An Unfilial Son
From the manner in which the doctor was sent sprawling, it was apparent how much strength that refined
man had put into his kick.
Coughing, Jackson looked up at Shane in sheer disbelief. “Shane, you…” Obviously, he had not
anticipated that the latter would lash out so excessively against him.
Shane withdrew his foot and regarded his counterpart frostily. “Jacqueline’s dead, Jackson, so what are
you trying to prove by behaving like that? Do you plan to join her in the grave?”
The change on Jackson’s face was palpable. “I…”
“It looks like that was what you had in mind.” Striding forward, Shane sent another foot barreling into him.
He actually wanted to die, for Jacqueline Graham, of all people. Does he love her so much? So much so
that he would quit on his own parents and follow her to death?
With a hand clasped onto his chest, Jackson had only just about managed to get back up when he fell
back down again. This time, he felt like his insides were all topsy-turvy.
The first kick Shane landed was on his chest, and the subsequent one was aimed at his abdomen.
Jackson shriveled up, writhing and puking, and even started tearing.
In spite of that, Shane was not through with him yet. Burying a foot into the latter’s chest to immobilize
him, he then loomed over the other man and regarded him savagely. “I won’t stop you from seeking
death, Jackson, but before you die, get your parent’s future affairs sorted out first. Don’t expect an
outsider like me to host their funeral when their time comes.”
Jackson’s eyes widened when he heard that. “Dad, Mom…”
Seeing him that way, Shane’s eyes tapered to a slit. “Why? Don’t tell me you haven’t even thought about
them?”
Jackson’s body stiffened. It was as Shane said, he had not considered the plight of his own parents.
He had rushed down right away upon learning of Jacqueline’s passing and suffered an emotional
collapse the instant he saw her corpse. Sitting on the floor beside her body, he was mired in a profound
state of anguish and despair.
After all, Jacqueline was the only love of his life, and someone he had adored for almost a decade. He
was the one who really struggled the most to come to terms with her passing, more so than any other.
Hence, his gut reaction was to die alongside Jacqueline in the hopes that they could, perhaps, be
reunited in the nether realms.
Ever since he became beholden to that idea, he had not really thought about the aftermath with regard to
his own parents.
Seeing Jackson’s pallid countenance caused Shane to tighten his fists. Then, he lowered his stance and
swung a punch hard across the former’s face.
In response to being hammered, Jackson let out a dull grunt and reflexively brought his hands up to
cradle his own head.
Shane withdrew his knuckles and spoke in a mocking tone. “So, that’s what’s really on your mind. To
think that your parents had raised you to this age, only to see you dying for a woman. Such a filial son
you are!”
Trembling, Jackson held his silence because he had no means of retort.
He was indeed an unfilial son, and guilty as charged.
Regarding the tearful Jackson, Shane straightened himself up and said, “I don’t understand what it about
Jacqueline is that makes her worthy of your affections to the extent that you’d do so many deplorable
things alongside her, or even die for her. Don’t you find her appalling? How could you be so besotted
with her, and for ten over years, at that?”
Raising a hand to shield his own eyes, Jackson’s lips curled into a bitter smile as he replied with a croak,
“I don’t know either. Love is strange like that. There is no explaining why I am so drawn to her.”
“What ridiculous sort of answer is that?” asked Shane with a frown.
Jackson shut his eyes and spoke no more.
No longer bothered to care too much, Shane received Silas’ handkerchief which he elegantly used to
wipe down his own hands. “Forget it. I’ve already said my piece. I won’t try to stop you, so go on ahead
and join Jacqueline in death if you wish. As for your parents, I’m not going to get myself involved in their
business either, so deal with them as you deem fit.”
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