It wasn’t until I pressed him that I learned the truth–Nathan had taken his own life.
Before he died, he had been lucid for a while. He sent Chris the medical report from the studio along with a letter he had written for me. The letter was long, filled with nothing but regret.
Chapter 10
+25 BONUS
He wrote about a nightmare he had. In the dream, he forced me to divorce him. I refused to give in, and he set me up, sending me to the beds of several men.
In the end, I became so desperate that I took my own life.
He said the version of him in the dream wasn’t intentional he just wanted me to give in, never imagining it would drive me to despair and death.
He hadn’t even known I was truly sick. He wrote that he would never have treated me that way if he had known. When he found the bathroom covered in blood, his heart shattered. He wished it had been him who died.
The letter ended with one sentence, “Thankfully, the events in the dream didn’t happen.”
Finally, he signed off the letter with an apology.
I scoffed softly before tossing the letter and the medical report into the trash.
“Ms. Caldwell,” Chris said, his brow furrowing slightly.
I spoke softly, “The old Lois was sick, but I’m not that person anymore. After leaving him, I recovered.”
After a long silence, Chris smiled, a mix of helplessness and affection.
I looked at him and smiled, too.
Thank God I hadn’t lost anything in this life.
