4. Chelsea Stump?

Spring 2022.

Zalina looked out the window, looking at the flowers and light green grass. Today is exactly two years since the incident happened, the day Vanessa's birthday was, and two accidents happened that day.

After enjoying a party at her house, Vanessa and some friends decided to go to one of the nightclubs, continuing their party for drinks. When Vanessa comes home from a nightclub, an accident occurs because Alex is driving a car drunk.

Alex died after being rushed to the hospital, while Vanessa was in a coma and has not yet regained consciousness.

Since that incident, Zalina began to close herself off and became gloomy. She doesn't like meeting new people or socializing with people.

 Mrs. Roston has tried to make her daughter happy again as before. She even consulted a psychologist about her daughter, however, to no avail. Zalina remains gloomy and seems to have no passion for life.

Three months after the Vanessa accident, Zalina once cried hysterically and blamed herself, cursing herself. She thinks if people get bad luck for touching her hand.

Mrs. Roston was sad when Zalina said she didn't want to have hands. Her daughter asked him to cut off her hand.

"Why did I have to go through this terrible thing? I don't want to have hands. I want the doctor to cut off my hand. I don't want to accept this curse. Why? What did I do wrong?" Zalina roared, feeling hopeless.

And now, the despair inside Zalina is still not over. Even though she had never cried or wanted to cut her hand again, the guilt inside her was still the same.

"Zalina, are you awake?" Mrs. Roston asked as she opened the door to her daughter's room wide.

Zalina was sitting, hugging her knees. Mrs. Roston knew what Zalina was thinking. Today is Vanessa's birthday, the day Zalina started to sink.

"Yes, Mom. I've been up since earlier. I'm just too lazy to get out of the room. Mom, are you going?" Zalina asked when she saw her mother was dressed neatly.

"Yes. I'm going shopping, and there's no food in the fridge. Also, take your father's pension. Do you want to come? The weather is very nice. The flowers are starting to bloom along the road, looking more beautiful than last year."

Mrs. Roston hoped that Zalina would agree to her invitation.

"No. I'll be waiting at home."

Mrs. Roston sighed. Zalina is still the same. She always refuses to leave the house. "Alright. I'll be going now. If you're hungry, I've made breakfast for you."

 "Hmm."

After she finished washing her face, Zalina turned on the television and sat down at the dining table. She didn't watch TV; the television sound only served as a silent repellent in the house.

Suddenly, she heard her mother's cell phone ringing. Zalina looks at the nightstand. It turns out that her mother forgot to bring her cellphone. She ignored her mother's cell phone calls until they stopped ringing.

But it was only for a moment because not long after, her mother's cell phone rang again.  Inevitably, Zalina finally got up to receive a phone call. She thought the caller was one of her mother's friends, but when Zalina answered the ring on the cellphone, a man's voice was heard.

"Hello, Miss Zalina?"

"Yes, who?"

"Could you come to the hospital now? Your mother, Mrs. Roston, has just had an accident," the caller answered.

"What?"  Zalina immediately panicked.

"But don't worry. She only has minor bruises and cuts."

Zalina was a little relieved to hear that. "Okay, which hospital is my mother in now?"

After hanging up the phone call, Zalina immediately changed clothes. She didn't have time to brush her long hair when she left. Combing Zalina's hair is the same as wasting a few minutes because Zalina has thick, wavy, and very long hair. Zalina forgot the last time she cut her hair.

When she arrived at the hospital, Zalina thought her mother would lie on a hospital bed, but the woman was chatting excitedly with another patient.

"Mom, how are you?"  asked Zalina, who looked worried.

Her mother turned and replied, "As you can see, honey, I'm fine. Just a little cut."

Zalina sat beside her mother and looked around the room.

"Mom, how did it happen?"

"It happened very fast. Momy had just come out of the supermarket and was about to cross the road when suddenly a motorbike at high speed hit me."

"People like that don't know the rules," said Zalina.

While Zalina and her mother were chatting, a man approached them.

"Because there are no serious injuries. The doctor allowed you to go home," the man said.

Zalina raised her head, looking at the man who had suddenly come to interrupt the conversation with her mother. Zalina's eyes widened when she saw the man standing towering beside her.

Unknowingly, Zalina stood close to the figure of a man who was not foreign to her.

'There he is!'

Zalina did not forget the man. His blue eyes still radiated the same radiance as two years ago.

Mrs. Roston was surprised by her daughter's attitude, especially with Zalina's eyes bulging.

"Zalina, he didn't do it," said Mrs. Roston, who thought her daughter had misunderstood.

Zalina and the man's gaze locked with each other. Who knows what they were thinking?

"Zalina!"  Mrs. Roston called her daughter again.

Zalina blinked as if the spell was gone, then immediately turned to her mother.

"He was the one who helped and brought me here because the motorcyclist ran away. Jasper, this is my daughter, who answered your call earlier. Her name is Zalina."

 "I see. Your name is Jasper." Zalina looked back at the blue-eyed man.

However, this time Jasper didn't even look at Zalina. He seemed to be avoiding Zalina's gaze.

"Since your daughter has arrived, I'll be leaving, Mrs. Roston. I wish you a speedy recovery. I've already paid the hospital fees so you can go home straight away."

Jasper then said goodbye, and Mrs. Roston repeatedly thanked him.

Zalina just looked at Jasper, who was getting further away. It was only after the man disappeared that she realized what she had to do. Zalina immediately ran to catch up with Jasper, looking outside the hospital and the parking lot, but the man was nowhere to be seen.

"I can't lose Jasper. Stupid! Why am I always slow to act?"

She believed her reunion with Jasper was due to fate, something she had been waiting for since Zalina learned that Jasper is different. She thought this man was the way to escape the curse that had haunted her for the past nine years.

Zalina and her mother then came home from the hospital. While on the trip, Zalina asked what her mother knew about Jasper.

"His name is Jasper Blackmore. That sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

"Jasper Blackmore!"

"Yeah, that's because he doesn't talk much. Jasper just said his name and asked me for my identity."

Zalina couldn't hide her interest in Jasper's figure, thus making Mrs. Roston smile. She felt it was natural because Jasper was a handsome and charming man.

After arriving home, Zalina went straight to her room. She then began to find out about Jasper Roston through the internet. It was not difficult to find information about the man.

 Zalina finds a news headline that writes about Jasper, who stole her attention.

"Wh-what? Chelsea Stump? That annoying girl!"