I Finally Gave Up Loving You

The asthma seized my mother, Julia Green, when she sent me back home.

In a panic, I dialed Jeremy Smith, imploring him to bring the life-saving medication. It was a mere ten-minute drive away. Yet, he refused.

Desperate, I tried to rush Julia to the hospital, only to be cut off by a speeding bus.

In that split second between life and death, it was Julia who, with a final act of love, shoved me to safety.

Grief and despair consumed me as I navigated Julia's funeral. Then, a delayed text message from Jeremy arrived.

It revealed that as Julia breathed her last, Jeremy was lost in the cosmos with his first love, Wendy Roberts, gazing at the stars.

His words stung. "Asthma attacks won't kill, but it would be a shame for my beloved Wendy to miss the stars tonight."

——

Little did Jeremy know that the phone hadn't disconnected.

His honeyed words to Wendy, a dagger to my heart, slipped through the line and into my ears.

While I was in the morgue, arranging Julia's final farewell, he was enthralled by the night sky with his first love.

A bitter smile twisted my lips as I texted Jeremy the words that severed our ties.

[Let's break up. Our engagement is canceled.]

Reflecting on my four years together with Jeremy, I saw the absurdity of my role.

I had stood by Jeremy's side from nothing.

I leveraged Julia's connections to help him rub shoulders with the elite.

For his sake, I had nearly drunk myself into a hospital bed with a bleeding stomach, all for a contract.

Yet, all my sacrifices paled compared to Wendy's simple plea, "Jeremy, I miss you."

I had given Jeremy everything, yet he deemed even a ten-minute drive a waste of his precious time. But at Wendy's beckoning, he would drive four hours without a second thought.

"Mom, you were wrong about him," I whispered.

Looking at Julia's crushed body, I found tears streaming down my face.

Today, as I cooked for Jeremy, my old injury flared up. I didn't want to disturb him at work, so I asked Julia to accompany me to the hospital for a check-up.

Little did I know our return journey would be marred by such tragedy.

Wracked with guilt and sorrow, I was suddenly reminded of the time Jeremy was gravely injured in a car accident. It was Julia, the attending physician, who had fought for hours to save his life.

But now, when Julia needed him, where was Jeremy?

The doctor at the hospital looked at me with a mix of pity and respect. "Ms. Green, this is the body donation agreement Dr. Green signed before her passing. We are deeply grateful for her selfless dedication..."

With a trembling right hand, I signed my name.

The scrawl was a mirror of my anguished soul.

As an exemplary doctor, Julia had devoted her life to medicine. Even in death, she sought to light the path for future generations.

I slammed my right hand against the wall as a self-punishment.

If only I hadn't injured my hand, perhaps today's tragedy could have been averted.

I could have carried on Julia's legacy and become the brilliant surgeon she had hoped for.

For days, I drifted in a fog.

The police, insurance agents, and Julia's friends and students had visited me.

Yet, Jeremy never appeared.

I locked myself away, consumed by grief. Staring at Julia's photo, I found my eyes swollen and raw.

Then, a dormant medical exchange group suddenly sprang to life.

I clicked on it. My eyes were drawn to photos of a body accompanied by cruel mockery.

[This is the ugliest body I've ever seen. The head is broken. It's revolting.]

Wendy had taken numerous photos, including some indecent, and shared them.

Her actions met with a few feeble condemnations, which were swiftly drowned out by ridicule.

Seeing a familiar birthmark in one of the photos, I trembled uncontrollably.

That was Julia!

Julia had given her youth and life to the medical field, only to be met with such disrespect.

I couldn't bear it and prepared to storm the school, demanding answers.

As I stepped into the harsh glare of the sun, its intensity nearly seared my already swollen eyes shut.

But the sight that awaited me was more scorching, more blinding.

Jeremy and Wendy were laughing and flirting, a stark contrast to my desolation.

Their joy halted abruptly when they saw me. Jeremy's smile froze on his face.

"How did come here? Are you spying on me?"