Were You Mine?

Lea’s POV

He was my everything.

My morning sun.

My brightest moon.

He was the reason I woke up and also the reason I went to sleep.

But there was a reason I had to leave him again. It was my choice. I could not drag him down. Not after pushing him to the top. He had worked so hard for what he deserved.

Could I not wait for a few more years? Of course, I could.

That was the only reason I had left without telling him anything because I knew if I told him, he would leave everything behind and follow me home.

I had switched my phone off. I talked to him once or twice and just made up excuses to say goodbye.

I had literally cut off all ties with him, even though it was killing me from the inside.

It was not like it was the first time I was living away from him.

But his texts, his voice, and those video calls kept me going.

But this time, it was particularly difficult.

I was also not keeping very well. Healthwise. Perhaps because I was unable to eat properly and would vomit if I was too full. Locals like us did not go to the doctor for such trivial things.

We took our herbs and teas. But honestly, nothing was helping. My nights were sleepless and my mornings became restless.

The only reason I decided to come back to his city was because of the local news.

The headlines read something like this:

“Rising star spotted on the road. Accused of public intoxication and abuse.”

I wanted to believe those were rumors, but the video footage showed otherwise.

My Jake looked miserable.

I had not left him for him to turn his life upside down.

I needed to talk some sense into him, and I could not do that over the phone.

That was the only reason I had the courage to pack my bag and come to him, again.

It was very late in the night when I landed. I took a cab home.

Just when I was about to ring the bell, I noticed that the door was slightly open.

“My silly Jakey.... as careless as ever...” I was getting ready to scold him with one hand over my hip as I pushed the door open with the other hand.

The lights were off.

I struggled to turn them on because I had forgotten the switch.

My heart was not ready to witness what I was seeing.

My Jake, with no clothes but his briefs, on the couch, and that colleague of his, Rosa, on top of him, topless. I could not even see if she had anything on down from her waist.

“Jake...” A faint gasp left my lips even though I did not mean to say anything.

Rosa immediately turned towards me.

“I’m sorry...” I have no idea why I apologized, but I dropped everything that I was carrying and just ran.

I ran as if my life depended on it. I ran as if I was being chased.

I ran as soon as the lift hit the ground floor, not even bothering to look behind to see whether or not I was being followed.

The world faded around me.

I was trying to win a race against time.

I was trying to unsee what I had just seen.

I ran and ran as fast as my little feet could carry me across the roads and blocks.

I could hear a loud honking coming at me from somewhere, but I was too disoriented to understand.

Then, out of nowhere, there was a deafening crash and an excruciating impact.

My body felt like it was violently thrown, tossed up in the air like being fried on a wok. I lost all sense of control. There was an intense, searing pain as if my entire world had shattered in an instant. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, and panic washed over me like a tidal wave.

The world around me turned into a chaotic blur of flashing lights, blaring horns, and muffled voices. I struggled to make sense of what had just happened, but the pain was so overwhelming that it consumed my every thought. I desperately wanted to get up, to escape this nightmare, but my body refused to cooperate.

Even at that moment, what I had witnessed at Jake’s place began flashing in my mind. It was as if my head was malfunctioning, and it needed a reset button.

Fear and confusion gripped me as I lay there, helpless and vulnerable, unable to do anything but hope that help would arrive soon.

Help, but from only one person.

I wished nothing but to see Jake’s face.

I wanted him to extend his hand towards me, lift me up in his arms, and whisper in my ears that it was all a terrible nightmare and that I would soon wake up.

But he was nowhere to be seen.

I could feel the wetness soak my t-shirt and pants as my nose filled with the coppery scent of blood.

I had no idea of my wound. Where I was hit or injured.

My eyelids started getting heavier as I slowly closed my eyes and involuntarily wrapped my hands around my abdomen.

The realization that my life had changed in an instant was both terrifying and surreal, and I prayed for the strength to endure whatever might lay ahead.

As I was being moved into the ambulance and was being rushed towards the hospital by complete strangers, I realized it would be unfair if I did not explain what had happened earlier. So give me a few chapters to tell that story before we come back to my present condition...

***

[A month or two ago]

A bag full of broken dreams and a heavy baggage weighing my body and mind down like gravity pulls anything that attempts to fly.

I was walking along the seashore...