The Real Goodbye

That night, I watched helplessly as Keith pulled Sadie into his arms, his face full of concern as he asked repeatedly if she was hurt. Then, without sparing me a second glance, he helped her out of the room.

Before leaving, he threw one disgusted remark over his shoulder, "If you've lost your mind, clean it up and apologize when you're thinking straight."

He never gave me a chance to explain and never asked why I acted that way. In his eyes, I was just a rude, brainless orphan—someone who would never understand proper behavior.

The next day, I packed my things and checked out of the hospital.

I went to see Elizabeth, the only person in this world who truly cared for me. She held my hands in sorrow, her voice trembling. "Zoey, are you really leaving? Keith has feelings for you. Won't you reconsider? That foolish boy—I'll set him straight for you. Please, don't go."

I looked out at the bare trees outside the window. Parting was always sad, but things would get better eventually. "Grandma, I've already made up my mind. Please don't tell Keith for now."

That afternoon, Keith called me. His voice had lost all its warmth. Ever since Sadie returned, everything had changed beyond recognition.

"Zoey, why didn't you wait for me when you were discharged from the hospital? I rushed there for nothing! And about last night, no matter the reason, you shouldn't have resorted to violence. Can't you see that Sadie's hand is hurt? She told me you misunderstood our relationship. Zoey, can you stop being so unreasonable? We're not even married yet—what gives you the right to control who I can be friends with? With your attitude, I think we should postpone the wedding for a few years!"

I didn't bother worrying about what Sadie had said about me to Keith. Instead, when I heard the words "postpone the wedding," I felt an unexpected sense of relief. "Keith, can you come with me to visit my parents the day after tomorrow?" I asked calmly.

He was stunned, clearly not expecting such a quick change of topic. Normally, I'd have cried and explained that I only acted that way because I cared about him, but not this time. I was as calm as still water.

"We'll see," he replied.

After hanging up, I packed my belongings from Keith’s house and moved to a hotel while his parents weren't around. That evening, I called Keith again and asked him to come with me. Perhaps my humble tone made him think I was apologizing in a roundabout way, so he agreed.

Two days later, I bought a bouquet of daisies and went to the cemetery. After tidying up around my parents' graves, I received a text message from an unknown number. "Zoey, you really have a bag of tricks. How long do you plan to use gratitude to manipulate Keith? Aren't you tired of these tactics? Believe it or not, with just one phone call from me, you definitely won't see him today."

I didn't need to guess—it was Sadie. I indifferently turned off my phone. Meaningless things done by meaningless people were not worth my time.

Keith and I had agreed to meet at 10 a.m., but as time passed, he still hadn't arrived. I called him, but there was no answer. I called again, but still no response.

Finally, I made one last call and his assistant answered it. "Hello, Miss Sherman. Mr. Jordan is busy right now and can't take your call. Do you need me to pass along a message?"

Through the faint noise on the line, I could hear Keith's anxious voice in the background. "Sadie, are you okay? Don't scare me! I'll take you to the hospital right now!"

Then, I heard him mention me. "Zoey, what's your problem? Can't you visit the cemetery without me? Why are you making such a big deal out of it? Stop calling me!"

I let out a long sigh and hung up. "Keith, you don't know this yet, but I'll never visit the cemetery with you again."

I placed the daisies at the base of my parents' gravestone, finally feeling a sense of true relief. "Mom, Dad, it's your Memorial Day and I'm here to see you. I wanted to bring Keith along to explain everything and say goodbye, but he's too busy. Maybe that's for the best—starting today, we're strangers. Mom and Dad, please forgive me and forgive Keith too. Let's end this debt of gratitude here."

That night, I boarded a plane to France. The outsiders assumed I relied on the Jordans to survive for years. Still, they didn't know that I had never given up on my dream of becoming a fashion designer. Recently, I received an offer to collaborate with a well-known French brand.

I thought my parents would be proud of me if I chose my dream over a messy love story.

I changed my phone number and cut all ties with Keith.