Before I Go

I watched Connor hesitate before slowly reaching for his phone.

Tears slid down Jasmine's pretty face as if on cue, and she whimpered, "Connor, why aren't you picking up Rosie's call?"

I snuck a glance at Connor. I was just as intrigued as she was.

Connor's reply was cold and indifferent. "Jasmine, this was all Rosie's fault. She was in charge of overseeing you at work, and if she had warned you not to enter the stock market without prior experience, you wouldn't have lost that client's money and ended up in this predicament."

Damn it! There was no talking sense into that man! He would always somehow find fault in whatever I did!

I was utterly infuriated by that.

I had already warned Jasmine a thousand times beforehand that she needed to seek a consultant's opinion before proceeding with any stock trading. Our company had a solid financial team under our belt, and it would be easy to pursue one of their professional opinions. I even made it very clear that she had to sign a contract with every client and notify the company immediately if things were to go south!

Alas, she ignored my advice! Not only did she deceive our clients into thinking she was more experienced in stock trading than she was, but she even breached professionalism and engaged in personal relationships with a few of them!

Indeed, things had come crashing down all at once. The client ended up losing his hard-earned savings, and his wife found out about the affair and threatened to divorce him!

It was then that Jasmine finally told me what she had done, weeping and insisting that it was a naive mistake!

I set up a meeting with the client to pitch a solution, but the client was so dead-set on revenge that he would not listen to a single word I said.

Things had turned south, and I ended up floating above Connor's and Jasmine's heads as a disembodied ghost.

Jasmine seemed delighted to hear that, but she disguised her glee with an innocuous smile, flashing her dimples at Connor. "Connor, please don't blame Rosie for this! It wasn't entirely her fault. She's always been cold to me. So, I didn't have the guts to ask for her advice."

Connor scowled at that. Sensing his displeasure, Jasmine said slyly, "That client was in love with Rosie at one point. Perhaps she had done something to annoy him, so he flew into a jealous rage."

I was so furious that I swung my fists at Jasmine's pretty face.

What did I expect? My hands flew straight through Jasmine like they were made of thin air, in which case, they actually were.

I clenched my fists, trying to curb the intense rage and sorrow that was rising within me. That woman was slandering me, and there was nothing I could do about it!

Connor's furrowed brows relaxed. He seemed to be stifling his rage as well.

It felt like the entire world had come crashing down around me. Something shifted within me, and my love for him suddenly turned to despair.

'I don't understand, Connor!

'You and Jasmine have known each other for less than six months, but we've been together for four years! Is this how you treat the woman you claim to love?

'Connor, they called you Hawk-Eye. Yet, how are you blind to this witch's deceiving tricks? Do you have not a single ounce of trust in me?

'Or perhaps you've ceased to love me a long time ago. Maybe Jasmine's youthful and innocent appearance is like a ray of sunshine in your dull, monotonous life, which is why you've fallen for her.

'Just admit it, Connor. Admit you're a cheating, lying scum!'

…

Connor's phone rang again, but he finally picked up.

Zoe's voice blared through the speaker, sharp with fury, "You bastard! What on earth is wrong with you? Where's your conscience? How can you leave Rosie for dead like that?"

Zoe's rage conjured up a comical image in my mind, one of her extending her hands through the phone to throttle Connor, demanding an explanation.

My amusement, however, soon turned to a pricking ache.

My adopted sister, the girl I grew up with, turned out to be a backstabbing traitor who stole my boyfriend from me. My boyfriend, whom I had dated for three years, was cold and indifferent to me until the very last moment of my life.

Zoe was the only person who believed in me and shielded and supported me in everything I did. If it were not for her, I would have fallen into a deep depression long ago.

Connor scoffed and replied curtly, "Ms. Sullivan, I assume you're calling to defend Rosie. In that case, what gives you the right to speak to me so uncouthly?"