When the Scapegoat Walks Away

Anger surged within me. Unable to hold it in any longer, I yanked the IV needle out of my arm, got out of bed, and slapped Jackson across the face.

"You bastard!" I grabbed his collar and raised my fist to hit him again.

Just then, Jenny came back with some takeout. Seeing what happened, she rushed between us and shoved me hard.

With how weak I was, I slammed into the edge of the bed and collapsed onto the floor.

Jackson clutched at Jenny's sleeve, covering his face as he choked out, "Don't blame him, Jenny. It's all my fault. Since he's jealous of your past relationship, and seeing my face looking so much like my cousin's disgusted him so much, I'll just stay out of his way from now on."

I struggled to get up, trying to explain, "Jenny, my mom—"

Jenny's heart broke the moment she saw the red handprint on Jackson's cheek. With reddening eyes, she slapped me before I could finish.

She yelled, "Caleb! Not only did you drive Ian away, but you're so jealous that you can't even tolerate his cousin? And now you're even trying to use your sick mother as an excuse to get sympathy?"

Jessy angrily grabbed my wrist and forced my hand toward my own face. "Since you like slapping people so much, then stay here and slap yourself. Don't stop until you've slapped yourself a thousand times."

She then left with Jackson, loudly calling for doctors the whole way, as if he had suffered some life-threatening injury.

This time, Jenny left two rows of burly bodyguards behind to watch me. If I didn't slap myself, or if it wasn't loud enough, they would do it for me.

By the time both sides of my cheeks were swollen, Rowena finally rushed in. "Stop! That's enough!"

But the lead bodyguard reached out to stop her. "This is Ms. Shelton's order, Mrs. Shelton. Please don't make things difficult for us."

"Have you lost your mind, Jenny?"

Panicked, Rowena tried calling Jenny, but the line stayed busy.

Only after I had finished slapping myself a thousand times, leaving my cheeks bloody, did the bodyguards finally leave.

My hand kept moving out of numb habit. Just as it was about to land on my face, Rowena grabbed my wrist.

She choked out, "Forget the seven days. Just leave today, Caleb. The helicopter is waiting on the hospital roof. Take your mother's remains and go. Don't ever come back."

Rowena carefully placed Mom's urn in my hands, along with a framed photo of her.

Looking at Mom's gentle smile in the photo, I couldn't stop thinking about how the human body has such a strong survival instinct. And yet she had suffocated herself to death with her own hands.

She had chosen death willingly, all to give me my freedom.

Unable to hold back any longer, I hugged the urn and broke down sobbing.

…

Jenny spent the next three days drinking and partying wildly. Only then did she realize that I—her husband, who never missed his morning and night texts to her—hadn't contacted her in a long time.

She went to the hospital, only to learn that I had been discharged three days earlier. She rushed back home, yet the house was empty.

Growing irritated, Jenny recalled the 99 missed calls from Rowena. Assuming I must have run to her mother to complain, she rushed back to the Shelton residence, fuming.

But just as Jenny reached the door, she heard Jackson's mocking voice from inside.

"The one who jilted Jenny right before the wedding was Ian, Mrs. Shelton. There's no need to be so hostile toward me. Now that Caleb's mother is dead, he'll be gone for good. I'll be your future son-in-law, so we should really learn to get along.

"After all, I've been kind enough to keep your little secret—the whole thing about how you staged that car accident to force Caleb to marry into the family—from Jenny all these years."

Jenny froze just as she was about to knock, her phone slipping from her hand and falling to the floor.