NovelUpdateChapter 42
| hadn't yet written about what happened afterward, so he didn't know.
| replied coldly,
"He's not okay.
"He died three years ago."
The phone slipped from Jackson's hands, crashing to the floor.
It took a moment for the screen to shake and return to life.
He was almost in a state of collapse.
"He died??
"Why didn't | know?
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"Why didn't you tell me??!"
"How do you think | feel?" | retorted.
"After all these years, has anyone in your family ever cared about him?"
Jackson trembled violently, too guilty to meet my gaze.
The first t| met Jackson's parents, | tentatively asked if he had any siblings.
They dismissed it with a wave, saying, "No."
Jackson himself said, "There used to be one, but you can just consider him dead." When | asked what he meant,
he suddenly slammed a bowl, warning me,
"This family doesn't speak of him."
He hated Joseph for escaping the family, for turning him into the new victim. "Don't shed crocodile tears. Do you
really think he ended up here by choice?
"It's all because of you guys."
Jackson hastily ended the call.
A few days later, Jackson's parents cto find me. They toldthat Jackson had gone missing.
| learned that on that day, Jackson had rushed hand smashed everything in sight. He told his parents that
all the disasters were their fault. If it hadn't been for them forcing Joseph to leave, he wouldn't have gone to
Congo (Kinshasa), wouldn't have met me, and wouldn't have died. He said everything was intertwined, and there
was no escape. He also confessed that because of his repressed emotions, he mistakenly believed he had fallen
for the unconventional Sara and missed his chance with me.
All of it was unsolvable.
Afterward, Jackson quit his job at the hospital and vanished.
"Zoey! How can you blus for this?" Jackson's parents pleaded. "As parents, we just wanted our son to make
more money. What's wrong with that? We told him to stay at the hospital, but he refused. Look at what
happened, he's gone! Isn't this all his own fault?"
"How could Jackson be mad at us over this? We're his parents!"
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"We're begging you, please make him cback! We've already lost one son, we can't lose another!"
| couldn't take it anymore. | threw my phone down.
"Get out!" | shouted. "You don't deserve to be parents!"
Feeling utterly miserable, | aimlessly wandered back to that sforest. | found a large tree to sit under,
watching the dappled sunlight on the ground, hugging my knees tightly.
Although Congo (Kinshasa) had only givenone chance, | could imagine how repressed he must have been in
that household. The emergency contact Joseph listed in the Médecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders)
organization was originally his partner, but later, it becme. He never wanted his family to know about the
hardships he was facing. Despite coming from such a broken family, he grew into such a kind, gentle, and
selfless person.
Thinking about it, a wave of sorrow filled my heart.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through, and a hard object fell from the tree, hittingon the forehead. | picked
it up and found it was a dog tag. Many people working in war zones carry dog tags to be identified in case of an
accident. | thought it must have been left behind by ssoldier, but when | turned it over, | saw the name
"Joseph" engraved on it.
My heart skipped a beat. | kept running my fingers over the nin disbelief. How could it be? Why would
Joseph's dog tag be here?
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