Disconnected √ [edited]

E P I L O G U E

Aurelia Bristow died before Fynn or Harry could see her. In fact, she didn't make it to the hospital and had passed away in the ambulance. Her unconscious body was found by a few coworkers when they came to talk to her about a new manuscript. She was lying on the floor by her desk and by the time the paramedics had come, it was too late. Her legs had given out and she collapsed, hitting her head against the edge of her desk. Her body shut down on the way to the hospital and she passed away without feeling any pain.

Harry had discovered that Aurelia had fatal familial insomnia, a very rare disease that had no known cure. It didn't have a set treatment either because how uncommon it was. Patients, once diagnosed, are given eighteen moments at the most to live and he learned that Aurelia found out about what she had six months after the symptoms really became a problem. Harry realised that it all started when the affair had. It made sense to him then, all of the times that Aurelia tried to get him to come home. She always said that she had something important to tell him.

He had always assumed that it wasn't. He always thought that whatever it was, it could wait. He never thought that the times he chose to brush off his wife for his secretary were the times when she was trying to tell him that she was dying. He had never hated himself more than when all of that hit him. He had brushed aside Aurelia for Celia. He couldn't believe that he didn't notice the signs of his wife's failing health. It was all there, right in front of him and he chose to ignore it.

Aurelia had labeled all of her foods in the end. She began to forget every important thing and she often forgot about the divorce. Her body was failing her when she collapsed or her hands shook uncontrollably. She didn't sleep as well as she used to and didn't actually do that in the days leading up to her death. She didn't eat as much as she used to, and Harry had known that should have been the biggest red flag. Aurelia absolutely adored food, she never cared about the amount that went into her body. She loved her curves and was even proud of them.

Harry was hurt at first that Aurelia never told him in the end that she was dying. At the point when he had brought up the divorce, she was given a month and a half at the most to live. He realized that she was going to tell him what was happening that night, but what he said had caused her to get distracted and she forgot. It seems that after that, she never truly tried to tell him again; perhaps she had assumed that he'd catch on. He knew he didn't deserve to know after everything he did. He knew that once he brought up the divorce, the only person that Aurelia was trying to take care of was Fynn. Every thing she did after that was for him.

It took years for anyone to realize the true reason as to why Aurelia had Harry carry her out of the penthouse every day for thirty days. Part of it was so Fynn wouldn't be distracted from his exams, but the biggest part was how he'd perceive his father. Aurelia had wanted her son to see his father in a good light. She wanted him to see that his father could be loving and caring.