Chapter 2 - The Sign Above the DoorThe following morning, my doctor cleared me to walk farther down the hallway. I put on my robe, slipped into hospital slippers, gripped my walker, and slowly made my way toward the elevators.

I'd almost reached the curve in the corridor when the doors opened. Warrick stepped out, holding flowers.

For half a second I felt relieved — there he was, my husband, surprising me. I opened my mouth to call his name.

Then he turned. Away from my room. He didn't hesitate, didn't look confused — he moved with the confidence of someone who knew exactly where he was going.

I stopped. My first instinct was to believe there had to be an innocent explanation. A client. A friend. Someone from work.

But then I remembered the nurse. He comes every day.

I followed him. Slowly, painfully, pushing the walker while he disappeared farther down the corridor. At the end of the hallway, he turned through a set of doors. I stopped when I saw the sign.

MATERNITY.

My stomach tightened. There were dozens of reasonable explanations — a client's wife had given birth, a friend's daughter, a distant relative. My mind offered each possibility rapidly. My body believed none of them.

I pushed through the doors. Warrick was already halfway down the corridor. I followed. He stopped outside one room, opened the door without knocking, and went in.

I waited several seconds, then walked toward it. My hand shook as I pushed the door open the rest of the way.

Inside, a young woman sat upright in the hospital bed, holding a newborn. Flowers filled the windowsill. A bassinet stood nearby. Warrick walked toward her and set the bouquet down beside the bed, then leaned toward the baby.

My entire body went cold. Was this an affair? Was that his child?

Thirty-one years of marriage seemed to unravel in my mind within seconds. I pushed the door open the rest of the way.

"Warrick."

He spun around so fast his face lost all color. "Catherine? What are you doing here?"

"I'm a patient in this hospital," I said. "What are YOU doing here?"

The young woman looked toward me. I was ready to demand everything — how long, how well he knew her, whether that baby was his.

Then Warrick stepped slightly aside, and I finally got a clear look at her face.

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Every accusation vanished.

I knew her.