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Chapter 2 A Future That Could Be Changed

Penulis: River Snapshot
I turned off my phone after sending that text.

I'd remained remarkably calm ever since I discovered Adrian's betrayal. I calmly signed the divorce papers and calmly fought through the divorce proceedings.

I hadn't shed a single tear for the man I used to love, even when his attorney backed me into a corner in court and humiliated me.

However, I found myself feeling unbearably aggrieved as I recalled what 18-year-old Adrian had been like. After all, I knew better than anyone how deeply he used to love me.

When I was 16, my family went bankrupt. He gave me every penny he'd saved to help pay off my family's debts.

When his family cut him off financially, he worked every part-time job he could find to put me through college.

After graduation, he defied his entire family just so he could marry me. He then moved to an unfamiliar city and started a business from scratch all by himself.

I cried and begged him to let me go, but he kissed my eyelid and said, "Clara, I don't need anyone else as long as I have you."

He promised to give me a better life. He promised our child would grow up in a happy home. Unfortunately, our romance died on the very day I finally moved into the villa I'd always dreamed of.

I cried the entire drive home.

The next morning, my eyes were so swollen they looked like walnuts. Nonetheless, I called every contact in my phone, begging anyone who would listen to lend me money for my daughter's surgery.

The moment I hung up, the kindergarten called. "Are you Sadie's mother? Sadie fainted, and we're on our way to the hospital."

Adrian was already standing there by the time I got there.

He stared at Sadie's pale face on the hospital bed, his expression so dark it was frightening. "Clara, go ahead. How much do you need this time?"

I frantically dug through the thick stack of medical records in my bag. "Adrian, Sadie really is seriously sick this time. If you don't believe me, just look at her test results—"

Suddenly, Adrian grabbed my wrist with so much force it felt like he was trying to crush it. "Clara, stop pretending."

He threw a bank card onto the floor. "I know exactly what's going on with Sadie's condition. There's enough money on that card for the two of you to live on. The PIN is your birthday."

I pulled free from his grip and crouched down to pick it up.

Adrian glanced once at Sadie lying in the hospital bed before turning to leave.

As he passed me, he stopped.

"Clara, we'd still be a family of three if you'd just pretended not to know about Avery and me back then. I never planned to marry her. You're the one who insisted on getting divorced and made everything so ugly."

My whole body trembled with rage.

How could I have feigned ignorance? After all, I'd seen them with my own eyes. I'd seen him tangled in the sheets with my best friend.

I was just over eight months pregnant at the time. The shock sent me crashing to the floor.

I spent an agonizing day and night in labor, soaking the sheets with blood before finally giving birth to Sadie.

It was precisely because of my near miscarriage that Sadie had been born frail and sickly.

She'd been admitted to the hospital countless times. We'd received critical condition notices over and over again.

Whenever I broke down sobbing in the hospital hallway, Adrian was either busy with work or with Avery.

The time he spent with Sadie wasn't even half of what he spent with Avery.

I steadied myself against the wall as I rose to my feet. Suddenly, I remembered the emails on my old phone.

The battery was still fully charged.

I turned it on. Several emails popped up at once.

"28-year-old Clara, I talked to Adrian for you. He said the man on the wedding invitation couldn't possibly be him. He said he'd never betray me.

"He has cut ties with Avery. She cried her heart out that day, demanding to know why. He told her he didn't want the future me to be hurt. Avery had planned to attend the same college as us, but she's decided to study abroad instead. See? The future can be changed.

"Adrian also said that if he really did become that kind of man a decade from now, then… he'd apologize to you on behalf of that bastard."
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  • Don't Marry Him   Chapter 9 A Future Without Goodbye

    The 18-year-old Adrian died right in front of Clara. He had promised to love her with his life. He had kept that promise.After Adrian's death, 18-year-old Clara locked herself in her room for months.She stopped talking. She stopped smiling. All she did was scroll through the photos on her phone day after day.As time passed, she seemed to return to her former self. She went to college and made a lot of friends. However, that facade would come crumbling down like a castle of sand every night as she'd hide under the covers and cry.Later, she was diagnosed with depression.The first time she tried to kill herself, she'd slit her wrists. Fortunately, her roommate found her and got her to the hospital in time.The second time she tried to commit suicide, she attempted to jump from a building. Her academic advisor and classmates stopped her, but she spent three days in the hospital.She even overdosed on sleeping pills. Doctors had to pump her stomach for hours, and she nearly lost

  • Don't Marry Him   Chapter 8 The Truth of Three Years Ago

    Clara's POVWhen I woke up, the first thing I felt was pain. It wasn't the physical sort of pain. It was a pain in my heart. A dull, suffocating ache that made it hard to breathe.I slowly sat up and realized I was in a hospital. I found it odd. After all, I'd been hit by a truck, but there wasn't a single injury on my body."Clara, you're awake?" Someone grabbed my hand. My eyes fell on an unfamiliar girl leaning over me, her face full of concern. "You've been running a fever for two days. You scared the hell out of me."A fever? I instinctively tried to sift through my fuzzy memories, only to find my mind completely blank. "Uhm… Who are you?""No way, Clara! Did that fever really fry your brain? Do you seriously not recognize your roommate anymore?"It took me two days to figure out what had happened.I'd returned to the past and was now inhabiting 18-year-old Clara's body. Well, sort of… because it had been three years since this body was 18.It also seemed that I'd lost som

  • Don't Marry Him   Chapter 7 A Lifetime of Regret

    A nurse came in to hook Adrian up to an IV, but he suddenly grabbed her wrist.His voice was hoarse. "Where… Where are they now?""Do you mean your daughter and Ms. Bennett? Their bodies have already been moved to the morgue."He let go of her hand and yanked the IV needle out of the back of his hand. He ignored the doctors and nurses' cries of alarm as he stumbled all the way to the morgue.The morgue was freezing cold.As he stood between the two gurneys, he carefully pulled back the white sheets and stared at them for a long, long time.He remembered the last time he had seen Clara. She had burst into the glittering hall, telling him Sadie was dying. She'd been hysterical, her eyes half-wild in grief.It was the first time he had ever seen her completely fall apart. Yet, he hadn't believed her.He thought she was putting on another act, trying to squeeze more money out of him. He never realized that their daughter was indeed lying in the ICU, fighting for her life.To make

  • Don't Marry Him   Chapter 6 The Man He Used to Be

    Adrian dreamed for what felt like an eternity.In his dream, he saw Clara at 18. She was wearing a white school uniform with her hair tied up in a bun, waiting for him beneath the sycamore tree outside the school gates.When he approached her, she slipped her hand into his. She laced their fingers together as though it were the most natural thing in the world."Adrian, I came in third on our latest round of exams. I never could've done it without your tutoring. So, what kind of reward do you want?"She smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. The look on her face was so bright that he felt as though he was staring at the sun.Then, he saw his 18-year-old self lower his head and kiss her. "I don't want any reward. Having you by my side is enough."Clara blushed prettily and playfully punched his arm. Then, the two of them laughed and chased each other down the street.Later, they went to college together. He worked part-time with her and handed over every dollar he earned.Clara

  • Don't Marry Him   Chapter 5 The Breaking Point

    Third-Person POVAt the hotel, the wedding continued without a hitch.After Clara was dragged out, Adrian merely frowned and straightened his suit.Once Avery had changed back into her dress, he took her hand and led her around the ballroom to toast the guests.The crystal chandeliers sparkled overhead as everyone smiled and offered their congratulations. It was as though the commotion from earlier had never happened.Everything was perfect.Adrian's phone rang four times, and he declined every call.He knew Clara was making a scene. She had always been the same. She'd been stubborn and serious about everything ever since she was a kid.The phone rang a fifth time. This time, Adrian finally answered. The call was from the hospital."Mr. Pierce, your daughter, Sadie Pierce, suffered a sudden heart failure and has passed away despite our efforts to save her. In addition, Ms. Bennett was involved in a car accident on her way to the hospital and has also passed away despite emerge

  • Don't Marry Him   Chapter 4 Too Late to Save Her

    After I returned to the hospital, I immediately scheduled Sadie's surgery.I hesitated for a long time, but I finally called Adrian. He didn't answer until the tenth call."Adrian, can you come on the day of Sadie's surgery? She really wants to see you."There were a few seconds of silence on the other end before he finally said, "I'm busy with work. I don't have time. Just text me after the surgery and let me know how it went."After a pause, he added, "Oh, Avery and I are getting married in a few days. Don't forget to come to the wedding."A sharp pain lanced through my chest, and I hung up immediately.The entire city was buzzing on the day of their union. The wedding was broadcast live on TV, with reporters hailing it as "the wedding of the century."I stared at the invitation in my hand, wanting nothing more than to tear it to pieces.Suddenly, the machines in Sadie's hospital room began beeping incessantly. Sadie was rushed into the ICU, her face turning bluish-purple and

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