After I Stopped Loving Him, He Lost His Mind - Chapter 11

My attempt to plead with Jack didn’t escape Mia’s notice.

That day, she was furious–angrier than I’d ever seen her. But even then, she didn’t forget to take care of my emotions.

She wrapped her arms around me from behind as I stood by the window, watching the leaves fall outside.

Her voice was soft, but her words carried a hint of frustration:

“Why, Taylor? Why do you have to act like a martyr? Do you think I’m some fragile little thing?”

“If you’re really worried about me losing control, then don’t break my heart like this.”

“Taylor, stop being so cruel to me.”

I felt her tears falling onto my shoulder as she clung to me, trembling.

Why? Why is it that nothing good ever lasts? Why does life always seem to take away the best people?

Taylor was so kind, so good, so undeserving of all the pain she had endured.

For the first time, Mia let her guard down in front of me. I knew she was trying to hide her sadness so I wouldn’t worry.

That night, I heard her and Jack arguing again.

“Why? Why couldn’t it have been you instead, Jack?”

“Yeah, why wasn’t it me?” Jack’s voice was hoarse, broken. “She doesn’t deserve this. She’s so much better than me.”

I leaned against the door, sliding down to sit on the floor, their voices muffled but still clear enough to reach me. Tears rolled down my cheeks uncontrollably.

They should’ve had better lives–brighter futures. But instead, they were stuck here, suffocating in this room, watching me slowly fade away.

Maybe people who are about to die become softer. I forgave Jack.

But that didn’t mean I wanted to see him anymore.

As I looked at him peeling an apple beside my bed, I felt no resistance in my heart.

Now, we could talk like normal people.

Even though I could see the sorrow he tried to hide in his eyes.

My moments of clarity were becoming shorter. I knew my time was almost up.

Before I left, there was one thing I wanted to do: have one last cup of the bubble tea Mia and I used to drink back in school.

It felt like my body was giving me one final burst of energy. Even though the pain was sharper than ever, for a moment, I felt almost alive again.

I don’t know where they got the information, but Chloe and Emily showed up at the hospital while Jack was away.

They walked right up to me, their faces smug and full of arrogance.

Mia’s sharp gaze immediately locked onto them. Her voice was icy as she said,

“What are you doing here? Looking for Jack? Your ‘master‘ isn’t here, so why don’t you crawl back to whatever hole you came from?”

It was obvious the two women had grown close. Emily tugged on Chloe’s hand, stepping forward to shield her while flashing a condescending smirk at me.

“Taylor,” Emily sneered, “what exactly are you competing with us for? You’re practically dead already.”

“Did you know,” she added, raising her chin, “this necklace I’m wearing? Jack gave it to me just yesterday.

“All that stuff online? Just a smokescreen. This necklace? It’s proof that Jack went out of his way to comfort me.”

I didn’t care about their stories or their provocations. From the beginning, I never had any intention of reconciling with Jack. I didn’t understand why they felt the need to gloat.

Maybe they thought I was looking down on them because I didn’t respond.

Emily lunged toward me, her hand raised as if to strike, but Mia stepped in front of me without hesitation.

Before either of us could react, the two women were suddenly yanked backward and thrown to the floor with surprising force.

Jack had returned.

His expression was cold and full of fury as he spat through gritted teeth,

“Get out. Before I call security.”

Chloe and Emily looked stunned and humiliated as they scrambled to their feet. Jack’s commanding tone sent them scurrying out of the room without another word.

Neither Mia nor I paid much attention to the aftermath of their little drama.

We were too busy planning tomorrow’s outing.

THE END