The truth hurts

The bedroom grew quiet as Jackson opened the door. Then he stared at Jennie and said, "I don't need your back story. Maybe I did in the past. But now, I honestly don't care. So let's not go there because it won't change anything."

Right after his remark, Jackson walked out and slammed the door behind him. But it took only a few seconds for Jennie to catch up to him, and without any hesitation, she grabbed his shirt and firmly held onto it.

"I am not signing a divorce paper. I am not losing you." Jennie shouted.

"Suit yourself. I honestly don't give a damn what you choose to do with your life." Jackson mumbled while staring her cold in her eyes.

The brutal honesty in his tone had Jennie dumbfoundedly gazing back at him as her fingers slipped off his shirt.

"How can you say such cruel words to me!" Jennie mumbled in disbelief.

"How could you do such a cruel thing to me, uh? And now, you want to do what? Play the victim?" Jackson calmly asked, yet his tone remained hostile toward her.

"I'm not. I Just..."

"Just what? You just want us to get back together so that I can pretend that you don't have a second family? Or you just want your dumb husband back, so you can continue playing on his vulnerable emotions? Which one do you want?"

Those words sent Jennie in a brief state of shock as she ran her fingers through her hair while crying her eyes out.

"I want none of those things," Jennie whispered beneath her breath while striving to calm her fast-beating heart.

"Okay, then. What do you want?" Jackson calmly asked before softly rubbing his eyelid to reduce his stress as he impatiently stared at his wife.

"I want you. I want us back. I want how we were before all of this happened."

"That's not possible."

As she swallowed back her cry, Jennie stared away from Jackson with an aching heart. Then she shut her eyes for a second, took in a deep breath, and asked, "Why is that?"

"I don't see you the way I did went we first met. This heart of mine doesn't beat the way it did when we are together alone. It's not fair to both of us to live in a loveless marriage, so let us end it, okay?" Jackson boldly said with nothing but pity in his eyes for Jennie.

Then he picked up his suitcase and walked away, leaving her staring behind him with her eyes red and watery.

Once Jackson was out of the house, he headed over to the cab and handed his suitcase to the driver before reaching for the door handle.

"Jackson!" Jennie shouted as she ran out of the yard and rushed over to him.

At this point, Jackson knew that half of the neighbors had heard her scream because the bakery door suddenly opened and Mr. Harper, his wife, and Julie came out.

When he felt Jennie's hands tightened around his waist, Jackson calmly stared at the Harpers. Then he gently rested his palms over her fingers, pulled them away from his body, and said, "let's not cause a scene here, please."

Without looking back at Jennie, Jackson opened the car door, got inside, and the driver drove off.

For almost a minute, Jennie's feet felt frozen to the ground as she watched her tears fell onto the pavement.

"Are you okay?"

When she heard Julie's voice, Jennie hastily wept her face, sniffed back the cried and pulled herself together.

Then she stared at Julie, sadly smiled, and said, "No, I am not. I'm not okay. Jackson wants a divorce. How could he just leave after all the years we have spent loving each other. I know that I messed up. But isn't this a cruel punishment!"

"I'm sorry." Was the only words that came out of Julie's lips since Jennie's remark reminded her of what Steven's said at the hospital.

As Jackson sat inside the cab, watching the streetlight glowed upon the road, he realized that he left the hospital with two hundred dollars, no phone, without a credit card, and now, he was stuck with only one place to go.

"Hi Joe," Jackson said while standing at Steven's front door with his suitcase in his hand.

"Oh my! Mr. David, how, when, what... Oh my! Mr. Mason, Jackson is here!" Joe shouted as he opened the door wide for Jackson to enter the villa.

"Thanks."

"You are welcome. It's good to see you healthy again."

A faint smile appeared on Jackson's lips while staring at the old man. Then it quickly faded when he saw the look of disappointment on Steven's face.

"I just got a call from Julie. She said that you are divorcing Jennie." Steven asked as he watched Jackson hand over his suitcase to Joe.

"You guys are back together?" Jackson mumbled without any care for what his friend had said. Instead, he sat down and calmly looked around the room.

"No, we are not. But that's not the main focus here?"

"Then what is?"

"It's about you divorcing Jennie after all the years that you both spend together."

"I thought you were angry with her?"

"Yes, and I still am. But I can not ignore the fact that you a throwing away years of happy memories over a one-time mistake."

A frown crossed Jackson's face as he intensely stared at Steven. Then he slowly wiped his lips and sigh.

" Let me ask you something. Why do you think, Julie has not forgiven you yet?" Jackson coldly said without taking his eyes off his friend.

It grew a bit quiet for a while. Then Steven folded his hands, shuddered his shoulder, and said, "Because of what happened between Chloe and me."

A faint laugh escaped Jackson's lips as he stood up from the couch. Then he approached Steven, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "You guessed wrong. No wondered you guys are not back together. Talk to me about Jennie after figuring out what's wrong with you and Julie."

"What is wrong with you? Ever since you woke up, you have been acting cold and not like yourself."

"I am going to bed. Even though I have been sleeping for a year, my body feels tired."

With a calm expression, Jackson walked past Steven and headed upstairs to the guest room, then lock the door behind him.

"I am sorry, buddy. But I can't afford to be the Jackson you know. My heart got broken too many times for me to put it back together. So it's best to live with the pieces" He thought.