My Final Happiness

This was the ninety-ninth time I'd proposed to Justine Clarke. Right after the words left my mouth, the huge banquet hall fell completely silent—no one said a thing.After a long pause, Justine slowly walked up to me, her expression cold."Did you ever stop to think about how awkward this makes me? Tonight was just supposed to be a casual get-together with friends. Now everyone's laughing at us."Justine's ex, Wayne Frazier, stepped beside her and took her hand."Hey, Craig just wanted to surprise you. You should cut him some slack."A mocking laugh came from somewhere."Everyone knows Justine held this party as Wayne's welcome-back bash. Craig can't even tell who's the star of the show here. Serves him right to get rejected."That set everyone off. People covered their mouths, snickering and whispering.I stood there clutching the bouquet, feeling embarrassed but unable to move an inch.My eyes stayed locked on Justine, hoping she'd say something different. But the disgust in

That night, when I got home, the military housing compound was buzzing with noise.I saw a group gathered around a campfire, and Justine and Wayne were right in the middle, teasing each other.My peers shot me knowing looks.Someone called out, "Craig, wanna join us?"I knew they just wanted to see me get humiliated again, like a few days ago when Justine embarrassed me in front of everyone.But that wasn't the old me anymore.This time, I ignored them and went straight inside, shutting the door to block out all the noise.[Mr. Russell, I'm in. I'll join the medical research program.]Justine and I both came from military families. My father was one of Bernard's most trusted men.So I grew up trying to protect her, just like my father had.But a few years ago, during an incident, my father caught a rare illness protecting Bernard. There was no cure, so he died.That was why I didn't hesitate to pick medicine when I got to college.Melvin Russell happened to be an old friend

I went back inside to grab my confidentiality agreement without even glancing at Justine.That night, right before my flight, my phone buzzed nonstop with messages from her.[I'm confident you can't cut me out of your life.[I'll be waiting for you to come back in a few days.]I snorted coldly and immediately blocked her, deleting every message.It didn't matter. Time would prove I was serious about this.Meanwhile, Justine stared helplessly at her phone as each message failed to send.Growing frustrated, she kept trying over and over, sending the exact same words again and again.But everyone ended with a single tick, indicating I had blocked her.She had already moved out and was living with Wayne now.After his shower, Wayne called softly, "Justine."Tonight, Wayne was shirtless, wearing only a towel around his waist.His hair was damp, half-dried, and he radiated that fresh, just-out-of-the-shower scent.He leaned over and wrapped his arms around Justine."It's so lat

Justine finally said, "If you want the doll, come get it yourself. No need for all this mess. You can just take the doll and go.""No, thanks. Just tell Jack to toss it out since no one wants it.""What… That doll is the only keepsake your dad left you!""So, you know that's the only thing my dad left me!" I shouted into the phone. "If you know that, then why can't you give it to Jack? Let him return it to my mom! What exactly do you want to do by keeping it?"Heavy breathing came from the other side before she snapped, "You're actually yelling at me? Well, I don't care. You gave me that doll, so it belongs to me. If you want it back, come get it yourself!"I heard the crack in her voice.Then the call ended.Jack messaged me, asking what to do next.I just felt my frustration boiling over. If I had known back then, I wouldn't have given it to her!I took a deep breath.[Never mind. Just wait. I'm sure she'll give it back. If she refuses, we'll get her parents or my mom invol

After ten years, I had long forgotten what it felt like to love Justine.Hearing the heavy sighs from Bernard and Sally stirred a flicker of sadness in me as well.After the celebration banquet, I ran into Justine by the door.She looked pale and gaunt, completely changed from the vibrant girl I once knew.If Bernard and Sally hadn't quickly rushed over to steady her, I wouldn't have even recognized her.She leaned on a cane, trembling and unsteady.When she saw me, tears suddenly spilled from her eyes."Craig…"Her voice was rougher than I remembered.I never expected someone who once cared so much about her appearance to become like this.I gently pulled my hand away and said, "Maybe you should go back and get some rest."Justine shook her head."No, it's too late for that. I know my time is running out. I've been tormented by illness all these years. Maybe it's some kind of punishment from God, turning me into this."I look so awful. I used to think that after ten years