LILY'S POV
Lily stood outside Ethan's hospital room and couldn't breathe.
Daniel appeared beside her, his face creased with worry. He'd been waiting in the hallway the entire time she was in there. Watching. Knowing.
"You told him," Daniel said. It wasn't a question.
"I told him I loved him," Lily said quietly. "That's not a lie."
"But it is a lie by omission," Dr. Mitchell's voice came from behind them. The doctor had arrived while Lily was with Ethan, carrying a clipboard and that careful expression that meant she was about to deliver bad news. "And now we have a complication."
She steered them both away from the door and down the hallway toward a small consultation room. The walls were beige. The chairs were uncomfortable. Everything smelled like hospital and things Lily didn't want to think about.
Dr. Mitchell closed the door and turned to face them both.
"His condition is stable for now," the doctor said, "but his brain is still healing. The retrograde amnesia is protecting him from memories that his injured mind can't process yet. The question is whether you're going to tell him the truth about your divorce or not."
The word divorce hung in the air like poison.
Lily sank into one of the chairs. Her legs had stopped working somewhere between the hospital room and here.
"His condition is too fragile," Dr. Mitchell continued, sitting across from them. "If we introduce the knowledge of your separation suddenly, before his brain has healed enough to handle emotional stress, we could trigger a psychological crisis on top of his physical injuries. I've seen it before. Patients who were on track to recover completely fell apart when hit with devastating news."
"So what are you saying?" Lily asked, even though she already knew. Even though she was already hoping for the answer she shouldn't want.
"I'm saying," Dr. Mitchell replied carefully, "that the truth can wait. A few days. Maybe longer. Until his memory returns naturally or until he's physically strong enough to handle that kind of emotional shock. For now, he needs to believe that the people he loves are still here fighting for him. That belief could literally help his body heal."
Daniel made a sound like he was disagreeing but the doctor held up her hand.
"I'm not saying it's right," Dr. Mitchell continued. "I'm saying it's medically advisable. The rest is your choice to make."
Lily's hands were shaking. She clenched them in her lap.
"How long?" she asked. "How long would I have to... how long until I had to tell him?"
"Until his memories return. Could be days. Could be weeks. The brain doesn't follow a schedule." Dr. Mitchell was watching her carefully. "But you should know that when he remembers, when his brain finally decides to process those missing two years, he will remember everything. The divorce. The reasons it happened. All of it."
Lily closed her eyes.
"And what happens then?" she whispered. "What happens when he remembers why he signed those papers? When he realizes he didn't want me anymore?"
"Then you'll deal with that," Dr. Mitchell said. "But at least his body will be healed enough to handle it."
Daniel touched Lily's shoulder. "You don't have to do this. You can tell him the truth right now. You can protect yourself."
Lily opened her eyes and looked at him.
"I don't want to protect myself," she said quietly. "I want to remember what it felt like when he looked at me like I mattered."
Daniel flinched like she'd hit him.
"That was for five minutes," he said. "That's not worth building a lie on."
"Wasn't it?" Lily stood up and started pacing the small room. "For five minutes, I was his wife again. For five minutes, he loved me without reservation or doubt or coldness. For five minutes, I wasn't the mistake he'd corrected. I was the person he called for when he woke up in pain."
"Lily..."
"I know," she interrupted him. "I know this is wrong. I know I'm being selfish. But I spent six months being nothing. Being less than nothing. And I just got to be something again. Even if it's a lie. Even if it's temporary. I want just a little bit longer."
Dr. Mitchell was watching her with an expression that looked too much like understanding.
"If you're going to do this," the doctor said, "you need to understand the cost. When this falls apart, it will be worse because of the lie. You'll have months of memories with this version of Ethan, this gentle version that loves you without question. And then you'll have to watch his face when he realizes you lied to him."
"I know," Lily said, and she did know. She could see it coming like a train she couldn't stop. She could see his face when he remembered. She could see the betrayal replacing the love in his green eyes.
And she wanted those days in between anyway.
"How long until he can come home?" she asked.
"Two to three days," Dr. Mitchell said. "His physical injuries are healing faster than expected. Once he's released, he'll need home recovery. Quiet, stress-free environment. No work. No complications."
"I'll move back in," Lily said. "I'll stay with him while he recovers."
"That would be helpful," Dr. Mitchell said. "For his recovery."
But they both knew that wasn't the real reason. They both knew Lily was choosing to walk deeper into the lie instead of out of it.
Daniel left the room without saying goodbye. Lily didn't try to stop him.
She was alone with Dr. Mitchell and the weight of her decision.
"One more thing," the doctor said as Lily reached for the door. "When you do tell him, tell him everything. Don't try to soften it or make yourself look better. He deserves the complete truth, even if it comes late."
Lily nodded like she agreed.
But as she walked back toward Ethan's room, she already knew she was never going to tell him the complete truth. She was going to tell him enough to keep her conscience from destroying her, but not enough to destroy him completely.
That was the first lie.
There would be many more.
When she pushed open the door to his room, Ethan was sleeping. His breathing was steady. The machines beeped their gentle rhythm. He looked peaceful. Safe.
She pulled the chair close and sat down. She took his good hand in hers.
And she made a deal with whatever God was listening.
Give her a week. Give her seven days of being loved by this man without the weight of their history. Seven days of being someone who mattered. And then she would figure out how to break both their hearts.
It was a selfish prayer from a selfish woman.
But God must have been listening to prayers like that, because three days later, when Ethan was released from the hospital and Lily helped him into his penthouse, the lie was still intact.
The truth was still hidden.
And the clock was still ticking on the time bomb they'd both agreed to live with.