Three Years I Borrowed

Synopsis

The day I discovered Edward Grant was cheating on me, I stood on the rooftop, severely depressed. It was my sister Julia Evans who stabbed Edward and dragged him back to me, forcing him to face the consequences. With Julia watching over him, Edward really did change. He deleted all his female contacts and started coming home on time every day. Even if he just went out to take out the trash, he'd check in with me first. I thought our marriage, which had been through so much, was finally getting a fresh start. That was until I got a call from myself, ten years in the future. Looking at the gaunt woman on the screen, I asked, careful not to break the silence, "It's been ten years. Is my illness still not cured?" She didn't say anything, just forced a smile that looked more like she was about to cry, then turned the camera around. On the screen, Edward had Julia pressed up against the wall in the utility room. There was a torment in Edward's eyes, so intense it looked like he was barely holding himself together. "Ten years. We've been under the same roof, but you won't even let me near you. How much longer are you going to make me pay for this?" Edward said. Julia shut her eyes, tears slipping down her cheeks. "We betrayed Claire. The only way to make it right is to stay away from each other," she said. I froze, feeling like I'd just been plunged into an ice bath. So the woman I'd searched all over Havenport for was actually Julia, my favorite sister. Edward had hidden her so well that she'd been living right in front of me for ten whole years, and I never had a clue. The camera suddenly cut back. The me from ten years later leaned in close to the screen, grinning like a lunatic. "Did you hear that? "Every second you're still breathing, everyone suffers. "If you're gone, we can all finally be free."