My Husband's Funeral, My New Beginning

ndrew, told m

late-stage, inope

e a burden on me, the unass

and, tragic gesture of a man trying to

life, I be

he man I loved. As the icy water shocked my system, I screame

million dollars! We can get the

e dark water, weren't filled with

swim to the surfa

rimace of pure greed. He held my head under the water,

ted by the distant lights of the shore, as

I wo

first thing I heard, a soun

Andrew's car was sailing through the air, a dark silhouette against

happeni

s time,

e, I did

ced by a cold, hard resolve. He wanted to die?

g anything from

of icy water on my skin. The shock of

icole. Hi

all goin

ey were trembling, but not fr

would be the

ath, and then I s

. It was a performance. I shrieked, my voice cracking with feig

My husband! He

, Andrew's parents, standing near the edge of the parking lot. Their

ors at a show they' d al

't just bystanders. They were acco

me, the poor librarian who wasn't good enough for t

aiting for

into the water. I watched, my heart a stone in my chest, as th

e him that. He played the part

lesman, a swimmer since high school.

, and I rushed to his side, my

thank God!

ked at me, and for a second, I saw a flicker of confusion. He

their calm facades now rep

. Scott cried, clutching

g," he said, looking at the charts. "He barely inhaled any wa

" Mr. Scott said solemnly,

was so scared. With his... his condition...

I'm not taking any chances. That crash could have affected the tumor. I'm calling

ion was i

ni

Mrs. Scott gasped. Mr.

ice suddenly stronger. "That

oed, stroking his hair. "You

. It was a lie cooked up by his accomplice, his high school sweeth

take care of him, spending my meager savi

h a familiar, sharp-fe

le H

didn't possess, her eyes locking with

ce dripping with false sympathy

htly. "Thank you for coming so quickly. You'

tion. The whole rotten con

t's so kind of you. But I'm his

mbling with faux humility. "I know you think I'm overreacting, but I can't live w

were a pictu

"He's too weak to be moved! The lo

ing her panic. "He's right, Mrs. Scott. Moving him

riosity. "The doctor said he's fine. It's the tumor I'm

elentless force o

ht at Johns Hopkins. He's a leading neuro-oncologist. He said there's a spot in an exp

They couldn't argue against saving Andrew

es, a silent, desperate conve

firm. "Maria, please. Just... let me rest

fely duty. "Alright, darling. If that's what you

d and walked out of the room, feeling t

n. They thought they had

ea I was just

er, my hands steady, and cashed the certified check for my ten-million-dol

d our joint s

trie

h a frown. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Scott,

ha

ed this morning vi

count was the down payment for our house. It was my i

n waited for

rofound, so absolute,

y mind racing. They had accelerated th

call I was expec

her voice thick

Andrew. There was a... a sudden

, a perfect imitation of a gr

the phone

wti