I remembered a video I’d seen not long ago. In it, a woman found out her husband was cheating when his lover secretly tattooed a barcode on him as a message. The thought twisted my stomach.
No, it couldn’t be. Daniel wouldn’t… But then again, why was he acting so distant? And this barcode? It was like a sign, screaming for me to pay attention. My hands shook as I reached for my phone, hesitating.
I took a deep breath and opened the barcode scanner on my phone, pointing it at the faint tattoo on his back. The scanner beeped, and a website popped up on the screen. As it loaded, my hands were clammy, and I could barely breathe. I braced myself for a photo, a message, some piece of evidence confirming my worst fears.
Instead, a number appeared on the screen with a short caption: «Call me ASAP. He has just months.»
I stared, feeling cold, like the blood had drained from my body. Just months? What did that mean?
Not knowing what else to do, I quietly left the room and dialed the number. My hand was shaking so much I could hardly hold the phone.
A woman answered, her tone calm and professional. «Dr. Evans here. How can I help?»
«Um,» I stammered, «I… I just scanned a barcode on my husband’s back. It led me to this number. It said… it said something about him only having months.»
There was a pause. Then she spoke, her voice soft. «You must be Daniel’s wife. I… I’m so sorry you had to find out like this.»
I felt my knees weaken, and I reached for the wall to steady myself. «What does that mean? Is he… is he sick?»
«Yes,» she replied gently. «Daniel came to us a few months ago. He has stage four pancreatic cancer.»
I gasped, unable to speak. My mind went blank, and I could barely process her words. «Cancer? But… why wouldn’t he tell me?»
Dr. Evans took a deep breath. «He wanted to keep it from you. He didn’t want to worry you, especially since you’re pregnant. He said he wanted you to be happy.»
I wiped a tear from my cheek. «Then why… why would you put a barcode on him?»
Her voice softened further. «This isn’t something I’d normally do, but… I lost my husband to cancer. He kept it a secret from me until it was too late, and I never had the chance to say goodbye. I didn’t want you to go through that, to lose that time with Daniel without knowing. I thought if you found out… well, it would give you a chance to face it together, even if he couldn’t bring himself to tell you.»..
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