When “Nashville” Season 3 returns, fans might want to have their tissues ready. A new promo makes it look like Deacon (Charles Esten) and Rayna (Connie Britton) are going to have an emotional confrontation. After calling off her wedding to Luke (Will Chase) in the midseason finale, it appears as if Rayna might finally want to be with Deacon. However, Deacon does not want their relationship to start yet.

The video shows flashbacks from “Nashville” Season 1 when Deacon and Rayna were together. Rayna says, “I’ve loved you since the first time I ever laid eyes on you.”

However, this isn’t the beginning of a happy reunion. “Can their love survive the year?” the promo asks.

“I don’t want her like this,” Deacon says. “Taking care of me? I want to take care of her, but I can’t because I’m sick!”

Watch the promo below:

“Nashville” fans saw Deacon deal with the news that he likely has liver cancer in the midseason finale. Showrunner Dee Johnson teased that Deacon would try to keep his condition a secret, which might be why he is pushing Rayna away in the promo.

“Let’s just say: He can’t keep that genie in a bottle for too long,” Johnson told TV Line. “He’s gonna try, though. Because I think that he feels that it’s almost karmic in a weird way, that it’s as a result of some stuff he did at an earlier time in his life. Whether or not that’s true, he certainly believes it. And the last thing he wants is any kind of a pity party.”

Deacon and Rayna have never been very good at hiding secrets from each other. Fans will have to wait and see just how long Deacon can keep his cancer a secret.

“Nashville” Season 3, episode 11 airs Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 10 p.m. EST. How do you think Rayna will react when she discovers Deacon’s condition? Sound off in the comments section below!

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