~JESSICA~My friendship with Leo continued and he's been the sweetest person ever to me, but I started to notice some changes in my body.I was always feeling weak and sleepy. I was always feeling dizzy and heavy.But I really didn't pay much attention to it.Maybe it's just my body breaking down from all the stress.Then….A Few Days Later.I woke up nauseous.Not just a little. Not just that off feeling from crying too hard the night before.This was different.I was brushing my teeth when the nausea hit me again.Violent. Unexpected.I barely made it to the toilet before I was throwing up the little I’d eaten.Grave was sitting straight on the bed when I went back to the room.“Hey Jess, what's up?? Are you okay??” She asked with concern in her voice.“I don't know. I just feel weak and dizzy these days” I replied.“Are you sick??” Grace asked.“I don't know,” I replied.“Check yourself. If you still feel same, you'll go to the clinic” she said.I nodded.Th
~JESSICA~It’s been one week.One week since Leo brought me the pebble.One week since I let someone sit with me in my pain.And one week since I stopped waiting for Daniel’s name to appear on my screen.I didn’t delete his number.But I stopped checking.That has to count for something.There’s a new kind of rhythm to my days now.Not exactly healing, but something like… breathing again.Sometimes Leo drops by with takeout or weird facts about animals I never asked for.Like the fact that sea otters hold hands while they sleep.Or that baby elephants suck their trunks the way human babies suck their thumbs.Other days, we take long walks.Not always talking. Just existing beside each other.And it’s nice.Peaceful.Safe.Leo never pushes.Never asks questions I’m not ready to answer.He just… stays.And somehow, that’s been enough.***Tonight, we’re at the park near my house, lying side by side on the grass, looking up at the stars.I’m wearing Leo’s hoodie. He
~JESSICA~It's finally daybreak. I had stayed up in my room all night and crying my eyes out.I heard noises outside my room but didn't want to come out yet.After Grace had gone off to school with her usual dramatic sigh about math class, I wandered downstairs in my oversized hoodie and mismatched socks, expecting to mope around all day because of how said I was feeling.Instead, I was greeted by the smell of something sweet.“Is that cinnamon I smell?” I called out, following the scent.In the kitchen, Sarah, was at the counter, a light dusting of flour on her cheek and a confident smirk on her lips.“You’re finally up,” she said. “I figured we could do something fun today. I know you’ve been... off lately.”I blinked. “Fun like what? Therapy baking?”She raised a brow. “Baking is therapeutic. Especially when you’re making cinnamon rolls from scratch and blasting Whitney Houston.”I couldn’t help but smile at that.“Whitney?” I asked.Sarah turned to the speaker
~DANIEL~I sat at the long oak table in the England office at the construction site, scrolling through reports when my assistant entered.“Sir,” she said cautiously. “There’s been a notification from your American company. Jessica Sutherland, your wife, submitted her resignation.”I froze.“What?”“She came in herself. It’s been processed” she said.I leaned back, heart thudding.She resigned?“Bring my person phone for me,” I instructed her.“Okay, Sir,” she left and returned minutes later with my phone in her hands.I had turned off my personal phone and put it away, far from my reach to prevent me from reaching out to her again.I took the phone from my assistant and turned it on.I unlocked my phone, and searched for her contact.The last message I sent her... Are you okay?No reply.And now this. She's resigning??Just then my phone beeped. A message just entered my phone and I saw that it's from herI quickly opened it to read it, and regretted why I
~JESSICA~Just as we stood to leave the park, laughing quietly over Leo’s terrible penguin impersonation, a figure stepped out from the shadows, blocking our path.I looked up to see who that was, and…My laughter died.My breath caught.No. No. No.Albert.Time stopped.Same dark eyes. Same perfectly smug face. Except this time, the look he gave me wasn’t one of charm or desire. It was disgust. Judgment.“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked, breath catching in my throat.Albert??Of all people. Of all days??He crossed his arms. “Took you long enough” he smirked.His sharp, cold eyes raked over me, then shifted to Leo. The smirk that curved his lips made my stomach twist.Leo glanced at me. “Friend of yours?”I didn’t answer.Albert looked at Leo from head to toe like he was a bug on his shoe. “Let me guess. The new guy?” he asked.Leo’s eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”“I’m her ex-fiancé,” Albert said with a dark grin. “The one before Daniel. Before she jum
~JESSICA~I was not catching feelings.Absolutely. Not.No way.He's the kind of man I wanted. A lover boy like me. A man who wasn't scared of exposing his feelings and showing how he truly feels. A man who wasn't scared of loving you openly and properly. A very romantic man.He wasn't a cold, detached and emotionless man like Daniel. He wasn't as complicated and difficult as Daniel.I was surprised when Leo told me his ex left him because he's just being a lover boy and always in his feelings.This was something I've always wanted!Truly, another man's food is another man's poison.So I wasn't falling for him.I was just awed to meet a man like him.Then I thought of the dinner date.It was just a nice dinner. A very romantic, candlelit, giggle-filled dinner that ended with a forehead-kiss-level cheek kiss. That didn’t mean anything.I mean, sure, Leo was charming.And good-looking.And funny. And thoughtful. And he texted me good morning and good night like he