Chapter 9: The Visit That Tested Her Strength
A year after Caden’s sentencing, Elara got a call from the prison. A guard’s voice: “Ms. Hayes, your ex-husband is asking to see you. He says it’s urgent.”
Elara hesitated. She didn’t want to see him. But curiosity got the better of her. What could be urgent?
She agreed to visit. The next day, she drove to Pekin. The prison was gray, cold—nothing like the life she was living now.
She sat in a visiting room, waiting. Caden walked in, wearing a prison uniform. He looked older, thinner. His eyes were red.
“Elara,” he said, sitting down. “Thank you for coming.”
She nodded, not speaking.
“I’m sick,” he said. “Liver cancer. Stage 4. The doctors say I have six months, maybe less.”
Elara’s heart dropped. She didn’t hate him anymore, but she didn’t love him either. This was complicated.
“I’m sorry,” she said, quietly.
Caden laughed, bitter. “You don’t have to be. I did this to myself. All the stress, the drinking… it caught up.”
He paused. “I just wanted to ask you something. Can you tell my family? I haven’t talked to them in years. They won’t answer my calls.”
Elara thought. His family—his parents, his sister—had disowned him after the trial. They’d said he was a “disgrace.”
“I’ll try,” she said. “But I can’t promise they’ll listen.”
Caden nodded. “That’s all I ask. Thank you.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Caden stared at his hands.
“I wish I could go back,” he said. “I wish I hadn’t hurt you. I wish I’d been a better husband.”
Elara stood up. “I have to go.”
Caden looked up. “Elara? Do you think… maybe, somewhere, you could forgive me?”
She looked at him. Forgiveness. She’d thought about it. But she realized: she didn’t need to forgive him to heal. She just needed to let go.
“I don’t know,” she said. “But I hope you find peace. Before it’s too late.”
She walked out. She didn’t look back.
In the car, she called his sister, Maya. “It’s Elara,” she said. “Caden’s sick. He wants to talk to you.”
Maya was quiet for a moment. “I’ll think about it. Thank you for telling me.”
Elara hung up. She didn’t know if Maya would call. But she’d done what she could.
That night, she sat with Ethan. She told him about the visit, about Caden’s cancer.
“Are you okay?” he asked, holding her.
Elara nodded. “Yeah. I’m okay. I did what I could. Now, it’s up to him.”
Ethan kissed her forehead. “You’re a good person, Elara. Even when you don’t have to be.”
She smiled. “I learned that from you.”
She looked at the stars, bright in the sky. Life was messy. It was hard. But it was also beautiful.
She’d survived the worst. And now, she was living the best.