"Speaking of which, our daughter's been keeping busy, hasn't she? She's rarely home and always hanging out with Jax." The old man abruptly shifted gears.
"Haha, just let them be. They're getting married soon, so it's no surprise they're working hard." She replied with a smile.
''?'' But upon hearing those words, a big question mark suddenly appeared on top of Jax's head. What did they just say?!
Jax wasn't senile. He knew every detail of his relationship with his girlfriend. They'd been spending less time together lately due to his hectic work schedule. And as far as he knew, his girlfriend was simply helping out with her parents at home.
He couldn't even remember the last time they'd spent time together these days. Or the time when they worked together.
He didn't even know that she was also working.
What in the world was going on here?
Was his girlfriend really working hard too, without him knowing? To think that she was...
Jax's heart swelled with emotion, and his eyes welled up with tears as he realized his girlfriend's selflessness. She'd been working tirelessly, keeping her struggles hidden from her parents, and only telling them she was with him to put their minds at ease.
Such a thoughtful woman... It was really not a mistake to choose someone like her.
But the thought of her working so hard she couldn't even make it home till night... What was she going through? Jax's expression darkened with concern. If she happened to overwork, she might catch an illness. That was the last thing he wanted for her.
''Damn, just where in the world is she working? Why didn't she tell me?'' Jax's heart sank as he muttered to himself. The absence of his girlfriend only compounded his growing unease, and he felt a surge of panic at the thought of her overworking. ''No, I must find her now!''
This night might be his last stay in this world. He must see his girlfriend at least for the last time, no matter what.
With that in mind, Jax slipped out of the house and into the night. Just like earlier, the night air was cool and still, save for the occasional scurrying of small animals and the muted chatter of late-night revelers. He floated through the winding streets of the village, his ethereal form gliding effortlessly as he scanned the darkened alleys and lamplit pathways for any sign of his beloved girlfriend.
But with each passing moment, Jax's sense of urgency grew. He knew that time was slipping away. The thought of losing his girlfriend forever, without even the chance to see her one last time, filled him with a gnawing dread that clawed at his very being.
Jax then paused, hovering above the village square, his spectral gaze sweeping across the clusters of homes and businesses. He strained to catch any glimpse of movement, any indication that his girlfriend was nearby. But the village seemed eerily still, save for the occasional dim light flickering in a window or the distant barking of a dog.
Frustration and fear began to creep into Jax's consciousness. What if he never found her? What if she was already lost to him? The thought was almost too much to bear, and he felt his concentration waver, his ghostly form flickering and wavering like a candle in the wind.
Steadying himself, Jax slapped his cheeks, forcing his mind to focus. He needed to retrace his steps, to revisit the places he knew his girlfriend frequented.
''Right, there's only that place left,'' Jax muttered to himself, his mind fixated on the grand mansion in the hacienda. He had a strong hunch that his girlfriend might be working there, and his determination to find her led his desire straight to its imposing gates.
The mansion of his best friend was enormous, after all. It would require a sizable staff to maintain its grandeur. Perhaps she was one of the housekeepers? The more Jax thought about it, the more convinced he became. It was almost certain that his girlfriend was working at his best friend's mansion.
Swoosh!
With renewed determination, Jax drifted towards the hacienda, the grand estate where he worked. He might as well visit his best friend and see him for the last time too.
As a soul, Jax moved with ease, covering the distance in mere minutes. He drifted towards the hacienda, passing through the ornate gates with effortless grace.
The guards stationed at the entrance didn't even flinch, oblivious to his ethereal presence. Who could stop a ghost like him, after all? They couldn't even see him, nor could they sense him. Jax slipped through, unseen and unnoticed.
With familiarity guiding him, Jax's ghostly form glided effortlessly across the expansive grounds of the hacienda. Having worked there and spent countless hours exploring the estate with his friend, he knew every nook and cranny, every pathway and every corner. The layout of the grounds was etched in his memory, allowing him to navigate with ease as if it was his own backyard.
As Jax approached the main building, he was met with the familiar sights and sounds of daily life. People bustled about, going about their routines, completely unaware of his ghostly presence.
With a growing sense of urgency, Jax darted through the corridors, his ethereal form moving with increasing speed as he searched for any sign of his girlfriend. He drifted through doors, glided past servants, and swept through rooms. His determination drove him forward.
Until he reached a particular door that caught his attention and forced him to finally stop.
That was the room of his best friend. Jax hovered before the door with a blank expression on his face, his ghostly form frozen cold in mid-air. Three question marks seemed to float above his head as he stared at the door, his mind reeling with confusion.
Plok! Plok! Plok!
Moan. Moan.
Jax could hear haunting noises, piercing into his heart like a sharp needle. He recognized the intimate, unmistakable noises — the unmistakable sounds of passion, the kind only made by two people entwined in love... or more correctly lust.
As Jax's confusion reached a boiling point and disbelief began to set in, he was struck by the unmistakable voices of a man and woman conversing with each other. Their words hit him like a thunderbolt, leaving him completely frozen in stunned silence.
''Ugh, shit, Kally. Yours is really so big. I think I'm gonna lose my mind again! Ah, ah, ah...''
''Right? I bet, your boyfriend can't give you this kind of pleasure, yeah?''
''You're right, ugh, ah. He didn't even want to... Ah, ah... touch me... ah... before we get married. (It's so big, ugh!) What a silly thought. Hmmm... ahh... Jax is really still a young kid.''
''Haha, don't blame him, Len Len. He's just too inexperienced.'' ''I'm coming baby! Accept my love!''
''Yeah, yeah, come inside me, baby. I'm coming as well!''
Ahhhhhh!!!
And with that prolonged, ecstatic scream piercing the air, the two of them reached the climax of their passionate encounter.
Meanwhile, Jax floated still, his spectral heart not beating. He wasn't ignorant. He knew too well who the owners of those familiar voices were. Even when he forced himself into believing the untrue, his subconscious mind only refused to deny it.
His entire world finally collapsed.
It felt like there were two of him in great pain, as if his very essence was being ripped apart. Yet, he couldn't pinpoint the source of the other agony. It felt as though another part of him, somewhere far away, was suffering in tandem.
The discomfort lingered, refusing to subside. He instinctively clutched his chest, but the pain wasn't there.
It was as if his heart was aching in a different realm, leaving him with a haunting sense of disconnection.
Despite being unable to feel the other pain in his current ghostly form, Jax was certain that another part of him was suffering. A nagging question echoed in his mind: was this other presence his physical body? Was it still clinging to life, tormented by agony? He quickly dismissed the idea, deeming it highly improbable. Yet, the unsettling feeling persisted, refusing to be shaken.
He couldn't deny the fact that was revealed to him.
He wanted to get angry. He yearned to unleash a mighty roar and madly shout all his pain out.
He wished to shatter the silence with a furious scream that would shake the very foundations of the world. The anguish burning within him demanded release, begging to be vented in a torrent of destruction.
But then, Jax realized one thing. That what he found out could also mean a good thing.
His own mortality might have been sealed, but in death, Jax found a strange sense of solace.
After all, he was now dead. Though a painful pill to swallow, his girlfriend's rapid move on ensured that she would not be consumed by the same anguish that now wracked his heart whole.
Moreover, it meant that she would have someone to care for her, to provide comfort and support, after he finally bid farewell to the world. This thought brought a measure of peace to Jax's troubled heart.
On top of them all, she would be relieved. Now that he was dead, she wouldn't need to make any excuses to him anymore when the time finally came.
How annoying.
How pathetic.
To think that there would come a time where he would need to deceive himself in order to cope with the agony that threatened to consume him.