Chapter 2
That was when young Raymond appeared.
He stood next to the trash bin, looking so much younger and more naive than anyone else around.
He claimed to be Raymond from ten years ago.
He'd arrived in this world a couple weeks ago, but only today did he finally dare to approach me.
Young Raymond said, "I was afraid you might get scared, but I really wanted to see what we'd be like in the future. But you don't look happy at all."
He asked me what things were like for us ten years from now, and why I had so many wounds on me.
There was an eager anticipation sparkling in his eyes.
It felt as if he was Raymond from years ago, the one who would throw everything aside for me.
When we were eighteen, Raymond got his head busted open by my dad, because he was trying to protect me.
Tears streaming down my face, I tended to his wounds, my hands shaking.
Raymond pulled me into his arms, murmuring, "How could I bear to see you hurt?
Back then, he was my only salvation.
He was the only warmth I ever knew, and that was why I could never let him go.
But later on, whether it was my body or my heart, no matter how much pain I went through, it was never enough to make him turn back for me.
I stood frozen for a long time before I could accept this absurd reality.
Young Raymond stood just a step away from me, a slight frown on his face.
He wore an obviously worn-out white shirt, frayed at the edges. It was shabby, but spotless.
Upon closer examination, one could spot a crooked flower embroidered over his chest. Below that were two letters: R&A.
It was the shirt I gave him when we first started dating, back when we were eighteen.
But later, after one of our many arguments, he cut the shirt to shreds and threw it in the trash.
All the deep feelings we had when we were young had faded away over the years.
Raymond was always busy, and his company kept getting bigger.
We fought more and more.
When the rift was too deep to fix, the quickest way out was just to toss it aside and try to start fresh.
At first, we could still put on a front. We'd make up after a fight and go back to pretending nothing was wrong.
Everything changed when Tessa came into the picture.
Raymond was slowly drawn in by her youthful charm, and after that, he left me for good.
Seeing young Raymond again, I felt like I was in a daze.
After all, Raymond and I hadn't crossed paths since that blowout a month ago.
The last thing Raymond said to me that day was, "Ashley, the biggest regret of my life was meeting you."
After coming close to death, I finally figured it all out. Life was too long to waste on pointless entanglements.
Seeing me keep quiet, young Raymond stepped forward, reaching out as if to pull me closer.
But when he noticed the bandage wrapped around my wrist, he froze, his breath catching in his throat.
Young Raymond asked, his voice barely above a whisper, "Is this because of me?"
I pulled away from his reach, watching him quietly.
"Hate to break it to you, but we're getting a divorce," I said.
Raymond froze in place, staring at me in utter disbelief.
Suddenly, realization dawned on him, and a faint blush spread across his cheeks.
"Wait, are you saying we got married?" he blurted out.
His voice was practically buzzing with thrill and joy.
But the moment his eyes met my icy stare, all that excitement vanished in an instant.
It finally dawned on him what I'd just said.
"Then, why are we getting divorced?" he asked.
I looked up at him, and said calmly, "Because you cheated on me."
Raymond froze.
I pretended it didn't faze me, keeping my tone light. "You said it yourself, that the biggest regret of your life was meeting me. So when you go back to your time, make sure to stay away from me.
"After all, it's not until ten years from now that you finally meet the person you really fall for."
With every word I spoke, Raymond's face grew darker.
"Ashley, this has to be some kind of mistake. How could I ever fall for someone else?" he asked.
He stepped forward, reaching out to take my hand.
I shifted to the side, avoiding his touch.
"You picked the perfect moment to show up. Head out now and you'll catch your own proposal," I said.
Tessa had sent me the location for their proposal tonight.
She wrote: [Ashley, you should come and see for yourself. After all, you loved him the most, right? Don't you want to witness his happiness?]
Raymond's expression froze when he saw the message.
"We're still married, aren't we?" Raymond asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, but you couldn't even wait for the divorce."
Young Raymond's face went paper white as he tried to explain, his voice shaky and desperate. "H-how could I ever..."
He couldn't even say the words "leave you" out loud.
He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that, ten years down the line, this was how we'd end up.
I checked the time and drove him downtown.
On the way, I told him, "We've been married five years, and you cheated on me last year.
"I spent a whole year clinging to something that was already broken. But now, I'm done. I'm not going to keep fighting for something that was long gone."
"Raymond, I've given this relationship everything I had."
The day I found out Raymond was cheating, it was pouring.
I just found out I was pregnant.
It was our first child.
Because of my health, the doctor said it would be really hard for me to get pregnant.
Raymond never said it out loud, but I knew he really wanted to have a child of his own.