stared at the framed picture on the wall, a vibrant field of sunflowers under a bright blue sky and felt its cruelty.
It was supposed to be comforting, her life flashed in the cold, clinical space.
All she could think was how something so bright was fading, just like her chances.
She remembered how she had come to the hospital that morning hoping for answers to the strange fatigue that had settled in her.
How she had brushed it off as stress or poor diet.
Now the truth was a sharp blade cutting through her hopes.
The doctor's voice broke through her daze once again.
"We have treatment options. A combination of chemotherapy, possibly surgery and a new clinical trial starting soon. But the truth is, Mrs Hart, this is serious. The survival rate is about 50 percent, depending on how you respond".
Elena nodded slowly, her throat dry.
"I... I need time" she whispered, standing before he could say more. "please, I just need some time to think"
He gave her a small, understanding smile. "of course, take all the time you need but remember time is crucial"
The drive home was a blur. The city's car horns, chatters, seemed distant and hollow.
Elena felt like a ghost drifting through familiar streets that suddenly felt foreign.
The apartment was quiet when she arrived. Neat, spotless but it didn't feel like home anymore. Nathan had insisted on redecorating after their third anniversary claiming her taste were outdated. She had let him, unwilling to make an issue.
She wandered to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water, staring at her reflection in the window. pale, tired, fragile.
How had she gotten here?
Her mind drifted back to the early days with Nathan, full of hope and laughter.
They had met at a mutual's friend party and she remembered the warmth of his smile, the easy conversation between them.
He had been charming, attentive and ambitious
They had married after two years of dating. The wedding was small but beautiful. She still kept the faded photograph of them on their wedding day, standing under a willow tree, smiles wide and eyes full of dreams.
But dreams changed
Years passed. Nathan's ambitions grew and so did the distance between them.
Late night at the office became frequent. Phone calls turned brief. And somewhere along the way, the man who once held her hand tightly had started to let go.
As she stared at her reflection, she couldn't recognize the woman looking back.
The thought of treatment weighed heavy on her. She knew how expensive it would be. How Nathan's insurance would barely cover half of the hospital bills. How she would become a burden.
She didn't want to be a burden.
Her fingers trembled as she reached for her journal. She flipped to a blank page and wrote slowly;
Letting go is the last kindness I can offer him.
Her heart ached quietly. She would refuse treatment. Let nature take its course quietly without draining the last of their savings or dragging out the pain.
She picked her phone and typed a message to Nathan;
It is Liver cancer, 50/50 and I have decided not to do the treatment.
She hesitated, her thumb stayed over the send button.
Then she pressed it. No greetings, no please, just a cold, hard truth.
Her phone buzzed almost immediately but she ignored it.
The sound of the front door opening startled her
Nathan's voice echoed down the hall.
"Yeah, I will be home in few minutes. Traffic is a mess"
He didn't know she was there.
She crept quietly into the kitchen, as she wasn't sure she could face him
"She is still in denial" Nathan said casually
"It's sad really but Clarissa..this is the break we needed"
Elena's breath slowed down as she pieced the words together
Clarissa
Her best friend
Her maid of honor.
Her voice came from the speaker with chills
"If she doesn't want treatment, that's her choice. We are not begging her"
A pause
"Who knows? maybe fate finally did us a favor"
Elena's hand shook. The quiet apartment now felt like a cage.
"Yes...I love you too" Nathan said wrapping up the call
She slipped her shoes on quietly and grabbed her overnight bag. Her journal went inside last.
Nathan stepped into the hallway. "Elena? You home?"
But she was already gone.
Outside, the night air was cool against her skin, opposite to the suffocating cage she had left behind.
The city blurred through her tears as she walked with her head bowed.
She didn't look back. Not even once
Her phone buzzed again, a message from Nathan
"Where are you? please talk to me"
Slowly she typed back
"I'm not sure I want to talk for now"
She pocketed the phone and kept walking
She walked aimlessly, her mind swirled with grief, anger and exhaustion.
Eventually, she found a small cafe still open. She slipped inside and choose a quiet booth. Her hands wrapped around a cup of coffee, she stared out through the window.
Memories flooded her. The laughter, the promises, the lies she would have never think of.
For a moment, she allowed herself to imagine a different path. One where Nathan loved her, where her best friend stood by her.
But reality was harsh
Beneath the numbness, a tiny spark of hope flickered "stubborn and persistent"
This wasn't the end