Chapter 1
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."
*****
I cast my eyes down and slowly picked up the fruit knife from the table.
I calmly hovered the blade over my chest.
The me from ten years later said, "Edward's such a neat freak. Why do you think he suddenly started taking out the trash every day? Do you really think Julia's just tagging along to keep him in check for you?
"Don't be naive, Claire. Go check out the blind spots in the villa. Those ten minutes when he takes out the trash are the only time they get to be alone together, away from you."
The front door swung open, and Edward walked in.
When he saw me holding the knife against my chest, his face went ghostly pale.
"Claire, what are you doing?" Edward shouted.
He didn't even bother to take off his shoes, just rushed in frantically.
The voice on the phone kept going. "Look at his wrists, Claire. He used to be so obsessed with cleanliness, but just look at the state he's in now."
Edward was a total neat freak with OCD. His cuffs were always perfectly folded up three times, exposing his wrists.
But now, the edge of his cuff was a mess, and there was even a faint trace of lipstick on it.
My gaze slipped past Edward and locked onto Julia. Her makeup was smeared, looking a mess.
Clang.
My grip loosened, and the tip of the knife nearly jabbed into my thigh.
Edward froze, his hands suspended in midair, his voice nervous and pleading. "Claire, put the knife down. Don't hurt yourself."
I couldn't take my eyes off his messy cuffs, my voice shaking so badly I could barely speak. "Who is she?"
Edward paused for a moment, then quickly pulled up his phone's location and showed it to me.
"I was just taking out the trash. It's right downstairs. I was gone for less than ten minutes," he said.
There was a deep sense of helplessness in his eyes.
"Claire, that happened three years ago. How long are you going to keep holding onto it?
"I'm already exhausted from taking care of you every day. Please, stop being so paranoid," he continued.
As he spoke, he tried to step forward and take the knife from me.
I waved the knife and backed away. "Don't touch me!"
The blade sliced across my palm, blood gushing out and splattering onto the floor.
"Claire!" Julia dashed over, trying desperately to stop me.
She moved so fast that she twisted her ankle and crashed right into the cabinet.
"Julia!" Edward yelled, instinctively lunging forward.
But just as his hand was about to touch Julia, he froze, his hand hanging in the air as if something suddenly hit him.
Julia saw the blood covering my hands and, acting on instinct, slapped Edward hard across the face.
"Edward, you're pushing her again! Don't you know she's sick?" Julia shouted.
The slap was so hard it made Edward's head snap to the side.
He clenched his fists, fighting to keep from losing control.
When he turned back to me, all the hostility and frustration in his eyes faded away.
He was back to being that meek and gentle husband.
"I'm sorry for the way I acted, Claire. You're bleeding. Let me bandage you up," Edward said.
He crouched down in front of me, but he couldn't take his eyes off Julia's swollen ankle.
After quickly patching me up, he almost absentmindedly shoved the first aid kit into Julia's hands.
His voice was hoarse and low. "Julia, go put some medicine on it."
Watching him look so humble and quietly enduring, I just couldn't stand it anymore. I bolted back to my bedroom.
*****
Three years ago, I caught Edward cheating for the very first time.
I was like a lunatic, turning the whole hotel upside down, but I couldn't even find a single strand of that woman's hair.
In my despair, I found myself standing on the rooftop.
It was Julia who stabbed Edward with a knife and dragged him over, making him confess to me.
That day, Edward, always so proud, broke down in front of me, crying as if he'd lost the whole world.
"Claire, I'm begging you. Please, don't die," Edward said.
That desperate, heart-wrenching plea made me believe he really did love me after all.
But now, that one call from my future self ripped apart every bit of hope I had left.