Stand-In Heiress's Last Sunflower Blooms in Graveyards - Chapter 21: Chapter 21
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During his hospital stay, Timothy was basically a zombie.
He'd only glance up when Kevin said his name, otherwise just staring at the ceiling for hours.
Everyone could see Timothy was falling apart.
Kevin kept pushing him to see a shrink, but Timothy always insisted: "I'm fine."
That was until his second stomach pump after unconsciously downing a bottle of Ambien. That's when Jayden showed up.
Jayden stood in the doorway for a moment, then walked in.
He cut right to it: "Timothy, get professional help."
Jayden remembered Skylar's last day.
When he'd asked if she had any final wishes, she'd been quiet forever before finally saying:
"If Timothy can actually move on and be happy, that's all I want."
"But if because of me he..."
She'd stopped, struggling to breathe:
"If I'm the reason he can't live, you have to make sure he gets therapy. There's this new treatment—they can use electroshock to erase traumatic memories."
"Just let him forget me and have a real life."
Jayden looked at the man in front of him. Clean haircut, strong features, should've been handsome—but his eyes were completely hollow. Like staring into an abyss.
It was fucking heartbreaking.
Jayden finally got why Skylar had been worried about Timothy even while dying.
That emptiness wasn't from just losing her—it came from a lifetime of loss, then finding hope, then having it ripped away. Now there was nothing left but despair.
"This is what Skylar wanted."
Jayden's laugh was bitter: "Timothy, normally I wouldn't give a damn if you lived or died."
"But Skylar couldn't stop worrying about you, even at the end. She wanted you to survive this."
Even though Timothy swore he was fine, he agreed to the treatment.
The psychiatrist explained: "The electroshock therapy will likely erase some memories. But they'll be the ones causing you pain, so that's actually good."
When Timothy was discharged, Skylar Madden had been completely erased from his mind.
His life finally got back to normal.
One afternoon, Kevin tapped his desk and showed him his phone.
A photo of a girl in a white sundress standing in front of an elementary school, smiling warmly.
"What do you think? Her name's Tina Castro, she's a third-grade teacher. You're thirty-two, man—time to settle down. Want me to set you up?"
Timothy glanced up from his paperwork: "Yeah, why not."
Kevin practically jumped out of his chair: "Finally! About damn time!"
They met at a Starbucks downtown.
Tina was nervous, mostly just answering Timothy's basic questions.
Where she worked, if she liked teaching, what she did for fun—standard first-date stuff.
When Timothy ran out of small talk, Tina blushed and quickly grabbed the check.
Then she held up her phone with Venmo open, the amount already typed in: $32—the exact cost of Timothy's latte.
"Officer Goldstein... since we're just getting to know each other, would it be okay if we split everything? Just until we figure out if this is going anywhere?"
Timothy pulled out his phone: "That's smart, actually."
*She's got her shit together,* he thought. *I like that.*
That night, Timothy fell asleep on his couch scrolling through TikTok.
In his dreams, a girl appeared.
He'd only glance up when Kevin said his name, otherwise just staring at the ceiling for hours.
Everyone could see Timothy was falling apart.
Kevin kept pushing him to see a shrink, but Timothy always insisted: "I'm fine."
That was until his second stomach pump after unconsciously downing a bottle of Ambien. That's when Jayden showed up.
Jayden stood in the doorway for a moment, then walked in.
He cut right to it: "Timothy, get professional help."
Jayden remembered Skylar's last day.
When he'd asked if she had any final wishes, she'd been quiet forever before finally saying:
"If Timothy can actually move on and be happy, that's all I want."
"But if because of me he..."
She'd stopped, struggling to breathe:
"If I'm the reason he can't live, you have to make sure he gets therapy. There's this new treatment—they can use electroshock to erase traumatic memories."
"Just let him forget me and have a real life."
Jayden looked at the man in front of him. Clean haircut, strong features, should've been handsome—but his eyes were completely hollow. Like staring into an abyss.
It was fucking heartbreaking.
Jayden finally got why Skylar had been worried about Timothy even while dying.
That emptiness wasn't from just losing her—it came from a lifetime of loss, then finding hope, then having it ripped away. Now there was nothing left but despair.
"This is what Skylar wanted."
Jayden's laugh was bitter: "Timothy, normally I wouldn't give a damn if you lived or died."
"But Skylar couldn't stop worrying about you, even at the end. She wanted you to survive this."
Even though Timothy swore he was fine, he agreed to the treatment.
The psychiatrist explained: "The electroshock therapy will likely erase some memories. But they'll be the ones causing you pain, so that's actually good."
When Timothy was discharged, Skylar Madden had been completely erased from his mind.
His life finally got back to normal.
One afternoon, Kevin tapped his desk and showed him his phone.
A photo of a girl in a white sundress standing in front of an elementary school, smiling warmly.
"What do you think? Her name's Tina Castro, she's a third-grade teacher. You're thirty-two, man—time to settle down. Want me to set you up?"
Timothy glanced up from his paperwork: "Yeah, why not."
Kevin practically jumped out of his chair: "Finally! About damn time!"
They met at a Starbucks downtown.
Tina was nervous, mostly just answering Timothy's basic questions.
Where she worked, if she liked teaching, what she did for fun—standard first-date stuff.
When Timothy ran out of small talk, Tina blushed and quickly grabbed the check.
Then she held up her phone with Venmo open, the amount already typed in: $32—the exact cost of Timothy's latte.
"Officer Goldstein... since we're just getting to know each other, would it be okay if we split everything? Just until we figure out if this is going anywhere?"
Timothy pulled out his phone: "That's smart, actually."
*She's got her shit together,* he thought. *I like that.*
That night, Timothy fell asleep on his couch scrolling through TikTok.
In his dreams, a girl appeared.
End of Stand-In Heiress's Last Sunflower Blooms in Graveyards Chapter 21. Continue reading Chapter 22 or return to Stand-In Heiress's Last Sunflower Blooms in Graveyards book page.