During what I thought was a normal hospital visit, my husband’s nurse pulled me aside and whispered, “Listen, I don’t want to alarm you, but… look under your husband’s bed when you get back to the room.” I wasn’t prepared for what I found and grabbed my phone to dial 911.
I’m still in shock as I write this. Part of me wants to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation, but the other part? The other part can’t help but think back to every stressful second of last Friday night.
An anxious woman | Source: Midjourney
My husband, Ethan, has been in the hospital for over a week. He had surgery to treat an old injury that had bothered him for years—a hip complication that finally caught up with him. He’s doing better now, recovering, but it hasn’t been easy. Between work, the kids, and making sure he’s comfortable, my days have been… hectic, to say the least.
“Mom, when is Dad coming home?” Tommy had asked that morning, pushing his cereal around his bowl.
“Soon, darling,” I replied, trying to hide the exhaustion in my voice. “He needs to regain his strength first.”
“But I miss him,” Sarah added, her lower lip trembling. “It’s not the same without him here.”
“I know, darling. I miss him too. More than you know.” I hugged them both, breathing in their familiar scents and drawing strength from their warmth.
A man in a hospital room | Source: Midjourney
Normally, I visit Ethan in the morning or afternoon while the kids are at school. But last Friday, my dad offered to take the kids for the night.
“You look like you could use a break,” he said, his eyes full of concern. “When was the last time you got a full night’s sleep?”
Honestly, I don’t remember. But his offer seemed like a lifeline to me. I thought it was a wonderful idea to surprise Ethan with a late-night visit. And maybe brighten his day a little.
When I walked into his hospital room, he looked up from his phone and immediately froze.
“Hi,” I said, smiling as I placed my bag on the chair. “You weren’t expecting me, were you?”
A scared man | Source: Midjourney
He blinked a few times and gave me a nervous laugh. “No. I mean, uh, didn’t you come earlier today?”
“Yes. But I had a little extra time, so here I am.” I shrugged, sitting down next to him. “I miss you, you know.”
“Sam…” he whispered, trying to take my hand but stopping halfway. “You shouldn’t… I mean, you must be exhausted. The kids—”
“The kids are with Dad,” I interrupted, studying his face. Something in his expression made my stomach churn. “They miss you so much, Ethan. Sarah cried again this morning.”
His face crumpled for a moment. “God, I hate this. Being stuck here, letting you handle everything…”
A woman standing at the door of a hospital ward and waving her hand | Source: Midjourney
“Hey, that’s what marriage is all about, right? In sickness and in health?” I tried to joke, but my voice caught slightly.
Ethan smiled, but there was this… I don’t know, distracted look in his eyes. Like his brain was working overtime on something else.
“Are you okay?” I asked, observing him closely. “You look… different tonight.”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” He scratched the corner of his blanket. “How are the children?”
We chatted for a while, and I peeled an apple for him—his favorite snack. But the whole time, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Ethan’s answers were shorter than usual. And he kept glancing at the door.
A door | Source: Pexels
“Remember when we first started dating?” I said, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence. “You brought me apples every day because you heard somewhere that ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away.'”
He laughed, but his laughter was strained.
“Ethan,” I reached out again to take his hand, and this time he let me take it. “Talk to me. What’s wrong? Are you in pain? Should I call the nurse?”
A nervous man staring at someone | Source: Midjourney
“No!” he said too quickly, then softened his tone. “No, I’m fine. Really. Just… tired.”
I tried not to think too much. I thought maybe he was just tired. Surgery takes its toll, doesn’t it?
But as I was about to throw the apple peelings in the trash can outside the department, I ran into Carla.
Carla is one of Ethan’s nurses. She’s warm, talkative, and the kind of person who instantly puts you at ease. We’d spoken a few times before, but this time she seemed anxious.
A nurse holding a clipboard | Source: Pexels
She stepped into my path, glancing nervously down the hall before lowering her voice. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure. What is it?”
Her hands trembled slightly as she fiddled with her ID badge. “I shouldn’t be doing this. We’re not supposed to pry into patients’ privacy, but…”
“Carla,” I grabbed her arm gently, my heart starting to race. “You’re scaring me. Is something wrong with Ethan? Did the tests reveal anything?”
She shook her head quickly. “No, no, it’s not medical. It’s…” She bit her lip. Her eyes flicked toward Ethan’s room, and her voice dropped even lower. “Listen, I don’t want to alarm you, but… look under your husband’s bed when you get back to the room.”
I frowned, confused. “Under his bed? Why?”
A confused woman frowns | Source: Midjourney
“Trust me,” she said quickly, her expression almost pleading. “You’ll understand when you see it.”
“Carla, please,” my voice cracked slightly. “If anything’s wrong, just tell me. I can take care of it.”
“I can’t,” she whispered, looking over her shoulder. “But you need to know. Just… look.”
She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving me there, a pit of dread growing in my stomach.
What was she talking about? Is something wrong with Ethan? Was there some kind of secret I should have noticed?
“Wait!” I called after her, but she was already gone, her shoes crunching against the linoleum floor.
A horrified woman calling someone | Source: Midjourney
I took a deep breath and went back into the bedroom, trying to act normally. My hands were shaking so much I had to hide them in my pockets.
Ethan was lying in bed, scrolling through his phone again.
“Is everything okay?” he asked when I sat down.
“Yeah. I just threw out some trash.”
But my mind was racing. Carla’s words echoed in my head: “Look under her bed.”
I needed an excuse. Something casual. I quickly grabbed the apple I’d peeled earlier and pretended to drop it.
A woman holding an apple | Source: Midjourney
“Oops,” I said, crouching down.
That’s when I saw her. My heart stopped.
There, under the bed, there were eyes… staring at me.
At first, I thought I was imagining things. But no. There was a woman crouching there, staring at me like a deer caught in headlights.
“What the…” I jumped up. “Who the hell are you? What are you doing under my husband’s bed?”
Ethan’s heart monitor started beeping faster. “Wait, wait… Samantha, that’s not what you-“
“Don’t you dare ‘wait’ for me! After everything we’ve been through? After ten years together?”
Grayscale photo of a woman hiding | Source: Midjourney
“Sam, please-“
I didn’t let him finish. “What’s she doing here, Ethan?” My hands were shaking as I grabbed my phone. “I’m calling the police. What is this? Some kind of joke?”
The woman came out from under the bed, her face as red as a fire engine. She looked mortified.
“Please!” Ethan started to panic. He grabbed my phone. “Samantha, stop. It’s not what you think.”
“Isn’t that what I think?” I stared at him, my chest heaving. Tears burned in my eyes. “There’s a WOMAN under your bed, Ethan! What else am I supposed to think? That she dropped her contact lens under there?”
“Miss Samantha, I can explain—” the woman began.
An angry woman screaming | Source: Midjourney
“How dare you?” I yelled, backing away from the two of them. “How long has this been going on? Is that why you’re acting so weird, Ethan?”
The beeping of the heart monitor grew more insistent. Ethan shifted in bed, wincing as he carefully swung his legs to the side. His movements were slow and deliberate, his hands gripping the edge of the mattress for support. The IV pole began to click softly as he stood unsteadily on his feet, his hospital gown fluttering slightly with the exertion.
I could see him struggling to keep his balance, his knuckles white as he braced himself. “Please listen to me,” he said, his voice shaking. “I can explain.”
A Restless Man | Source: Midjourney
“Explain WHAT, Ethan? That you’re cheating on me in a hospital room? While I’m home, taking care of our kids, exhausting myself trying to manage everything?”
“No! My God, no. It’s not that.” He glanced at the woman, who looked like she was about to sink into the ground. “Tell her,” he said.
The woman hesitated, then mumbled, “I’m a wedding planner.”
I blinked. “A… what?”
She straightened, still avoiding my gaze. “Ethan hired me to help him plan a surprise wedding. For you.”
I stared at her as if she’d just spoken another language. “A… marriage? For me? What are you talking about?”
A wedding setup | Source: Pexels
Ethan sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It’s true. I worked with her to plan a wedding. For us. A real one.”
“But… but why all these secrets? Why hide her under the bed like a… a teenager who sneaks around everywhere?”
“Because you weren’t supposed to be here!” Ethan’s voice cracked. “We’ve been planning this for months.”
A sad man | Source: Midjourney
The woman nodded awkwardly. “We were finalizing the details—your favorite colors, the flowers, everything. He wanted everything to be perfect. We overheard you talking to someone on the phone outside the ward, and we didn’t want to give away the surprise… so he told me to hide under the bed. I’m so sorry about the misunderstanding.”
“I found our old wedding photo the other day,” Ethan continues, his eyes shining. “Remember? City Hall, you in that simple white dress, me in my dad’s old suit? You deserved so much more than that rushed ceremony.”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The anger I’d felt a few moments ago melted into something softer, something that made my chest ache.
A woman overwhelmed by her emotions | Source: Midjourney
“You… you were planning a wedding?” I whispered. “All this time?”
Ethan nodded, holding out his hand. “I know this sounds crazy, but… I just wanted to surprise you. Make you happy. Give you the wedding you’ve always dreamed of before…”
“Before what?” I insisted, squeezing his hand.
“Before anything else can go wrong,” he whispered. “I love you, Sam. More than anything. I want to marry you again, properly this time, surrounded by our children, our family, and our friends.”
For a moment, I stood there, staring at him. Then, slowly, I began to laugh, tears streaming down my face.
A woman smiling | Source: Midjourney
“You’re crazy!” I said, shaking my head. “Do you have any idea how close I came to calling 911? I thought… My God, I thought the worst.”
Ethan gave me a sheepish smile. “Yeah… sorry about that. Not my finest moment, having Jessica hiding under the bed.”
The wedding planner—Jessica—mumbled another apology before slipping out of the room, leaving the two of us alone.
The moment the door closed, Ethan reached out his hand. “So… what do you think? Still mad at me?”
A woman walking away | Source: Pexels
I squeezed his hand, my heart full. “Angry? No. But you owe me a real explanation… and maybe a drink when we get out of here!” I laughed, then added quietly, “What about Ethan? I don’t care if we have to do our first dance in a wheelchair when we’re 90. As long as it’s with you.”
He hugged me, and I felt his tears dampen my shoulder. “I love you,” he whispered. “Even after ten years, I fall more in love with you every day.”
“I love you too,” I whispered back. “But next time you plan a surprise? Don’t hide the organizer under the bed!”
Her laughter, warm and genuine this time, filled the hospital room, and everything was fine again.
A couple kissing | Source: Unsplash
Also read: As a single mother, I was nervous about getting remarried – What I found in the fridge the morning after my wedding left me pale
This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the story. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims regarding the accuracy of events or character portrayals and are not responsible for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and the opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the opinions of the author or publisher.
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