Chapter 1

I loved Darrick Zamora for ten years, but he hated me for just as long.

Yet when danger struck, he died in my arms while saving me.

Devastated by grief, I used a time machine to travel back ten years—all because of my overwhelming regret.

I regretted my stubborn obsession with marrying him, which left him burdened with lifelong regrets and kept him from being with the love of his life.

He'd risked everything to save me three times before, and now that I was here, I just needed to resolve his three deepest regrets.

Then I could finally break free from the trap of loving him and sever our ties for good.

But the time machine only gave me thirty-six hours.

Once time was up, we'd never see each other again.

As the time machine whirled at breakneck speed, I felt dizzy and overwhelmed. When I regained consciousness, a familiar mocking voice reached my ears.

"Victoria, what kind of spell did you cast on my parents? You even threatened to take your own life to force me into marrying you? Let me tell you, times have changed—arranged marriages rarely end well."

I opened my eyes and immediately locked onto the handsome, aloof Darrick.

He was dressed in a sharp military uniform, looking incredibly dashing, his eyes brimming with impatience toward me.

Compared to the stern man he'd become in his thirties, this younger version carried a hint of recklessness and a vibrant energy that was truly invigorating.

Tears welled up in my eyes despite myself. The time shuttle had actually brought me back.

Unfortunately, it hadn't returned me to before we'd met, but to 1995—the day we went to the local office to pick up our marriage license.

At least there was still time to make things right.

I pushed down the bitterness in my heart and stared at him hungrily.

"Darrick, you don't want to marry me because the one you really like is Lynne, right?"

It seemed I'd struck a nerve, as Darrick's brows furrowed deeply. "And if I do? Once we get the license, we'll register the marriage anyway. What could you possibly change?"

I gazed at him steadily. "If you truly want to, you can."

Darrick shot me a glance, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.

"Victoria, I don't have time for your games. Stop playing hard to get—it's getting on my nerves. Just submit the marriage application yourself. I'll wait outside."

As I watched his impatient figure retreating, a sharp pang rippled through my heart, and disappointment washed over me.

Across two lifetimes, I'd loved him deeply.

He was my lifesaver. From the moment I fell for him as a teenager, I was utterly smitten. I thought that since he'd risked his life to save me, he must feel something for me too.

Even his parents had reassured me, "Darrick's just too stubborn to admit it. If he didn't care about you, why would he put his life on the line to save you over and over?"

I'd mistakenly believed our feelings were mutual, and I married him with pure joy.

It wasn't until after Lynne's death that I realized he'd never truly liked me.

And his dying words—"If only I'd never met you..."—were the final straw that broke me.

What I'd seen as eight years of shared affection had been nothing but torment for him.

The time machine's designer told me that only by fulfilling Darrick's three final wishes could I sever all ties with him.

His fate would change—he wouldn't die at thirty because of me.

And we'd both get a fresh start, with new lives of our own.

On the marriage application, I wrote Lynne's name and swapped out all the registration documents for hers.

I still remembered the three sentences that appeared over and over in Darrick's notebook.

[Regret marrying Victoria. Regret not standing up to my parents until the end. Regret not saving Lynne.]

Now, let me fulfill his first wish for him.

Clutching the marriage license, I stepped out the door and spotted Darrick standing nearby right away.

He stood tall and straight, his features sharp and striking—truly handsome.

He looked my way and reached for the license in my hand, about to flip it open when I stopped him.

I met his gaze with a soft smile. "Darrick, wait until tomorrow to look. I've got a surprise for you."

He eyed me, his expression unreadable. "You've been acting weird all day. Is it because you're marrying me and you're thrilled out of your mind?"

I was thrilled—after all, I was seeing him alive again.

My eyes crinkled with a smile as I said firmly, "You're the best man in the world. How could I not be happy marrying you?"

He touched his nose awkwardly, staying silent as he strode ahead.

If I didn't know full well that he didn't love me, I might have thought my compliment had just made him shy.

Just then, a young couple walked by, chatting intimately.