When Nella noticed her husband, Eric, acting strangely, she decided to follow him and uncover the truth. What she found was far beyond anything she could have imagined—and it changed her life forever.
It all began on a quiet evening. Eric suddenly broke their 12-year routine with an unexpected announcement.
“I need some space, Nella,” he said. His voice was steady but distant.
Eric had always been the rock in their marriage—reliable, calm, and grounded. So, when he told her he’d be sleeping in his car for a few nights to “clear his head,” Nella’s mind raced to the worst possible places. Was he cheating? Was he planning to leave? Every possibility seemed worse than the last.
“I can give you space here at home,” she offered desperately. “The guest room, the pool house—we can make it work.”
“It’s not about us,” Eric replied with a small, weary smile. “I just need to do this.”
For ten nights, Eric followed the same pattern: leaving after dinner and returning before sunrise. He grew more disheveled and exhausted with each passing day, brushing off her questions with a strained promise: “It’s nothing bad. Trust me.”
But how could she? By the fifth night, Nella couldn’t take it anymore. Her imagination was running wild, and she had to know the truth. So, she decided to follow him.
She trailed his car to a nearby park and watched from a distance as he parked under a tree. To her surprise, Eric didn’t meet anyone or even leave his car. Instead, he settled into the front seat with a pillow and blanket, staring at his phone before lying down to sleep. It made no sense. Why would he endure this discomfort unless he was hiding something?
By the tenth night, Nella had reached her breaking point. This time, she confronted him directly.
Tapping on his car window, she startled Eric, who quickly unlocked the door. The tension was palpable as she slid into the passenger seat.
“Eric, what’s going on? Are you seeing someone? Is that why you’re here?”
His sigh was heavy, his face etched with exhaustion deeper than sleepless nights. “It’s not that,” he said quietly. “I promise, there’s no one else.”
“Then what is it?” she demanded. “Why are you doing this?”
He hesitated before reaching into the backseat, pulling out a stack of children’s books and a recording device. “I didn’t want to worry you,” he admitted. “I’ve been recording bedtime stories for the kids.”
Nella’s confusion deepened. “Why would that worry me?”
Eric’s hands trembled as he revealed the truth. A few weeks earlier, he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. The prognosis was grim.
“I wanted to leave something for them to remember me by,” he explained, his voice breaking. “Something they could hold onto when I’m gone.”
The world seemed to tilt beneath Nella’s feet. Tears streamed down her face as the weight of his secret crushed her. “You don’t have to go through this alone,” she whispered. “We’ll face this together.”
In the months that followed, their lives revolved around treatments, hospital visits, and stolen moments of joy. Eric poured himself into making memories with their children—pancakes for dinner, Halloween costumes planned months ahead, and endless laughter despite his fading strength.
When the disease finally claimed him on a quiet winter morning, the house felt unbearably empty. Days later, Nella discovered Eric’s recordings. Among the files of bedtime stories, one titled Our Story caught her eye. With trembling hands, she pressed play.
“Once upon a time,” his voice began, warm and steady, “there was a princess—kind, smart, and braver than any knight. But most of all, she had the biggest heart.”
As Eric recounted their love story, weaving it into a fairytale, Nella felt his presence wrapping around her. His words were a gift, a reminder of the extraordinary life they’d built together.
“And even though the man grew old and weary,” his voice wavered, “his princess would go on. She would rule their home with love and strength.”
Through tears, Nella smiled. Whenever the days felt heavy, she returned to his voice, letting it guide her forward—proof that even in loss, love endures.
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