I Traveled Back Ten Years, Only to Witness His Love for Another Chapter 03

I Traveled Back Ten Years, Only to Witness His Love for Another Chapter 03

That afternoon, stuck in this world, it hit me—I had no money and no ID.

The only thing on me was the gold necklace Ethan had given me after we got married.

Back when gold prices were at their peak, a friend had joked, “Your husband gave you all that gold jewelry—why not sell some of it?”

I’d refused outright. “How could I ever sell something my husband gave me?”

But now, I wavered.

It seemed Ethan didn’t love me the way I’d thought.

I went to a jewelry store and pawned the necklace.

I was outside counting the cash when someone smacked it right out of my hands.

A gust of wind scattered the bills, and I didn’t even have time to get angry—I just scrambled to pick them up.

Then a voice came from above me, familiar but not quite.

“You went to see Lily?”

My hand froze over the last bill, and I looked up.

It was the young Ethan, his face dark with fury.

I picked up the last bill and stood, meeting his eyes.

In another ten years, from this angle, I’d be acting cute and he’d be ruffling my hair, indulgent: “What is it now, my dear? What do you want me to buy you this time?”

But right now, all I could see was the rage in his eyes.

He ground his tongue against his cheek, grabbed my wrist hard, his voice vicious.

“Speak. Are you deaf?”

I’d never seen this side of him.

Bitterness and heartache surged through me—but neither hurt as much as his grip on my wrist.

But tears and self-pity were useless here.

I shook him off and yelled back: “She came to me!”

“Impossible.”

I didn’t know what Lily had told him, but he didn’t believe me.

He stood frozen for a beat, then said, “Even if she did come to you, it’s still your fault! If you hadn’t shown up this morning, raving about being my future wife, Lily would never have gotten upset!”

But I wasn’t lying.

He was the one who’d been lying all along.

He’d hidden his teenage love, deceived me.

And now I was the one left looking like a fool in this misplaced time.

I couldn’t explain—there was no way to explain.

In the end, all my hurt and anger and grief could only come out as three words: “I’m sorry.”

Ethan raked his fingers through his hair.

“What good is sorry? Lily says she’ll never forgive me now—and it’s all because of you!”

That’s when I finally saw it.

Whether I’d agreed to Lily’s proposal or not, she’d always intended to use me as her excuse to push Ethan away.

But he couldn’t see that.

He was still pulling at his hair, pinning all the blame on me.

“You have to go explain things to Lily.” He slapped his thigh, a new plan forming. “And you have to apologize to her, too…”

For the first time in this entire relationship, I felt completely powerless.

Love and resentment tangled inside me.

I spoke too fast, the words slipping out before I could stop them:

“Why should I? I’m not going! She came to me! She wanted me to steal you away! So what if you love her—that doesn’t mean she feels the same way…”

My voice kept rising until Ethan’s fist slammed into the wall beside me.

I felt the world tremble.

Ethan was like a wild animal, roaring, “Shut up!”

It shocked me silent.

For one long moment, there was nothing but quiet.

I could almost hear my own heart pounding.

What was the point of saying any of this to him now?

He didn’t believe me.

He’d only ever believe what he wanted to see.

He stared at my trembling body and threatened: “I’m warning you. Stay away from me and Lily. Don’t try to drive a wedge between us. And don’t think I won’t hit a woman.”

The sun sank below the horizon, the last of the light burning to ash in his eyes.

I stood there, frozen.

He looked at my rigid face and nodded, satisfied.

Then he turned and walked away.

I watched him go, watched the sky go dark, and hid my tears and myself in the darkness.

I didn’t like eighteen-year-old Ethan at all.

I hated him.

I wanted to go home.

But once I got home—how would I face twenty-eight-year-old Ethan?

The streetlights flickered on, then off.

I hid in a run-down motel that didn’t check IDs, and stared at the wreckage of our marriage.