in her hand.”
It looked like a marriage proposal.
But the most terrible part was that Elizabeth began crying, and Robert embraced her.
I was convinced I had uncovered 53 years of betrayal.
About an hour later, the captain returned.
“Mrs. Margaret, your husband has been found.”
I jumped to my feet.
“Where is he?”
“In the ship’s medical isolation area. He became unwell.”
When they took me to him, Robert was lying in a hospital bed.
The moment he saw me, his eyes filled with tears.
“Margaret, forgive me.”
“Who is Elizabeth to you?” I asked.
He remained silent for a long time.
Then he said something even more terrifying than any confession of betrayal.
“She’s the reason you’re alive today.”
I froze.
Robert explained that 53 years earlier, three days before our wedding, I had become seriously ill. My condition had deteriorated so badly that the doctors recommended
