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The Choice to Forget
The Choice to Forget
Author: Goblin

Chapter 1

Author: Goblin
It was 9:30 am.

Courtney Lloyd sat propped against the headboard, wrapped in a blanket. The other side of the bed was empty, and she could hear faint, intimate voices coming from the guest room next door.

"Missed me already?"

"I only see you once a month. It feels like forever."

The man chuckled softly. "Then let me take good care of you today."

"Keep your voice down; don't wake Courtney."

"Don't worry, she stayed up late last night. She won't wake up any time soon."

"You're so naughty…"

Courtney recognized the girl's voice immediately. It belonged to Mia Sanchez, a college student who she had provided financial aid for the past four years.

On the first of every month, Mia would visit their home. Courtney would hand her the monthly living expenses, check on her studies, and offer life advice.

Then, Mia would stay in the guest room next to the master bedroom.

Courtney had even arranged Mia's graduate advisor and internship for her.

But instead of striving for independence, the girl's ambition was to steal Courtney's husband.

If that was the case, she could have him.

Courtney had already changed her name to Nessa Hill and reapplied for all her documents.

Once a cheater, always a cheater. She'd decided she would disappear from his world and take a memory-erasing potion to forget about him.

The sounds from the guest room finally stopped.

Courtney lay down and pretended to be asleep. A few minutes later, the mattress dipped slightly beside her, and a heavy arm draped over her waist.

Suppressing the bitterness welling up inside her, Courtney pushed the arm away.

Jesse Hawthorn stirred, mumbling, "Babe, you're awake?"

Courtney felt sick at the pet name.

"Yeah, you'd better get up. You're going to be late for work."

Jesse rolled over to pull her close and kissed her shoulder. "I'm so tired. Stay with me a little longer."

Courtney almost scoffed. Tired from last night's "work," no doubt.

She jokingly asked, "Trouble sleeping last night?"

Jesse nodded earnestly and said, "I dreamed an evil dragon snatched you from me. I fought all night to find you and woke up exhausted."

"No dragon will ever snatch me away."

However, she would leave of her own accord, and he would never be able to find her.

Jesse glanced at the clock. "You're right. It's late. I should get up."

Then, he took a quick shower, got dressed, and knelt by the bed to kiss Courtney. "Come on, get up and wash up. I'll make breakfast."

After Jesse left, Courtney scrubbed her teeth furiously. The thought of him kissing her with lips that touched Mia's moments before made her stomach churn.

When she went downstairs, two people were already at the dining table. Jesse sat at the head, with Mia on his left. Mia was dressed in a plain yellow dress, looking sweet and innocent.

Seeing Courtney, Mia greeted her brightly, "Good morning, Courtney!"

Courtney gave a nonchalant hum in response.

Mia said with a smile, "Jesse made breakfast. Come eat."

Courtney took her seat, and Jesse thoughtfully blew on her cup of coffee before setting it in front of her.

"Careful, it's hot."

Mia watched with admiration. "Oh, I'm so jealous. Jesse loves you a lot, Courtney."

Courtney gave her a faint smile. "He loves you, too."

Just as he'd done the night before. Right into that morning.

Jesse chuckled. "It's not the same. I love you because you're my wife and the love of my life."

"What about Mia?"

"Well, you said she's like a younger sister to you. So, I treat her like my sister as well," he replied.

"Is that so?" Courtney took the cup from him. "You don't have to blow on it. Just let it cool down."

Sensing something off in her tone, Jesse took her and kissed it gently. "What's wrong? Why are you upset? If you don't like the food, I can make something else."

Courtney withdrew her hand and asked, "Jesse, do you love me?"

"Of course," he said without hesitation. "Everyone knows I love you."

"Do you think it's possible for a man to love two women at once?"

Jesse frowned slightly as he answered, "True love belongs to one person alone."

Courtney looked him in the eye and said, "If the day comes when your feelings change, just tell me. I'll leave so you can move on. But please, don't lie to me. My love is precious, and I won't tolerate betrayal."

Jesse smiled. "You don't have to worry. I'll only ever love you. No one could replace you."

"What if someone did?"

"That's not possible."

Courtney added firmly, "If I find out you lied to me, I'll leave you and erase you from my life."

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  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 2

    Jesse laughed softly. "That day will never come. I won't give you the chance to leave me."When he leaned in to hug her again, Courtney stood abruptly as the unpleasantly cloying scent on him that came from his night with Mia repulsed her."I'm getting a spoon," she said.Jesse immediately followed suit. "I'll get it for you.""No need. I've got it."In the kitchen, Courtney turned on the faucet and let the sound of running water cover her quiet sobs.It wasn't that she was weak. It was just that the Jesse she used to know had been so perfect and so good to her that the wonderful memories brought tears to her eyes.Growing up in an orphanage, Courtney had hardened her heart from being bullied and looked down upon. She'd never planned to fall in love or marry. But then Jesse came along.He'd rescued her from lecherous clients and had declared she belonged to him.At first, Courtney assumed Jesse was only interested in her looks just like the others.Nonetheless, he had done no

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 3

    "It's a gift I redeemed with points," Courtney responded.Jesse heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, you scared me. I thought you were leaving me."Courtney took the envelope from him and said, "Why would I leave you? You didn't betray me."Jesse grinned. "Exactly. My heart belongs to you alone."Once, his words would've melted her. Now, it left her cold."What did you redeem?" Jesse asked, curious."Just a little souvenir.""Voyage Airlines makes souvenirs now?""Apparently."Courtney returned to her room and opened the envelope. Inside was a plane ticket for a flight to Alorian scheduled for a week later. She had purchased it under the name Nessa.Her phone also displayed tracking information for an international package—a memory-erasing potion sent by Melvin Clark, expected to arrive within the same timeframe.Seven days from now would mark the end of Courtney's relationship with Jesse.From downstairs, Jesse's voice called out, "Babe, are you feeling unwell?""I didn't sleep

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 4

    The commotion subsided at last.Before leaving, a police officer said smilingly to Courtney, "I've handled many missing persons cases over the years, but I've never seen a husband as devoted as Mr. Hawthorn. Don't make him worry again."Jesse defended her with a displeased frown. "Courtney only went for a walk. Worrying about her is my business. It's not her fault."The officer shook his head, amused. "You're right. As long as your wife is safe and sound."Courtney apologized to the officers and saw them out.Jesse stayed glued to her side the entire time, unwilling to let her out of his sight. When he noticed the velvet box in her hand, his eyes lit up. "Babe, did you get new jewelry?"Courtney replied, "It's for you.""For me?""Yes. Your birthday gift.""Thank you, babe! Can I open it now?""Let's wait until your birthday."Jesse's 30th birthday was a week away; the same day, her flight would depart at 5:00 am.By the time he woke up and opened the velvet box to find a l

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 5

    That evening, Jesse took Courtney to the beach. The place was bustling with people, and he kept an arm securely around her to shield her from the crowd.The next moment, dazzling fireworks exploded in the sky. Soon, the fireworks lit up the entire night sky."Wow, is someone proposing? This is stunning!""Look at all those fireworks! Did they buy out the entire supply in the city?"'"How romantic! If a man did this for me, I'd marry him in a heartbeat!"Courtney let out a small smile when she heard that.Young girls were so easily swept off their feet, she thought. A single display of fireworks could win their hearts, and they'd promise a lifetime of love without hesitation.However, Courtney wasn't so gullible.Jesse had asserted that a man's love and lust were separated, but not for her. No matter how much he claimed to love her, betrayal was betrayal, and she could never forgive it."Babe, look!" Jesse pointed to some fireworks bursting in the sky.It formed two letters—J

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 6

    Jesse's car stopped at the hospital.Mia rushed into his arms, crying.Jesse held her and comforted her and then draped his suit jacket over her shoulders. Following that, he knelt on one knee and pressed his ear to her abdomen.Mia swatted him playfully. "It's only been a month. You won't be able to hear anything."So, Mia was pregnant. No wonder he'd seemed so distracted when he left.The taxi driver asked Courtney, "Miss, should we stop here too?""Yes, but don't go yet. I'll pay double the fare."Through the tinted windows, Courtney watched Jesse lift Mia off the ground and spin her joyfully in circles at the hospital entrance, oblivious to everyone around them.Mia giggled happily. "Hubby, put me down! I'm pregnant!"She was already calling him pet names now.Jesse carefully set her down, and Mia wrapped her arms around his neck."Do you want a boy or a girl?""A girl. We met the sweetest little girl at the beach today."Mia pouted in dissatisfaction. "I saw it. You s

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 7

    Courtney slept soundly that night.The next morning, she met with staff from a local charity and donated all the clothes she had sorted through.As for her personal items and every gift, letter, or memento Jesse had ever given her, she took them directly to the crematorium. She handed the staff a generous sum of money and had everything burned.Meanwhile, Mia's text messages arrived as expected."This place is stunning! Thank you, Courtney. If it weren't for you, I'd never have met Jesse. Without him, I couldn't have dreamed of vacationing in such a luxurious place!"Mia proceeded to flood Courtney's phone with photos, and all of them were of Jesse. He applied sunscreen on Mia's shoulders, grilled lobsters for her, and held her close as he kissed her.Courtney didn't bother opening the photos. She shut off her phone and focused on making final preparations to leave.On the second day after Jesse's departure, Courtney went to the bank. She withdrew every cent from her accounts, c

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 8

    Jesse arrived back in the country the afternoon before his birthday. As promised, he was supposed to spend it with Courtney.The airport speakers echoed a nagging announcement."Passenger Nessa Hill, please proceed to your boarding gate immediately."Nessa.The name sounded oddly familiar, and Jesse felt something was off. It felt as though a part of his heart was missing, and an indescribable sense of emptiness swept over him.His gaze drifted to the boarding gates, where he spotted a familiar figure hurrying toward one.Jesse squinted, while his heart skipped a beat as he instinctively moved to follow. However, before he could take another step, Mia's voice pulled him back.She approached with a steaming cup of drink and said coquettishly, "Jesse, I bought your favorite mocha! Where are you headed?""Nowhere."Mia noticed his strange expression and asked worriedly, "Are you feeling okay?"She reached out to touch his forehead, but he leaned back and replied curtly, "I'm fin

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 9

    With just a few succinct sentences, Courtney had ended their relationship.Jesse gripped the letter tightly, reading it over and over until the edges crumpled under the pressure of his hands. Finally, he jumped to his feet and began shouting her name as he searched through the villa."Babe! Stop playing games! I… I can explain!"He believed Courtney was just trying to scare him as a punishment. Yet, after combing through every room, there was no trace of her.The walk-in closet still held her shoes and bags, and even the one she used most often was hanging behind the door.Jesse didn't believe someone determined to leave would abandon all their belongings. He rushed to the backyard, but there was no sign of her there either.Desperate, he sprinted to the rooftop, thinking perhaps she was waiting for him in the sunroom. However, it was empty, save for the swing they had set up together.Jesse slumped onto the swing, lightly pushing himself back and forth with the tip of his shoe.

Latest chapter

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 21

    Jesse was dazed for a moment, but he wasn't despairing just yet. He still had a considerable amount of savings, which was pretty much a small fortune for normal people. It was enough to fund his continuous search for Courtney.He kept his phone on at all times, just in case he received any news about her.Soon, the money ran out.Jesse never managed to find Courtney. Instead, he received countless calls from scammers, all claiming to have seen her and refusing to tell him anything until he paid them.He agreed to pay every single time, no matter how high the price was.Money hemorrhaged out of his bank account endlessly until one day, while transferring money, he received a notification for insufficient balance.After that, even the scammers stopped bothering him. He kept vigil in the empty tomb that was his villa, writing sheaves upon sheaves of apology letters. A month later, he collapsed from exhaustion and was found and rushed to the hospital by a servant who had come to resi

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 20

    Grace could tell that Jesse had lost his mind. She burst into tears. "What are we going to do now? Richard, do something. Don't just stand there!"Richard grabbed Jesse firmly. "You need to snap out of it!"He wanted to drag Jesse out of the room and get the servants to throw out the jewelry box so that Jesse would be forced to face reality, but to his surprise, Jesse remained strong even though he hadn't eaten for days."No! Nobody is allowed to touch our wedding ring!"Jesse went into a frenzy, driving everyone out of the room. During the scuffle, his sleeve was pushed up, revealing numerous scars of varying ages—all self-inflicted.Grace saw the scars and cried even louder. "Oh my god, he's really gone mad, hasn't he? Should we think of a way to convince Courtney to come back and see him?""He was the one who cheated on Courtney. She left so resolutely—there's no way she would come back," Richard said. He was heartbroken and helpless, but he couldn't just stand by and watch Je

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 19

    Jesse couldn't accept that Courtney might no longer even harbor hatred for him. He would rather fall out with the private investigator who had the best chance of finding her.Just as he was clutching his head, immersed in his despair, another phone call came through.Thinking that the private investigator had regretted their earlier quarrel, Jesse picked up and said impatiently, "I told you, I'll pay you what I owe… Oh, it's you. Why are you calling me? I thought I told you not to bother me with anything related to Mia."It was Max, who was calling from back home where he had been tasked to keep an eye on Mia.Max sounded hesitant. "Mr. Hawthorn, Mia had a massive hemorrhage during the abortion procedure. Her situation is critical now. Should we save her?"Coldly, Jesse said, "How much did she pay you?"Max thought that he had misheard. Cautiously, he asked, "Sorry, Mr. Hawthorn, I don't think I got that."Jesse said icily, "Alright, I know you won't admit it. Tell her to stop p

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 18

    Mia was taken away by Jesse's bodyguards and shoved into a car. Desperately, she pounded on the window, but no one came to save her. She kept up with the struggle until one of the bodyguards pressed an ether-soaked rag over her face.The car sped off to the city slums under cover of night.Jesse sat on the couch alone for a long time, pouring himself drink after drink until he couldn't even taste the alcohol anymore. Still, the mind that he'd hoped to numb only grew more painfully awake.So what if he made Mia pay for what she had done?Courtney probably hated him more than she hated Mia.One of his bodyguards, Max Fleming, knocked on the door for a long time, but Jesse remained motionless. He entered the living room cautiously and went up to Jesse to report, "Mr. Hawthorn, the police just called. There's been a new development on the case.""Have they found Courtney?" Jesse looked haggard. His bloodshot eyes made him look completely different.Max was shocked by his appearance,

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 17

    Mia was rendered speechless. She couldn't even continue to stammer as mocking voices surrounded her. She tried to leave, but an older woman blocked her and slapped her hard across the face."I despise women like you who go around seducing other people's husbands!" she said angrily. "My ex-husband was a jerk, but you're no better!"Mia was stunned by the slap. With tears in her eyes, she tried to return the slap. "How dare you hit me!"The woman began tussling with her. She was stronger than Mia, so she quickly gained the upper hand, overpowering Mia easily. Mia quickly broke down and screamed at the crowd, "Please, help me! I'll sleep with anyone who helps me!"Trading her body for what she wanted had become second nature to her.A few lecherous men in the crowd seemed tempted, but someone sneered coldly, "She's so young and already spouting this nonsense. Who knows if she has some kind of STD? You guys sure have no standards."The remark scared off the perverts who had been eyei

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 16

    Jesse did not believe Mia's false promises at all. Unwilling to argue with her any longer, he took out Courtney's phone, turned up the brightness, and thrust it in her face, asking, "You sent her these messages, didn't you? The evidence is all here. What do you have to say for yourself?"In truth, Jesse felt nauseated just being in Mia's presence. But Courtney was gone now. He needed to get to the bottom of this to get closure.Mia's first instinct was to snatch the phone out of Jesse's grasp and destroy the evidence, but Jesse did not even let her touch the phone. He held it tightly in his palm, drawing back as Mia lunged.The phone was the only thing he had left of Courtney."I… I actually…" Mia turned pale when her tactic failed. She wanted to try to talk her way out of it, but she couldn't even form a complete sentence.She had sent Courtney all those indecent messages and photos. Even though she'd deleted them on her side, they still existed on Courtney's phone.Mia regrette

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 15

    Mia was only wearing the sexy lingerie that she'd put on before coming here. The revealing garments exposed her skin to the cold air, leaving barely anything to the imagination.Jesse's expression was dark. Usually, he paid little attention to Mia; this was the first time that he had treated her with such blatant disdain.Mia's heart sank. She knew that she'd made a grave mistake this time.But what went wrong? She'd always acted like this in front of him. Was it because she had moved the things in the living room?Then again, if it were Courtney who had brought up the divorce first, it made sense that Jesse was angry, given his personality. After all, proud men like him never liked it when women abandoned them.Mia lifted her hand to cover her chest, but she did not feel any shame or fear. Instead, she leaned into Jesse's arms and said coquettishly, "Aw, Mr. Hawthorn, I'm sorry. I just wanted to help clean up your room…"As she spoke, she reached for his collar, caressing his ch

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 14

    Mia's messages weren't just provocative. They were outright disrespectful, aimed at humiliating Courtney as if Mia had somehow predicted she wouldn't live to reach this point in her life.Courtney never replied to any of Mia's texts. Eventually, she didn't even bother opening them.But Jesse was so furious he shook all over when imagining how Courtney must have felt when she first saw those messages. His nails might've dug into his palms if he wasn't holding his phone.After returning the phone to the police officer, he silently drove away from the desolate area. On the road, he called Mia. "I don't care where you are. Get to my house. Now."The idea of going to her place made him feel sick, especially when he thought about the things they'd done there in the past.Mia feigned surprise and said softly, "Really? You're inviting me over? Is… Courtney not home?"She had no idea what had happened between them, but the thought of Courtney leaving the villa she'd long coveted filled Mi

  • The Choice to Forget   Chapter 13

    Jesse had thought he'd see Courtney right away. But when he rushed to the location provided by the police, he found himself in a barren field. There were no hiding places in sight.For a moment, images from grim news stories flashed through his mind, and his legs nearly gave out.Fortunately, a police officer approached him and said, "Mr. Hawthorn, I'm sorry, but we only found this phone nearby. It appears to have been discarded here, and we haven't discovered any other clues. The phone is powered off. Can you confirm if it belongs to your wife?"Once again, the trail had gone cold. But for Jesse, no news meant good news.Having endured emotional whiplash within a single day, Jesse was teetering on the edge of blacking out.It wasn't until the officer repeated the question that he snapped back to the present,His voice was hoarse as he confirmed, "Yes, this is her phone."When the screen lit up, Jesse was so agitated that he nearly wept.Though Courtney had discarded her phone,

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