The woman—Sofia—looked at me with eyes that seemed to pierce right through to my soul. Then, in a moment of shocking recognition, her eyes widened, and she gasped, “Wait… she’s my…”

The words hung in the air, unfinished and pregnant with unsaid history. Sofia’s reaction sent a shiver down my spine, but Daniel seemed oblivious, or perhaps he simply didn’t care. I saw him for who he truly was—someone who had already moved on, emotionally and physically, while I lay in a hospital bed, planning a future with a man who was, in reality, a stranger.