I watched you become my companion.
My nurse.
My best friend.
You laughed at my terrible jokes.
You reminded me to take my medicine.
You stayed awake during nights when the pain wouldn’t let me sleep.
No amount of money can buy that.
My vision blurred again.
I remembered those nights.
Holding his hand until sunrise.
Helping him walk across the garden because he refused to spend every day in bed.
Watching old black-and-white movies because they reminded him of his late wife without making him sad.
Somehow we had become a family.
Just not the one anyone expected.
The letter continued.
My children believe you married me for my fortune.
Perhaps you did.
At first.
But I watched you change.
More importantly…
I watched you think nobody noticed you changing.
The room became painfully quiet.
Even Daniel had stopped smiling.
Russell’s next words hit me harder than anything else.
