His Elusive Antidote

“Skye, please,” I heard his desperate plea in his voice, but I didn’t know how to look at him after learning everything that had happened. “Listen to me first, baby.”

“What is there to explain, hmm?” I said, each word bitter like a bitter gourd. “Why, if I hadn’t found out now, were you planning to tell me, or maybe you were planning to keep it hidden until the funeral, huh?” He didn’t answer, so I let out a mix of sobs and laughter. “See?”

I could see how confused he was in his eyes, but I chose to ignore it. I didn’t care about how he was feeling right now; my own pain was twice as intense.

“Skye, please. My situation right now is very difficult. All I’m asking is for you to give me a chance to explain my side. Please give me a few days. I have too much on my plate right now.”

I shook my head as tears streamed down my face. “No, I don’t need to hear any of your lies.”

“Is it that hard for you to understand my situation, Skye? I always listen to you, but why are you, just like this, letting go of me so easily?”

I felt a pang of anger at his words. “Are you blaming me? Sorry, again? Easy? And, come on,Jaxon. Admit it or not, this setup is exhausting. I tried to understand everything. You show up late to our dates, almost don’t come, not to mention those times when you stood me up because you forgot that you said yes to me. Meanwhile, I waited for you. I’d be lucky if you arrived five hours after our meeting time, and I’d still be grateful that you came. It’s not just that. You weren’t there when I needed you the most. You weren’t there when I was struggling with my depression. You weren’t there when I failed my major subject and had to take a remedial examination. You were not there,Jaxon. I carried it all alone as if you didn’t exist. I tried to reach out to you. I tried to communicate my feelings to fix us, but you were too busy with things you weren’t telling me. So I was there, left alone as if I were no one.”

I could see a mix of emotions in his eyes—emotions that I couldn’t comprehend, emotions that I saw for the very first time after we had been in a relationship.

“So, I’m sorry,Jaxon, if it’s just this simple, that I want to let go. But please remember, I tried so hard. I tried my best. I tried to such an extent until I couldn’t anymore. I’m sorry that I need to let you go because I’m choosing myself this time. And you know what became my last straw? I found out that the man I loved the most is actually one of the reasons for the death of my dear friend. I never expected this from you. I will carry this to my grave. I trusted you so much. I hate you—no, I loathe you! You stole the only friend that I have!”

As I started to open the door, my heart began to swell and break into pieces. “Baby, please. Don’t give up on me. I love you.”

“I can’t feel it,Jax. I’m too drained to deal with this sh*t, so I’m sorry,” I fully opened the door and went outside the room. “And I hope not to see you again.”

The following day, she arrived at work early, hoping to avoid another lecture from her department head as her headache was pounding fiercely. She spent the morning assisting her youngest sibling, who was now in fifth grade, with a school project. Her other sibling, a college student studyingHRM, was also busy with studies to support their youngest. She had only returned home the previous day, as her mother had requested, after nearly six months away.

She settled into the designated hiring room, one of two interview rooms, alone at a long table with two chairs in front. Besides the flower vases and glass windows on each side, she adjusted the AC to alleviate her headache and brought a cardigan in case she felt cold.

At eight in the morning, her coworker informed her that the interviews were starting soon. She finished her water to ease her headache, realizing that conducting interviews in this state wouldn’t be ideal. She regretted not eating the breakfastJChad brought he