Chapter 3

It was only the second day since we signed the divorce papers, and Colin kept me locked out of the bedroom all night.

I just threw my stuff into a suitcase and walked out of that house.

When Colin woke up and realized I was gone, he called me, "Charlene, you just walked out like it was nothing, huh? Not even thinking about Taber?"

As soon as Taber heard about the divorce, he sounded thrilled on the phone. "Awesome! Now Aunt Dana can be my mom."

I held the phone to my ear, my voice icy. "We agreed. After the divorce, the house and Taber are yours."

Colin was about to say something else when I suddenly heard Dana's playful voice on the other end.

"Colin, you promised you'd take me to the movies! If we don't leave now, we'll miss the whole thing," Dana teased.

I let out a cold laugh. I hadn't even been gone five minutes and Colin already had Dana over at the house.

Not bothering with any more words, I hung up and added Colin straight to my block list.

Just then, a clear, youthful voice spoke up suddenly. "Wow, Charlene! You're not in a wheelchair anymore."

Colin, at eighteen, was suddenly standing in the corner of my room. His face was glowing with excitement, and without thinking, he grabbed my hand.

But looking at how thrilled he was, I just couldn't feel happy at all. "Colin, do you like me?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Colin blushed, looking a bit shy at my question.

But his feelings were impossible to hide. Colin nodded eagerly, looking at me with deep affection.

Colin said softly, "Charlene, I crossed twelve years of time just so I could make you happier.

"I really like you, and I'm honestly grateful that my future self gets to be with you."

It was like someone tore my heart apart. That eager confession stung way worse than the cold indifference of thirty-year-old Colin.

"When you go back to your own timeline, please don't tell me you like me. Don't choose me," I said.

Colin's smile froze on his face. He asked, "Why?"

Colin was clearly struggling to take in what I was asking.

I let out a sigh, knowing just words weren't going to cut it with him. "Do you want to see what your thirty-year-old self is doing right now?" I asked.

Colin hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Then I drove him to the movie theater.

We happened to catch sight of Dana holding Taber's hand, waiting for Colin to come back with popcorn.

When Dana spotted me across the lobby, a smug look flashed in her eyes. "Charlene, what are you doing here?" she asked.

Taber quickly hid behind Dana. "Go away, Mom. I want to hang out with Dana."

Dana stroked Taber's head, pretending to be all gentle and caring. "Don't be scared, I'm here for you," she cooed.

Then Dana shot me a smug look and kept going. "Since you're already divorced, why don't you just get lost and stop getting in Colin's way?"

Eighteen-year-old Colin was fuming beside me, so angry he could barely stand still.

"Why do you have such a foul mouth? Like I'd ever want to be with you,"Colin snapped.

But Dana couldn't see or hear him at all.

When Dana saw Colin approaching, she suddenly let out a mocking laugh. "Charlene, do you really need to see for yourself how much he stands up for me before you finally let it go?"

In the next instant, Dana gave Taber a rough shove.

Instinctively, I bent down to help him, but ended up falling to the ground with my son.

Taber lay there, wailing at the top of his lungs. Dana crouched down, acting all fake sweets like she actually cared.

"Charlene, even the fiercest beast wouldn't hurt its own kid. Just because you're mad at me doesn't mean you get to take it out on your own son," Dana snapped.

Eighteen-year-old Colin's body started to turn transparent again, fading away right before my eyes.

It was clear that Colin couldn't exist at the same moment as his thirty-year-old self.

Colin yelled desperately at his older self, "You useless idiot! That woman is badmouthing Charlene! Step up and defend her."

But in the next instant, a crisp slap rang out, echoing across my face.

Colin, at thirty, exploded, shouting at me, "Charlene, when did you get so cruel?"

But as soon as the words left his mouth, Colin looked shocked, staring at his hand frozen midair in disbelief.

Colin's eyes were full of regret, lips trembling, but he was completely speechless.

Dana, off to the side, just looked even more smug, her grin growing bigger by the second.