The post blew up, trending in no time. People started online polls. #ShouldThisStory #ContinueOrEnd. “Continue” led the polls all
evening… until a rising actress, Ashley Brooks, tweeted: [@Lynn how dare you come back?
<
Haven’t you hurt him enough?]
- 3.
I only knew Ashley Brooks as a supporting
actress in one of Jason’s movies. Her tweet
implied she knew me and about my relationship.
with Jason. But I had no idea why she’d accuse
me of hurting him. I’d never done anything to
intentionally hurt Jason. Our breakup was
amicable.
It was the afternoon after graduation. Jason’s
mom had suddenly fallen ill, causing him to
miss the ceremony. I waited for him outside the
hospital with some fruit and a container of
noodles. He rushed towards me, grabbed the
food, and sat down on a bench, devouring the
noodles like he hadn’t eaten in days. I waited
patiently. When he was finished, I said, “Jason,
we need to break up.” He froze, disbelief
etched on his face. “What?” “We need to break
up,” I repeated.
<
He didn’t ask why, just quietly accepted it. I
rambled on. “My mom found out about us. She
doesn’t approve.” “She’s been pushing me to study abroad for a year. I kept putting it off. But
yesterday, I agreed.” Jason listened silently.
Finally, he said, “Go.” I couldn’t meet his eyes.
He looked at me for a long time, his throat
working as he choked out, “Go. Your future is
more important than this.”
After the breakup, my mom secretly helped
fund his mother’s treatment. I blocked Jason on
everything, as instructed. On my first birthday
abroad, I received an anonymous email. [Happy
birthday. If you’ll allow it, please give me some
time. I’ll earn my place in your future.] I didn’t
reply. We hadn’t spoken in five years.
- 4.
Ashley’s tweet caused a social media firestorm.
Fans speculated about what I’d supposedly
done to Jason. The polls continued, but now
“End” was gaining traction. Late that night,
