His Wife, His Death Sentence

It was also the day a doctor told me I

plication from the surgery where I gave my ot

ne. She was with Hudson Stewart, her college sweetheart, and

lars to disappear. He looked at me with contempt,

s not love. It's... gratitude. A responsibility."

. A text from Hudson: a picture of him and Eleanor

her for ten years, since I saved her life with my kidney.

leanor, her voice fake,

s voice, and a kiss.

flicker of hope I

pte

It was also the day a doctor told me I

failing. It was a complication from the surgery. The surgery where I ga

the passenger seat. I had given up my art, my passion, for

was with Hudson Stewart, a lobbyist whose family was as powerful as hers. He

. He kissed her, a possessive, claiming ki

l pain in my side was nothing c

to when I needed to think. He slid onto the stool next to me. He l

voice smooth. "Eleano

s the bar. It was for

pear. Leave her alone. It's

ething he'd scraped off his shoe. The humilia

f the doctor's words and the image of his kiss. The ye

y stunned silence. He interpreted

pping with condescending magnanimity. "But don't take too long.

r and slid it back into the breast pocket of his suit jacket. The

a 'no,'" he added, standing up and adjusting

ghost of a five-million-dollar offer

itical ambitions. I gave her my kidney when hers failed, tying my life to hers in the most permanent w

the shadows, as usual, while Eleanor shone in the spotlight. I wasn't feeling well, a

s before I saw them

Eleanor said. Her voice was straine

ars of a life he could never have dreamed of. You don't ow

ng silence. I

they hit me like a physical blow. "It's not love. It's... g

your image. A working-class artist. My God, what

ude. N

ar came rushing back. The past five years, I ha

Eleanor, in our bed. Her head was on his shoulder, and they w

e blurred. A single tear escaped and

t it

dys. I was Jefferson Byrd, a kid who grew u

d on a rainy street, her body wracked with pain from her failing kidneys. I took her to the

kidney. I ga

he held my hand and said she wanted t

d me to

nto love. I thought she saw me, Jeff

s a

sed up and discarded. My sacr

en now. I fumbled in my pocket for the bottle of painkillers the doctor had given me.

ang. It wa

, completely fake. "Don't go to bed yet. I have a surpri

so thick I c

A local news channel was on. There she was, on the

rfect, practiced smile on her face. "His unwavering support is th

a loved her. They saw a brilliant, c

erate urge. One last

oice hoarse. "Can you j

en, I heard it. A man's voice in the background, low and intimate. Hudson's

go, Jeff. S

hung

last, stupid flicker of

idney anymore. It was everything. The betrayal, the lies, the years

in my head. Renal failur

fingers shaking. I sent

ffer. I want the