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