Chapter 1

Colin filed for divorce with me in the morning, and by afternoon, he was already out celebrating his birthday with Taber and that college junior girl, Dana.

As I was packing my bags alone at home, out of nowhere, Colin showed up before me, looking just like he did at eighteen.

Colin gazed at me sitting in the wheelchair, his eyes filled with sorrow.

"Back when I turned eighteen, my only birthday wish was to protect you, always," he murmured.

Meanwhile, on my phone, thirty-year-old Colin had just posted an update on his social feed.

He wrote: [Turning thirty, with the one I love right here, what more could I ask for.]

I quietly hit like on Colin's social feed, then turned off my phone.

Right in front of me, eighteen-year-old Colin was scanning the room with wide-eyed curiosity.

When his gaze landed on the wedding photo hanging on the wall, his boyish face turned slightly red.

Colin coughed twice without thinking, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

"Charlene, did we... get married?" Colin asked, his voice wavering with uncertainty.

The mix of nerves and excitement in his eyes instantly took me back to our wedding day. Colin wore the exact same expression then.

"Yes," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Isn't today my birthday? Why aren't we celebrating together?" Colin looked genuinely puzzled as he asked.

When I stayed silent, Colin's face lit up with sudden realization. "I must've been swamped with work and overtime, so I couldn't get home to celebrate with you."

"Charlene, I'm sorry," Colin added softly.

At eighteen, Colin was absolutely crazy about me. His feelings were so real and intense.

We were both seniors in high school. Colin was always running around, racking up awards at every national competition.

Everyone knew Colin basically had a free pass to any top university he wanted.

As for me, I'd just gotten into the dance program at Julie College and was busy prepping to go abroad.

With graduation and separation looming, those clueless, bittersweet feelings of youth felt even more precious.

If I told him that his thirty-year-old self was out celebrating his birthday with another woman right now, Colin would never believe it.

I gave a wry, self-deprecating smile. "You don't need to apologize to me."

Because what you owed me went way beyond just an apology.

The sound of the door opening from outside told me Colin was back.

The eighteen-year-old Colin standing before me was slowly turning see-through, his body fading away bit by bit.

"Charlene," the younger Colin murmured, his voice barely a whisper.

I realized he was about to return to his own world. If he could remember this time-travel, maybe the past could be changed.

"Colin, don't take me out on your bike tomorrow," I blurted out, my voice urgent.

Without thinking, I told him straight out.

Shock flashed across Colin's face, but when his eyes dropped to my useless legs, the truth hit him.

Colin was sharp. He got it right away and knew exactly why I was stuck in this wheelchair.

Tomorrow, I was supposed to rush off to a big dance competition. Colin showed up downstairs early on his bike, saying he'd give me a ride.

I turned down the family driver and climbed onto the back seat of Colin's bike. We hadn't even gone two kilometers before we got into an accident.

Colin only got off with a few minor injuries, but I was left paralyzed from the waist down and stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.

Colin stood by my hospital bed, full of guilt and regret, and said, "Charlene, this is all on me. I swear, I'll be there for you."

I never got the chance to pursue my dream of studying dance overseas, and all those endless treatments just threw my studies completely off track.

After that, I ended up at a regular college, living with my disability. Once I graduated, Colin and I just got married in a hurry.

Eighteen-year-old Colin nodded seriously, looking me straight in the eye as he made his promise.

"Charlene, I won't let you get hurt ever again," Colin said, his voice steady and sure.

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure shimmered and vanished into the air.

Just then, Colin walked in as the door swung open. "Who were you talking to?" he asked.

Colin looked just like the boy he once was, but the pure love in his gaze was nowhere to be found.

His face had matured into something cold and stern. Now, all I saw was indifference and distance.

Colin glanced at my half-packed luggage still lying on the floor. He sneered. "You could've just waited until tomorrow and had someone help you.

"Why are you trying to act tough now? Who exactly are you putting on this little martyr show for?"

As Colin's sarcastic words cut through the room, I could still hear the promise he made at his eighteenth. He said, "I won't let you get hurt ever again."

My nose prickled, but I forced myself not to cry.