Man Spends All Time with Bedridden Wife, She Vanishes as He Leaves House One Day – Story of the Day

Derek was dedicated to his wife, Chloe, from the moment they married. But she got sick immediately and was bedridden all the time. He never left her side until one incident that pulled him away, and when he returned, she was gone.

"Dad! No! I love him! He's the love of my life! I can't believe you'd be so shallow as to forbid me from dating a man just because his family doesn't have money," Chloe wailed in her room at her parents' house.

Her father, Mr. Rawlings, had arranged a dinner with his business partner Mr. Cassini's family, which was not uncommon. However, a few minutes after they sat down, her dad revealed the true nature of the evening.

"Chloe, Mr. Cassini, and I have decided that you and Derek are going to get married," Mr. Rawlings revealed, clapping his hands.

"It makes the most sense. We'll finally be a family!" Mr. Cassini also cheered, and the entire table burst into amicable talk and congratulations.

The only person who seemed caught off guard was Chloe. "I have a boyfriend," she said, confused.

The table went silent. "No, she doesn't. It's a silly fling that I told her she needs to nip in the bud," Mr. Rawlings assured the guests, and everyone nodded at him.

Derek was elated and sure that she was coming around.

No one was speaking to her. "DAD! No! I'm not marrying a man I don't even know!" she yelled and ran off.

Mr. Rawlings caught up with her in her room, where she wailed and screamed about her love for her former classmate, David. She had had a crush on him in high school, but he was from the bad boy crowd and never even looked at her until a few months ago. They were 20 now and had reconnected one day when Chloe took her car for a checkup, and he was the mechanic.

Although she had known Derek all her life, she didn't feel anything for him. They were almost like cousins who barely talked at family parties. Derek was three years older than her. Mr. Rawling's idea made no sense because she never talked about Derek or thought of him as a man.

"Chloe, I will not have you settling down with that useless mechanic. He doesn't even go to college. He saw your expensive car and thought he could have a rich girlfriend. You have a bright future ahead of you, and Derek loves you dearly. He told me so. That's why I arranged everything," Mr. Rawlings tried to appease her.

"What? So, you plan my life without my input? That's not fair, Dad! I don't want to marry Derek! I know he likes me, but I don't know him. He's always been your business partner's son. He's nothing to me," she sobbed through her words.

"That doesn't matter. You will get to know him after you marry him. It's the best match for you, dear," her father insisted.

"NO! We're not in the 1900s when a father could decide and arrange a marriage. I won't marry, and that's it!" Chloe stood from her bed and wiped her eyes, looking at her father with a determined expression.

"Fine," Mr. Rawlings nodded. "Then, you have to leave my house immediately. I'm cutting you off. I won't pay for your college. I won't give you another dime. If you want to make your own choices, go ahead. But I won't ever contribute to the life of that gold-digging loser you're dating."

"DAD! NO!" Chloe yelled, shocked. She was his little girl. "I'm doing well in school. I love it there. I can't…"

She trailed off, thinking of her possible life without her father's support. Yes, she was technically an adult, but Chloe still lived at home. She had never worked and didn't expect to until after university. And even then, she thought she could count on her father's support. He had never held money against her.

At first, Chloe told him she would make it without him, refusing to knowledge all the thoughts that ran through her mind. She even left home but returned shortly. She loved her school too much and, honestly, had no idea how to live a life of struggle.

She and Derek got married a few months after that discussion. Their mothers planned everything. She had no enthusiasm at the wedding, but her new husband was all smiles and careful kisses. He was delighted.

"Chloe, I know this is not how you pictured your wedding, and I may not be the man you originally wanted. But I promise to care and love you until the day I die. I will do anything for you," he told her privately, and she nodded, believing his words.

She felt like her life was over. She was married to Derek, and David had to become a thing of the past.

***

Derek had a crush on Chloe since she was 15, and he decided to wait until they were older to ask her out. Unfortunately, she never even looked at him. Mr. Rawlings was delighted when he confessed his feelings for her years later. He came up with the idea of an arranged marriage, and Derek couldn't refuse that deal.

He knew Chloe was dating someone at that point. He also understood that she would hate him at first, but Derek couldn't give up the opportunity to marry the girl he loved.

"She can barely move! Someone took her!!" Derek screamed.

He was sure that she would grow to love him in time. He would love, adore, protect, care for, and shower her with everything she deserved. That started with a beautiful home that Mr. Rawlings and Mr. Cassini helped him get, but he was paying them back.

Derek supported her through her degree, and when she said she didn't want kids at first, he was in complete agreement. "I can wait forever for kids. Or not have them at all, if that's what you would prefer," he assured her, completely honest.

"Thank you, Derek," she replied and smiled. That was the first genuine smile she ever gave him after her father's announcement. Derek was glad and sure that she was coming around. She would fall in love with him soon.

However, shortly after Chloe's university graduation, she fell sick. She could barely move and was losing weight. Getting out of bed was almost impossible for her, and no one was more concerned than Derek. They took her to doctors, ran several tests, and many physicians were stuck until one of them finally gave them a diagnosis.

It was chronic fatigue syndrome, which Derek had no idea existed. Chloe was just as baffled. "So, I'm tired?" she asked weakly. Derek grabbed her hand carefully. "Doc, it has to be something else."

"Mrs. Cassini, this is a very serious and real condition. And unfortunately, there's no real cure or set treatment. I'm going to consult with some colleagues, and we'll take it from there," the doctor told them seriously.

Derek told her not to worry because he would be by her side and kept that promise. He turned their big bedroom into a part office and worked from home every single day. They had a maid already, but he also hired a nurse and a cook that could follow the doctor's recommendations.

Everything was delivered to their home, and he only left her side to go to the bathroom. But that's only when he knew she was fast asleep.

***

Chloe was not showing any signs of improvement after a few months of different treatments. She was in bed all day. Some would think this might be fake, but Derek saw the bags under her eyes and how she was losing muscle tone despite her diet and doing small exercises with the nurse. Those were excruciating to watch. His wife was in pain, and everyone in the family worried.

On a Saturday, Derek was writing an email to the doctor discussing some new treatment he had discussed with European physicians. No one else was the in the house. The nurse didn't come on Saturdays. Their cook asked for the weekend off, and their maid had an emergency with their child.

This was fine. Derek was perfectly capable of watching his wife, and they would have a nice pizza later as a treat.

He was focused on his computer when a text message came from his phone. "There's a fire in your garage," Derek read, frowning. That made no sense. They had a state-of-the-art alarm system, and there was no noise.

Still, his job was to protect his wife and their home, so he went to the window and saw the guards who watched their gate run towards the garage. "Jesus, it's real," he whispered and rushed to Chloe's bedside.

She was fast asleep, so he felt confident he could check things out and return before she noticed he had left.

"What's going on?" he asked the guards, who were trying to open the garage door.

There was smoke from inside, but the garage door opener was not working. The alarms were dead silent as well. Something was wrong. He called 911 himself and asked them to send police as well.

The firefighters arrived and managed to open the garage while the police scouted the grounds around the house.

"Mr. Cassini, a pile of clothes was on fire inside. There's a bit of damage to one of your cars, but nothing major. It could've been dangerous," the firefighter explained.

"I don't understand. My alarm system is brand new and expensive. Why didn't it go off?" Derek asked them, distraught. The firefighters and the police told him that an investigation would be prudent to determine what was happening.

"We should check your security cameras as well. I wouldn't call this arson, but it's a little suspicious. Did you leave those clothes in the garage?" one police officer questioned.

"Well, no. But the garage is so close to the laundry room. Our maid might've left it accidentally. She had to leave yesterday unexpectedly because her son got sick. I don't know," Derek replied, rubbing his forehead. "I'll give you guys permission to check anything. Please, I need to find some answers. I have a sick up there, and this can't happen again. It's my job to protect her."

Derek was away from Chloe for 30 minutes. It was the longest he had done so since her diagnosis, so he rushed back to their bedroom… only to stop at their door as if an invisible wall was in his way. But there was nothing.

Their bed was empty, and the entire room was a mess. "CHLOE! CHLOE!" he called desperately and ran towards their bathroom, their closets, the guestrooms, the playrooms, the basement, and the kitchen, yelling her name, so loudly his lungs were on fire.

"God, I don't know even know how long it's been."

"Officers! My wife is gone! She can barely move! Someone took her!!" Derek screamed once outside. Naturally, the cops were confused, but his gate guards corroborated his words.

The officers had yet to check the cameras, but they discovered all the footage from the past hour was corrupted. Derek called the security company, and they said that the only explanation was that someone deliberately tempered with the system.

That gave the cops enough to start searching for Derek's wife as a missing person. But he was on the brink of a breakdown. Chloe was weak and helpless. These criminals will hurt her, and I couldn't protect her as I promised, he thought and broke down in tears in front of his gate guards.

***

Months went by, and the cops couldn't find anything. It seemed like a dead end. Derek thought that these abductors would call, asking for ransom. But they never did.

He cried every day, not knowing if Chloe was safe… or even alive. He prayed and hoped, but it seemed hopeless. It had already been so long. If the thieves didn't want money for her, what did they want?

His father and father-in-law talked about hiring private investigators for the search, and they were actively looking for the best. But every day that went by without his wife was darker and darker.

A message popped on his phone screen, and he quickly sat up from bed. His vision went blurry as he realized it was the same number that had written about the fire in the garage a few months ago.

"Jesus, how could I forget this number?" Derek questioned, hitting his forehead. He was so caught up in everything that the entire incident was a blur. But he remembered it now.

But this message would not ruin his life. In fact, it was his only shot at getting Chloe back, and the most shocking part was that the text only contained one word: "David."

He knew what had happened and wanted to kick himself for not immediately putting all the pieces together. The only person with any interest in his wife was David. He thought the man would get over things because Chloe said they separated amicably.

But Derek was wrong. David had taken her. The only bright side was it probably meant that she was alive, and whoever sent this message wanted him to find her. He could only hope that it was Chloe herself who had written it.

***

"Derek," Chloe said weakly from a dirty, old bed in a cabin in a secluded forest on the outskirts of town. Her tiny arms went up slowly, and he leaned his body to pick her up.

"It's OK. Everything will be alright. You're safe. With me," he hugged her tightly to her chest, and Chloe burst into tiny tears in his arms, but she held him as fiercely as she could.

***

Of course, Derek didn't go to the cabin alone. First, he had to find it. Therefore, he called the cops, informing them of David. They scoured through records and discovered his license plate number. Then, they searched through CCTV footage of the city, asked his old work about his whereabouts, and finally found his cabin near the woods.

David was not there when they arrived, but Chloe was on the bed, and all Derek cared about was her wellbeing, so he took her away. "I don't care what happens to him," he told the officers stoically and took his wife home.

The nurse and the maid helped get her clean, fed, and ready. To his surprise, Chloe could lean on the headboard and look well enough to talk now. "It's OK. You can rest now," he comforted her.

"No, Derek. I have to talk about this now," she said, grabbing his arm with more force than ever since.

"Alright," he swallowed, unsure if he was ready for an answer. Had they planned this?

"I didn't plan this with him," she started, reading his mind. "I had no idea that he wanted me back. But I have to admit that I was… glad at first. I thought I still loved him. I thought that I would get better being with him."

Derek could only nod.

"But I wasn't. I only got worse. I don't know if you noticed that he grabbed your watches. He didn't have much time, but he grabbed what he could before carrying me away," Chloe continued.

"I did notice."

"He sold them, and that's what we've been living off all this time," she explained. "God, I don't even know how long it's been."

"Months," he answered quietly. His eyes were on her, but he couldn't make eye contact.

"God, Derek. I'm so sorry," she choked up.

"What happened?" he wondered. His tone was not forced, merely curious.

"He wanted money. That's all he wanted from me. All along," she said painfully. "My father was right about him."

"How do you know?"

"He told me. Directly. That I was only good for my money. I was so stupid. I realized that he treated me like garbage even back then. I couldn't believe I was so blind," Chloe said. "Oh, can you help me lay down?"

"Yes, of course," Derek said, grabbing and settling her head on the fluffy pillows. He wrapped the comforter around her snugly.

"I was a stupid girl. I quickly realized that my love for him was not love. It wasn't the companionship, support, and carefulness you showed me love could be. I missed you, and I know now that I love you," Chloe revealed, and Derek closed his eyes.

"You don't have to say that," he breathed.

"I love you, Derek. You're my husband. I've been an awful wife, and I'm sick. You deserve so much better than me, but I wanted you to know that I love you," she insisted, trying to rise from bed.

"No, no, no. Stay down there. You're tired," he shook his head and noticed a few errant tears had escaped.

"Can you forgive me?" she asked, her eyes wet and sad.

"Are you kidding?" Derek began, his voice trembling. "I basically forced you to marry me. You have to forgive me."

"Do you love me, too?" she wondered. When he looked at her, her sadness changed to a timid smile.

"I love you, Chloe," he whispered. No truer words had ever been spoken. He leaned down to kiss her, and she put all her strength into it.

Although they had technically kissed before, this was true love's first kiss.

***

Chloe later revealed that David accidentally left his cell phone unattended one day, and she grabbed it. She found the message thread containing the text about the garage fire and typed his name quickly. She had no strength for more and didn't want him to know.

Naturally, David was found and arrested. Mr. Rawlings and Mr. Cassini Sr. ensured the toughest prosecutor was on his case, as they wanted him to rot in jail.

But David and Chloe were focused on each other. Surprisingly, Chloe was getting better. The doctor found a different treatment; although it wasn't a cure, it was doing her wonders. By the end of that year, she was standing on her own and walking. As the years passed, Chloe got much better, and they started their family as if it was always meant to be.

What can we learn from this story?

• Parents should never force their children to marry someone they don't love. Mr. Rawlings shouldn't have done that to his daughter, even if things eventually worked out.
• Love can grow even when you least expect it. Chloe fell for Derek against all odds despite their tricky beginning.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about an older woman who noticed her husband disappearing to the garage every day, so she went in and discovered a hidden door.

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