Chapter 3

Vanessa froze.

Assuming I was just throwing a tantrum, she leaned down, trying to kiss away my tears to soothe me.

"Julian, I know I messed up. Nathan has always been frail, and I let my protective instincts get the better of me. He feels awful about it too. He wants to apologize to you."

"Can we just put this behind us, please?"

I pulled back, turning my face away from her kiss, and firmly pushed her arms off me.

"I know Nathan was your first love."

Vanessa's face instantly hardened. She seized my wrist in a vice-like grip.

"How do you know that?"

"Julian, have you been snooping into my past?!"

Her grip bruised my skin.

I looked at her, fresh tears burning behind my eyelids.

"Does it matter how I found out?"

"You moved your ex into our home behind my back. You yelled at me and blamed me the second he acted up. Don't you owe me an explanation?!"

Vanessa fell silent, her jaw tight, before she forced out a defensive reply.

"We ended years ago."

"He's family to me now. Nothing more."

The word "family" felt like a poisoned needle stabbing into my brain.

In an instant, the ghostly voice from seven years in the future echoed in my head—the screaming, the cheating, my own child calling another man Daddy...

Enough. God, enough!

I ripped my wrist from her grasp and walked toward the door.

"Whether he's just family, you know best in your heart."

"We're done, Vanessa."

The moment I yanked the door open, I found Nathan standing right outside, eavesdropping.

Tears welled in his eyes. The second he saw me, he dropped to his knees and grabbed onto my pant leg.

"Julian, please don't leave!" he cried theatrically. "Vanessa and I were young and stupid back then, but that's in the past! It's all my fault. Don't ruin your relationship over me. If you hate having me around, I'll pack my bags and leave right now!"

"I'm just a burden anyway. Maybe I'd be better off dead!"

Seeing Nathan on the floor, Vanessa forgot all about me.

She rushed forward, hauling Nathan to his feet before turning on me with fury.

"Julian, what is wrong with you?!"

"He's literally on his knees begging you! Are you really that heartless?!"

A wave of dizziness hit me. It was like I was already seeing the nightmare unfold.

The memory of catching them in bed, and Vanessa glaring at me with that exact same venomous gaze, demanding to know why I couldn't just forgive her.

I didn't say another word. I shoved past Nathan and walked out of the house.

Vanessa tried to follow, but Nathan let out a cry of pain, collapsing against her.

She immediately abandoned the chase, pulling him into her arms to baby him.

I walked out of the gates and stood by the curb, hailing a cab in the biting night air.

The cold wind cut through my shirt, but it cleared my head completely.

A yellow cab pulled up, and just as I opened the door, a hand grabbed my arm, yanking me backward.

Vanessa stood there, furious.

"Julian, get back inside right now!"

"Nathan is having a complete breakdown because of you! You're going to come inside and apologize to him properly!"

"Let go of me!" I snapped, trying to shake off her grip.

Then Nathan came running out too.

He grabbed my sleeve, dropping to his knees on the asphalt again, sobbing dramatically.

Seeing the chaotic domestic scene, the cab driver shook his head and sped off into the night.

In the struggle, Nathan kept dragging me backward, inching us closer to the middle of the road.

Suddenly, blinding high beams cut through the darkness. The blaring horn of an oncoming semi-truck shattered the night air.

Nathan, who had been kneeling, abruptly sprang to his feet and lunged toward me!

The deafening screech of heavy brakes tore through my ears. Everything seemed to move in slow motion.

I saw Vanessa's terrified face as she reached out to pull me away.

At that exact moment, Nathan lost his footing and fell backward.

Vanessa's outstretched hand shifted mid-air.

She grabbed Nathan instead.

She pulled him tightly into her chest, yanking him out of harm's way.

The truck slammed into me.

My body was thrown into the air like a ragdoll.

Seconds later, I hit the asphalt with a sickening crunch.

Excruciating, bone-shattering pain exploded through every nerve, followed by the warm, thick spread of blood pooling beneath my head.

Right before the world went black, a cold, mechanical whisper echoed in my fading consciousness:

[The timeline has been altered.]