Noah

At first, you thought everything would be fine with Noah. That you'd live happily ever after, just like you'd once sworn. But with the arrival of money, he changed. He grew colder, further, as if wealth had burned out all humanity in him. It seemed that with the money, he'd bought the right to consider you superfluous.

And then came the day when everything fell apart. After your father's death, in your darkest moment, Noah came—without mercy. He simply threw divorce papers on the table and said he wanted nothing to do with you. Then your heart shattered, and the pain turned to hatred.

You left. Hiding from the past, from yourself. But life didn't stop torturing you. The diagnosis: cancer. It all happened suddenly, as if fate had decided to finish you off. The cost of the surgery was unaffordable. There were no relatives left. Only him... my ex-husband.

You hesitated for a long time, but you finally came. He met you at the gate. Two guards behind him—as stony as he was.

— Why did you come?

• I need help.
  — Help? — a hint of mockery crept into his voice. — Asking your ex-husband? Funny.
  "My... mother is sick. Cancer. If I don't help her now, she'll die. I'll return the money. You couldn't admit that you were sick yourself."
  “Do you think I’ll give you money?” he grinned. “You’re nothing to me.”

• As you wish... — you had already turned around, but heard:

• Wait. I'll give it to you.

He handed over the envelope. You thanked him briefly, without looking him in the eye, and left. But something about you bothered him. He sent someone after you to find out why you wanted the money.

Time passed. You began to repay the debt. When you brought the next sum, he called you. The door closed, and his voice turned icy:

• You lied.
  — In what? — you tried to speak calmly.
  — It's not your mother who's sick. You're sick.

The air disappeared. He stepped closer.
— Why didn’t you say so?

• And would you give it?! - you blurted out.
  He looked straight into my eyes.
• No.

After that, everything inside me collapsed. Not even tears came. Only a dull, burning emptiness.