It had been five days since our last meeting. Jason texted me constantly, telling me how much he missed me, how restless he felt. If he couldn’t come to me, I’d go to him. He sent his
assistant, David, to pick me up. David was
thoughtful and had even brought my favorite
cupcakes. “Thank you,” I said, taking the box.
“Don’t mention it,” David replied. “Jason told.
me to get them.” The car ride was mostly quiet.
David kept glancing at me, seemingly wanting
to ask something. “What is it?” I finally asked.
“Just curious… why did you leave Jason back.
then?” I played coy. “That’s a secret. Ask
Jason.” But Jason wouldn’t ask. He’d just kiss.
- me.
Jason was waiting for me at the hotel,
practically tackling me with a hug the second I walked in. “Lynn! I missed you so much! I was about to malfunction!” I spent two days with him. When I left, Jason insisted on fulfilling his boyfriend duties. “And what are those?” I asked. “Taking you to the airport.” I hesitated. I had a bad feeling. My right eye had been twitching all day. But I underestimated Jason’s determination. He drove me to the airport. As we hugged goodbye, fans spotted him.
<
“Jason!!!” someone shrieked, and heads turned.
The girl pointed at him. “Are you Jason?” I was about to deny it, but Jason grabbed my hand
and ran.
And just like that, we were trending again. Jason was already a hot topic, but running through the airport with a mystery woman? The gossip sites went wild. We sat like scolded children in his manager’s office, heads bowed. “It’s my fault. Don’t blame her,” Jason said. His manager scoffed. “If apologies worked, what would we need a PR team for?” “It was my fault. I asked him to take me,” I added, feeling
incredibly guilty for constantly causing his manager problems. It seemed like ever since we’d gotten back together, Jason’s team had
been working overtime. His manager sighed.
“You own your own production company, Lynn.
Any other agency would have benched you by
now, with a massive breach of contract fine.”
He waved a dismissive hand. “I’m done with
this.” He started to leave, but Jason stopped
<
me before I could apologize again. “Don’t mind.
him. He’s been with me for years. He’s all bark
and no bite.” Sure enough, seconds later, we
heard his manager’s voice from outside. “This
is the last time! And tell me when you two are
getting married so I can… prepare.” He added
through gritted teeth, “Prepare to work
overtime.”
- 9.
The online buzz reached Jason’s mother. She
showed up at his office, frantic. And she wasn’t
alone. The woman from the phone call, Molly,
was with her. Years after our first awkward
meeting
when I’d nervously told her, “I’m
Jason’s girlfriend. We’re both planning on
applying to UCLA” I stood before her again.
Back then, she’d been lying in a hospital bed,
smiling kindly. Now, her face was tight with
disapproval. “Can you please stay away from
Jason? If you were going to leave, why couldn’t
you just stay gone? Why did you come back?
Haven’t you hurt him enough?”
We were in the conference room on the top floor of Jason’s office building. His mother paced, glaring at me like I was her enemy. I didn’t understand. I’d broken up with Jason to spare him the financial burden, to make a deal with my own mother. And she, the one who’d benefited most, was accusing me of hurting them? “Mom, stop it,” Jason said, his face grim. “I will not approve of you and Lynn. Give it up.” His mother was unwavering. “If not Lynn, then who? Her?” he gestured towards Molly. “I like Molly. She’s taken care of me for five years. Is it so wrong that I want her as a daughter–in- law?”
Molly…was that Molly Lewis? The slightly chubby girl from the other class? I suddenly remembered finding a love letter tucked amongst Jason’s papers once, signed with a drawing of a moon. Could it be her? Or just a coincidence? “No, it’s not wrong,” Jason said, his voice trembling slightly. “But I want to be with the person I love.” His mother’s face
softened momentarily, but then hardened again. “But she abandoned you. Because we were poor.” “She had her reasons,” Jason argued. “No. You will marry Molly. Her family helped us. They paid for my hospital bills when you were in high school. We can’t be ungrateful.”
I froze, feeling like I’d been struck by lightning. “What?” Was this why she hated me? I frantically called my mom. “Mom, did you pay for Jason’s mom’s hospital bills? Did you actually give them the money?” My mom answered immediately. “Of course, honey. I still have the receipts. It was a lot of money. If
anything happens to your dad and me, you take
those receipts and make Jason take care of
you.”
Jason’s mother stared at me, dumbfounded. “What?” She turned to Molly. “Molly, you
said…” She didn’t finish her sentence. She
collapsed. Jason caught her. We rushed to the
hospital. While we waited outside the
<
emergency room, Molly turned to me. “Lynn,”
she began, her voice barely a whisper. “I hate
you. You’re smart, you’re beautiful, your family
has money. You had everything… and you had
Jason’s love. I never thought he’d love me back,
but I selfishly wanted to use his mom, use
marriage to tie him to me. I thought maybe he’d
grow to love me. Or at worst, we’d have a
comfortable life together. But why you? You left
him! Why is he still so devoted to you?”
“So that’s why you lied about the money, Molly?” I asked quietly. Molly broke down,
sobbing. “It was my only chance to get close to
him. How could I let it go? I didn’t know it was
your family at first. I thought… I thought it was someone else. I’m sorry.” She apologized and
ran.
