It's over

The moment Steven got home, the first place he went was the bar. But when he set his sight on the wine bottles, he froze, barely able to move his legs or exhale the air that he had been suppressing in his lungs.

It has been months since Jackson got involved in the accident, and Steven had restrained his every desire to have alcohol because of that unfaithful day.

But now, he felt his willpower weakening with every second he spent staring at those shelves until he completely lost to his cravings.

Pushing aside every logical reason that his head was giving him to avoid those bottles, the pain ripping through his heart made it difficult for Steven to listen to reasoning.

As the evening sky slowly became a bit darker, Joe walked in on Steven with a half-full wine bottle and an empty glass.

"Sir, I think that's enough alcohol for now," Joe said while staring at his boss with concern in his eyes.

Steven was about to reply when the doorbell rang. So he stared away from Joe and pulled himself another glass.

"Get the door," Steven mumbled before drinking the entire glass of wine.

After sighing out his frustration, Joe turned around with his head hung low and headed for the front door.

"Miss Chloe." He mumbled when he opened the door.

"Is Steven here?" Chloe asked while anxiously staring at Joe.

"He's here. But I don't think he's in the state for visitors."

"That's okay. I don't plan on staying long."

Before Joe could utter another word, Chloe walked past him and entered the house.

"Where is he?" She asked as Joe followed her further into the house.

"In the bar area. But like I said, he is under the influence of alcohol, so maybe you should visit another time." Joe frustratingly answered with anger expressed on his face.

"That's great."

"What?"

"A drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts. So this is the right time to talk with him."

As shock crossed Joe's face, he stopped, let out a deep sigh, and mumbled, "I got a bad feeling about this."

The bottle mouth rested at the edge of the glass, but no wine dripped out as Steven desperately stared at the empty glass.

"I think there's no more wine in there," Chloe mumbled as she approached Steven.

He then gazed away from the glass, focused on her calm eyes, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

"We already did."

"Yeah, but we never did finish."

For a second, Steven covered his face with his hands, then he gently rubbed his eyes before staring back at Chloe.

"There's nothing more to talk about. We are over, and I have no feelings for you." Steven softly said with the utmost seriousness in his expression.

"Then kiss me." Chloe abruptly and boldly said.

"Hahaha... Wait, you are not kidding? I am not doing that."

"Why? Is it because you know that you still have feelings for me like I do for you?"

"No."

"Then do it. Kiss me, Steven. And if you don't feel anything towards me afterward, I will believe that we are truly over."

"This is stupid. But fine! Let's do this and get it over with."

Every last bit of Steven's sanity was telling him not to do it. However, he sluggishly stood from the stool and walked over to Chloe.

At that moment Chloe felt her heart skip several beats as Steven's lips were getting closer. Then the smell of alcohol and the taste of it on Steven's tongue was driving her insane as they kissed.

However, when Chloe was about to close her eyes, she caught a glimpse of the unbothered gaze in Steven's eyes which quickly shifted into fear.

He then hastily pulled away from Chloe and anxiously mumbled beneath his breath, "Julie?"

Out of confusion, Chloe turned around, and her sight rested on Julie's teary eyes staring back at her and Steven.

"Babe, this is not what you think. I was just... W-we we-re jus-t… Damn it. I swear to you that the kiss meant nothing to me." Steven cried out.

Watching him stutter over his words was painful for Chloe. But once the sentence finally came out, she felt completely broken.

"Who are you? Oh, I remember. I met you once at Steven's company. But don't you think it's a bit late for an employee to be visiting her boss." Chloe aggressively asked with anger burning in her eyes as she stared at Julie.

"Shut up," Steven calmly said, and yet the was anger in his tone.

The tears trailing down Julie's face kept pulling as a sad smile appeared on her lips, then it quickly faded, leaving her with a broken expression.

"I can't do this anymore. We are over!" Julie softly said before running past Joe, who was coming from the opposite direction.

"Sir, your girlfriend is here. But why is she leaving in tears?" Joe asked while coldly staring at Chloe before staring back at his boss.

"Don't look at me like that, Joe. I know that I messed up." Steven mumbled.

"Do you?"

"Yes!!"

The alcohol in Steven's system quickly faded as Julie's words rang in his ears, and the louder it got the more miserable his heart felt.

"Who is she to you?" Chloe mumbled while staring deep into Steven's eyes, hoping for a different answer than what she had just heard.

"She's my girlfriend, Chloe. She's the woman that I love. She is the one who owns my heart now. So I am begging you." Steven calmly said, pausing for a moment to get his emotions under control.

"But I love you, and we love each other."

"Please! please, stop loving me because I'm never coming back to you. I am sorry, but I got to go fix things with my girlfriend and hope that she's willing to take me back."

Leaving Chloe standing with her eyes wet with tears, Steven ran out of the house, only to found out that Julie had already left.

"Beep… Beep…"

Jackson's eyelids slowly opened, then it gently shut before slightly opening it again.

To avoid the light for the bulb he turned his head to the left and gazed at his mother. Then he slowly removed the oxygen mask from his mouth.

"What are you doing, son? I will go get doctor Daniel." Rose cried.

"Don't. I am fine. Where is Steven?" Jackson mumbled.

"I sent him home."

"That's good. Being away from the hospital is good for him. I hate seeing him miserable because of me. And I know him being here also reminds him about his mother."

"He will be fine. Plus he got Julie. She's good for him and I can see him being less of the man he was in the past which put my heart at ease."

"Mine too."

The room fell silent for a moment, then Rose looked at her son and asked, "How are you holding up?"

'I lost my wife and my ability to father a child. I don't think I have anything to hold on to. Death seems more pleasant at this moment.' Jackson thought.

However, he kept those words deep inside his mind. Then he smiled at his mother and said, "I feel a bit better."