The Storm Was His Goodbye

Synopsis

The honeymoon was supposed to end with two plane tickets home. Instead, my husband Andrew Hayes secretly canceled mine and gave the last seat to his childhood friend, Summer Lynn. Her excuse: she was afraid of typhoons and had to leave that night. His order to me: stay a few more days, don't fight her for it. I showed him the red evacuation alert on my phone, telling him the port would close tonight and I might not make it out. He brushed my hand away. "You can swim. You speak English. She can't do either. It's not the same." That night, flash floods tore through our guesthouse. A wooden beam crushed me. I lost the baby. Six weeks old. After emergency surgery, the first thing I saw was Summer's post. In the photo, she leaned on Andrew's shoulder, wearing his ring. When the doctor asked if I needed to contact my husband, I stared at the screen for a long moment. Then I said, calm and final, "I don't have a husband."