My Departure Drove Them Mad

After confirming my final decision with the system, it implanted a brain tumor in my head. I had only one month left to live.

Now that I knew for sure, the weight that had been pressing down on me for so long finally lifted.

I didn't have to keep secretly helping my husband, Jonah Perry, with his clients anymore, and I didn't have to stress every day over cooking for our picky son, Liam Perry.

Since the doctors insisted I stay in the hospital for observation, I had no choice but to lie in bed and kill time with games on my phone.

Not long after, Jonah walked into the room. Suzanne Wright followed behind him, carrying a bouquet of flowers.

"Suz insisted on visiting when she heard you were in the hospital," Jonah said with a smile.

Suzanne looked guilt-ridden.

"Jen, Jonah told me everything. This is all my fault. If I hadn't told Liam that I love snakes, he wouldn't have secretly switched out the gift that was meant for you. I'm so sorry."

She moved to kneel, but Jonah reached out and stopped her before her knees could touch the floor.

"How could you possibly be to blame?" he said softly. "Come on, get up. You know Jen wouldn't hold something like this against you."

He glanced at me, but I didn't look up. I just carried on playing on my phone. The cheerful music of my game was the only sound in the room.

He looked taken aback, as though he hadn't anticipated this reaction at all.

In the old days, I would have thrown a fit the moment he walked in with Suzanne. There was no way I would have been so calm, just playing on my phone now.

A flicker of worry crossed his face, but he shook it off.

He walked up to me and took my phone.

"Jen, Suzanne is trying to talk to you. Can you set the game down?"

I frowned.

Just as I was about to say something, I saw the bouquet on my bed. A cold wave of horror washed over me.

The crimson roses stood out sharply against the pure white blanket.

In an instant, I was thrown back to that frozen winter.

Mom stood at the roof's edge, and then she jumped. Her body fell through the cold air and crashed into a bed of roses.

The blood seeped into the crimson petals, staining them until they were the same shade of red. The air grew thick with a sweetness that was metallic and cloying, and I could taste it at the back of my throat.

Suzanne did it on purpose.

Rage surged through me. I grabbed the bouquet and hurled it onto the floor.

"Get out!"

Suzanne froze, and then her eyes turned red. "Jen, I'm so sorry. I had no idea you hated these flowers…"

Tears streamed down her face almost immediately.

Jonah's heart went out to her right away. He picked up the roses and carefully wiped away the dirt.

Then, he looked at me with a frown. "Jenna Watson, Suz spent half an hour picking out these flowers for you. Even if you don't like them, you can't just throw them on the floor. Where are your manners?"

A bitter smile crossed my face.

Jonah knew exactly what kind of memories those flowers brought back for me.

In those days, he would instinctively block my view of the roses whenever we passed them, terrified that even a glimpse might reopen old wounds.

But now, for Suzanne's sake, he had turned a blind eye to everything.

I bit my lip until I tasted blood, and the pain brought me back to my senses. I took a few long breaths and forced myself to calm down.

But it didn't matter anymore. I would be gone soon anyway.

I pulled out my earbuds, wanting to drown out everything around me.

Just then, the seven-year-old Liam came charging in and shoved me hard off the bed.

"Bad Mommy! Stop being mean to Suz!"