- 30 minutes ago
Eight years after a heartbreaking goodbye, she has moved on and built a new life. But when the man from her past returns, old memories resurface, forcing them both to face the truth about love, loss, and second chances.
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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
00:12mother framed my brother. He watched him die. That night, I lost my brother, my baby, my will to live.
00:19Grandmare's ancient mirror gave me one impossible chance. I warned my past self. I rewrote our
00:25story. Now 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. The mirror clouded
00:37with mist. Her eyes lit up. Damien told me he loves me today. He's building me a garden by the
00:43Bayou.
00:44Every New Year's Eve with me, spoiling me forever. She 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. I didn't move. I didn't stop
01:06them. The 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. Mid-kiss, he opened his eyes to look at
01:24me, his gaze cold and jockeying. She won't mind. Will you, Addie?
01:30I got sick of answering that question years ago, from hysterics to numb acceptance, to
01:34losing the will to speak. But my past self went deathly pale. With shaking hands, she severed
01:40the link. The performance by the window only escalated. I looked down and texted my brother
01:48Luke, though he'd long been gone for distraction. The woman giggled excitedly, her hands roaming
01:53even more boldly over Damien. Where 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, shedding
02:04clothes 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
02:16drownsy. I was almost asleep on the sofa when my phone screen lit up.
02:21A text from Damien, just three words.
02:26Go buy it.
02:28Attached was a photo of lube.
02:31And still, I said nothing.
02:35On 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.
02:45Poor 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, we met
02:57and fell in love. It was pure and fierce as the gulf wind before a storm. Warm, reckless,
03:02impossible to hold. I left everything behind and followed him to Boston.
03:06But his mother, Eleanor, violently objected, calling me swamp trash. Damien held my hand tightly
03:12back then. Don't worry. I'll handle my mother.
03:17Later, 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
03:26the perfect fall guy for a federal money laundering indictment. Eleanor offered a deal,
03:30marry Damien, and the federal charges would be dropped.
03:32I already loved Damien, so why would I even need terms? Naturally, I agreed. I thought we were just
03:38moving the date up. I didn't know Eleanor had fed him forged texts and bank records involving me and
03:43Luke. She made him think I only wanted his money. Even on our rushed wedding night, I was still burning
03:48with passion, thinking I'd finally found my happy ending. But once he was done, his tender look turned
03:54to pure, icy disgust. He threw a check at me. You own me. Never forget that. Our marriage became a
04:02scam
04:02he believed I'd plotted with my brother. It wasn't that I never asked for a divorce. But whenever I
04:08spoke, he'd smirk coldly. You want out? Fine. Pay back that five million with interest. Or my lawyers
04:15reopen your brother's case, and he never sees daylight again. Luke was out of reach. This debt was
04:23permanently chained 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. My stomach
04:40lurched violently. Vial rose in my throat. I turned to flee. Want to stay and join? But from behind,
04:47his tone was amused. Unable to hold it, I rushed to the bathroom, vomiting until my vision darkened.
04:52Back before the mirror, reconnecting with myself eight years ago, I asked,
04:57Do you think he still loves you? She cried, still in disbelief. He said it was only me. He promised.
05:05Without living this eight-year hell, words were useless. Like me, she'd blindly defend him,
05:12calling it a temporary misunderstanding. I 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. But a pair of
05:26lace
05:26panties was left on the sofa. Damien followed my gaze, suddenly wrapping his arms around my waist
05:31and pulling me close. What, jealous? He lowered his head to kiss me, but I intentively turned my face
05:37away. The rare glint of tenrous in his eyes indently morphed into a sneer.
05:42There it is again, that dead-eyed look. The only time you ever came alive was when you crawl into
05:48my
05:48bed to save your brother's ass. His words pierced me, shame flooding my veins.
05:56He shoved me away coldly. Enough. We have to go to Cape Cod today for my mother's New Year's brunch.
06:03His mother, the last person I wanted to face. For all these years, she had always looked at me like
06:09I was absolute filth. Yet this time, she didn't even glance my way. She was on the sofa, bonding with
06:17Damien's woman from last night. She was Victoria Hartwheel, toady. The perfect old-money match
06:24Eleanor had chosen for Damien years ago. Eleanor patted Tori's hand, her eyes gleaming with
06:29undisguised satisfaction. Sweetheart, if it weren't for that girl, you'd have been an Ashton years ago.
06:35Damien walked over with a knowing smirk. I'm already married, mother. But if you like her company,
06:42she's welcome anytime. Tori smiled, looking playful and utterly harmless.
06:47But that word, babe, was exactly what had tortured me all night while they were at it.
06:53Right 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. Eleanor had the kitchen prepare an entire table of pork
07:09dishes. But my family's spiritual vow, Bourbind eating pork. Before I was born,
07:14Grand Mare made the blood pact with the spirits. I couldn't touch it. Absolutely not. Seeing me
07:19hesitate to pick up my silverware, Eleanor finally turned her gaze to me, dripping with disgust.
07:23Adeline, eat. Stop being so dramatic. You married into this family. We don't cater to superstition here.
07:30Helpless, I looked at Damien, pinning my last shred of hope on him. At least, he used to understand me.
07:36He put a pastry-wrapped item onto my plate. The thoughtfulness in his tone gave me a fleeting
07:42glimpse of the man he used to be. It's not pork. It's mushroom. Try it.
07:47I didn't doubt him. I took a bite. But the moment my teeth sank,
07:51Tori's vicious laughter shattered the silence. Kildon Krinzes the Great.
07:58Oh my god, she actually ate it. I told you, there's no real spiritual vow. It's all an act. She
08:07just likes
08:07playing the victim. Damien lied to me. I 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. Back before the mirror, I connected with my past self.
08:32This time, she remained silent for a very, very long time. Only then did she begin to recall a misty
08:39morning by the Louisiana Byron. Back then, Damien looked at me, his eyes shining like stars.
08:46I did my research. Your family doesn't eat pork, right?
08:54When we're together, I won't either. Not ever.
08:58But now? The me across the mirror was even more despairing than I am now.
09:03This isn't, this isn't what I wanted. She cried herself horsky, repeating over and over.
09:10It hurts. God, it hurts. Did it hurt? I was long past feeling it.
09:19My eyes burned dry. Damien vanished again for days. Damien vanished again for days.
09:27While I spent my days staring blankly at the mirror, I unexpectedly got a message from Luke,
09:33asking to meet. For a moment, I thought he'd come to pull me out.
09:43Addie, I'm so sorry. I think I've been set up again. They want three million,
09:49or they'll trigger a federal indictment. Hope shattered instantly. In its place was a
09:54bottomless helplessness. The previous five million had already nailed me to a pillar of shame.
10:00Selling myself for money. A slow death, day and night. How could I even open my mouth to Damien now?
10:10Lost and helpless. Fate's sick, absurd joke arrived in the form of two lines on a stick.
10:18I finally waited for Damien to come home. Three million. For the baby. Do we have a deal?
10:27My voice was so flat it sounded foreign to me. His pupils contricted. The next second,
10:34he clamped his hand around my neck and slammed me against the wall. Suffocation hit me instantly.
10:39His eyes boiled with rage and unmasked hatred.
10:43When did you become this calculating? You'd sell your own child? Do you even have of a fucking heart?
10:52Was there ever a single shred of love between us or was it always about the money?
10:56Love? Every bit of heart I had was ground into powder by his own hands during these eight years
11:01of humiliation. One gust of wind and nothing remained. I ignored his explosion, staring fastly into his eyes.
11:08Love? Finally infuriated by my attitude. He hurled me onto the bed, tearing at my clothes regardless of my condition.
11:16It's yours! Damien! I'm pregnant! You can't…
11:21Struggling hard, I felt him hurl a signed check at my face.
11:24Fine. I'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. Everything 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. The pain between my legs made it almost impossible to stand.
11:55I dragged my shattered body to the hospital for an exam. The baby… it was still there.
12:02Touching my still flat stomach, I felt a flicker of a bond for the first time.
12:07A few days later, Damien returned. I told him calmly,
12:11The baby's fine. I'll carry it to term. Your three million is accounted for.
12:17He froze, staring at my slightly bulging belly, lost in thought. Then, he violently smashed his
12:24whiskey glass onto the floor. The shattering crystal exploded with a deafening crack, shards flying
12:29everywhere. You cold bitch. He 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. I don't want my baby born into this.
12:57Not into this.
13:00Listening 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. Another million. I swear this is the last time-
13:21I stared at him blankly, unable to think of a single reason left to beg Damien.
13:27I waited for him to return, then stood before him.
13:30One more million. Name your terms.
13:34Damien shoved me aside and suddenly laughed.
13:37Tell me, what part of you is worth that much?
13:40Watching his back as the door slammed again, I knew he was done with me.
13:47But then Luke sent another video. Several men pinning him to the floor.
13:52A legal notice shoved against his face. A 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.
14:11Please, name your price. I'll do anything.
14:16Then, I spent the whole night listening to the sounds of him and Tori. Not a single word of response.
14:25At dawn, I rushed to Luke's.
14:30He 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, I should have told you to run when I had the chance.
14:48I just found out. The investment. It was all them.
14:56Eleanor.
14:57Every time, all of it. Even the documents that forced you into that marriage.
15:02I understood every word, yet combined they were a massacre.
15:06The Ashfords? All 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.
15:28Multi-organ failure. He 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.
15:41Eight years of suppressed hatred finally exploded. Something in me snapped.
15:46I lunged at him like a maniac, grabbing his collar, my entire body trembling violently.
15:51It was you! Your family set him up! All of it!
15:55What the hell are you talking about? I wouldn't stoop that low.
16:00Pointed at Luke, hanging by a thread in the ER. Stop pretending, Damien. Is there anything you wouldn't do?
16:07You played us both. Are you happy now?
16:10Damien's face darkened completely, his gaze ice cold.
16:13Remember, Addie? 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. Ms. 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. The 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 walk away with his arm around Tori.
16:56Damien Ashford, if 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. The connection was forged.
17:22I told my eight-year-old self,
17:25Leave him.
17:29I spoke with the hollow despair of the dying.
17:33We 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
17:50early. As he opened the door, a strange emptiness hit him. He hadn't processed what was missing yet,
17:55when Mrs. Patson brought him a cup of coffee. He took a sip and spit it out immediately,
18:00his brow frontaled.
18:01This is wrong. Tell Addie to make it.
18:05Mrs. Patterson looked blank.
18:07Addie? Sir, who is Addie?
18:10Damien's chest tightened for light of Hallwoolio,
18:13Tregentia de Ranta Boucher. He snapped impatiently.
18:17My wife, Addie.
18:20Mrs. Packerson looked even more confused.
18:23Sir, when were you married? We 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. Everyone shook their heads and bewilder me.
18:40Sir, we truly don't know anyone by that name.
18:47Damien's stomach dropped. He turned back to the bedroom. Above the headboard used to
18:53hang a portrait I begged to paint after our wedding. At the time, he claimed he had no
18:58interest in doing it. But he never moved. But in reality, he had sat perfectly still for hours as my
19:05model. Now, the wall was completely bare. Why did the entire house feel so hollow, just like his chest?
19:11There must be a logical explanation. Instantly, a thought hijacked his mind.
19:16Addie had just run away to throw a tantrum.
19:19Where could she go? Her brother is dead. The baby is gone. She 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. Uncontrollable panic suffocated him. Something was terribly wrong.
19:44Mother! Where is Addie? What did you do to her?
19:49Recognition finally hit Eleanor, followed instantly by her elitist disgust.
19:56You broke up eight years ago. Why drag her up now?
20:01Broke up?
20:02Like something from a fever dream, Damien's pupils constricted violently.
20:07What are you talking about? We'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. If she hadn't left on her own,
20:22I had other ways. I always do. Damien stiffened, lashing onto that one detail and demanded with
20:30blind fury. What did you just say? The investment fraud. That was you?
20:36Eleanor was startled by his near-manic state, realizing she had let it slip.
20:40Yes, so what? You've been broken up for eight years. What does it matter now?
20:46The belated truth drained him. He staggered back. I was telling the truth.
20:52It was like the Asherds. His mother had really set my brother up. She made him play the victim,
20:59torturing me for eight years. But before all of that, we had loved each other so purely.
21:06He was consumed by hate, wasn't I? He was consumed by hate, wasn't I?
21:13You played us both. Are you happy now? My hoarse cries. My despairing eyes. The blinding
21:21blood beneath like a returning blade. They pierced his chest. His head nearly exploded.
21:27Unfamiliar men fragments flooded in. We're done, Damien. Why? Tell me what I did wrong.
21:35I'll fix it. His head nearly exploded. Unfamiliar memories fragments.
21:40How can you be this cruel? Don't you love me anymore? It was eight agonizing years without me.
21:52Addie. No. It wasn't like this. Addie. Addie!
22:00The chaotic memories tore Damien apart. Clutching his head in agony, he collapsed.
22:08I opened my eyes again, and vivid memories flooded in. The raised porch. The 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.
22:33As I was lost in thought, Ethan leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
22:38Addie. Time to get up for breakfast.
22:41This 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. Afterward, even though I chose to break up with Damien,
22:56I suffered through a long period of brutal withdrawal.
22:59Pain, confusion, and a hollow ache in my chest in the dead of night.
23:04And Damien's relentless pursuit.
23:07Addie, what did I do wrong?
23:10I can change. Please don't do this.
23:13But I knew if I turned back, all that awaited us was repeating the same mistakes.
23:17The endless humiliation and despair of that future.
23:20I erased all his contacts. Did it hurt?
23:23Yes. I would still remember his bright eyes by the bayou,
23:27and his earnest profile when he promised to 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.
23:58He never asked questions.
24:08He 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,
24:20That's okay. You 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? Be honest?
25:03Seeing his nervous, palpy look, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
25:08No. I just had a nightmare. A really, really long one.
25:15He exhaled in relief and pulled me into his embrace.
25:19I'll handle the client meeting. Stay home today.
25:26I was no longer the dependent Mrs. Ashvind waiting around at home for an allowance.
25:31I went to the office anyway. After all, I had woken up from the nightmare.
25:40But 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. I…
26:17His relieved voice rang above my head.
26:21I 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! Mine!
26:43He frantically tried to grab my hand again.
26:47Come home with me, Hattie.
26:49Please, come 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, blank stare.
27:29Addie, what are you talking about?
27:31He forced a smile that was more of a sob, his voice trembling.
27:35Are you misremembering? We didn't break up. We've been married for eight years.
27:38I'm sorry. I know I was a monster. I know I hurt you.
27:42He rambled incoherently, desperate to awaken something.
27:46Do you remember our 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,
28:04until his voice choked up, heavy with immense agony and remorse.
28:08That day your brother died. In the hospital. I-
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.
28:25No longer manic, he became stubbornly confiscated.
28:28He cornered me, his voice Hosky.
28:30I can't tell what's real anymore. What's a dream and what actually happened. Images of you.
28:36Eight years ago, today. It's all bleeding together.
28:40Genuine agony on his face on his prized me. The Damien I knew only depised me. How could he look
28:45so 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. You remember everything, don't you?
28:58I calmly pushed him away, putting space between us.
29:01Mr. Ashford, if this past you keep obsessing with is real, then tell me.
29:05What exactly did you do to me? And why would I leave?
29:09The question seemed to choke him. He 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?
29:20After that day, Damien stopped hounsing me about whether I remembered.
29:24He 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.
29:39How pathetic. What was the point of this now?
29:41Did he think cheap devotion could erase the past and drag me back?
29:45No. Never again.
29:47I believed as long as I stood firm, our fate was permanently rewritten.
29:51Until that afternoon, pale as death, Luke resurrected my nightmare.
29:54Addy. I messed up. I... I think I've been trapped again. Five million.
30:03Ice flooded my veins. Fatalistic despair hit me. Dazed, I saw my pathetic past self begging again.
30:09I stumbled backward, only to fall into a warm, solid chest. Ethan was back from his trip.
30:16I'm here. I've got you.
30:18His warmth snapped me back. I was no longer the Addy who only knew how to cry and suffer in
30:23silence.
30:24So, when Damien cornered me at the gallery again, holding my old favorite, Café du Mondo Beno's,
30:30he said, eager to please.
30:31I've made up my mind. Whether you remember or not, I want to start over. With you.
30:36I didn't just knock the bag away.
30:40I slapped him. Damien Ashford, you disgust me. Instead of flying into a rage, Damien let his
30:49emotions flare. You hit me. You do remember. You remember everything.
30:53Near ecstasy flashed across his face, as if my slap wasn't disgust. Yes. I never forgot. Not a single
31:00thing you did to me. I wanted to run as far from you as possible. I took a step closer,
31:08staring into his suddenly, constricted pupils. But I couldn't escape you. While you were playing
31:13the devoted ex, your family was setting my brother up for five million again. How despicable can you
31:19be, Damien Ashford? The blood drained entirely from Damien's face. It wasn't me. I swear to God,
31:25it wasn't me. He shook his head frantically, rambling his defense. I just found out.
31:33God, it was my mother. It was all her. Trust me, we loved each other. I didn't want to become
31:40that. His voice choked, eyes full of genuine panic and chaos. But even if it really wasn't him,
31:48so what? The agony he caused. My unborn baby. It was all real. I looked at him again. His shoulders
31:54were shaking with sobs. This was probably the second time I had ever seen him cry. The first
31:59was in that vanished timeline. Leaving Louisiana and moving to Boston with him. Trust me. I'll never
32:06make you regret this. Those tears were scalding. Pure, boyly sincerity. But his tears now felt like
32:13a sick joke. Your distrust. Your cruelty. Did your mother hold a gun to your head for that too? Stop
32:18trying to absolve yourself, Damien. Your regret changes nothing. It's worthless to me now. But
32:24Damien wasn't even listening. He just kept repeating. It was her. It was her. After that day,
32:33I thought Damien would finally give up and vanish for good. Unexpectedly, a few days later,
32:39he half-dragged Eleanor right in front of me. Tell her! Tell her what you did! Damien's eyes
32:45were crazed, pressuring her hysterically. You set up the fraud! You trapped her brother,
32:51twice! Terrified by Damien's near psychoconic state, Eleanor's voice trembled. Yes, I did it
32:58eight years ago and I did it again last week. But that's all I did. I never killed anyone! Watching
33:04them tear each other apart, I knew that in this timeline, this was all she did. But in that vanished
33:09timeline, the hell I endured. Eleanor's hands were soaked in blood. I don't care! Damien
33:15glared at Eleanor, then looked pleadingly at me. Darting back and forth, he snapped.
33:20Get on your knees! Apologize to her! If you apologize, she'll forgive me. We can go back to
33:26how it was. Watching her son's madness, Eleanor finally broke down in tears. I was wrong, okay?
33:34Come home with me. I'll find you a doctor! Not to me! To her! With a violent roar,
33:40Damien yanked Eleanor's arm, forcing her down at my feet. Just then, Ethan stepped in. He subdued
33:47Damien from behind, pinning him to the ground with a swift chokehold. I called 911. The world
33:53instantly fell silent. In the fading twilight, only Eleanor's muffled sobs and approaching sirens.
33:59The next time I heard about Damien was a year later. At my prenatal checkup with Ethan, passing
34:05the psych ward, I overheard nurses whispering. The Ashford heir, apparently he attacked his own
34:09mother before they brought him in. She almost didn't make it. He keeps repeating some girl's
34:14name. Ethan squeezed my hand and asked softly, Do you want to go in? I shook my head. There was
34:20no need. Honestly, I wasn't surprised by Damien and Eleanor's fate, much less felt any satisfaction.
34:25Mostly, it was just a quiet sigh. This was supposed to be a clean break, a new start.
34:31Instead, he locked himself inside his own guilt. Later, I got a call.
34:38The hospital needed me to handle Damien Ashward'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. In the end, I went, in the morgue. He lay there,
34:55his face was peaceful, even showing a relieved sort of ease. I 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. I drew this today. Does it look like that morning by the bio?
35:17Other times, he abruptly shattered. Kneeling before the freezing wall, he sobbed his confession.
35:24Addy, I was wrong. I'll cut my heart out and show you. Just look at me. Please, just look at
35:32me.
35:32Mostly, he curled in the corner, his nails gouging one name over and over into the plaster.
35:38Addy, more frantic, more twisted, like his last shreds of sanity splintering away.
35:45That day, he was unusually calm. He slowly stepped under the camera,
35:51staring endlessly as if piercing the screen to see me.
36:02You've changed. You're not her anymore, not the Addy I remember.
36:07I'm going to find her. The real her. She's still out there somewhere.
36:11Then, he returned to his bed and lay down quietly.
36:16He never got up again.
36:21After watching the footage, my tears fell. Not for love, nor for the dead.
36:27But for two souls across parallel timelines, truly in love, yet doomed to ruin.
36:32For this absurd, brutal point of return.
36:35I cried for a long time. For everything. As a final farewell.
36:40Well. Ethan 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.
36:57Ethan's palm rested gently on my swollen pregnant belly.
37:01Inside, a little life thrived, promising a brand new hope.
37:05I turned back one last time, glancing at Damien Ashford's tombstone.
37:12Then, gripping the hand of the man beside me, I walked step by step into a future that was ours
37:18alone.
37:19Now, I wanted to see the story with the man beside me.
37:19But with the man beside me, I'm starting to turn to a person with a double extension.
37:19But with the boy, I thought he was one last time.
37:19I went to the girl, for the girl who I was at home.
37:20I went to the girl of nowhere, it's not a mystery.
37:20It's a mystery that I'm going to use and see on a plane.
37:20It didn't see him who I was in love恫-surpeer.
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