Backup Girl No More: Adios to my V-card and My First Love (Brooklyn) novel Chapter 34

Chapter 14 

Chapter 14 

When I regained consciousness, the sterile scent of antiseptic filled my nostrils. I had been 

evacuated to a hospital back in Meridia. The doctor explained that I’d spent two weeks in intensive 

care. My internal injuries were severe, and I had taken a bullet to the shoulder. But by some miracle, 

my spleen remained intact, and the bullet hadn’t exited my body. The limited blood loss had kept me alive until the peacekeepers found me. 

I knew with crushing certainty why I had survived–Joseph had shielded me twice. He had given his 

life for mine. 

I reached out desperately to everyone I could, searching for any trace of him. But they all said the same thing: the chaos made recovering his body impossible. With casualties mounting, Doctors Without Borders had suspended operations in East Meridian Province. I had no way to return and 

search for him. 

Just like that, Joseph vanished. 

Every night, I woke screaming, gripped by terror. His final moments played endlessly in my mind, 

refusing to fade. The doctor diagnosed me with PTSD. I tried everything–medication, therapy, even 

alcohol. Nothing helped. 

Everyone urged me to move forward, to let go of the past. But how could I? He died protecting me. 

This thought became an inescapable shadow, constantly looming over me. It made me hate myself 

for surviving, hate that I lived while he died, hate this world for denying him his happiness. 

Countless times, I stood at the edge of rooftops, wanting to follow him. But each time, at the last 

moment, I stepped back. This life was bought with everything Joseph had. I no longer had the right 

to throw it away. 

Six months later, I returned to work after my leave. But I could no longer bear to handle cameras or photographs. I requested a transfer to an administrative role. 

Time crawled by, yet I remained a shell of myself, hollow and lifeless. My colleagues couldn’t stand watching my decline and encouraged me to socialize, even arranging a blind date. I planned to exchange mere pleasantries and leave. 

Then I met Jackson. 

The moment I saw his face–identical to Joseph’s–I froze, summoning every ounce of strength not to 

break down. 

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Backup Girl No More: Adios To My V–Card and My First Love 

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Chapter 14 

Later, I learned he was the brother Joseph had mentioned, 

At first, using him as a substitute brought some comfort. Those ordinary days were seductively peaceful. 

I would cook dinner when he worked late. We’d spend days off watching movies together. When nightmares jolted me awake, seeing him sleeping beside me would ease me back to rest. 

These were the simple moments Joseph and I never had. I lost myself in the illusion, almost believing the lie I’d crafted. If I could spend my life this way, in quiet contentment, wouldn’t that be enough?