Upper hand

Julie grew nervous as the cold air blew against her legs as she sat next to Jennie on a bench in the hospital's outdoor garden. She could not get her mind to focus on anything except what she had previously seen.

Julie wanted so badly to give Steven the benefit of the doubt and believed that he loved her enough to not return to the arms of his ex. However, her past did not allow her to get far in trusting her boyfriend.

"You look bothered, and I can see how much you love him from how stressed your eyes look. Wait, is Steven your first love?" Jennie asked when she saw how worried Julie's face appeared.

"Uh? Oh no, Steven is not my first love. However, he is the second person that I have decided to give my heart to and allow myself to love him unconditionally." Julie softly replied.

She then gazed away from Jennie and focused her attention on the bright sunflowers that had popped out of the soil and had blossomed in the golden sunlight. Their beauty serves as a distraction for her, but there was still a part of Julie's heart that was still worried that her past could repeat itself in the future.

"What happen to you guys?" Jennie inquired with a curious mind.

She did not like Julie at first since she had assumed that Julie was after Jackson, but now that her doubts had been clear and Jennie now knows who Julie truly loves, she did not mind having a second girl pal.

"What?" Julie asked with an unfocused mind and mixed up thoughts.

Jennie giggled at how concerned Julie was about her boyfriend meeting his ex-girlfriend, and she felt glad that she was the first girl Jackson had been within his lifetime. However, it still saddens her that she made be an ex too if Jackson wakes up and decides to divorce her for the wrong she had done in their marriage.

"I am talking about the first man you love, what happened to your relationship? I am sure there's a story behind you guys falling apart." Jennie gently stated.

However, when Julie unhappily gazed back at Jennie after her statement, Jennie realized that the question she had asked was a sensitive topic, and it was better if she left it alone.

"I am sorry. Let's discuss something else if you don't want to address this topic. Please forget that I even asked because I know that everyone has something they don't want to talk about, and I understand that you don't want to explain your past." Jennie hastily said.

"Well, there's not much to say about him, except the fact that his name is Alvin, he stole my heart, broke it, and never apologized for what he did to me!" Julie responded with a bit of harshness in her voice.

Jennie felt confused about the entire reply she had gotten from Julie. Although Julie's words were clear, they still confused Jennie's mind, and she now wanted to know details like "Why?" and "How?"

"Did he cheat on you?" Jennie teasingly asked.

The moment those five words came out of her mouth, she recalled what she had done to her husband, and the smile she wore on her lip quickly shifted into a pout. Jennie had forgotten for a brief period that she too had stolen Jackson's heart, broke it, and although she has apologized for what she did, he could not hear her.

"I know cheating is the worst thing a person can do to their loved one, and it is cruel to the person being cheated on, but no, he did not have an affair with another person. However, he did betray the trust I place in him. UMM, can we talk about something else." Julie said as she tried to break off the conversation they were having, since explaining she and Alvin's past always brought pain to her heart and sad memories to her mind.

Jennie did not reply. Although Julie knew nothing about what she had done to Jackson, it still hurt her to hear the way Julie described cheating. The pain Jennie had let go of for a brief moment had resurfaced in her heart, and she felt afraid by the second.

"Are you crying?" Julie asked when she noticed the tear marks on Jennie's face.

Jennie hurriedly wipes her eyes and weakly smiles at Julie to make herself seem stable, even though she was breaking down inside.

"I just remember how much Jackson has loved and been there for me over the past year without any fault, and here I am well while he is in there, fighting for his life, and there's nothing I can do to help relieve his pain," Jennie said with so much hurt in her voice.

She knew her words could be considered half-true since her tears were because she cheated on her husband. But in her defense, this was how she truly felt, even though her remark was not connected to the reason she was sobbing.

"He will get better, and you guys can continue loving each other like Jackson and you have been doing over the years," Julie said as she tried to comfort Jennie.

"I don't know if our marriage will return to how it used to be, and it's all my fault!" Jennie mumbled in tears.

Julie could not understand what Jennie meant, but she could clearly see that this was a conversation that was tearing Jennie up inside, and she did not want to take it further by asking questions that she shouldn't be inquiring about at such an emotional moment.

"I am so sorry. How about you tell me why my boyfriend and his ex-girlfriend broke up since it was the reason we came out here." Julie said as she tried to take the attention off Jennie and bring it back to herself.

It took a few minutes for Jennie to suppress all the bittersweet emotions she was undergoing, and Julie waited patiently for Jennie to get herself together.

After close to ten minutes had gone by, Jeanie finally begins to narrate the story based on what Jackson had told her.

Steven and Chloe met in college a few years after Jackson and I got together. Steven would have never had a chance with her if it wasn't for my husband. In the past, Jackson was the wild one in their friendship, and Steven was the shy guy.

After Steven's mother passed away, he began isolating himself from society and people. Apart from Jackson and those related to his best friend, Steven would not talk to anyone else.

However, everything changed when Chloe, Steven, and Jackson had classes together. Chloe and Jackson got close to each other quickly since he was very friendly in those days. He was already involved with me, so Jackson introduced Steven to Chloe, and that's how their relationship began to grow.

At first, their love was unlike anything other than magical. Steven totally gave his heart to Chloe. Just like he could die for Jackson, he could do the same for her. However, their relationship started having issues when Steven caught Chloe on countless occasions dating wealthy guys. When he confronted her, she always told him that it was for the money, but he was the one she loves.

With that said, Steven allowed her to have her will even if it was breaking him down inside. Jackson was not happy when he found out about the problem Steven and Chloe had, yet Steven had my husband convinced that he was okay with how things were between him and Chloe.

Things did not change until they all graduated from the university. Jackson was shocked one day when Steven dragged him from home and took him to a store to help him pick a ring for Chloe.

Steven was asked several times if he wanted to go through with it since Jackson knew that Chloe was still seeing other people and her parents did not like Steven the first time he met them. However, Steven was determined that proposing to Chloe was something he wanted to do.

Jackson and Steven went their separate ways after they had bought the ring. Jackson did not hear from his friend for a day, and that worried him. At six o'clock on a rainy Saturday afternoon, Jackson heard a knock on the door, and when he opened it, Steven was standing under the heavy rain, crying like a kid. That was the day Steven broke up with Chloe.

Apparently, Jackson's constant doubts about whether Steven should marry Chloe, had Steven wondering if Chloe too would love him enough to want to marry him. So he asked her a simple question when they met at his home. Steven's question was, "If I give you half a million or a ring, which would you choose?" Chloe said she wanted the money.

The next day, Steven transferred half a million into her account and sent her the text that if she accepted the money, then their relationship would be over. However, the cash was never returned to his account and Chloe admitted she chose the money over him.

Julie felt speechless after Jennie's explanation. She did not know what to think or how to feel, but one thing she set on was that if Steven had loved Chloe enough to think about putting a ring on her finger, then she could not be a hundred percent sure that Steven meeting with Chloe was safe for their relationship.

"If he broke up with her years ago, why were they so intimate recently?" Julie asked.

She thought hearing about their breakup would help soften her anxiety, but it had just made her more unsure about everything.

"UMM, well, Steven has a letting go issue. All his life he had abandonment issues, so it is kind of hard for him to let go of people even when they are toxic for him. That's why he and Chloe remained friends with benefits, even when he was dating others. However, the fact that he let go of her to be with you, means that he sincerely cares about you and loves you. So you have nothing to worry about, Julie." Jennie explained.

Yet her assurance was just another worry for Julie after she realing that Chloe had the upper hand if she wanted Steven back.