All I Want

1

I gazed upon the shimmering diamonds on my left hand. The thought of wearing a ring for the rest of my life always felt odd to me, but, now that I'm actually wearing one, I think I'll enjoy it.

"She said yes, mom! I can't explain how happy I am!" I heard Jace yelling into his phone.

Jace and I have been dating for nearly three years, and to be honest, Taehyung's death only caused us to grow closer. The fears and anxieties I had prier to his death always seemed to be somewhat of a barrier between Jace and I; like he could never reach that last bit of me.

But the mess that followed Taehyung soon subsided after many court room discussions. Given the circumstances and Taehyung's mental and physical state, I wasn't accused of attempted murder after shooting him, but rather, a self defense case was upheld in its place. Although, at the time, my mind had been cluttered with dark thoughts of getting back at Taehyung, but that was never mentioned in court.

"Mai! Say hello to mom!" Jace said, holding the phone next to my mouth.

"Hi-"

"Aaahhh!! I'm so happy for you both! Can't wait for the wedding, oh, even better, the grandchildren!"

"M-mom! Slow down there!" Jace exclaimed with red cheeks.

He's always been the bashful type; something that caught my eye the first time we met.

"Thanks Mrs. Lee." I laughed.

Suddenly, the door bell rang. As Jace said goodbye to his mother, I ran to see who was there. When I opened the door, there was a basket of flowers on the welcome mat and a small card sticking out the side. I picked up the basket and brought it inside.

"Who was it? Ah!?! Mai get those out of here!"

"What? Why?"

"Don't you recognize those flowers? I'm deathly allergic to them!"

"Oh! Uh maybe the address is wrong."

I picked out the small card that was attached, expecting to see our neighbors address on it. But, to my surprise, it had no address and no signature. The only thing on the small piece of cardboard was:

"I can't wait to see you again."

"Who's it from?" Jace asked with a crack in his voice.

"It doesn't say." I murmured back. "Here, I'll go throw these in the dumpster outside, okay?"

Jace POV

As Mai was gone, the door bell rang once more. When I opened the door, one of my fellow policemen stood with a letter in his hand, concern plastered on his face.

"Minhyuk, what a pleasant surprise. What's this?" I asked.

Minhyuk glanced passed my shoulder. "Mai's not here, right?"

"Um no, she went to throw something away, why?"

Minhyuk had said nothing and handed me the envelope

"I don't understand, what's wrong?"

"Just, just open it."

Minhyuk wasn't the type to give the silent treatment. If he was quite, there had to be something really bad waiting inside that envelope. I took a deep breath and ripped open the top, exposing the paper inside. I could feel my palms sweating as I unfolded the contents; something in me felt sick, like I knew what I was about to read would make me want to vomit.

Public Safety Announcement for...
Officer Jace Lee

As my eyes continued down the page, my fists clenching the thin paper, I understood why Minhyuk was acting the way he was. The news that had been given to me made my stomach turn, and I knew I couldn't let Mai find out about any of what I just read.

Mai POV

"I just passed Minhyuk in the hall, is everything alright?" I asked when I came back inside.

Jace was standing next to the kitchen table, a letter in his left hand and his body tense. It took him a second to find the words to respond with.

"Everything is fine. Don't worry about it." His face was pale and expressionless.

"Are you sure? You look like you've seen a ghost." 

"Really, Mai, it's fine. I'm just tired is all. How about we go to bed early tonight, yeah?"

******

For the next couple of days, Jace was distant. He avoided eye contact and put on an obvious fake smile to cover up whatever it was that he was hiding. It was weird; I've never seen him act like this before, not even for serious murder cases.

One evening, I'd had enough of this awkward silent charade Jace was giving me, and I sat him down on the couch beside me.

"Babe, seriously, what is the matter?" I asked sternly but with worry.

"I- it's nothing really, I promise."

"Bullshit."

"Mai!-"

"You've been acting weird since the night Minhyuk came and gave you that letter. Now, as your fiance and future wife, I need to know what was so bad that you've completely shut yourself off from me. I want to help you, Jace."

"You can't help me because the letter has hardly anything to do with me!" He replied with an almost ashamed tone in his voice.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"The letter, it concerns you but, but I can't just let you read it. You don't understand, Mai, there are things you don't know and aren't suppose to know and this letter ruins that."

I felt a bit angry with him; if the letter was meant for me, why was it such a big deal that I read it?

"Just give me the damn letter, Jace!"

He hesitated, then grabbed the letter, holding it tightly in his hand.

"Before you read this, I want you to know that I love you and that I never meant to hurt you; I've only ever wanted to protect you, Mai. Just, just please understand where I'm coming from-"

"Give me the letter!" He was starting to scare me.

Jace handed me the envelope and for a moment, I didn't want to open it; Jace had made such a big deal about what was in it that, on the inside, I was terrified, but I just had to know.

I lifted up the opening and pulled out a crinkled piece of paper. It was a public safety announcement for close friends and family members of Mai Yung and Jace Lee. Suddenly, my eyes grew wide and an electric sting flooded my body causing my limbs to cover in goosebumps.

"Oh my God."