My Fiancé’s Confession From the Future Chapter 08

My Fiancé’s Confession From the Future Chapter 08

I stood alone on the balcony, watching the distant fireworks and whispered to myself.

“Happy Fourth.”

The fireworks in this small town weren’t as grand as in the big city, but against the quiet night sky, they

were perfectly clear.

I thought back to a year ago.

Fireworks everywhere. Him on one knee. I thought it was the happiest moment of my life.

Now I looked down at my hand.

Nothing on my ring finger.

This year had gone by fast.

The studio had taken root in the small town and started getting projects from out of state.

I took my parents to the beach. My father set up an easel to paint. My mother dozed in a lounge chair.

I took a photo of that moment and made it my phone wallpaper.

Jessica’s trial ended in the fall.

Multiple charges. Tampering with a medical team. Corporate theft. Altering personal property.

Five years.

When the news notification popped up, I sat still for a long time.

Fifteen years ago, the little girl who had curled up in my arms in that stairwell.

And now, the woman who had switched my ring’s engraving, stolen my designs, and canceled my father’s surgical team.

I chose to think of them as two different people.

The first one, I had mourned. The second one, I chose not to care about anymore.

Later, I heard that Ethan had built an art museum in my name. It housed every design I had ever publicly

released.

Each piece was labeled with its original creation date and my signature.

On the museum’s message wall, someone had left a note. No name.

My father went to see it and sent me a photo.

“Every piece here was created by someone remarkable. If you know her, please tell her for me: her talent

should never be overshadowed by anyone else’s mistakes.”

After the new year, I received a package.

Inside was a phone. The one I had left on the cliff.

He had kept it. Never thrown it away. Now he was returning it, exactly as it was.

I plugged it in and turned it on. Everything was still there.

The chat logs with the future Ethan. The call history. Every single message.

I stared at those records for a long time.

Then I made the call.

I didn’t know if it would go through. Maybe the line across time had closed long ago.

But it connected.

The other side sounded like he hadn’t expected another call.

Then came a quiet laugh, exhaustion threaded through every note.

“Serena.”

I didn’t speak. He did.

“By now you probably know everything. The ring was a lie. The studio was a lie. I took every sin I could and piled it on myself.”

“Why?” I asked.

He was silent for a long time.

“Because I was afraid you’d hesitate. That you’d think maybe he can change, and then walk step by step into

everything I lived through these five years.”

“But if you hated me, hated me down to the bone, you’d leave. And you wouldn’t look back.”

On the other end, I heard unsteady breathing.

“Serena, I love you. But I’m a terrible person.”

After he said it, he went quiet for a long time.

I heard him on the other side, trying to hold it in, crying almost without sound.

Finally, he said, “I hope everything from now on is good for you.”

The call ended.

I tried calling back. It never connected again.

The line to the future had finally closed.

Outside, the fireworks were still going off.

Somewhere in a distant city, someone was looking at the same sky.

In his pocket, the ring with only the E left was probably catching the light of the fireworks, flash after flash.

He was thinking, if only S were still beside E.

The wind on the balcony was a little cold.

I pulled my jacket tighter and went back inside.

On the table sat tomorrow’s work schedule.

Some wounds would scar over eventually.

But this life was mine.

One day at a time; I would keep moving forward.

THE END