I Was Critically Ill and Begged My Husband to Come Home – He Kept Texting ‘Almost There,’ but Then His Coworker Told Me the Truth
Last winter, I found myself in the hospital after a sudden and severe health scare. One moment, I was cooking dinner, and the next, I was on the floor, struggling to breathe. I was rushed to the ER with what turned out to be a serious case of pneumonia that had escalated quickly, complicated by an undiagnosed autoimmune disorder. My condition deteriorated rapidly. The doctors were clear — it was critical, and I needed support. I was terrified.
All I wanted was my husband, James.
I texted him from my hospital bed with trembling fingers. “Please come. I need you. I’m scared.”
He responded within minutes: “I’m on my way. Almost there.”
Relief washed over me. He was coming. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe through the pain and fear, picturing him walking through that door.
But he didn’t show up. Not in an hour. Not in two. The hospital lights dimmed into night, and I was still alone. I texted him again. “Where are you?”
He replied: “Just stuck in traffic, almost there.”
Time passed. Nurses checked in. Machines beeped. And still, I waited. The fear in my chest was no longer just from the illness. Something felt off.
The next morning, I woke up to another message. “Sorry, babe. Long night. Coming soon. Almost there.”
Three times now, he’d said the same thing. But he never came. And I was starting to feel like I wasn’t just battling for my health, but for the truth.
Later that afternoon, I did something I hadn’t done before — I called his office. I wasn’t expecting much. Maybe he was working late or caught up in something urgent. But I needed to hear a voice that could reassure me.
A woman answered. I asked if James was there. There was a pause. Then she sighed.
“Look… I probably shouldn’t be saying this,” she said, her voice soft with guilt, “but he hasn’t been here since Thursday. He told everyone he was taking some time off because his wife was sick.”
My blood ran cold. “Then… where is he?”
Another pause.
“He’s been with… someone. He and Laura from Marketing have been seeing each other. I thought you knew.”
The phone nearly slipped from my hand. My heart wasn’t ready for betrayal on top of illness. I felt dizzy, but not from my condition. From the kind of heartbreak that knocks the air out of your lungs.
So while I lay there, hooked to IVs, whispering for the man I loved to come hold my hand, he was with someone else — lying to me with every “almost there.”
I didn’t confront him immediately. I needed strength. I needed to get better for me now, not for us. The next time he texted “Almost there,” I didn’t reply.
Instead, I focused on healing — emotionally and physically.
Eventually, I told him I knew. His response? Silence, followed by a string of empty apologies.
But I had already moved on in my heart. He wasn’t the man I thought he was. And I wasn’t the woman who would wait around for someone who wouldn’t show up when I needed them most.
Today, I’m healthier, stronger, and finally standing on my own. And I’ve learned something vital:
When someone keeps telling you they’re “almost there,” but never actually show up — believe the distance, not the promise.
