All Chapters of The Choke Point: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1 When I Stopped Chasing

The private room fell into a deathly silence the moment Jillian said those words.She sat there without saying a word, her brows tightly furrowed in displeasure.I knew exactly what she was waiting for. She was waiting for me to lower my head and apologize, just as I had done countless times before.As I stared at the pale, ghostlike man reflected in the mirror, I suddenly felt far too exhausted to deal with this farce. So, I offered no explanation and made no attempt to stop her. Instead, I simply stood up and walked out.Mocking laughter immediately rang out behind me. It came from Charles Prescott, the escort."Ms. Oakley, Mr. Clancy's upset. Aren't you going to comfort him?" he inquired sardonically."Comfort him? Don't make me laugh. Give it two days, and he'll come crawling back to apologize." Jillian's voice was cold, laced with undisguised contempt.That was what she truly thought of me.Unfortunately, she was wrong. I never contacted her again over the next week.I th

Chapter 2 No Longer at Her Beck and Call

There was an unmistakable note of conciliation in Jillian's slow, measured voice. "Don't be upset. I just got so worked up at the time that I said some harsh things. Don't worry. The wedding's still on."The wedding that should have taken place a year ago had been postponed over and over again. She had strung me along like a fool, turning me into the butt of the joke among our family and friends.When she saw that I said nothing, she assumed that I had forgiven her unconditionally just like I always had. So, she reached out to touch me. However, the scent of cedar filled my nose the instant she drew close.It was Charles' scent.The image of the two of them wrapped around each other that day flashed through my mind, and a wave of nausea surged up my throat. I immediately shoved her away and rushed into the bathroom.Jillian stumbled back several steps. Her face darkened as she glared at the bathroom. Then, she curled her lips into a sneer, slammed the door behind her, and left.

Chapter 3 A Test of Love

I drifted into a feverish sleep after shoving the fever medication down my throat.…At 1 a.m., Jillian suddenly barged into my apartment and shook me awake without the slightest bit of restraint. I was still half-asleep, so I could barely open my eyes. When my eyelids finally cooperated with me, I found her glaring down at me, her face dark with anger."Where did you throw Charles' jacket?" she demanded. "It was a birthday present from his mother. He's been devastated. Get it back. Now!"The high fever left my mind sluggish. So, it took me a few seconds before I managed to mumble wearily, "Can it wait until tomorrow?""No. Get up. Right now," she barked.Every muscle in my body protested at the thought. I sat blankly on the edge of the bed, fumbling around for my shoes. Alas, Jillian took my sluggish movements as me stalling, so her temper flared. "Josh Clancy, I didn't think you'd be this petty. To think you'd be bullying a young man."Her usual talent for twisting right and

Chapter 4 The Birthday Humiliation

"Why did you cancel the wedding attire order? Didn't you like that set?"A strange feeling stirred in my chest.Jillian had never once cared about any of the planning or the details for the two whole years between our engagement ceremony and our constantly postponed wedding. So, why was she suddenly concerned about my wedding suit?"It was ugly," I answered casually. "I didn't want it anymore.""What's with your terrible taste? That suit was last year's haute couture from Gaul." Her familiar arrogance and sharp tongue surfaced once again as she looked down on me. "Throwing a tantrum is one thing, Josh, but don't take it so far that you end up embarrassing yourself."I couldn't help but stare at her dazedly for a second as I wondered just how spineless I was for the past five years. I couldn't help but wonder how I'd managed to feed that ridiculous confidence of hers so much that she was now convinced that I'd never leave her. Perhaps the incredulity on my face was too obvious be

Chapter 5 The End of Us

Charles' carefully polished appearance was instantly reduced to that of a sewer rat. He stood frozen in disbelief before his face twisted with fury. "What the hell is wrong with you?"Jillian immediately took off her jacket and draped it over his shoulders before turning to me. "Josh, have you lost your mind?"I cut her off before she could continue, "It's over between us, Jillian." She was about to say something else when her gaze fell on my neck, and she immediately became alarmed. "You're having an allergic reaction?!"The cake contained almond flour, something I was severely allergic to. Fortunately, I'd washed it off before the situation turned disastrous.Jillian rushed toward me, gripping my shoulders as she examined the red rash spreading across my skin. However, I shoved her hands away, stumbling backward in my haste to avoid her touch.My rejection seemed to wound her as her expression went completely blank for a moment before she looked at me with hurt in her eyes.F

Chapter 6 A New Beginning, A Lingering Shadow

The bitter winter cold seeped into everything, even my very bones. I pulled my collar tighter around my neck, ignored the voice on the phone, powered it off, and boarded the flight back to my hometown.…The plane bringing me home landed three hours later.Unlike the other passengers who were greeted by their family, no one came to pick me up.My mother had passed away years ago, and my father had raised me on his own. The weather was freezing cold today, so I couldn't bear the thought of making him come all the way to the airport just to pick me up. Instead, I hailed a cab and headed straight home.The moment my father opened the door, I saw the weary lines that seemed to be permanently etched on his face. That did it for me as my tears spilled over.He was clearly shocked to see me standing at his doorstep as I hadn't told him I'd be back, but it didn't take him long to realize something had gone wrong. Still, he didn't press for answers. Rather, he simply carried my luggage

Chapter 7 The Strings She Pulled

"Josh really is a nepo-hire, isn't he? Look how biased Mr. Lindberg is.""Do you think he might be Mr. Lindberg's illegitimate son?""No. I heard a CEO or some senior executive from Ardenport pulled some strings."I'd thought Jillian and I had parted ways for good; little did I know that her influence would reach all the way here.I crushed the paper cup in my hand and immediately called her. She answered almost instantly, "Josh? How have you been lately?"I let out a mocking laugh as I snarked, "I've been doing just fine, thanks to you."There was a brief pause before she came clean, saying imperiously, "Josh, I only did it for your own good. Do you have any idea how cruel the world outside is—""That's none of your business." I didn't hesitate to cut her off, having grown sick of hearing her hoity-toity excuses. "Allow me to reiterate: we're over. You know better than anyone that I'm perfectly capable of living a good life without your help."It wasn't as though I'd never wis

Chapter 8 The Woman in the Snow

"Are you really not going to talk to me?" Jillian demanded.Her gaze fell to my lips, making my heart lurch against my ribs. When she leaned closer, I instinctively recoiled in disgust and shoved her away.Jillian stumbled and fell to the ground, caught completely off guard.I sneered. "Have you come to your senses yet? Showing up at my house in the middle of the night and making a scene doesn't make you look devoted. It makes you look like an idiotic stalker."Her lips parted slightly. She stared at me with stubborn determination, her eyes shimmering with tears. "You're finally talking to me…" she whispered brokenly. "Have you calmed down? If you haven't, then hit me again."Before I could react, she grabbed my hand and tried to slap herself with it.I was thoroughly disgusted by her. She was practically a rabid dog at this point. I detested how she'd forced me to do things the way she wanted to back when we were dating, and now that we weren't? Well, I'd had enough. So, I yan

Chapter 9 Love Came Too Late

We were all holding our breath, determined to achieve a breakthrough at next year's exhibition.To our immense joy, all of our hard work paid off three months later. Our product was launched successfully and quickly became a major hit.…We boarded a flight to Ardenport in the second week of spring. And so, I found myself returning to the city that was both familiar and unfamiliar to me.As I'd spent years living here, I knew the city far better than anyone else on the team. So, I volunteered to be the designated tour guide and showed them around once our work was all wrapped up.We arrived at our final stop after a full day of sightseeing—a famous tourist attraction. Everyone took commemorative photos and suggested I should take one as well.I simply shook my head. I'd been there far too many times already. There wasn't anything I wanted to photograph, so I figured I'd save us all the time and take pictures for everyone else instead.Poppy giggled as she teased, "Looks like M

Chapter 10 Fireworks and New Beginnings

As it turned out, it truly was the little things that really showed you whether the love was still there."Jillian, I'll say this one last time," I began evenly. "There's no us, not anymore. Live your life however you want. It has nothing to do with me anymore. If this isn't clear enough, I don't care about you."Once I said my piece, I glanced down at my vibrating phone. My coworkers had sent several messages asking where I was.I spun on my heel and strode away, refusing to spare Jillian another glance.This time, she didn't try to stop me. Instead, she hurried after me, her emotions finally spilling over."Josh!" she cried, her voice breaking into bitter sobs. "How can you be so heartless? How could you throw our relationship of five years away just like that? I've been waiting for you for months. "I didn't want you to hate me, so I didn't dare call you or visit you. But what did you do in return?"Her voice grew louder and louder, drawing the attention of tourists nearby. T

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