This Was Just Too Much!

“Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions to be destroyed”

- Friedrich Nietzsche

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Lia knew that revealing everything to Lucas at once would shake the foundation of their world. But time had slipped through her fingers, and there was no time to ease into it. The window for gentleness had closed. If the truth came from anyone else, it would have shattered him. So, she did the only thing she could – she gave it to him herself—all of it. Lucas didn’t speak. He didn’t fall apart or demand explanations. He just gathered himself, held his composure, and took her to the hospital.

The drive was silent.

The kind of silence that was thick with emotion and unspoken questions. But somewhere between the weight of the truth and the worry clouding the air, Lucas reached over and took Lia’s hand as tears slid down his cheeks – quiet, steady. Lia wasn’t sure if they were tears of grief or love, but she was glad he let them fall.

He found parking close to the emergency entrance, sparing Lia the need to walk far. The waiting area was nearly empty when they stepped inside – a small grace. Lucas approached the front desk and calmly explained her condition and how they ended up there that night. The urgency in his voice moved the staff to act fast. She was triaged almost immediately and escorted to a bed.

As Lia lay in the hospital bed, the hum of machines and distant footsteps created a dull soundtrack, but he never left her side. He hadn’t said a word about the letter. Not yet. He hadn’t had time to process the weight of it. And truthfully, he wasn’t ready. Not while she was still fighting to hold on.

He watched her drift into sleep. Her breath soft, her body tired, her spirit bruised but not broken. She’d held onto everything for so long, alone. He now understood why her smile had been dimmer, her longer silences. The quiet war she’d fought to make it through the day. It broke him.

Lucas stepped outside for a moment to call Neil. His best friend answered on the first ring. With his voice low, his words measured, he told Neil about the diagnosis and the baby. Neil heard the burden behind his words as he explained the situation and told him he’d be stepping away for some time. Neil, ever loyal, assured him he had everything covered. Lucas didn’t doubt that, but he needed to hear it. Sometimes, even the strongest need reassurance.

When he returned to the room, Lia was sleeping soundly. He stood there for a long moment, just looking at her. His eyes fixed on the curve of her belly, on the rise and fall of her chest. On the life, she was fighting to protect. The life they had created. With his heart full of questions, the loudest one running laps in his mind was:

“Why did she wait so long to tell me?”

There was a quiet ache in him – not anger, but disappointment. Not because she had cancer. Not because she was pregnant. But because she bore it all alone. He wanted to be her strength, her place of rest. But now he realized he’d missed the moments when she needed him the most. And that knowledge destroyed something inside of him. He felt helpless.

He loved her more deeply than words could carry. And now, every second felt like a countdown, a question mark – Will she make it? Will they?

He retook her hand and bowed his head. And for the first time in a long time, he prayed. From the depth of his soul, he asked God to preserve her life, to protect the child growing inside her, and to strengthen him to stand beside her in the days ahead. He knew he couldn’t do this alone. 

Unseen by him, Lia had awakened. Her eyes were still closed, but her ears were open. Quietly, she listened to the cry of his heart – the depth of a love that ran deeper than fear. So, she prayed, too. She reached out to the God who had carried her through every valley. Believing for time and life. Hoping for a miracle only he could provide because she needed one.

She turned toward Lucas and wrapped him gently in her arms. Lucas rested his head on her chest, the place he called home. The only place that made sense in his world. And together, they wept. Hearing the beat of each other’s hearts because they both understood:

The road ahead was long, and they needed strength and faith in God and each other.

To be continued!

Kerique Hoo-Kim