Lost in the Pause

Jonathan Sheffield casually leaned against the wall, looking insouciant as a cigarette dangled from his lips. "With the way Sonia's condition is progressing, she's racing against time. As things are, Ellie's heart is the only one that's compatible. I can't just watch Sonia. I can't bear it."He spoke openly, perhaps confident that Eloise Carter was already asleep."You must be out of your mind!" The voice on the other end of the phone was filled with anger. "Jonathan, as your pal, I think you should think this through calmly. Ellie has stuck by you through life and death. Don't do anything rash, or you'll end up regretting it!"Jonathan snubbed the cigarette and exhaled a mouthful of white smoke. He snapped impatiently, "Do you think I want Ellie to die? I want to spend forever with her, too, but you know as well as I do that her days are numbered due to late-stage liver cancer."Since she's dying sooner or later, I may as well donate her heart to Sonia. Sonia will get to live, and

Eloise didn't return to her parents' home, though to be accurate, she hadn't had a place to truly call home since leaving Marie. Thankfully, she'd saved up enough money over the years to buy a small apartment. At least she had a roof over her head.Exhaustion washed over her as she opened the bedroom door. She had a long dream.In it, the Sheffields gradually grew to shun Jonathan after the cliff incident, and they couldn't care less whether he died or lived. Eloise's biological parents did not want their precious Sonia to marry Jonathan and suffer hardship, so they devised ways to force Eloise into taking Sonia's place.Eloise had been only 18 then. She'd shown up at her parents' residence with a cake she baked herself, thrilled and eager to please them. But the next second, she was roughly manhandled and shoved through the door of Jonathan's bedroom."You came back too late, Eloise. We don't feel an ounce of affection for you. Don't bother returning to the Jensen family after thi

When Eloise opened her eyes again, she was greeted by the white ceiling of the hospital. The sky outside was as dark as ink.At her bedside was Jonathan, the faint shadow of his stubble covering the lower half of his face. He looked worn out, but his eyes lit up when he saw that Eloise was awake. It was as if life had been poured back into him."Ellie, are you thirsty? Would you like some water?" This concerned man was miles apart from the one who had forced Eloise to get on her knees earlier.Eloise sported a bandage around her head, and her lips were badly chapped. She was too weak to speak, and only managed a soft, "Get out." However, her voice was barely more than a whisper, and Jonathan didn't hear her.It took her a moment to finally raise her voice, albeit not by much. "Get out. I don't want to see you."Jonathan's hand shook while holding the glass. He recalled feeling as if a part of his heart had been hollowed out when he went out of the hospital room to go after Eloise

Eloise couldn't remember how she got off the cruise or how she found her way back to her apartment.All she remembered was Jonathan's hand striking her across the face and the deafening laughter that had ensued around her afterward. The guests had spat abuse at her, calling her a shameless whore and a homewrecker who failed.She was then "accidentally" jostled and pushed by the crowd. Each time they shoved her around like they were passing a ball, she could hear men and women alike laughing at her. The noises eventually formed a tidal wave and crashed over her, threatening to pull her into the rowdy undertow.As for her so-called fiance? He carried his half-drowned first love and walked away without so much as a backward glance at Eloise, even though she'd gotten hurt on her birthday.Eloise thought she'd never shed a tear for Jonathan again, but traitorous tears cascaded endlessly down her face nonetheless. When she returned home, she soaked herself in the tub.Meanwhile, Jonatha

Jonathan couldn't quite ignore the unsettling feeling within him.Sonia toured around the villa, asking to see every trace of him from the past five years in every corner of the place, as though she had ever been with him during that time.Suddenly, her soft fingers coiled around his hand, and tears began to fall freely. "Oh, Jon. It's so run down here… And it's in the middle of nowhere. You must've had it hard the past five years."Jonathan didn't refute her. Those five years had indeed been hard.The villa was one of the most inconspicuous properties owned by the Sheffield family, chosen to house him back then when he was seen as nothing more than a useless burden.No one came by for regular upkeep. The servants would skimp on food and clothing, sometimes even resorting to beatings.Yet, despite its aging structure, the place was full of life. Flowers bloomed in abundance, and a small grove of pine stood in the backyard, with a swing set nestled beneath.Even after all this ti