When Our Forever Hit Zero: No Second Chances

I was born with a superpower: I could see the Breakup Countdown floating above every couple's head.

With this perfectly accurate number, I'd managed to avoid men who were destined to lead me to a dead end.

With Julian Sterling, my boyfriend of three years, the countdown above his head was originally fifty years.

But five minutes before our engagement party, I watched those numbers spin backward in a wild, frantic blur.

They dropped straight to "0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds."

Then he walked out of the VIP dressing room. Right behind him was Chloe, his cousin, her face flushed and her breathing uneven.

She casually adjusted her messy hair and smirked at me.

"Audrey, I'm so sorry. Julian said you're like a stiff piece of wood. He said touching you is about as exciting as touching a stone."

"Unlike me. I actually know how to make him feel alive."

I looked at the glowing green "0" above Julian's head, which practically screamed his betrayal. Calmly, I slid off my engagement ring.

"Trash belongs in the dumpster. The wedding is off."

The banquet hall fell so silent you could hear the champagne bubbles popping.

The faint smile on Julian's face instantly vanished.

But Chloe only pressed closer to him, her fingers hooking into his sleeve.

"Audrey, don't be like this. All our family and friends are here today. If you make a scene, you'll be the one embarrassing the Sterling family."

I looked at Julian.

The numbers above his head were still stuck at zero.

The green light was blinding.

Three years ago, when Julian first confessed his love to me, it was snowing heavily.

I was standing outside my dorm building, not daring to take the bouquet of roses he was holding out to me.

I asked him, "Julian, would you believe me if I told you I can see when people are going to break up?"

He laughed softly.

"Then look at me. How much time do we have left?"

I looked up.

A ridiculously long string of numbers glowed above his head.

Fifty years, seven months, and three days.

I cried right then and there.

Julian panicked, shoving the flowers into my arms and awkwardly wiping away my tears.

"Hey, don't cry, Audrey. If fifty years isn't enough, I promise I'll try my best to live longer."

In the years that followed, he used that line to comfort me countless times.

I really thought we had a lifetime.

Now, fifty years had become zero.

Julian finally spoke, his voice tense. "Audrey, put the ring back on. Chloe is young and doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut. I'll make her apologize to you later."

"Later?"

I tossed the ring straight into the top glass of the champagne tower.

With a sharp clink, the liquid splashed, reflecting the cold chandelier light.

"Julian, can what the two of you did in the dressing room wait until 'later'?"

His face darkened. "Do you have to do this here?"

Chloe let out a soft laugh.

"Audrey, it's not like you just found out Julian can't stand your cold, rigid rules. You always used that stupid countdown to pressure him, bragging about how you two had fifty years left. You made him feel like he was trapped by your side forever."

She looked at me, her voice not loud, but clear enough for the relatives in the front rows to hear every single word.

"But people get tired. Numbers don't change, but men do."

Julian hissed under his breath, "Chloe."

Chloe's eyes instantly welled with tears.

"Did I say something wrong? Julian, you literally just said in there that you wanted to see if Audrey would still be so arrogant once that fifty-year safety net was gone."

My heart felt like it had been hollowed out.

It wasn't just the pain of betrayal.

It was the realization that he had long grown sick of the very thing I cherished most.

Julian took a step forward, reaching out to grab my hand. "Audrey, May isn't in good health. We can't cancel the party today."

He knew exactly how to manipulate me.

My parents died when I was young, and May raised me all on her own.

Years ago, Julian was the one who pulled strings at the hospital, getting May on the exclusive waitlist for a world-renowned heart surgeon. I owed him too much.

I looked at his head.

Zero.

Not a single second more.

I pulled my hand back, avoiding his touch.

"May has a weak heart, and yet you chose to cheat in the dressing room of our engagement party?"

Julian froze.

But Chloe suddenly smiled.

The moment she wrapped her arm around Julian's, a new set of numbers flashed above both of their heads simultaneously.

13 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes.

I stared at the numbers for a few seconds and said quietly, "You two won't last long."

The smile on Chloe's face stiffened, but she quickly tossed her head back.

"That's enough for me. At least today, he chose me."

Julian's impatience finally broke through.

"Audrey, enough. Every time we fight, you start threatening me with those stupid numbers."

I didn't answer.

Suddenly, rushed footsteps echoed from the backstage area.

An event coordinator ran up to me, her face completely pale.

"Miss Audrey... May is not in the holding room."

I snapped my head up.

The coordinator glanced nervously at Chloe, lowering her voice even further.

"Miss Chloe said earlier that she was going to take your grandmother to watch your engagement video preview."

The next second, the giant projector screen in the hall lit up.

But it wasn't our engagement video.

It was the security footage outside the VIP dressing room.

The video had no sound, but it was clear enough for everyone to see. Chloe walked out of the room with her shoulder strap falling down, and Julian followed closely behind, buttoning up his collar.

A dead silence fell over the hall.

Then came the sharp gasps and the hushed, frantic whispering.

May was sitting in her wheelchair in the front row, still holding the candy I had prepared for her.

She didn't understand the drama.

But she understood the look on my face.

She looked up at me, her lips trembling. "Audrey, sweetie... is someone hurting you?"

I rushed forward to block the screen.

"Turn it off!" I screamed.

The staff scrambled in a panic, but the video kept playing.

Chloe stood in the crowd, calling out, "Audrey, I just wanted May to see that Julian can actually be passionate. You always act so cold and distant, May probably thought Julian didn't even like you."

Julian strode over to the control panel and violently ripped the power cord out.

The screen went black.

He turned around and saw May's deathly pale face. For the first time, panic flashed in his eyes.

"Call a doctor!"

By the time the standby medical team rushed in, May was clutching my hand, refusing to let go.

"Audrey, what's wrong between you and Julian?"

My nose stung with tears, and I pressed her cold hand against my cheek.

Julian knelt beside her, softening his voice. "May, I'm sorry. I messed up. I'll handle this."

May didn't even look at him.

Julian looked up at me.

"Audrey, let's postpone the engagement party. I'll take Chloe away first. Tomorrow, I will personally come to your house to make things right."

His eyes held that familiar urgency.

I almost believed him.

But then Chloe suddenly picked up a broken champagne glass from a table and dragged the sharp edge across her palm.

Blood instantly welled up and dripped down her wrist.

She didn't cry. She just stared straight at Julian.

"You're taking me away? To where?"

She let out a bitter laugh that sounded worse than sobbing.

"Julian, after my dad died, my relatives treated me like a nuisance. Audrey has May to love her, and she has you to protect her. Even her stupid countdown serves as her shield. What about me? I try to steal you just once, and she wants to drag me through the dirt."

Julian stood up, clearly torn. "I need to take her to the hospital too."

I stepped in front of him. "You just said you were taking her away."

He stared at the blood dripping from Chloe's hand, his jaw clenched tight.

"She's bleeding, Audrey. Hospital first."

Chloe shot me a look.

It was a brief, subtle glance.

But it said everything: See? He still cares about me more.

In the hospital hallway, May was wheeled into the observation room.

Julian stood next to me, his phone buzzing nonstop.

Chloe was sobbing hysterically from the emergency bay on the other side of the corridor.

I said, "Julian, go to her. Let's just end it here."

He closed his eyes.

"Audrey, stop using breakups to threaten me. Don't you believe in your countdown more than anything? Until it hits zero, you won't leave me."

"It already did."

Julian froze.

Chloe's crying echoed from the other end of the hall again.

Ultimately, he turned away.

"I'll be right back."

He never came back.

At 2:00 AM, a nurse walked up to me with a ward transfer notice.

"Miss Audrey, the pre-op consultation for your grandmother has been suspended. Also, we need to vacate this VIP private suite."

I took the document.

On the family signature line, written in bold, familiar handwriting, was one name:

Julian Sterling.

I sat with that piece of paper until the sun came up.

May woke up once, asking if it was raining outside.

I told her no.

She whispered, "Then why are your eyes so wet?"

I turned my face away.

At 7:00 AM, Julian finally showed up at the hospital. He was still wearing the same shirt from yesterday.

Chloe followed closely behind him, her hand wrapped in heavy gauze.

When Julian saw the document in my hand, his expression shifted.

"I didn't tell them to stop the consultation."

I pushed the signature line right in front of his face.

"This is your handwriting."

He stared at it for a long time, as if finally recalling something.

"Chloe was hysterical yesterday. The hospital asked me to sign a bunch of caretaking and transfer papers. I didn't read them closely."

Chloe leaned against the doorframe, her voice raspy from crying.

"Audrey, Julian isn't a doctor. It was just a couple of papers. May is so old, she should be treated with caution anyway. Don't blame everything on Julian."

I glared at her.

"Shut up."

She laughed.

"Why should I shut up? Audrey, you are so good at playing the victim. You know damn well that as long as May needs the Sterling family's help, you won't dare to actually break up with him. You're only making a scene today because you want Julian to beg for your forgiveness."

Julian frowned. "Chloe, go wait outside."

For once, Chloe didn't obey.

"No! Audrey talks about her stupid countdown every day like she's some kind of chosen one. But even if your countdown is real, did it ever tell you that your man would get sick of you?"

I raised my hand and slapped her across the face.

The hallway fell dead silent.

Chloe clutched her cheek, tears instantly streaming down her face.

Julian immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her.

"Audrey!"

Then his voice softened. "I'll get the consultation rescheduled. I'll deal with Chloe too. Just don't push things to a point where we can't fix them."

"What do you mean by 'can't fix'?" I asked him.

"Was what you did in the dressing room fixable? Or was signing the papers to suspend May's treatment fixable?"

Julian choked on his words, unable to answer.

Suddenly, the door to May's ward opened.

She was leaning against the headboard, her voice incredibly weak. "Audrey, come inside."

When I walked in, she handed me a small cloth pouch she kept by her pillow.

Inside was the savings she had scraped together over her lifetime, along with an old, vintage silver bracelet.

"Let's transfer hospitals," she said.

I shook my head. "May, the waitlist for another specialist is too long."

"Then we will wait," she said, gently stroking my hair.

"Don't stay in a place that makes you cry just for my sake."

I couldn't hold it in any longer. My tears fell onto the back of her hand.

That afternoon, Julian came back with some soup. I was the only one left in the room.

He set the soup on the nightstand.

"Audrey, I just talked to the doctors. The consultation is back on for this afternoon. As for Chloe, I'm having my team send her back to her aunt's place."

He reached out to touch me.

I flinched away.

Pain flashed in his eyes.

"You never used to flinch away from me."

"And you never used to make me feel so dirty."

Julian's phone buzzed.

It was a voice message from Chloe, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

"Julian, I don't want to live anymore. If you throw me away too, I really have nowhere left to go."

Julian looked at me.

I said, "Go ahead."

He stood there, frozen.

His face was pale, but eventually, he bolted out of the room.

A second later, my phone vibrated.

Chloe had sent me a video.

In the video, Julian was sitting in the corner of a VIP lounge, spinning my engagement ring around his finger.

Someone laughed and asked him, "Are you seriously going to marry Audrey? She watches that stupid countdown above your head every day. Doesn't that creep you out?"

Julian had clearly been drinking. His voice was low and heavy.

"She's too sure of herself. She's convinced I'll love her for fifty years, convinced I'll never leave."

Chloe leaned closer to the camera, smiling. "So, do you want to see if she'll still choose you once the numbers hit zero?"

Julian didn't answer.

He simply slid the ring back into his pocket.

The door to the ward opened again.

I looked up to see Julian returning.

He was breathing heavily, having clearly turned back halfway without meeting Chloe.

In his hands, he held a fresh bouquet of white roses.

They used to be my favorite.

I loved them because when Julian first gave me flowers, he said white was pure and suited me perfectly.

But he had forgotten.

Every flower at our engagement party had been red roses, chosen by Chloe.

Julian held out the flowers.

"Audrey, we need to talk."

I tapped the video on my phone.

The audio echoed loudly in the quiet room.

"Do you want to see if she'll still choose you once the numbers hit zero?"

Every ounce of color drained from Julian's face.

"Where did you get that video?"

"Does it matter?"

He took a step toward me, then stopped.

"I was drunk that night. I admit, I said some stupid things. But I was just... I was just tired of you always looking at me like I was bound to you for fifty years. Like no matter what I did, I had no choice but to come back to you."

I asked, "So you used Chloe to test me?"

Julian's eyes grew red.

"I never wanted to actually hurt you."

"But you did."

His voice cracked. "In the dressing room, nothing actually happened. She purposely messed up her clothes so you would see. The moment I walked out, I regretted it. But you were already standing there."

I looked at him.

I realized there was something far worse than betrayal.

Maybe he didn't go all the way.

But he had stood by and let Chloe trample my dignity in front of all our family and friends.

He had let May see that video.

And time after time, when forced to choose between me and Chloe, he had run to her.

Julian grabbed my wrist.

"Audrey, please give me another chance. I'll send Chloe away. The countdown isn't absolute, right? If it could drop from fifty years to zero, it can go back up. We can fix this."

I looked up at his face.

"Julian, the countdown didn't change first. You did."

His grip loosened.

His phone rang again.

Chloe had sent a location pin.

It was the hospital rooftop.

Then came a voice message.

"Julian, I'm on the roof. The wind is so cold up here."

Julian's expression shattered.

I handed him his phone.

"Go."

He didn't take it.

"I'm not going."

Three minutes passed.

Suddenly, a nurse screamed from the hallway, "Someone is climbing over the rooftop railing!"

Julian snapped his head toward the door.

I saw the struggle in his eyes. I saw that he still cared about me.

But when a life was on the line, no one could just ignore it.

He whispered, "Audrey, wait for me. I'll be right back."

He sprinted out of the room.

I stood in the quiet ward, staring at the empty air where his zero had been.

May called out to me from her bed.

"Audrey."

I turned and helped her into her wheelchair.

Dr. Ethan Vance was already waiting at the door.

He was May's primary cardiologist from our previous hospital. When I contacted him last night, he had only asked one thing: "Are you sure about this?"

I said yes.

The transport ambulance was waiting in the basement.

I made one last trip back to the penthouse Julian had bought for our future home.

I packed my clothes.

My wedding dress was still hanging in the living room.

I left the keys on the entryway table and locked the door behind me.

Chloe didn't jump.

She had just sat on the ledge, crying about how scared she was.

Julian stayed on the roof with her until the nurses coaxed her down. Only then did he realize my phone was switched off.

When he rushed back to the penthouse, the sun was rising.

He pushed the door open. The apartment was completely empty.

The "Fifty-Year Bucket List" we had stuck to the fridge was gone.

On the first page of his journal, he had once written: Julian Sterling, 50 years, 7 months, 3 days.

On the very last page, I had left him my final words:

Julian Sterling, 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds.

Even the longest forever has an end. From now on, our paths will never cross.