- 6 hours ago
I Stopped Loving Him Eight Years Ago - Ep
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Eight years ago, I followed Damien Ashfield from the Louisiana Bayou to his Boston mansion, blinded by love.
00:06He repaid me with betrayal, humiliation, and a mistress in our bed.
00:11His mother framed my brother. He watched him die.
00:15That night, I lost my brother, my baby, my will to live.
00:19Grandmare's ancient mirror gave me one impossible chance.
00:22I warned my past self. I rewrote our story.
00:25Now he alone remembers a marriage that never happened, and it is driving him insane.
00:30On New Year's Eve, I used Grandmare's mirror to reach myself eight years ago.
00:35The mirror clouded with mist. Her eyes lit up.
00:39Damien told me he loves me today. He's building me a garden by the Bayou.
00:44Every New Year's Eve with me, spoiling me forever.
00:48She chattered on. I listened, faintly smiling.
00:51Where Damien was pinning a strange woman to the floor-to-ceiling window, devouring her mouth.
00:55Pinned by his weight, the woman leaned forward, pressing a wet mom print onto the fogged glass.
01:00Damien let out a low groan, his hand moving roughly against her body.
01:04I didn't move. I didn't stop them.
01:06The woman tilted her head back, uncomfortably, finally catching my reflection in the glass.
01:11She visibly froze, then bonelessly clung to Damien, rubbing against him.
01:16Damien? Why is someone else in your house?
01:19Unbothered, Damien used her tilted head to deepen the kiss.
01:22Mid-kiss, he opened his eyes to look at me, his gaze cold and jockeying.
01:26She won't mind. Will you, Addie?
01:30I got sick of answering that question years ago, from hysterics to numb acceptance to losing the will to speak.
01:35But my past self went deathly pale.
01:38With shaking hands, she severed the link.
01:42The performance by the window only escalated.
01:46I looked down and texted my brother, Luke, though he'd long been gone for distraction.
01:50The woman giggled excitedly, her hands roaming even more boldly over Damien.
01:54Where did you find this wife of yours?
01:56She's so generous.
01:59I didn't give her the reaction she wanted.
02:02Entangled, they stumbled upstairs, shedding clothes all the way.
02:05Just a routine, erotic show in this cold, Beacon Hill townhouse.
02:10I couldn't even be bothered to look up anymore.
02:13The noisy TV New Year's countdown made me drownsy.
02:17I was almost asleep on the sofa when my phone screen lit up.
02:21A text from Damien.
02:23Just three words.
02:26Go buy it.
02:27Attached was a photo of lube.
02:31And still, I said nothing.
02:34On New Year's Eve, Boston's back bay was deserted,
02:37with few adult stores open.
02:40Back from a freezing half-hour walk,
02:42I overheard two maids whispering.
02:45Poor Addie.
02:46Eight years here, and she's treated worse than the help.
02:48Well, she played dirty to get that ring.
02:50Mr. Ashburn keeping her around is pure charity.
02:53Memories yanked me back to the past.
02:55During his college spring break in Louisiana,
02:57we met and fell in love.
02:58It was pure and fierce as the gulf wind before a storm.
03:01Warm, reckless, impossible to hold.
03:02I left everything behind and followed him to Boston.
03:06But his mother, Eleanor, violently objected,
03:09calling me swamp trash.
03:11Damien held my hand tightly back then.
03:13Don't worry.
03:14I'll handle my mother.
03:16Later, my brother Luke in New Orleans,
03:19who always avoided risks,
03:20was suddenly pulled into a massive financial scam.
03:22Cornered, he blindly signed papers from a shadowy middleman.
03:25Those papers made him the perfect fall guy
03:27for a federal money laundering indictment.
03:28Eleanor offered a deal,
03:30marry Damien,
03:30and the federal charges would be dropped.
03:32I already loved Damien,
03:33so why would I even need terms?
03:35Naturally, I agreed.
03:37I thought we were just moving the date up.
03:39I didn't know Eleanor had fed him forged texts
03:41and bank records involving me and Luke.
03:43She made him think I only wanted his money.
03:45Even on our rushed wedding night,
03:47I was still burning with passion,
03:49thinking I'd finally found my happy ending.
03:51But once he was done,
03:53his tender look turned to pure, icy disgust.
03:56He threw a check at me.
03:58You own me.
03:59Never forget that.
04:00Our marriage became a scam he believed
04:03I'd plotted with my brother.
04:04It wasn't that I never asked for a divorce,
04:07but whenever I spoke,
04:08he'd smirk coldly.
04:10You want out?
04:11Fine.
04:12Pay back that five million with interest.
04:14Or my lawyers reopen your brother's case,
04:17and he never sees daylight again.
04:19Luke was out of reach.
04:22This debt was permanently chained to me.
04:25Damien yanked the door open,
04:26his chest covered in glaring red marks.
04:29Took you long enough.
04:30He snatched the bag,
04:31its stick edge scraping my cheek with a slight sting.
04:34She's too tight.
04:35Couldn't wait.
04:37In my peripheral vision,
04:38a stark naked figure on the bed.
04:40My stomach lurched violently.
04:42Vial rose in my throat.
04:43I turned to flee.
04:44Want to stay and join?
04:45But from behind,
04:47his tone was amused.
04:48Unable to hold it,
04:49I rushed to the bathroom,
04:50vomiting until my vision darkened.
04:52Back before the mirror,
04:53reconnecting with myself eight years ago,
04:55I asked,
04:57Do you think he still loves you?
04:59She cried,
05:00still in disbelief.
05:02He said it was only me.
05:03He promised.
05:05Without living this eight-year hell,
05:07words were useless.
05:09Like me,
05:10she'd blindly defend him,
05:12calling it a temporary misunderstanding.
05:16I didn't blame her,
05:17only inviting her to watch a little longer.
05:20When I woke up on New Year's Day,
05:22the woman from last night was already gone,
05:25but a pair of lace panties was left on the sofa.
05:28Damien followed my gaze,
05:29suddenly wrapping his arms around my waist
05:31and pulling me close.
05:32What, jealous?
05:34He lowered his head to kiss me,
05:35but I intentively turned my face away.
05:38The rare glint of tenrous in his eyes
05:40indently morphed into a sneer.
05:42There it is again,
05:43that dead-eyed look.
05:45The only time you ever came alive
05:46was when you crawl into my bed
05:48to save your brother's ass.
05:51His words pierced me,
05:53shame flooding my veins.
05:56He shoved me away coldly.
05:58Enough.
05:59We have to go to Cape Cod today
06:00for my mother's New Year's brunch.
06:03His mother,
06:03the last person I wanted to face.
06:07For all these years,
06:08she had always looked at me
06:09like I was absolute filth.
06:13Yet this time,
06:14she didn't even glance my way.
06:15She was on the sofa,
06:17bonding with Damien's woman from last night.
06:19She was Victoria Hartwheel,
06:22toady,
06:22the perfect old money match
06:24Eleanor had chosen for Damien years ago.
06:26Eleanor patted Tori's hand,
06:27her eyes gleaming with undisguised satisfaction.
06:30Sweetheart,
06:31if it weren't for that girl,
06:33you'd have been an Ashton years ago.
06:35Damien walked over with a knowing smirk.
06:38I'm already married, mother.
06:40But if you like her company,
06:42she's welcome anytime.
06:43Tori smiled,
06:44looking playful and utterly harmless.
06:47But that word,
06:48babe,
06:49was exactly what had tortured me all night
06:51while they were at it.
06:52Right now,
06:53they smiled at each other,
06:55looking like the real family.
06:58While I stood at the edge of the foyer,
07:00not knowing where to put my hands
07:02or where I belonged.
07:04Simply because Tori said,
07:06I'm craving pork.
07:07Eleanor had the kitchen prepare
07:08an entire table of pork dishes,
07:10but my family's spiritual vow
07:11bourbind eating pork.
07:13Before I was born,
07:14Grand Mare made the blood pact
07:15with the spirits.
07:16I couldn't touch it.
07:17Absolutely not.
07:18Seeing me hesitate
07:19to pick up my silverware,
07:20Eleanor finally turned her gaze to me,
07:22dripping with disgust.
07:23Adeline,
07:25eat.
07:25Stop being so dramatic.
07:27You married into this family.
07:28We don't cater to superstition here.
07:30Helpless,
07:31I looked at Damien,
07:32pinning my last shred of hope on him.
07:33At least,
07:35he used to understand me.
07:36He put a pastry-wrapped item
07:38onto my plate.
07:39The thoughtfulness in his tone
07:41gave me a fleeting glimpse
07:42of the man he used to be.
07:43It's not pork.
07:45It's mushroom.
07:46Try it.
07:47I didn't doubt him.
07:48I took a bite.
07:49But the moment my teeth sanked,
07:51Tori's vicious laughter
07:53shattered the silence.
07:55Kildon Krinzes the Great.
07:58Oh my god,
07:59she actually ate it.
08:01I told you,
08:02there's no real spiritual vow.
08:05It's all an act.
08:06She just likes playing the victim.
08:09Damien lied to me.
08:11I stumbled to the bathroom,
08:13shoving my fingers
08:14deep down my throat.
08:16I wanted to purge that meat
08:18along with years
08:19of swallowed betrayals.
08:22Grand Mare,
08:24I'm sorry.
08:26Involuntary tears
08:27blurred my vision.
08:28Back before the mirror,
08:30I connected with my past self.
08:32This time,
08:33she remained silent
08:34for a very, very long time.
08:36Only then did she begin
08:37to recall a misty morning
08:39by the Louisiana Byrne.
08:41Back then,
08:42Damien looked at me,
08:44his eyes shining like stars.
08:46I did my research.
08:48Your family doesn't eat pork, right?
08:54When we're together,
08:55I won't either.
08:56Not ever.
08:57But now,
08:59the me across the mirror
09:00was even more despairing
09:02than I am now.
09:03This isn't,
09:03this isn't what I wanted.
09:06She cried herself horsky,
09:08repeating over and over.
09:10It hurts.
09:12God, it hurts.
09:14Did it hurt?
09:15I was long past feeling it.
09:19My eyes burned dry.
09:22Damien vanished again for days.
09:25Damien vanished again for days.
09:28While I spent my days
09:29staring blankly at the mirror,
09:30I unexpectedly got a message
09:32from Luke,
09:33asking to meet.
09:34For a moment,
09:35I thought he'd come to pull me out.
09:42Addy,
09:43I'm so sorry.
09:45I think I've been set up again.
09:47They want three million,
09:49or they'll trigger a federal indictment.
09:51Hope shattered instantly.
09:53In its place was a bottomless helplessness.
09:56The previous five million
09:58had already nailed me to a pillar of shame,
10:00selling myself for money.
10:02A slow death,
10:04day and night.
10:05How could I even open my mouth to Damien now?
10:10Lost and helpless,
10:13fate's sick,
10:14absurd joke
10:15arrived in the form of two lines on a stick.
10:18I finally waited for Damien to come home.
10:21Three million
10:23for the baby.
10:25Do we have a deal?
10:27My voice was so flat,
10:28it sounded foreign to me.
10:31His pupils contricted.
10:33The next second,
10:34he clamped his hand around my neck
10:35and slammed me against the wall.
10:37Suffocation hit me instantly.
10:39His eyes boiled with rage
10:41and unmasked hatred.
10:43When did you become this calculating?
10:45You'd sell your own child?
10:47Do you even have of a fucking heart?
10:51Was there ever a single shred of love between us,
10:54or was it always about the money?
10:56Love?
10:57Every bit of heart I had
10:58was ground into powder
10:59by his own hands
11:00during these eight years of humiliation.
11:02One gust of wind
11:03and nothing remained.
11:04I ignored his explosion,
11:06staring fastly into his eyes.
11:08Love?
11:10Finally infuriated by my attitude,
11:13he hurled me onto the bed,
11:14tearing at my clothes
11:15regardless of my condition.
11:16It's yours!
11:17Damien!
11:18I'm pregnant!
11:19You can't...
11:21Struggling hard,
11:22I felt him hurl a signed check at my face.
11:24Fine.
11:25I'm buying the kid's life.
11:29He leaned in,
11:30his hot breath against my ear,
11:31every word piercing.
11:32Lose it or not,
11:33it's mine.
11:35Everything in this house is mine,
11:37including you.
11:43That night
11:44was a descent into hell.
11:47I woke up covered in bite marks
11:49and bruises.
11:50The pain between my legs
11:52made it almost impossible to stand.
11:55I dragged my shattered body
11:57to the hospital for an exam.
11:58The baby...
11:59It was still there,
12:01touching my still flat stomach.
12:03I felt a flicker of a bond
12:06for the first time.
12:07A few days later,
12:09Damien returned.
12:10I told him calmly,
12:11The baby's fine.
12:12I'll carry it to term.
12:14Your three million is accounted for.
12:17He froze,
12:18staring at my slightly bulging belly,
12:21lost in thought.
12:22Then,
12:23he violently smashed his whiskey glass
12:24onto the floor.
12:25The shattering crystal exploded
12:27with a deafening crack,
12:28shards flying everywhere.
12:29You cold bitch.
12:31He didn't even look at my feet
12:33as the glass punctured my skin.
12:36He simply turned
12:37and slammed the door.
12:41That night,
12:42I went to the mirror again,
12:43connecting with my past self.
12:46In the reflection,
12:47she shook her head,
12:49her voice broken.
12:51I don't want to spend
12:52the rest of my days like this.
12:54I don't want my baby
12:55born into this.
12:57Not into this.
12:59Listening to her repeated whispers,
13:01I suddenly felt that maybe
13:03everything could still change.
13:05Days after the three million
13:07was transferred,
13:08Luke asked to meet again.
13:10This time,
13:11he was sobbing,
13:12pounding his own head
13:13with his fists.
13:15Addie,
13:15I'm a piece of shit.
13:17Another million.
13:19I swear this is the last time-
13:21I stared at him blankly,
13:23unable to think of a single reason
13:24left to beg Damien.
13:26I waited for him to return,
13:29then stood before him.
13:30One more million.
13:32Name your terms.
13:33Damien shoved me aside
13:35and suddenly laughed.
13:36Tell me,
13:37what part of you
13:38is worth that much?
13:40Watching his back
13:40as the door slammed again,
13:42I knew he was done with me.
13:47But then Luke sent another video.
13:49Several men pinning him
13:51to the floor.
13:52A legal notice
13:53shoved against his face.
13:55A voice whispered
13:56in the footage.
13:58Sign it,
13:59or the indictment
13:59drops tomorrow.
14:04I had no choice
14:05but to call Damien
14:06over and over,
14:07pleading,
14:09Please,
14:12name your price.
14:14I'll do anything.
14:16Then,
14:16I spent the whole night
14:18listening to the sounds
14:19of him and Tori,
14:20not a single word of response.
14:25At dawn,
14:26I rushed to Luke's.
14:30He had collapsed
14:31on the apartment floor,
14:32his face ash gray,
14:33his breathing shallow.
14:39He used the last
14:40of his strength
14:41to grab my hand.
14:42Hattie,
14:44I should have told you
14:45to run when I had
14:46the chance.
14:48I just found out.
14:50The investment.
14:52It was all them.
14:56Eleanor.
14:57Every time.
14:58All of it.
14:59Even the documents
15:00that forced you
15:01into that marriage.
15:02I understood every word,
15:04yet combined,
15:05they were a massacre.
15:06The Ashfords?
15:08All of it?
15:09Then what was the point
15:10of everything
15:11I endured
15:12for eight years?
15:19Let's go,
15:20let's go,
15:20let's go.
15:20I didn't even have time
15:21to process
15:22this crushing truth.
15:23The doctor informed me
15:24Luke was in cardiac arrest
15:26due to prolonged
15:26high stress,
15:27multi-organ failure.
15:29He was dying.
15:30Beneath the despair
15:31was a new layer
15:32of hopelessness.
15:33Damien appeared,
15:34arm around Tori,
15:36who had accidentally
15:37strained her waist
15:38in bed last morning.
15:41Eight years
15:41of suppressed hatred
15:42finally exploded.
15:44Something in me snapped.
15:46I lunged at him
15:46like a maniac,
15:47grabbing his collar,
15:48my entire body
15:49trembling violently.
15:51It was you!
15:52Your family set him up!
15:54All of it!
15:55What the hell
15:55are you talking about?
15:57I wouldn't stoop that low.
16:00Pointed at Luke,
16:01hanging by a thread
16:02in the ER.
16:03Stop pretending, Damien.
16:04Is there anything
16:05you wouldn't do?
16:07You played us both.
16:09Are you happy now?
16:10Damien's face
16:10darkened completely,
16:12his gaze ice cold.
16:13Remember, Addie,
16:14you brought this on yourself.
16:16He jerked his chin
16:17at the nearby doctors.
16:17Get Dr. Williams
16:19and his best team
16:19to the VIP suite.
16:21Ms. Hartwell's back
16:21needs immediate attention.
16:23As for the rest,
16:23they aren't worth
16:24this hospital's resources.
16:26One by one,
16:27the staff withdrew
16:28from Luke's bedside,
16:30ignoring my screams
16:30and pleas.
16:31The surgical team
16:33was reassigned.
16:34The vitals monitor
16:35shrieked with a rapid,
16:36frantic alarm.
16:38Soon, Luke's body
16:40gave one final commotion
16:42before falling
16:43into a dead silence.
16:50I collapsed
16:51to the floor
16:52in a heap,
16:53watching Damien
16:54walk away
16:54with his arm
16:55around Tori.
16:56Damien Ashfeld,
16:59if I could start over,
17:01I would never
17:02choose this path again.
17:05Warm, thick liquid
17:07gushed out.
17:09Before losing consciousness,
17:11I struggled to crawl
17:12toward the mirror.
17:16The glass fogged.
17:18The connection
17:18was forged.
17:22I told my
17:23eight-year-old self,
17:25leave him.
17:29I spoke with
17:30the hollow despair
17:31of the dying.
17:32We get to live again.
17:35She bit her lip
17:36until it bled,
17:37finally nodding.
17:39Okay.
17:41Okay.
17:44Maybe from a shred
17:45of conscience
17:46or remembering
17:46I lost my brother
17:47and baby,
17:48he returned home
17:49unusually early.
17:50As he opened the door,
17:51a strange emptiness
17:52hit him.
17:53He hadn't processed
17:54what was missing yet
17:55when Mrs. Patson
17:56brought him a cup of coffee.
17:57He took a sip
17:58and spit it out immediately,
18:00his brow frontaled.
18:01This is wrong.
18:03Tell Addie to make it.
18:05Mrs. Patterson
18:05looked blank.
18:07Addie?
18:08Sir, who is Addie?
18:10Damien's chest tightened
18:11for light of Hallwoolio
18:13to a gentiliterantabouchure.
18:15He snapped impatiently.
18:16My wife,
18:17Addie.
18:20Mrs. Packerson
18:21looked even more confused.
18:23Sir,
18:24when were you married?
18:25We have no record
18:26of a Mrs. Ashford.
18:31Damien found it
18:32utterly absurd
18:33and summoned
18:34the entire household staff.
18:35The answers
18:36were chillingly identical.
18:38Everyone shook their heads
18:39and bewildered me.
18:40Sir,
18:40we truly don't know
18:41anyone by that name.
18:47Damien's stomach dropped.
18:48He turned back
18:49to the bedroom.
18:51Above the headboard
18:52used to hang a portrait
18:53I begged to paint
18:54after our wedding.
18:56At the time,
18:57he claimed he had
18:58no interest in doing it.
19:00But he never moved.
19:01But in reality,
19:03he had sat perfectly still
19:04for hours as my model.
19:06Now,
19:06the wall was completely bare.
19:08Why did the entire house
19:09feel so hollow,
19:10just like his chest?
19:11There must be
19:12a logical explanation.
19:14Instantly,
19:14a thought hijacked his mind.
19:16Addie had just run away
19:17to throw a tantrum.
19:19Where could she go?
19:21Her brother is dead.
19:22The baby is gone.
19:24She has absolutely nothing.
19:28He grabbed his phone
19:29to confront me,
19:30only to find
19:31my contacts had vanished.
19:33As if I had never existed,
19:36uncontrollable panic
19:37suffocated him.
19:38Something was terribly wrong.
19:44Mother!
19:45Where is Addie?
19:46What did you do to her?
19:49Recognition finally hit Eleanor,
19:51followed instantly
19:52by her elitid disgust.
19:56You broke up
19:57eight years ago.
19:58Why drag her up now?
20:01Broke up?
20:02Like something
20:03from a fever dream,
20:04Damien's pupils
20:05constricted violently.
20:06What are you talking about?
20:08We've been married
20:09for eight years!
20:10Eleanor frowned,
20:11dismissing his outburst
20:12as a childish tantric.
20:15Married,
20:16I would never have let you
20:17marry that swamp girl.
20:19If she hadn't left
20:21on her own,
20:22I had other ways.
20:24I always do.
20:25Damien stiffened,
20:27lashing onto that one detail,
20:29and demanded
20:30with blind fury.
20:32What did you just say?
20:33The investment fraud.
20:35That was you?
20:35Eleanor was startled
20:37by his near-manic state,
20:38realizing she had
20:39let it slip.
20:40Yes,
20:41so what?
20:42You've been broken up
20:43for eight years.
20:44What does it matter now?
20:46The belated truth
20:47drained him.
20:48He staggered back.
20:49I was telling the truth.
20:52It was the Asherds.
20:53His mother had really
20:54set my brother up.
20:55She made him
20:56play the victim,
20:59torturing me
20:59for eight years.
21:01But before all of that,
21:03we had loved each other
21:04so purely.
21:05He was consumed
21:07by hate.
21:08Wasn't I?
21:10He was consumed
21:11by hate.
21:12Wasn't I?
21:13You played us both.
21:15Are you happy now?
21:17My horse cries.
21:18My despairing eyes.
21:20The blinding blood beneath
21:21like a returning blade.
21:23They pierced his chest.
21:24His head nearly exploded.
21:26Unfamiliar men
21:27and fragments
21:28flooded in.
21:30We're done, Damien.
21:32Why?
21:34Tell me what I did wrong.
21:35I'll fix it.
21:36His head nearly exploded.
21:38Unfamiliar memories fragments.
21:40How can you be this cruel?
21:44Don't you love me anymore?
21:46It was eight agonizing years
21:48without me.
21:52Addie.
21:53Addie.
21:54No.
21:54It wasn't like this.
21:56Addie.
21:58Addie!
21:59The chaotic memories
22:01tore Damien apart.
22:03Clutching his head
22:05in agony,
22:06he collapsed.
22:08I opened my eyes again
22:10and vivid memories
22:11flooded in.
22:12The raised porch.
22:14The moss-draped oaks.
22:17Seeing this familiar
22:18yet foreign buy-in,
22:19I knew my past self succeeded.
22:24She had truly rewritten
22:26our fate,
22:27one entirely without
22:29Damien Ashfield.
22:32As I was lost in thought,
22:35Ethan leaned down
22:36and pressed a kiss
22:37to my forehead.
22:38Addie.
22:39Time to get up for breakfast.
22:40This sudden intimacy
22:42startled me,
22:43but the surging memories
22:44instantly eased
22:45the awkwardness.
22:46The memories told me
22:47that eight years ago,
22:48I successfully prevented Luke
22:50from falling into
22:51Eleanor's financial trap again.
22:53Afterward,
22:54even though I chose
22:54to break up with Damien,
22:56I suffered through
22:56a long period
22:57of brutal withdrawal,
22:59pain,
23:00confusion,
23:01and a hollow ache
23:02in my chest
23:03in the dead of night
23:04and Damien's
23:05relentless pursuit.
23:07Addie,
23:08what did I do wrong?
23:10I can change.
23:12Please don't do this.
23:13But I knew if I turned back,
23:14all that awaited us
23:15was repeating
23:16the same mistakes,
23:17the endless humiliation
23:18and despair of that future.
23:20I erased all his contacts.
23:22Did it hurt?
23:23Yes.
23:24I would still remember
23:25his bright eyes
23:26by the bayou
23:27and his earnest profile
23:28when he promised
23:29to spend every New Year's Eve
23:31with me.
23:32But looking at my brother
23:33alive and well today,
23:35I knew my choice was right.
23:38I survived those agonizing
23:40days and nights
23:41alone
23:45until I met
23:46Ethan Callowin.
23:48Ethan was a documentary
23:49photographer
23:50shooting in the bayou.
23:53He hired me
23:54as his local guide
23:55and then became a regular.
23:57He never asked questions.
24:02Mist always lifts.
24:04So does the past.
24:09He was patient
24:10in a way I'd never known.
24:11When he later
24:12started pursuing me,
24:13I pulled away,
24:15terrified of repeating
24:16the past.
24:17He just smiled
24:18and said,
24:19That's okay.
24:21You don't have to
24:22change a thing for me.
24:24He relocated
24:25his city studio
24:26to a small town
24:27near the bayou.
24:31Knowing my love
24:32for this land,
24:33he even helped me open
24:35Fontenot Heritage
24:36Tours and Gallery.
24:39With steady patience
24:40and sincerity,
24:42he waited for me
24:43to step out
24:44of the shadows
24:44on my own.
24:47Recalling these
24:48fresh memories,
24:49my tears spilled.
24:53Babe,
24:54why are you crying?
24:56Startled,
24:56Ethan's face
24:57filled with concern.
25:00Was it my cooking?
25:01Be honest?
25:03Seeing his nervous,
25:04poupy look,
25:05I didn't know
25:06whether to laugh
25:07or cry.
25:08No.
25:10I just had a nightmare.
25:11A really,
25:12really long one.
25:15He exhaled in relief
25:16and pulled me
25:17into his embrace.
25:19I'll handle
25:20the client meeting.
25:21Stay home today.
25:26I was no longer
25:27the dependent
25:27Mrs. Ashvind
25:28waiting around
25:29at home
25:29for an allowance.
25:31I went to the office
25:32anyway.
25:33After all,
25:34I had woken up
25:35from the nightmare.
25:40But I never expected
25:41fate to have
25:42such a sick sense
25:42of humor.
25:49That so-called
25:50big client
25:51was none other
25:52than Damien Ashford.
25:55Honestly,
25:56I could barely tell
25:57if it had only been
25:58a few days
25:58since I last saw him
26:00or if it had truly
26:01been eight years.
26:05The moment he saw me,
26:06he lunged forward,
26:08crushing me
26:09into his arms.
26:10His grip
26:11was suffocating.
26:13Addie,
26:14I finally found you.
26:16I...
26:17His relieved voice
26:18rang above my head.
26:20I froze in place.
26:24Before I'd react,
26:25Ethan stepped in
26:26and ripped him away.
26:27Take your hands
26:28off my wife.
26:30Now.
26:32Damien acted
26:33like he hadn't heard
26:34or simply didn't care.
26:36He just stared
26:37fixically at me.
26:38She's my wife!
26:40Mine!
26:43He frantically
26:44tried to grab
26:45my hand again.
26:47Come home with me,
26:48Eddie.
26:49Please,
26:50come home.
26:57I knew Damien
26:58remembered everything
26:58from those eight years,
27:00just like I did.
27:03But since everything
27:04had started over,
27:05with a new life
27:06right in front of me,
27:07why dig up
27:08that unbearable past?
27:11I took a deep breath,
27:13meeting Damien's
27:14chaotic,
27:15manic gaze.
27:16My voice was
27:17dead calm.
27:18We ended
27:19eight years ago.
27:20You don't remember?
27:22The ecstasy,
27:23pleading,
27:24and agony
27:24on his face
27:25all turned to stone,
27:26leaving nothing
27:27but a hollow,
27:28blank stare.
27:29Addie,
27:29what are you talking about?
27:30He forced a smile
27:32that was more of a sob,
27:33his voice trembling.
27:34Are you misremembering?
27:35We didn't break up.
27:36We've been married
27:37for eight years.
27:38I'm sorry.
27:39I know I was a monster.
27:41I know I hurt you.
27:42He rambled incoherently,
27:44desperate to awaken something.
27:46Do you remember
27:46our first year of marriage,
27:47you secretly learning
27:48to make crawfish
27:49etouffee in the kitchen?
27:50And when my stomach
27:51acted up,
27:52you brewing me
27:52the herbal tea
27:53Grandmira taught you.
27:55He buried
27:56the unbearable memories,
27:57as if silence
27:58could erase the pain,
27:59completely ignoring Tidding
28:00that everything he listed
28:01was nothing but
28:02my one-in devotion to him,
28:03until his voice choked up,
28:05heavy with immense
28:06agony and remorse.
28:08That day your brother died
28:09in the hospital.
28:11I...
28:12Right then,
28:13Luke walked in
28:14through the door.
28:15Seeing Luke alive,
28:16terror and a reality
28:17shattering chaos
28:18flooded Damien's eyes.
28:20He haunted me,
28:21not like a ghost,
28:22but like something
28:23that refused to die.
28:24No longer manic,
28:26he became stubbornly
28:27confiscated.
28:28He cornered me,
28:29his voice Hosky.
28:30I can't tell
28:31what's real anymore.
28:32What's a dream
28:33and what actually happened.
28:34Images of you,
28:36eight years ago,
28:37today.
28:38It's all bleeding together.
28:40Genuine agony
28:41on his face
28:42on his prized me.
28:43The Damien I knew
28:43only depised me.
28:44How could he look
28:45so broken?
28:47Finally,
28:48he spotted a painting
28:49in my gallery
28:50mirroring the portrait
28:51I once painted of him.
28:52He seized my wrist,
28:54his emotions flaring.
28:55You remember.
28:56You remember everything,
28:57don't you?
28:57I calmly pushed him away,
28:59putting space between us.
29:01Mr. Ashford,
29:01if this past
29:02you keep obsessing with
29:03is real,
29:03then tell me,
29:05what exactly
29:06did you do to me
29:07and why would I leave?
29:09The question
29:10seemed to choke him.
29:11He couldn't utter
29:12a single word.
29:14After all,
29:15he had deliberately
29:16ignored and buried
29:17that bloody reality.
29:18How could he ever
29:18admit it out loud?
29:19After that day,
29:21Damien stopped
29:21hounsing me
29:22about whether I remembered.
29:23He slipped into
29:24the heritage tours I led
29:25and infiltrated
29:27the small town's
29:27Mardi Gras celebration.
29:29He'd rush to carry
29:29my guest's luggage
29:30or hand me a bottle
29:32of water mid-tour.
29:33When the bayou boardwalk
29:35grew slippery,
29:36he'd instinctively
29:37reach out to steady me.
29:38How pathetic.
29:40What was the point
29:40of this now?
29:41Did he think
29:42cheap devotion
29:43could erase the past
29:44and drag me back?
29:45No.
29:45Never again.
29:46I believed
29:47as long as I stood firm,
29:49our fate was
29:49permanently rewritten.
29:51Until that afternoon,
29:52pale as death,
29:53Luke resurrected
29:53my nightmare.
29:55Addie,
29:56I messed up.
29:57I...
29:58I think I've been
30:00trapped again.
30:01Five million.
30:03Ice flooded my veins.
30:05Fatalistic despair
30:05hit me.
30:06Dazed,
30:07I saw my pathetic
30:08past self begging again.
30:09I stumbled backward,
30:11only to fall into
30:12a warm,
30:12solid chest.
30:14Ethan was back
30:15from his trip.
30:16I'm here.
30:17I've got you.
30:18His warmth
30:18snapped me back.
30:20I was no longer
30:21the Addie
30:21who only knew
30:22how to cry
30:23and suffer in silence.
30:24So,
30:24when Damien
30:25cornered me
30:26at the gallery again,
30:27holding my old favorite,
30:28Café du Mondo Beno's,
30:30he said,
30:30eager to please,
30:31I've made up my mind.
30:32Whether you remember or not,
30:34I want to start over
30:34with you.
30:36I didn't just
30:37knock the bag away.
30:40I slapped him.
30:43Damien Ashford,
30:44you disgust me.
30:46Instead of flying
30:47into a rage,
30:48Damien let his emotions flare.
30:50You hit me,
30:51you do remember.
30:51You remember everything.
30:53Near ecstasy
30:54flashed across his face
30:55as if my slap
30:56wasn't disgust.
30:57Yes,
30:57I never forgot
30:59not a single thing
31:01you did to me.
31:03I wanted to run
31:04as far from you
31:05as possible.
31:06I took a step closer,
31:08staring into his
31:08suddenly constricted pupils.
31:10But I couldn't escape you.
31:12While you were playing
31:13the devoted ex,
31:14your family was setting
31:15my brother up
31:15for five million again.
31:17How despicable
31:18can you be,
31:19Damien Ashford?
31:20The blood drained
31:21entirely from Damien's face.
31:23It wasn't me.
31:24I swear to God,
31:25it wasn't me.
31:26He shook his head frantically,
31:28rambling his defense.
31:30I just found out
31:33it was my mother.
31:35It was all her.
31:36Trust me,
31:37we loved each other.
31:38I didn't want to become
31:40that.
31:41His voice choked,
31:43eyes full of
31:44genuine panic and chaos.
31:45But even if it really
31:47wasn't him,
31:48so what?
31:49The agony he caused,
31:50my unborn baby,
31:51it was all real.
31:52I looked at him again.
31:53His shoulders were
31:54shaking with sobs.
31:55This was probably
31:56the second time
31:56I had ever seen him cry.
31:58The first was in
31:59that vanished timeline,
32:01leaving Louisiana
32:02and moving to Boston
32:03with him.
32:04Trust me,
32:05I'll never make
32:06you regret this.
32:07Those tears were scalding,
32:09pure,
32:09boyly sincerity.
32:11But his tears now
32:12felt like a sick joke.
32:13Your distrust,
32:15your cruelty,
32:15did your mother hold
32:16a gun to your head
32:17for that too?
32:17Stop trying to
32:18absolve yourself,
32:19Damien.
32:20Your regret changes
32:21nothing.
32:22It's worthless to me now.
32:23But Damien wasn't
32:24even listening.
32:25He just kept repeating,
32:27It was her.
32:30It was her.
32:31After that day,
32:33I thought Damien
32:33would finally give up
32:35and vanish for good.
32:37Unexpectedly,
32:38a few days later,
32:39he half-dragged
32:40Eleanor right in front of me.
32:41Tell her!
32:42Tell her what you did!
32:44Damien's eyes were crazed,
32:46pressuring her hysterically.
32:48You set up the fraud!
32:49You trapped her brother!
32:51Twice!
32:52Terrified by Damien's
32:53near-psychoconic state,
32:55Eleanor's voice trembled.
32:57Yes,
32:57I did it eight years ago
32:59and I did it again last week.
33:01But that's all I did.
33:02I never killed anyone!
33:04Watching them
33:04tear each other apart,
33:05I knew that in this timeline,
33:07this was all she did.
33:08But in that vanished timeline,
33:09the hell I endured.
33:11Eleanor's hands
33:12were soaked in blood.
33:13I don't care!
33:14Damien glared at Eleanor,
33:16then looked pleadingly at me.
33:18Darting back and forth,
33:19he snapped.
33:20Get on your knees!
33:21Apologize to her!
33:23If you apologize,
33:24she'll forgive me.
33:25We can go back to how it was.
33:28Watching her son's madness,
33:30Eleanor finally broke down in tears.
33:32I was wrong, okay?
33:34Come home with me.
33:35I'll find you a doctor!
33:37Not to me!
33:38To her!
33:39With a violent roar,
33:41Damien yanked Eleanor's arm,
33:43forcing her down at my feet.
33:45Just then,
33:46Ethan stepped in.
33:47He subdued Damien from behind,
33:48pinning him to the ground
33:49with a swift chokehold.
33:51I called 911.
33:52The world instantly fell silent.
33:54In the fading twilight,
33:56only Eleanor's muffled sobs
33:58and approaching sirens.
33:59The next time I heard about Damien
34:01was a year later.
34:02At my prenatal checkup with Ethan,
34:04passing the psych ward,
34:05I overheard nurses whispering.
34:07The Ashford heir,
34:08apparently he attacked his own mother
34:09before they brought him in.
34:10She almost didn't make it.
34:12He keeps repeating some girl's name.
34:14Ethan squeezed my hand
34:16and asked softly,
34:17Do you want to go in?
34:18I shook my head.
34:20There was no need.
34:20Honestly,
34:21I wasn't surprised by Damien and Eleanor's fate,
34:24much less felt any satisfaction.
34:26Mostly,
34:26it was just a quiet sigh.
34:28This was supposed to be a clean break,
34:30a new start.
34:31Instead,
34:31he locked himself inside his own guilt.
34:34Later,
34:35I got a call.
34:38The hospital needed me to handle
34:40Damien Ashford's final arrangements.
34:42At first,
34:43I wanted to refuse,
34:44but the hospital informed me
34:46I was his only emergency contact.
34:48I gripped my phone,
34:50stunned for a long time.
34:51In the end,
34:52I went,
34:53in the morgue.
34:54He lay there.
34:55His face was peaceful,
34:56even showing a relieved sort of ease.
34:59I looked at him,
35:00unsure how to feel.
35:02The doctor handed me a USB drive
35:04with his ward surveillance footage,
35:06suggesting I watch it.
35:08In the footage,
35:09Damien sometimes whispered tenderly to the air.
35:12Addie, look.
35:13I drew this today.
35:15Does it look like that morning by the bio?
35:17Other times,
35:18he abruptly shattered.
35:20Kneeling before the freezing wall,
35:21he sobbed his confession.
35:24Addie, I was wrong.
35:26I'll cut my heart out and show you.
35:29Just look at me.
35:30Please, just look at me.
35:32Mostly,
35:33he curled in the corner,
35:34his nails gouging one name
35:35over and over into the plaster.
35:38Addie,
35:39more frantic,
35:41more twisted,
35:42like his last shreds of sanity
35:44splintering away.
35:45That day,
35:46he was unusually calm.
35:48He slowly stepped under the camera,
35:51staring endlessly
35:52as if piercing the screen to see me.
35:55Finally,
35:55he smiled,
35:56a clean smile,
35:58echoing the boyishness I remembered.
36:00As he said.
36:02You've changed.
36:04You're not her anymore,
36:05not the Addie I remember.
36:07I'm going to find her,
36:08the real her.
36:09She's still out there somewhere.
36:10Then,
36:11he returned to his bed
36:12and lay down quietly.
36:16He never got up again.
36:21After watching the footage,
36:23my tears fell,
36:24not for love,
36:25nor for the dead,
36:27but for two souls
36:28across parallel timelines,
36:30truly in love,
36:31yet doomed to ruin,
36:32for this absurd,
36:34brutal point of return.
36:35I cried for a long time,
36:37for everything,
36:39as a final farewell.
36:41Ethan stayed quietly by my side,
36:44saying nothing.
36:46He simply let his steady heartbeat
36:48tell me he was there.
36:50After settling Damien's final affairs,
36:53we walked out of the cemetery
36:54into perfect sunlight.
36:57Ethan's palm rested gently
36:58on my swollen pregnant belly.
37:01Inside,
37:02a little life thrived,
37:03promising a brand new hope.
37:05I turned back one last time,
37:08glancing at Damien Ashford's tombstone.
37:11Then,
37:12gripping the hand of the man beside me,
37:14I walked step by step
37:16into a future that was ours alone.
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