A Struggle
Joan Darrin had been battling an unforgiving illness for years, and after her latest screenings, she felt as though she might have to accept her fate. While she tried to put her affairs in order, her husband came to her with a shocking request that left her mind racing.
For weeks, she couldn’t shake the thought. How could he be so unfeeling? She knew she had to find a way to make him understand.
A Difficult Day
It was one of the worst days Joan could remember. The chemotherapy had left her feeling exhausted, and all she wanted was some rest.
The past month had been filled with challenges, and she knew more were on the way. She hoped for a moment of peace, but little did she know that her day was about to take a disturbing turn.
An Unexpected Message
Joan’s sister, Tiffany, had taken her to chemotherapy that morning while her husband, Karl, was at work.
After Tiffany left that afternoon, Joan welcomed the chance to be alone. But as she lay in bed, she received an unexpected text from Karl that caught her off guard.
A Request
Karl had texted, “Can we talk about something when I get home?” Joan immediately felt a pang of anxiety.
What could Karl want to discuss? A feeling of unease settled in her stomach. She replied, “Sure,” trying to push away the tension but unaware of what was coming.
The Wait
Joan spent the afternoon in bed, feeling both physically and emotionally drained. Despite her exhaustion, she couldn’t stop thinking about Karl’s message.
He had been acting strangely, and now he wanted a serious conversation. When he finally arrived home just after 6 p.m., he had a peculiar expression, and Joan braced herself for whatever he had to say.
The Conversation
After waiting all day, Joan finally sat down with Karl to hear what was on his mind. As they began to talk, Karl looked somber.
“I’ve had a lot on my mind,” he began, sharing how difficult the past month had been for him. Joan was relieved to see him opening up, but his next words shattered her relief.
An Unthinkable Question
Joan reached for Karl’s hand, wanting to offer comfort. “What’s on your mind, honey?” she asked gently.
But then he said it: “I’ve been thinking… if you don’t make it, would you be okay if I dated other people?” In that moment, Joan felt her world collapse around her.
Dreams Left Behind
Joan Darrin, born and raised in Dallas, Texas, had always held dreams like any thirty-year-old. She wanted to become a mother, learn to paint, watch her children grow up, and eventually retire with Karl.
But one February afternoon, those dreams began to crumble, marking one of the hardest days of her life.
A Painful Discovery
For weeks, Joan had suffered from a stabbing pain in her ribs and tried every remedy her doctor recommended.
Initially, they suspected the flu and prescribed medications, but nothing worked. Frustrated, she insisted on more tests, and finally, they found something devastating.
A Cancer Diagnosis
When Joan saw the large, white mass on her lung scan, her heart sank. She knew exactly what it was.
Joan was diagnosed with stage three lung cancer, and nothing had ever scared her more. By her side, Karl held her hand as the doctor delivered the heartbreaking news.
Unbelievable
Joan couldn’t believe that this had happened. She had always been extremely healthy, and now, she was so sick. Darrin held her hand as she cried for hours.
That night, she decided to give all of her close friends and family a call. No one could believe it. Joan was sick, and she needed all the help, love, and support that she could get.
Chemotherapy
After a difficult surgery, Joan’s chemo dates were booked for later that month, and she was anything but excited. “Apparently, it’s one of the worst feelings in the world. I’m going to feel so sick every single day,” She told her husband.
But he held her hand and promised that he would be there until the very end. If only she had known what he would do just a few weeks later.
Three Weeks Later
Joan remained in bed for weeks after her surgery, slowly but surely recovering every single day, but she knew that much worse awaited her. But it was just three weeks after her diagnosis that she noticed the change in her husband’s behavior.
Suddenly, he seemed more distant and a lot less supportive. Joan knew that he was just processing the terrible news.
Her Best Friend
They had been best friends and partners since high school. But on the inside, she always wondered if he regretted it. They had started dating when they were just fifteen years old. She was Karl’s first girlfriend ever.
But she always wondered about something. She wondered if Karl ever regretted marrying his first girlfriend. She wondered if he longed to know what it was like to be with another woman.
He Needed Time
Joan decided to give her husband all the time he needed to process what was happening, but soon, the time had come for her to start chemotherapy. For the first few days, Karl got some time off of work and spent every second by her side.
He took her to appointments each morning and gave her lunch every afternoon. But before long, he had to return to work, so she decided to contact family and friends. Luckily, they were all happy to help.
She Looked Terrible
The chemo was terrible. Joan had never felt so sick before in her entire life. She was constantly bringing up everything she’d had to eat and drink. Her hair was starting to thin out, and her skin was pale and almost translucent.
She felt like a zombie, and she looked even worse. But the people in her life were more than happy to help, and she was extremely grateful for that fact.
Never Forget
But one afternoon, just over a month after her diagnosis, Joan had a conversation with her husband that she would never forget. Joan sat in front of her husband around their dining room table. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind today,” Karl said.
“It got me thinking about some things.” Joan knew that the last month had been anything but easy on him. She was glad that he was finally opening up. But he was about to ruin everything.
A Question
Reaching forward, Joan grabbed her husband’s hand as it lay on the table in front of her. She wanted to offer some support. “What do you have on your mind, honey?” She asked delicately, ready to comfort him. But then, he said it.
“I’ve just been thinking, if you don’t make it, do you give me permission to date other people?” He asked. That was when everything came crashing down around them.
Was He Joking?
As soon as those words left his lips, she froze in place, feeling the weight of her world crashing down around her. For a moment, she thought it was all a prank.
She expected him to start laughing and say, “Just kidding!” But he never did. He stared at her intensely, waiting for a response. But he had no idea what was coming his way.
Are You Serious?
She couldn’t believe that he was already thinking about that. She had just been diagnosed, and he was thinking about dating someone else. “Are- are you serious?” She stumbled over her words, her hands shaking as she stared at her husband in bewilderment.
But he seemed confused by her question. “No, of course, I’m not kidding. I just want to get your blessing,” He said,
Enraged
Suddenly, she had forgotten all about how terrible she felt. Instead, she felt enraged by what he had asked her. “How could you ask me something like that? Is that where your mind has been? Are you already trying to replace me?” she asked as tears burned behind her eyes.
Karl was caught off guard by her response. “My mind is all over the place, Joan! I am just trying to look at the bright side!” He said.
How Could He?
The second those words left his mouth, tears began spilling down her cheeks. How on earth could he say something like that? “The bright side?” She repeated, her voice cracking with emotion, “So, you’re saying that me passing away and you dating someone else is the bright side?”
She had never felt so utterly defeated before in her life. How could he say something like that? She wanted to scream.
Not What He Meant
But all Karl could do was stare at her with wide eyes, his face pale as he registered what he’d just said. “No,” He said, shaking his head, “No, that’s not what I meant. That isn’t the bright side. I just mean-” he sighed to himself.
“I’m just trying to make sense of all of this. What will I do when you are no longer here?” he tried to correct himself, but the damage was done.
No Comfort
Joan couldn’t believe they were having this discussion. It was anything but comforting to know what he was thinking. She couldn’t stand to listen anymore.
Joan slowly pushed her chair out and arose from her seat, ready to leave the conversation. “I can’t do this right now,” she said, tears trailing down her cheeks. She headed straight for the bathroom and locked the door behind herself.
Alone Time
That night, she spent over an hour in the bathroom, washing away the small amount of makeup she had applied that morning. She needed some time to herself. When her husband came knocking on the door, she ignored him.
She didn’t want to speak to him. That night, she decided to sleep in the guest bedroom, which was on the opposite side of the house from their bedroom.
How Could He?
But as she lay in that cold bed, she couldn’t stop thinking about Karl and what he’d said. How could he ask her such a question? It was far too early to tell if she would pass away in the first place.
Why was he thinking about his next woman already? That night, as she lay in bed, Joan felt beyond worthless. She was sick, and all he cared about was his next girlfriend.
Miserable
As the days passed, Joan’s mood didn’t improve. She kept going for chemo and coming home feeling absolutely destroyed. She barely spoke to her husband. After all, what he’d said had hurt her.
Karl began spending less time at home while she grew even more miserable. But as time passed, her mind began to wonder. Where was her husband spending all of his time after work?
Watching Him
Whenever she would ask him about it, he would claim that he was working late. But she was starting to wonder if that was the truth. Since discovering that he was thinking of other women, she wondered if he was spending his time with one.
Every evening, he would come home well after 10 p.m. Although they weren’t speaking at the time, she still watched him from afar.
Acting Normal
At first, Joan didn’t notice anything unusual about her husband. Although he was coming home late every night, he acted completely normal at home. But Joan was certain that something was up.
He hardly spent any time with her anymore, and he didn’t even ask how her treatments were going. It seemed that he had completely forgotten about the woman he once loved more than anyone else in the world.
Investigation
But one evening, as Joan sat alone on the couch in their living room, her mind was filled with a thousand thoughts a second. She tried to remind herself that her husband was going through a tough time and that everything was fine, but on the inside, she knew that wasn’t true.
She could tell that something was going on, and that night, she planned to investigate. She had no idea what she was about to find.
She Had A Plan
Karl had been spending the evening in his office, claiming that he had work to catch up on, but Joan wondered if that was true. That night, she had a plan. She was going to wait for her husband to go to bed and then check his phone.
She sat patiently on the couch, waiting for the time to pass. But eventually, she heard Karl’s footsteps leading down the hall.
He Went To Bed
As soon as their bedroom door shut behind him, Joan arose from her seat on the couch and ventured down the hallway. She glanced into his dark office before switching the lights on.
As soon as the room brightened up, she spotted his cell phone on his desk. It was right where he left it every single night for the last few years. She was finally going to see what was going on.
Going Through His Phone
Joan shut the office door behind her and quietly walked toward his desk, taking a seat behind his computer. She had never gone through his phone before, but that night, she did. She reached for it and quickly unlocked it.
But as soon as she did, she saw a text from a name she didn’t recognize. “Who is Mindy?” She asked quietly and opened the texts.
Texts
That was the night Joan learned about her husband’s infidelity. She scrolled through weeks’ worth of texts between him and this woman. “I miss you. I wish you were here instead of my wife,” He’d told the other woman.
That night, her heart broke into a thousand pieces. Joan dropped the phone on his desk with tears streaming down her face and quickly left the room.
She Couldn’t Sleep
For that entire night, Joan couldn’t sleep. She sat on the couch for hours, her mind racing as tears streamed down her face. She wondered when he’d started seeing his new woman.
Was it because of the cancer? She didn’t know. She wanted to confront him, but she was far too weak and sick. She felt paralyzed as she sat in their living room. But she would get her revenge.
Heartbroken
When Joan awoke on the couch early the next morning, her heart was in pieces. She didn’t know what to do about the entire ordeal. Was she supposed to confront him or just sit around and wait for the illness to take her?
She hadn’t made up her mind yet. But that week, she had many different appointments with her doctors, and she chose to focus on that instead.
Check-Up
That day, she went to see her doctor, and he did a bunch of tests. He could see that Joan was out of it. Her mind was on her husband and his betrayal as the doctor did a monthly check-up.
She didn’t even care about the cancer at that point. All she wanted was to get away from Karl, but she didn’t know how. She didn’t want to be around him anymore.
She Was Miserable
She remained miserable for weeks, contemplating whether or not she was strong enough to battle cancer and her husband in a divorce case.
But just a few weeks later, she received a call that clarified everything. She knew what she had to do. “Hello?” She said, answering the phone as she lay alone in bed while her husband was off at work.
The Call
When she heard the nurse’s voice on the other end of the line, she sat up slowly, listening closely to what he said. “Joan, do you have the time to speak?” She asked.
She told him that she did, her stomach twisting into a knot. Was it something bad? “The tests have been coming back, and we are seeing massive improvements. The doctor thinks your chances of recovering are exceptionally high,” The nurse said over the phone.
The News
When she got the news that she would be fine, a strange feeling of relief washed over Joan, she couldn’t believe it. For so long, she wondered if she would still be around in five years. “Are you sure?” She asked, crying into the phone.
“Yes, ma’am. He just asked me to call you and inform you of the news,” The nurse said with a smile. Joan knew what she had to do.
Packing Her Bags
There were a few hours before her husband would be home, and she decided to pack her bags at that time. Once her bags were all packed, she called her sister, telling her about everything that had happened in recent weeks.
“Could you come and get me?” She asked, and of course, her sister agreed. Tiffany agreed to be there in ten minutes.
Calling Her Sister
Together, the women packed Joan’s bags into Tiffany’s car. But they couldn’t leave right away. They had to wait for Karl. The women sat around the dining room table, waiting for the man who had betrayed Joan in the worst period of her life.
For the first time in months, she felt a sense of hope and determination. She was going to move on and work on her dreams.
Confrontation
Karl stepped through the door just after 6 p.m., and that was when he spotted his wife and her sister in the dining room. But when he noticed the strange look on Joan’s face, he knew something was up.
“I am leaving you so you can be with Mindy,” She said without hesitation. As soon as those words left her lips, he froze. He begged her to stay, but she refused. She and Tiffany left right away.
She Left
That night, Joan and Tiffany drove toward her sister’s house. For the first time in so long, Joan smiled to herself. Karl tried calling again and again, but Joan refused to answer.
She wanted nothing to do with him anymore. That night, he flooded her phone with texts, begging her to come home. But it was too late. She filed for divorce the next day.
Moving On
In the months that followed, Joan recovered slowly but surely, eventually making a full recovery. She was overjoyed. Karl often tried to win her back, but eventually, the divorce was settled, and she walked away with half of everything he owned.
In the end, Joan moved on and lived her life to the fullest. She was forever grateful for the life she got to live.