Chapter 18
A few days later, Jackson’s parems found me. They said Jackson was missing, then learned that after Jackson returned home that day, he had flown into a rage and destroyed everything in the house. He claimed it was all his parents fault. If they hadn’t pressured Joseph, he wouldn’t have gone to Congo (Kinshasa), wouldn’t have met me, and wouldn’t have died. He also wouldn’t have suppressed his emotions so much, takenly thinking be loved Sara and missing out on me.
He then resigned from the hospital and disappeared without a trace.
“Zoey! How could you blame us for this?” Jackson’s mother pleaded ingedly parents, all we wanted was for our son to make more money. Is that wrong? If we had let him stay at the hospital, nome of this would have happend. He wouldn’t have left, and everything would have been fine!”
“How can Jackson be angry at us for this? We’re his parents! We’ve already low one son; we can’t lose another Jackson’s father begged
Louldn’t take in
anymore and threw my phone down. “Leave! You don’t deserve to be parents!”
My heart felt heavy, and I wandered aimlessly until I returned to the same forest, 1 sal under a large tree, gazing at the dappled light on the ground, hugging my knees. Though Congo (Kinshasa) had only spoken to me mire, Teuld sense how repressed Jackson had been in that family. The emergency
didn’t want his family to contact he listed when he joined Doctors Without Borders bad originally been his partner, but later, it had become me,
know anything. In that broken family, a kind, gentle person like him had emerged.
A gust of wind blew, and a hard object fell from the tree, hitting me on the forehead. I looked down and saw a nameplate, Many people working in WAT ZONES CAITY such nameplates to help identify them in case of accidental death. I assumed it must have been left behind by a soldier. But when I turned it over. I saw the name “Joseph” engraved on it.
Irope, my heart racing. How could bis nameplate be here?
Suddenly, I understood. I frantically dug into the soil with my hands, dirt and hood filling my fingernails. I kept digging until a bone appeared. In that moment, I broke down in uncontrollable tears.
I found tools and carefully unearthed the remains tangled in the tree roots. In the sail, I also found fragments of the white coat he had been wearing that day.
It was Joseph. I found him! I finally found hire!
It was as though he saw me grieving for him and gently knocked my head, as saying “Don’t be angry at people who aren’t worth it. It’s all in the
I held his skull tightly and whispered, “Okay, let’s go home. We’re going home
I applied for a leave of absence, brought his ashes back to my country, and hued him next to my mother.
On the day of the burial, Jackson appeared before me. He had lost a lot of weight, his face pale, and he looked exhausted. He held two white chrysanthemums, which he placed at my mother’s and Joseph’s graves. He to me he had figured everything out.
He showed me an apology video on his Instagram. In the video, Sara apologized to me and everyone else she had deceived. She confessed that she hadn’t traveled the world as she claimed. Instead, she had fabricated that persona to make Jackson long for her, and she had been cruel to me out of jealousy that I was about to marry Jackson.
After watching the video, Jackson immediately called Sara in front of me. Her voice was full of regret. “Jackson, I’ve apologized as you asked! You said we would get married, will that really happen?”
Jackson coldly replied, “No, I won’t marry you. You lied to me, and I lied to you We owe each other nothing. I only made you apologize because you hun Zoey. From nowon, we should never meet again.”
He hung up, blocked her, and apologized to me. “About the camera, I’m sorry didn’t know it was your mother’s keepsake.”
I shook my head. “You don’t have to apologize. I will never forgive you.”
Jackson lowered his head, his expression heavy. “I’m also sorry for my brother. He contacted me many times after he left, but I always scolded him. blamed him… I knew it wasn’t his fault that our parents forced me to break up with Sara, but I didn’t have the courage to escape. I was jealous of him.”
He stared at Joseph’s gravestone. “I hadn’t been so cowardly and had goth him… maybe I would have met you, at least had a fair chance to compete with him.”
Chapter 18
Lreplied calmly, “There’s no such thing as tegrat pills. Hypotheticals don’t mitter 1 med Jeph,
Jackson sighed softy “Maybe in the future, I’ll become a doctor with Doctor Whit
I want to be closer to you, to make up for my
| unddenly remembeard something “Somesne once said that your brother dadot seem to want to become a doctor. He’s always thinking abmit yo
think about what kind of person you want to be Don’t let porselfregret it again
«it lost in past memories.
† pocked up the two bouquets of flowers. “They both didn’t like white chrysandemmins. Don’t bring them again I handed the flowers back to him and
Chapter 19
