All Chapters of Goodbye, Red Flag: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

I slipped my phone back into my pocket and hugged my mother."Safe trip," I said.My eyes filled with tears as I leaned against her sharp collarbones. Her illness had already taken so much from her."Once I hand in my resignation letter, I'll take the first train back to you," I said. "We'll stay together until the end of our days, okay?"She looked stunned. "What about Bastien? Aren't you two supposed to get married?"Sebastian Ross was my boyfriend and one of the best internists at Annsberg General Hospital. We had been together for five years.I was not from Annsberg. I had crossed several states in this vast land I called home so I could stay close to him.Then my mother was diagnosed with Stage II stomach cancer. During all 20 days of her hospitalization, my boyfriend never showed up to see her once.On the first day…My mother secretly came to Annsberg and checked into the General Hospital without telling me. When Aunt Rosalind called to inform me, I was out of town for

Chapter 2

Without Sebastian in my life, things would be more than fine.…It was 2:00 p.m. when I finally left the train station. Five hours had passed since he promised to come with me to see my mother off. An hour had passed since I broke up with him.I was about to hail an Uber when he called."I just got back from the vet, and this is what I see? 'We're over'?" His voice was sharp with disbelief. "What the hell is wrong with you this time?"This time. He made it sound as though I had a habit of causing trouble.Maybe he was right. I had been the one who cried and begged him for explanations more times than I cared to count. Those conversations always ended the same way. I would concede to his indifference and quietly patch myself together afterward.I shook my head and said nothing.His fury sharpened. "Madelaine Goode, I asked you a question. Answer me. Where are you, and what does this mean?""I'm at the train station," I said at last.Silence followed. It felt as though he had f

Chapter 3

Sebastian had a bag slung over his arm. I recognized it at once as the restaurant's signature dish: a stew of baked cod piperade, mussels, and chorizo. His colleagues stood beside him.Sebastian hated the smell of fish.Half a year ago…My mother brought our hometown's signature snack when she visited me: fish pies. They were baked to a golden crisp and filled with haddock and prawns, with almost no trace of a fishy odor.Sebastian still threw a tantrum. He did not care that my mother was watching when he dumped every last one into the trash."If I see anything related to fish at home again, we're breaking up!" he shouted at me, his voice sharp with threat.My mother said nothing. By evening, she had bought a train ticket home, claiming she was worried about a possible flash flood.On the way back, she called me and asked in a small voice, "I'm so sorry I messed up, Pumpkin. I caused trouble for the two of you, didn't I?"…I remembered how anxious she had sounded, how heavy h

Chapter 4

This was the first time in five years that Sebastian had shown any concern for my well-being. I was, admittedly, touched.Then I noticed the logo on the bag and the chilled stew inside. I realized it was the same meal he had bought for Suzanna. She probably could not finish it, so he had decided not to waste it.I looked up at him in silence."So… anyway, could you, I don't know, exchange your unit with Suzy?" he said awkwardly. "The landlady won't let her keep a pet where she's staying right now, and she's being evicted over it. It would be such a hassle to find a new place, so I thought… You know, yours is pretty much perfect already."I laughed bitterly to myself. He had even set his sights on my accommodation for her. Was that what this "supper" had been for?It did not matter anymore. I was leaving Annsberg and returning home to Downwarren, after all. This property would no longer be mine, so if she wanted it, why not?I could even give her Sebastian.I nodded. "Sure."He

Chapter 5

Sebastian fell into a long silence. He had wondered whether Madeleine could truly be angry with him after everything he had done lately. That fear was why he had strained his mind to come up with an excuse.It had always been easy for him to regain Madeleine's good graces. A small gift was often enough. After that, he would twist everything until it became her fault, framing every conflict as proof of her immaturity, insecurity, and inconsideration.Madeleine used to forgive him without hesitation. She was willing to believe him. Not anymore.Sebastian had never imagined that Madeleine would break up with him. He was used to her giving in, no matter how pathetic his excuses were or how often he failed to keep his promises. These text messages changed that.For the first time, panic set in. He turned away from his parents and Suzanna.She grabbed his wrist, concern creeping into her voice."Where are you going, Bastien? I already ordered our food before we arrived!" she complained

Chapter 6

Sebastian was going to make me stay.I was already on my way home. In the steady hum of the train, I said goodbye to everything in Annsberg and to the man who had led me there.My phone vibrated. I glanced at the screen.Sebastian: [Where are you, Maddie?]Sebastian: [Maddie, don't leave me! I know I was wrong now!]Sebastian: [Maddie, talk to me, okay? I'm sorry. I messed up! Please don't leave me!]His barrage of apologies and pleading left me unmoved. It was too late. If Sebastian had looked me in the eye back then, none of this would have happened.I deleted the messages and blocked him on every social platform and contact method I could think of. Then I opened my chat with my mom.She asked what time I would reach Downwarren. She chatted cheerfully about tidying my room. She told me she had gone to the market that morning to buy ingredients for my favorite Southern chicken stew.Warmth spread through my chest. That was what love felt like."You never need to search for l

Chapter 7

"Dr. Ross! There's an emergency operation. We need you here, now!"…By the time Sebastian finished the procedure, several hours had passed since midnight.A doctor's job was never easy. Madeleine always worried about how much work and stress he carried, even when she was exhausted from her own job. Whenever he worked overtime, she would cook his favorite dishes for supper and bring them to his office.He always told her he did not need it and asked her to focus on getting enough sleep instead, but good luck convincing a woman in love. Madeleine only wanted to do kind things for the man she loved so deeply.Sebastian would sip the broth Madeleine made while she sat beside him, sharing funny stories and small jokes from my day. At the time, they lived far from his parents and from Suzanna. It was just the two of them.Madeleine thought those moments offered a glimpse of their happily ever after.Sometimes, Sebastian stayed busy deep into the night. On those nights, Madeleine wait

Chapter 8

My mother's health gradually improved, to my great relief. I knew it proved that what I had been doing was helping.She sometimes mentioned Sebastian in passing, but I always changed the subject as gently as I could. I had never told her about our breakup. I worried she might think it was her fault.Of course, my mother was not stupid. I had come home so suddenly and showed no interest in returning to Annsberg. Anyone could guess why.I felt guilty. Sebastian always treated her with barely disguised contempt and irritation whenever she visited me, yet she endured it for my sake. That prick had hurt her countless times over the course of our relationship, and I still kept sticking with him.I hated him even more once I truly understood this.In my imagination, Sebastian hurled insults at empty air after realizing I had left. He ranted about how blind I was to give up a man as promising as he was, especially before marrying Suzanna. He might even have fantasized about me regretting

Chapter 9

"I didn't visit your mom because I was swamped with work. I didn't know she was this sick, Maddie!" Sebastian said frantically. "Slap me, hit me, do anything you want to me. I just want us to get back together. I would do anything!"He was still clinging to a ridiculous excuse. He was a hospital doctor. He could have found out about my mother's condition with ease.I did not want to waste any more time on him."I meant what I said in my text. It's over, Sebastian. Over means finished. Being your girlfriend exhausted me," I said. "Go home. Be with Suzanna. Your parents would love that. Forget about me.""No!" he wailed. "I love you, not her! I can't be happy unless I'm with you! If she's the problem, I can kick her out of our lives. I won't let this upset you anymore!"He pressed on, voice rising with conviction, "I don't even mind if you want to stay in Downwarren. As long as we get back together, I'll stay here with you too!"Sebastian sounded confident, as if abandoning everyth

Chapter 10

Sebastian shot Suzanna a glare. "You can go home if you can't stand it. I will wait here."Suzanna was stunned. Her eyes reddened and filled with tears. "Why are you talking to me like that? I was only worried about you, Bastien. I feel terrible for you."Rage surged through him. "Shut up! She would never have left me if you didn't exist. Do you think I didn't notice your stupid pick-me tricks?"My parents may have been foolish enough to fall for them, but I'm not. From now on, you and I are nothing but strangers. Get out of my sight."Sebastian had never spoken to Suzanna like this before.Fury rose in her as well. "Shit!" she shouted, then stormed off.-More time passed. I grew desensitized to his presence. To me, he became little more than a moving statue in the neighborhood.One morning, on my way home from the market, I ran into Seth Myers, a childhood friend and former classmate. He had grown quite tall since our teenage years. He also seemed wiser and more mature.I le

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