Chapter 4
Lily had been reaching out to Jason more and more lately.
Luckily, we had been drowning in work for the company’s biggest project.
Jason was too busy to leave the office, which meant he wasn’t forcing me to see her.
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Finally, after weeks of exhausting work, we wrapped up the final stages.
It was past midnight when we got home.
Both of us collapsed onto the couch, completely drained.
Not long after, Jason clutched his stomach, groaning in pain.
A sharp instinct flared inside me.
I thought back to the past few weeks–he hadn’t been eating properly, running on caffeine and sheer willpower.
Especially today. The only thing he’d consumed was coffee.
I knew my body. An empty stomach and stress were the perfect triggers for gastritis.
Jason broke into a sweat, his face pale as a sheet, his body curled up in agony.
“What… what’s happening to me?” he rasped.
“Gastritis.”
I let out a quiet sigh, heading to the drawer for medicine.
Empty. Right. I had finished the last dose.
“We need to get you to a hospital. This prescription isn’t over–the–counter.”
I helped him up, preparing to leave, when his phone rang.
It was Lily.
I pressed the speakerphone, and her panicked voice spilled through the line.
“Jason! It’s Momo–she’s been so weak these past two days. I think she’s sick.”
As she kept talking, her voice started to tremble, and soon, she was sniffing through the phone.
“I’m really scared. Can you come home and take us to the vet?”
I turned to Jason.
I already knew what would happen next.
Whenever Lily cried, no matter the situation, Jason would drop everything.
Just like that time.
That time when I was the one in pain.
That time when I had begged him to take me to the hospital.
Lily had called then, too.
She was crying, saying her dog was about to give birth.
Jason hadn’t hesitated.
“Shh, don’t cry. You know I can’t stand it when you cry. I’ll be right there.”
I had grabbed his sleeve, my body trembling from the pain, tears spilling down my face as I pleaded.
“Please, just take me to the hospital first.”
But he had yanked his arm away, his voice sharp with irritation.
7:33 AM
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“Stop being so dramatic. It’ll pass.
“Momo’s our dog. She’s giving birth
for the first time. I’m her dad–I can’t miss this.”
And then he had left without looking back.
I had barely managed to call an
mbulance myself, hands shaking.
Hours later, while I was lying in a hospital bed with an IV drip in my arm, Jason had been celebrating.
He had posted a picture online–he and Lily was cuddling the newborn puppies.
The caption read: [Officially dog parents! So happy!]
After five years with Jason Miller. That was the moment I had finally, completely, given up
Now, Lily’s sniffles echoed through the speaker.
“Jason? Did you hear me? I need you. I’m scared.”
Jason swayed, his body barely holding up. His lips trembled as he tried to form words.
“Do you… do you think I should go?” I tilted my head, watching him. “You tell
He hesitated. For once, he hesitated.
Then, gritting his teeth, he gasped, “Take me to the hospital. I… I can’t take this.”
A slow smirk showed on my face.
I turned to the phone.
“Jo’s sick. I’m taking him to the hospital.
“Take Momo to the vet yourself.”
“But Jason, Momo-”
I hung up before she could finish.
Jason was already collapsing against me.
on
him.
?
I had planned to let him suffer a little. Just enough for him to understand what I had gone through.
But this was still my body. I wasn’t about to mess around.
I rushed him to the hospital, got his prescription, and brought him home.
As he rested, I went to the kitchen to make something light.
I was stirring a pot of porridge when the door swung open.
It was Lily.
She blinked in surprise.
“Jason? You’re cooking?” She laughed. “You hate cooking.”
I kept my voice calm. “Jo’s sick. She doesn’t have much of an appetite. Takeout isn’t great for digestion, so I’m making porridge.”
It was an excuse, but she didn’t need to know that.
Her gaze flickered toward the steaming bowl, something dark flashing in her eyes. Jealousy.
7:33 AM
<
But when she looked back at me, her expression softened into something fragile and sweet.
She stepped closer, looping her arm around mine.
“Jason, let’s go check on Momo together. She’s still not eating, and she needs her dad. She needs her family.”
I swallowed down the nausea crawling up my throat and smoothly slipped my arm free.
“She’s sick. Take her to a vet. I’m not a doctor.”
I snapped the lid onto the container, my tone flat.
“I need to bring Jo her food.”
I didn’t turn back as I walked out.
But I could feel the anger rolling off her in waves.
At the hospital, Jason had recovered enough to sit up.
He looked at me, confused. “Since when was your gastritis this bad?”
I packed away the containers, my voice steady. “It’s always been this bad.”
His brows furrowed. “Really?”
Of course, he wouldn’t know.
The condition had started when I used to accompany him to business events, drinking on an empty stomach, and pushing past my limits.
The first time I had collapsed in pain, Jason had held me close, eyes red–rimmed as he swore,
“Jo, I’ll never let you suffer like this again. I’ll take care of you.”
So I had stopped complaining.
I swallowed the pain and bore it alone.
Until that time.
Until he had left me for a dog.
Until he had walked away like I was nothing.
Jason’s face shifted, as if something had finally clicked.
“So… when you said you were sick before… you weren’t faking it?”
I shot him a dry look.
His expression faltered, guilt creeping in.
“I thought you were just jealous of Lily. That you were trying to stop me from going to her.”
I didn’t respond. Didn’t even look at him.
I simply stood, brushing invisible dust off my clothes.
“Get some rest.”
As I reached the door, his voice stopped me,
“I’m sorry.”
ว
I didn’t turn around. And I didn’t answer.
