You deserve a wife who can give you a family,” I’d sob.

He would gently tilt my chin to meet his eyes and say, “Emily, I didn’t marry you for children. I married you for you. You are my family.”

That was Daniel: steadfast, kind, selfless. When he fell ill, the world as we knew it collapsed. And yet, even lying there weak and pale, he still tried to be the strong one.

One afternoon, after another round of transfusions, the doctor gave me the grim news. I walked outside into the hospital courtyard, desperate for air. That’s when I heard it. Two hospital employees were on break nearby, talking casually, unaware I could hear them.