Wait…Why Did Everyone I Love Suddenly Call Me a Bitch?! novel Chapter 59

Chapter 12

Jackson confessed to killing Isabella.

But he refused to plead guilty.

Standing in front of the cameras, his face blank, he said:

“I don’t think I did anything wrong.”

“I don’t owe any of you anything. Only Ava. So none of you get to judge me.”

A billionaire tech mogul turned murderer-and his victim? The sweet, devoted wife he used to flaunt in front of cameras.

The media went into a frenzy.

“Isabella got what she deserved. I’ve been alive for decades, and I’ve never seen a human being act like such a monster.”

“I used to cry over her story-how she stood by her husband through everything, how they were this perfect fairy-tale couple. Turns out, the whole thing was a nightmare.”

“I just feel so bad for Ava. Her parents dead in a crash. Her life destroyed. Dying of cancer. How did she even survive those last three years?”

When the news of Jackson’s death reached me, I was already fading.

He’d killed himself. Refused to stand trial for Isabella’s murder.

I suddenly remembered that night-the night my cancer flared up so badly I thought it was the end.

Jackson had held me under the eaves of the old house, the two of us staring up at the moon.

I’d asked him:

“What do you think it’s like? After you die?”

Back when depression had dragged me to the edge over and over again, Jackson always begged me to stay alive.

But this time, he was quiet for a long moment.

Then he said:

“I don’t know.”

He turned the question back on me.

“Are you scared?”

I nodded, then laughed bitterly.

“Yeah. You know I hate the dark. And the cold.”

Jackson hummed softly and pulled me closer.

“Then I’ll go first. Check it out for you.”

At the time, I didn’t understand what he meant.

Now, I did.

Everything had been part of his plan. Everything except me-refusing to go overseas for treatment.

Countless people came to see me. The hospital hallway overflowed with flowers. Every card carried the same message: Keep fighting. Stay alive.

I lay in the ICU, my breathing growing heavier and heavier.

Finally, exhausted, I closed my eyes.

In the haze, I found myself back at my parents’ house.

Mom and Dad stood at the gate, waiting for me.

And next to them-Jackson.

They smiled and waved.

I froze for a second. Then I smiled back and ran toward them.

The sun was setting. In the courtyard, Jackson and my dad were playing chess under the grape vines. My mom brought out a tray of apple pie.

I was just Ava again. The Ava my parents adored. The Ava Jackson used to hold like she was made of glass.

People always say, “If only we could stay in that first moment forever.” Maybe then there wouldn’t be so much pain. So much regret.

Our beginning was too beautiful. Everything that came after felt cruel by comparison.

But even if this was just a dying hallucination-one last burst of light before the end-it was enough.

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