As Marco walked closer to the hallway, it felt like the world stopped.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t move.
The only thing I could hear was the loud pounding of my heart hammering inside my chest.
One step.
Two.
Three.
He was walking in my direction.
And in that moment, I knew that if he saw me there—if he realized I had heard everything—I had no idea what would happen next.
Slowly, I stepped back.
Just one small step.
The floor barely shifted under my foot.
But it was enough for me to feel a dull thud in my chest.
Marco stopped.
Silence.
Deep silence.
Then I heard his voice from the living room.
—Hello? — he said into the phone, pretending his tone was normal.
No one answered.
Maybe the call had already ended.
He stood there for a few more seconds before I heard the sound of a chair being pulled.
Then the rustling of papers.
Slowly, I peeked out from behind the wall.
The same folder containing the title to our house.
I took a slow breath.
At that moment, only two things were clear in my mind.
First: he didn’t know I was there.
Second: he was hiding a plan from me.
And whatever it was—
it involved money, our house, and a woman I didn’t know.
I slowly stepped back from the hallway.
I didn’t make a single sound.
I didn’t even adjust the bag of porridge that was nearly crushed in my hand.
Quietly, I walked out of the house.
I closed the door very slowly.
And only when I had left the driveway did I finally take a deep breath.
I didn’t go back to the office right away.
I just drove around aimlessly for almost twenty minutes.
It felt like a fog had settled inside my mind.
I didn’t know what I was supposed to feel.
Anger.
Fear.
Sadness.
Confusion.
All of it mixed together inside me.
Eventually, I stopped at a small café by the roadside.
I sat at a table near the window and took out my phone.
The first person who came to mind was my best friend, Carla.
I called her.
She answered almost immediately.
—Liza? — she said. —Why are you calling at this hour? Aren’t you at work?
I didn’t realize my voice was shaking.
—Carla… I need to talk to you.
Half an hour later, she arrived at the café.
The moment she saw my face, she knew something was wrong.
—What happened? — she asked as she sat down across from me.
I took a deep breath.
And then I told her everything.
Marco’s fake illness.
The phone call.
The woman he was talking to.
The money.
The house title.
She listened quietly.
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She didn’t interrupt me even once.
After I finished, she didn’t speak for a long time.
Finally, she looked at me.
—Are you sure about what you heard?
I nodded.
—Yes.
—And you really saw the house title?
—Yes.
She let out a heavy breath.
—Then there are two possibilities.
—What?
—First, he’s having an affair with that woman and the two of them are planning to take money from you.
My chest tightened.
—And the second?
—He’s doing something you don’t understand… but there’s a reason for it.
I shook my head.
—Carla, there’s no reason to transfer the title of our house to someone else.
She looked at me quietly.
—Do you have access to your bank account?
I thought for a moment.
—Yes.
—Check it.
The next morning, Marco woke up as if nothing had happened.
He continued pretending to be sick.
He lay on the sofa while I got ready for work.
—Thank you for taking care of me — he said softly.
I looked at him for a long moment.
I didn’t know how a person could lie so well.
But I only gave a small smile.
—Get some rest.
I left the house.
But instead of going to the office, I went straight to the bank.
My hands were trembling as I opened the mobile banking app.
And there I saw the first thing that made my breathing stop.
A large amount of money had been transferred two days earlier.
It wasn’t a small amount.
It was almost all of our savings.
But what was even stranger—
the money had been transferred to an escrow account.
Not to someone else’s personal account.
Escrow.
That meant there was a legal process involved.
A contract.
Documents.
This wasn’t simple theft.
Marco was doing something.
But what?
The next two days passed like a heavy cloud hanging over my head.
Marco continued pretending to be sick.
And I kept watching his every move.
Friday.
The day he had mentioned on the phone.
That night, he said he needed to go out for a while.
—I just need to take care of something — he said.
I nodded.
—Okay.
But the moment he left the house, I immediately grabbed my car keys.
I followed him.
Marco stopped in front of a building downtown.
A small but tidy building with a sign that read:
“Reyes & Santos Legal Office.”
A law office.
My chest tightened.
He got out of the car and walked inside.
I parked across the street and waited.
After ten minutes, I couldn’t stop myself anymore.
I went inside.
The reception area was quiet.
I walked up to the receptionist.
—I have an appointment with Attorney Reyes — I said, even though I really didn’t.
She checked the list.
—Ah… he’s already in the conference room.
—Thank you.
I walked down the hallway.
And that’s when I heard Marco’s voice from a slightly open door.
—Are you sure about this? — a man said, probably the lawyer.
—Yes — Marco replied. —It’s the only way to finish everything.
I froze outside the door.
—Once you sign this — the lawyer said — the house will no longer be in your name.
—I know.
—And the escrow fund will be transferred to your wife.
The world suddenly stopped.
—Are you sure? — the lawyer asked.
—Yes.
—Why?
A long silence.
Then Marco spoke in a voice I had never heard before.
Soft.
Tired.
But real.
—Because I’m sick.
My eyes widened.
—What? — the lawyer said.
—Stage three lymphoma.
It felt like something exploded inside my head.
—Liza doesn’t know yet — Marco said. —I don’t want her to know until I’ve arranged everything.
I couldn’t breathe.
—I don’t want to leave her with nothing when… — he didn’t finish the sentence.
The lawyer stayed silent.
—So I’m transferring the house and our savings to her name.
—And the woman you were talking to on the phone?
—That’s my insurance broker.
Everything inside me suddenly changed.
—She’s been pushing me to sign the policy before I start chemotherapy.
The room fell silent.
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