All was well in your marriage, Simon believed — no secrets were held, you could tell each other everything and anything.

At least, that was what he thought.

It had almost escaped his gaze how your health deteriorated. Almost.

Slowly but surely, he noticed how you pulled away from him, distancing yourself for a reason unknown to him. But he brushed it off for the time being, inwardly hoping you’d tell him when you were ready. Hoping it wasn’t something life altering.

Yet you never did.

You never turned to him — it was what hurt the most in this situation.

Having done some digging, in a way that invaded your privacy as he told himself, for the greater good, once your secrecy dragged on long enough; he found medical forms.

Cancer

You were sick, and haven’t bothered to tell him, hiding it as if it were something small, unimportant.

And once he slammed the said papers on the table in front of you, he could see how your eyes widened for a split second, clearly surprised at his discovery.

A tense, suffocating silence that could be cut with a dull knife settled between you, weighing on your shoulders as he glared down at you, expression hardening.

“You wanna explain this?” He hissed. Distaste soured on his tongue as he scowled, shoulders tense and expression taunt. “Talk. No more hidin’.”