No More Waiting, She Chooses Love



"Susie," I began, trying to muster the words.

But as soon as her name escaped my lips, she bolted away.

Mack dashed after her, casting a helpless, painful look my way.

"Staring won't help. Go after her. If anything happens, you'll regret it for the rest of your life," I urged him, and he immediately took off in pursuit of Susie.

With a deep sigh, I returned to our booth where Phipps was waiting. "If you didn't show up soon, I was about to come looking for you," he remarked upon seeing me.

Under normal circumstances, I would have joked, but my heart was too heavy.

Murmuring, I managed to say, "Susie... she found out..."

Phipps listened silently, his shock evident. Since the days when he was known as Ernest, he'd been aware of Mack and never objected to his relationship with his sister, trusting Mack to take care of her.

But now, even he seemed burdened with guilt.

"Ph..." I started to say more, but Phipps stood up before I could finish.

I expected him to chase after Susie or confront Mack, but instead, he turned to me, still dazed, and said, "Let's go."

What?

Confused, I looked at him, and he extended his hand.

After a few moments of hesitation, I took it, and he pulled me up, guiding me outside.

I thought he was taking me to find Susie, but only realized my mistake when we got into the car.

"Aren't we going to find Susie?" I asked, bewildered.

"Why would I?" Phipps replied.

I was taken aback as he added, "I'm not caught up in the drama."

Was he suggesting he wasn't the Phipps I knew?

But that couldn't be. He was Phipps, undeniably!

Guilt over Susie and all that had happened overwhelmed me, and I clutched Phipps. "It's just us here. Can you drop the act for a moment?"

His jaw tightened, and then he said coldly, "You might think your boyfriend's lost it, but don't drag me into your fantasies."

His words left me speechless. Inovelbin

caught his gaze in the rearview mirror, and as he focused ahead, I instinctively wanted to look back, but he barked, "Don't look back

I didn't know what I'd see, but in that moment, I chose to comply. Gripping the seatbelt, I let him drive on.

We hadn't gone far when we saw two figures struggling by the roadside.

It was Mack trying to hold onto Susie, who was resisting fiercely.

Phipps slowed down, perhaps to observe or let me see.

et

But in the busy traffic, he couldn't maintain the slow pace for long. No matter how slowly he drove, we

BUMS

eventually moved on past Susie and Mack.

I closed my eyes, refusing to acknowledge the deceitful man next to me or the world outside.

The car continued smoothly until the sudden blare of a horn jolted me back.

Instinctively, I opened my eyes just as another car narrowly missed ours.

"Fasten your seatbelt," Phipps advised calmly.

I quickly secured the seatbelt, and just as I clicked it into place, a deafening roar of an engine erupted, followed by the screech of metal against metal. I looked out and saw

UMS

sparks flying from the cars nearby...