Abandoned Love

1
I took a bullet for my boyfriend of ten years.
He survived, unscathed, and in the heat of the moment, he promised hed do anything for me.
Everyone assumed I would seize the opportunity to demand marriage. After all, Id proposed to him multiple times before, and I was three months pregnant with his child.
But to everyones shock, I looked him in the eye and dumped him. Right there. Then I turned my back on him.
Someone told him to chase after me.
But he just scoffed, his expression dripping with disdain. "Why bother? Everyone knows Jacqueline is desperate. Shes pathetic. Shes carrying my kid; shes just playing hard to get. If I chase her now, Im just falling for her little game."
He didn't know that I had already died once.
In my past life, my proposal was successful. But Lyla, the young girl he had 'saved,' slashed her wrists and screamed for him. Blaming me for her distress, he locked me in our house like an animal. He broke my legsthe legs I used to dance with. On the day I went into labor, he strangled our newborn with his own hands, leaving me to bleed out in agony.
Heaven had mercy. I was back.
And this time, I was going to give him exactly what he wanted.

My thigh burned like it was being branded with a hot iron.
A sharp jolt of pain snapped me back to reality. The nurse was gently wrapping gauze around the wound, her voice soft. "The antiseptic is going to sting a bit, honey. Just hang in there."
Standing nearby, Jax let out a cold, mocking laugh. He was handsome, with that sharp jawline that used to make my heart race, but now his eyes were full of contempt. "Oh, now you feel pain? What happened to all that bravery earlier? If you hadn't gotten in the way, I would have caught that dealer. Youre useless, Jacqueline. You ruin everything."
I looked down at my legs, smooth and unbroken. I stayed silent.
In my last life, to avenge Lylas imaginary grievances, Jax had shattered these legs with a baseball bat. It had been so long since Id seen them whole.
The other officers in the room exchanged uncomfortable glances. They had been there during the raid. Two hulking drug traffickers, one with a loaded piece. If I hadn't thrown myself in front of Jax, that bullet would have buried itself in his heart, not grazed my leg.
Seeing that I wasn't fighting back, Jaxs mood darkened. He kicked a metal stool, sending it skittering across the linoleum floor.
"Enough with the silent treatment, Jacqueline! You stalked me to a crime scene and interfered with police work. Do you have any idea how stupid that was? And now you have the nerve to give me attitude?"
He paced, agitated. "Look, I said Id grant you a request for saving me. So? Spit it out. What do you want?"
He looked like he was seconds away from hitting me.
Time is a cruel thief. It stole the passionate, devoted boy I fell in love with and left this violent, bitter stranger in his place. He had forgotten that he once swore to protect me with his life.
No, he hadn't forgotten. He just found someone else to protect.
My gaze drifted to his hand. The silver band we bought together years ago was gone. In its place, on his ring finger, sat a cheap, hand-woven string ring with a tacky plastic puppy charm.
I knew who made that. Lyla.
The eighteen-year-old orphan Jax met six months ago. The "innocent" victim.
I let out a dry, bitter chuckle. "Anything? You'll agree to anything?"
Jax paused, his eyes flickering to the cheap ring on his hand. A shadow of guilt crossed his face, quickly replaced by annoyance. He gritted his teeth. "Yes."
A few rookie cops shuffled closer, grinning. They knew our history. Ten years is a lifetime.
"It's a life debt, boss! Might as well offer yourself in marriage," one joked.
The room erupted in laughter.
"Yeah, Jax! Jacqueline said last year she wanted to be married before thirty. Tick tock!"
"Count me in for the bachelor party!"
I was about to shut them down when the door burst open. A breathless nurse rushed in.
"Officer! Its bad. The girl you brought inshes trying to slash her wrists!"
Again.
I couldn't count how many times Lyla had pulled the suicide card. Just like in my previous life, she knew exactly how to steal the spotlight.
Jaxs face drained of color. Without a glance at me, he sprinted out the door.
I scoffed, ignored the pain in my leg, and limped after him to the second floor.
By the window, Lyla looked frail and tragic, wrapped in Jaxs oversized police jacket. Her face was pale, her large eyes swimming with tears.
When we left the scene earlier, Jax had carried her to the ambulance like she was made of glass. I remembered nowwhen the dealer aimed the gun, Lyla had stood there in silence. Only after the criminals fled did she collapse into Jaxs arms, sobbing and fainting on cue.
Seeing me in the doorway, Lylas expression shifted minutely before she ramped up the hysterics.
"I know Jacqueline took a bullet for you, Jax! You promised her anything. Youve been together ten years. She wants to marry you, so you have to say yes, right?"
She held a fruit knife to her slender wrist, pressing just hard enough to dent the skin. "But Jax... Im an orphan. Im just a stray dog nobody wants. You gave me a home. You saved me. The thought of losing you... Id rather die!"
"Put the knife down, Lyla! Please! I can explain everything," Jax pleaded, his voice trembling with a tenderness he hadn't shown me in years.
It was almost funny. Lyla had some kind of dark magic. From the moment he saved her, Jax became obsessed with "fathering" this homeless girl. He gave her a credit card. He moved her into his apartmentour future apartmentclaiming she needed warmth and safety.
Whenever she cried, he ran. When I nearly died in a car wreck last year, he screamed at me over the phone for interrupting his time comforting Lyla after a nightmare.
If youre hurt, call an ambulance. What the hell am I supposed to do? Youre so dramatic.
That was the moment my heart began to shatter.
Jax saw a helpless eighteen-year-old in Lyla. He conveniently forgot that his twenty-nine-year-old fiance had also grown up in the foster system. He forgot that he was the one who dragged me into this love story.
In my last life, jealousy and unwillingness to let go led to my destruction.
But this time? He could keep her. I was done.
Jax lunged forward and wrestled the knife from Lylas grip. He pulled her into a crushing hug, kissing the top of her head repeatedly.
"Don't ever scare me like that again! You hear me?"
Lyla buried her face in his neck, sobbing theatrically. "But youre going to marry Jacqueline... and Ill be homeless again. Why did you even save me?"
I watched from the doorway, fighting the urge to vomit. It was such a clumsy performance, yet Jax bought every second of it.
He glared at me over her shoulder, eyes filled with resentment, before looking back down at Lyla gently. "I promise you. Married or not, your place in my heart won't change."
He sighed, as if forced to reveal a burdensome truth. "I have no choice, Lyla. Jacqueline and I have been together for a decade. Everyone knows shes desperate to marry me. When my dad died, she paid for the police academy. She took care of my mom for years. Its a debt. I have to pay it back."
The room went silent. The other officers looked awkward.
Before Lyla, we were the precincts power couple. Now, he made me sound like a loan shark collecting dues.
I did pay for his academy. I did nurse his sick mother. I did it because I loved him, not because it was a transaction. If I had known he would turn into this, I would have walked away years ago.
"You said you'd agree to any request," I said, my voice cutting through the soap opera. "Ready to honor that?"
Jax stiffened. He patted Lylas head and stood up, adjusting his jacket with arrogant pride. "So eager to lock me down? Fine. You have no dignity anyway. When do you want to go to the courthouse?"
"I want to break up."
Jax froze. The arrogance slid off his face, replaced by confusion, then anger. "Excuse me?"
"I said I want to break up. Right now. Today."
"Quit the drama, Jacqueline," he snapped. "Everyone knows youve been chasing me for ten years. Youd crawl over glass to marry into my family. Now I finally say yes, and youre playing hard to get? Don't treat me like an idiot. Youre still wearing our ring!"
He pointed at my hand triumphantly.
I calmly slid the silver band off my finger and tossed it into the medical waste bin.
Clink.
The sound was small, but in the silent room, it sounded like a gavel falling.
"I'm not wearing it anymore," I said, my voice eerily steady. "Can we break up now?"
He had given me that ring when he was eighteen, fresh out of high school. He worked three jobs to buy it. He had presented it to me with shaking hands.
Jacqueline, I know you don't have family. Ill be your family. I will protect you with my life. Ill be the best man youll ever know.
I believed him. I wore that cheap silver ring for ten years. Once, I dropped it in the ocean and nearly drowned diving for it. He knew what that ring meant to me.
Now, it sat among the bloody gauze and used needles.
"You think this threatens me?" Jaxs face turned red. "Im warning you, Jacqueline. Im keeping my word to marry you, but if you keep acting like a lunatic, don't expect a warm welcome in my house!"
I laughed. I actually laughed. "Good. Who wants to be in your house anyway?"
I looked him in the eyes one last time. "Jax, this is your notice. Were done. Don't come looking for me."
I turned and walked away.
"Aren't you going to chase her?" someone whispered to Jax.
"Chase her?" Jax sneered loud enough for me to hear. "Shes a clinger. And shes pregnant with my kid. This is just a game. If I chase her, she wins. Let her cool off."
He was right about one thing. I was pregnant.
Three months ago, he had shown up drunk, forcing himself on me, mumbling about how we were going to get married anyway. The next morning, he accused me of drugging him.
Shameless! You trapped me!
I should have left then. But the ten years of history weighed me down. I wanted a family.
In my past life, that desire killed me. Lyla eventually committed suicide for real, and Jax blamed me. He turned my life into a horror movie.
You killed Lyla! You don't deserve happiness!
I touched my slightly swollen abdomen. I knew what I had to do.
The next day, I got a text from Jax.
Passed out on duty near the old industrial park. Come pick me up.
It was his usual rude tone. But I knew it wasn't him.
Only Lyla had access to his phone and would bother mimicking him. Jax had told me a month ago hed never call me first. His ego was too big.
I knew it was a trap. A "Hongmen Feast." But I grabbed my keys and went anyway.
The location was a derelict factory on the outskirts of the city. As soon as I stepped through the rusted doors, someone kicked the back of my knees.
I hit the concrete hard. Crack.
Pain exploded up my legs. Laughter echoed in the vast, empty space.
I looked up. Lyla stood in the center, flanked by three rough-looking men. Her innocent mask was gone, replaced by a sneer.
"Why did you have to follow him, Jacqueline? Why do you have to be so pathetic? Nobody wants you. Don't you have any shame?"
I stayed silent, kneeling on the dirty floor.
Lyla strutted over, grabbed a handful of my hair, and yanked my head back. "Tell me," she whispered, her breath smelling of peppermint, "if you lose this baby... do you think Jax will still marry you?"
I stared into her eyes and smiled. "Why don't you find out?"
Smack.
She slapped me across the face.
"You think I won't? Jax doesn't love you! He told me you're just a glorified maid. Youre disgusting! This is what you deserve!"
She shoved me backward. Then, she started kicking.
She aimed specifically for my stomach.
"Bitch! Trying to steal my man! Blocking my way! You deserve to die!"
I curled into a ball, screaming as the blows landed. I felt something warm and wet spread between my legs. My vision began to blur.
Lyla laughed, breathless and manic. She grabbed a metal pipe from a pile of debris and raised it high.
"Whoa, stop!" one of the thugs yelled. "She's bleeding! That's a lot of blood!"
Lyla didn't care. She swung the pipe down, smashing it into my ribs.
The pain was blinding. Darkness swallowed me whole.
I woke up to the chaos of a hospital corridor.
White lights. Shouting.
"We can't operate without a signature!"
"The emergency contact isn't picking up! Check her phone for anyone else!"
"Stay with us, honey! Stay with us!"
...
At the precinct, Jax was filling out paperwork.
His phone rang. Lyla.
She sounded terrified. "Jax! Help! Some men are following me!"
Jax dropped everything and raced home. He found Lyla curled up in bed, shivering.
"I was so scared," she wept, clinging to him. "They said they wanted to have fun with me... I ran so fast..."
"Shh," Jax soothed her. "I'm here."
His phone began to ring. A jarring, persistent sound.
He saw my name on the caller ID and frowned. He hit 'decline'.

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