I Choose to Love Me

Morgan claimed seeing me hurt made him sad, but the needle marks on my arm were his fault. He had to stop lying.

Anger and humiliation piled up until I was ready to blurt out everything.

Just then, his bodyguard pushed the door open, looking anxious as he hurried over to whisper in his ear. I'd always had sharp hearing, so I clearly heard the bodyguard say Evelyn refused to eat and would only do so if Morgan coaxed her.

When I saw the flicker of panic in Morgan's eyes, my heart sank again.

"Jazz, I've got some work to attend to. I need to go, so take care of yourself," he said.

I didn't answer. Instead, I turned my head and let the tears fall. I wondered if he would feel regret when he realized one day that he'd loved the wrong person.

I decided not to tell him the truth now. If I did, he would never let me leave. I would only tell him that I'd saved him all those years ago after I left. I wanted him to drown in regret. By then, he would've lost me forever.

An hour later, my phone chimed. It was a video from Evelyn.

In the video, Morgan blew on the food to cool it and fed it to her, his eyes full of a tenderness I'd never seen. My parents, who were always stern and proper, put on a goofy show just to make her smile. The laughter on the screen clashed harshly with my quiet sobbing in the hospital room.

Only then did it hit me—after all these years, I was still the invisible person that nobody bothered to care for when sick.

Grief tore through me. I cried until my body shook and my breath came in short gasps.

When I finally stopped, I called my professor, a world-renowned doctor. "Professor Lakeworth, I've decided. I'll leave for Orzelia in three days to further my studies. I'll never return here."

…

I quickly arranged to be discharged from the hospital after a day of recovery. I wanted to wrap things up and get out of this hellhole as soon as possible.

While packing, I stared at a photo of me and Morgan. My eyes were full of longing, resentment, and the sting of betrayal. However, none of it mattered anymore. I was leaving, and I would forget him.

I'd barely composed myself when Morgan pulled me into a tight embrace. "Why didn't you call me to pick you up when you got discharged, Jazz?"

I flinched at his voice. Then, I said calmly, "I know you're busy with work. I didn't want to bother you."

He kissed my forehead, feeling touched. "Why are you packing?"

I clenched my fists loosely. "I want to redecorate the place a bit."

He didn't question it. Instead, he just leaned close and started telling me stories from his day at work. I looked at his tender expression, unable to untangle the knot in my chest. This was all a tender performance for Evelyn's sake.

As I swallowed my bitterness, Evelyn's sickly sweet voice rang out. "Jasmine, Morgan's so busy as the mafia boss. You're being childish by clinging to him every day."

Morgan's body went rigid. He quickly stepped away from me before defending me dotingly. "It's not like that. I'm the one clinging to her."

Evelyn didn't get mad. She merely giggled and said, "You spoil her so much. I'm jealous."

Then, she naturally slipped her arm through his and asked, "By the way, Morgan, which room am I staying in?"

My expression went cold. Morgan hurriedly explained, "Your parents were the ones who wanted her to stay here. They're going on a business trip for a few days and want us to look after Evelyn."

I saw Evelyn flash a victorious grin at me, and I thought about the day after tomorrow—when I would be leaving. I sighed softly and calmly agreed.

At dinner that night, Morgan remembered every single thing Evelyn liked to eat and kept serving her without even thinking about it. The two of them chatted away, leaving me on the sidelines. Every bite of food tasted like cardboard to me.

Noticing I was upset, Morgan immediately had someone set off a luxurious fireworks display to cheer me up.