A heartbroken mum whose fiancé died suddenly at work with no explanation has revealed the last words he said to her before one final kiss.
Kelly Orford, 40, had dropped her fiancé Henry Nagai, 43, off at his job as a security guard just hours before police came to her door to tell her the unthinkable.
Henry from Stretford, Gtr Manchester, was pronounced dead by paramedics on August 26 after he was found unconscious at work.
Now Kelly has described how her world fell apart upon hearing the news and remembers his final words to her: "Cheers for the lift love. I’ll see you later.”
He gave her one last kiss and closed the door behind him, Manchester Evening News reports.
Ms Orford watched him for a moment as he walked towards his office - but tragically she never saw him alive again.
The dad-of-two known who was lovingly known as Henz, was found unconscious at his workplace in the early hours of August 26.
Paramedics fought to save him but he pronounced dead at the scene.
Kelly, who works as an IT consultant, said alarm bells started to ring when some of her texts went unanswered on the evening of August 25.
She said: “Part of me has gone with him. We loved each other more than anything. I’m utterly devastated. Life isn’t the same.
“I miss him so much and the last few weeks have been absolute hell.
"His children are broken; we are lost without this amazing man. I’d do anything to have him back.”
The mum to Mekhi, 10 and Kaian, five, last received a message from her fiancé at 6:14pm.
She sent one final text at around 8pm before going to sleep shortly after.
Nine hours later, police officers were stood at her front door.
She said: “Police woke me up at 3:50am. They came into my home and told me he had passed away.
“At first, I didn’t believe it. It’s like my whole world fell apart.
"He was found unconscious in work and they weren't able to bring him back to life.
“Paramedics pronounced him dead at 12:25am, but I know in my heart he died on Thursday, August 25, because he never went an hour without checking in on me or the kids.
"In 13 years, we’ve never gone more than an hour without some sort of communication.”
While police have ruled out any suspicious circumstances surrounding Mr Nagai's death, his family still don't know how he died.
A post-mortem examination came back inconclusive and his devastated relatives are still waiting on tissue samples and a toxicology report.
The results could take months.
Kelly said: “He’s still in the mortuary. They’ll issue an interim death certificate so we can have a funeral but it could be months before we have answers.
"I just want to know what happened to my soulmate.”
Henry's sudden death has been made even more traumatic by the fact he did not have a will or a life insurance policy in place, leaving Kelly in financial difficulty.
She is now struggling to find the funds to hold a funeral.
Due to the fact they weren't married, she isn't entitled to receive bereavement and widowed parent support payments from the Department for Work and Pensions.
The law is set to change - but hasn't been finalised yet, which Kelly blasted as "archaic".
She said: “Henry didn’t know he was going to die at 43. He had no life insurance, plans, nothing.
"We loved each other with everything – more than most married couples I know.
“I can’t grieve because I have two boys to take care of. Kaian’s birthday is forever tarnished by his dad dying.
"He died two days after his fifth birthday. Then the added stress of a funeral that I have to find money for – it's too much.
“The boys are struggling immensely. Mekhi can barely function; he’s crying a lot and struggling to understand.
"Kaian is too young and keeps asking me when daddy will be alive again to come home. He doesn’t understand the finality of death.
“From the moment I found out, it's been like a dream.
"The only way I can describe it is that scene from The Matrix where everything around is moving at pace but I'm slowly just trying to get through the day.”
The couple met through Facebook 13 years ago when Kelly listed a number of items for sale.
When Henry spotted her in a local group, he reached out with a “cheeky” message, but it wasn't long before Kelly was hooked on his “funny, kind and genuine character”.
A music and cookery lover, Henry had once been in a boy band in his younger days and regularly wrote songs dedicated to his partner.
Kelly said: “Anyone who met Henz was touched by him in some way. He had time for everyone and always tried to help where he could.
"He was just a very humble, genuine and really funny guy. He just loved his family – me, the kids and anything that involved us.
"He loved holidays. His favourite place was a little cabin we visited on the Jurassic Coast. He couldn’t wait to go back next year and spoke about it all the time.
“I always said to Henry I'd live on the streets with just a cardboard box for shelter as long as I had him. I don't care about anything I just want him back.
“I just want to be able to grieve but I feel numb and empty. I don’t think I can do this without him. It’s like nails being driven into my heart and aggressively pulled out again. It hurts so bad.
“He is the only man I ever truly loved. My absolute world. I am struggling to process life without him.
"It feels like it happened yesterday, yet it was three weeks ago. Time makes no sense. He was 43, I'm widowed at 40. On what planet is this okay?”
A family friend has set up a GoFundMe page to help Kelly and her children financially through this devastating time.
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "In relation to unmarried couples we are finalising legislation to extend eligibility to Bereavement Support Payment and Widowed Parent’s Allowance to bereaved cohabitees with dependent children who were living with their partner on the date of death.
"We hope to make these changes as soon as parliamentary time allows."
