Let Go of Bygone Days, Awaken to Love’s Fading
There were fireworks, a drone show, and all our friends and family were there to witness it.
I lowered my head shyly, holding out my hand, waiting for Jack to slide the ring onto my finger.
But then, a shimmering figure materialized in the air. It yelled at Jack.
“I’m you from ten years in the future! Don’t marry Nina. The future you will wish she were dead.”
The figure pointed to a quiet girl standing in the corner.
“That is your true love. In ten years, you’ll take a knife for her. You’ll divorce Nina for her.”
“I know you haven’t met her properly yet, but once you get to know her, you’ll see how wonderful she is.”
“The future you will fly in lobster for her birthday and fill notebooks with everything she loves. Every moment with her, the very air will feel sweet. Even your arguments will feel like part of the romance.”
“Only then will you understand that what you feel for Nina isn't love. It’s just habit.”
The 24-year-old Jack standing before me stiffened his neck.
“Impossible! The only person I love is Nina!”
Our friends, seeing him argue with thin air, burst into laughter.
“She’s already said yes, man! You don’t have to keep professing your love!” one of them teased.
I played along. “So, when are you coming over to meet the parents officially?”
But he slowly straightened up, the ring box still clutched in his hand.
“I… I think maybe this is too soon.”
“Nina, just… wait for me. I need to think.”
Everyone exchanged confused glances.
And in the air, the man who called himself the future Jack shot me a triumphant, provocative smirk.
1
The romantic proposal ended in a confusing anticlimax.
The 34-year-old Jack wanted to find the other girl, Chloe, but he was tethered to his younger self, a ghostly passenger in our car. He was dressed in a sharp, cool-toned suit that fit him perfectly, his expression dark and scowling. The small space of the car suddenly felt suffocating.
I watched him out of the corner of my eye.
What neither of them knew was that I could see the older Jack, too.
He radiated the cold confidence of a mature, successful man. When his eyes swept over me, they were filled with an undisguised disgust, as if I were his sworn enemy. It was a jarring contrast to the 24-year-old Jack, whose gaze had always been soft and full of love for me. Other than their shared face, this older man was a complete stranger.
When we got home, the older Jack took a tour of our apartment, like a critical landlord.
“This place is a fixer-upper, isn’t it? You should renovate. Get rid of that Monstera on the balcony; Chloe likes succulents.”
“And no more fresh flowers. Chloe is allergic to pollen. She likes handmade cookies, so replace the fruit in the fridge. And she loves those big, plush bears—get a giant one for the sofa.”
A vein throbbed in my Jack’s temple.
“Enough,” he hissed through gritted teeth. “I told you, I only love Nina. I don’t even know this Chloe person!”
The older Jack just chuckled, like he was looking at a fool who refused to see the truth. “You’ll see how wonderful she is once you get to know her.” A gentle, nostalgic smile touched his lips.
Then his eyes fell on me, sitting on the sofa, and his voice turned to ice. “And Nina… she’s just a mistake you made when you were young.”
My hand, resting on the cushion, clenched into a fist, my nails digging deep into my palm.
Jack and I had been desk-mates in high school. He’d played his guitar under my dorm window for three months straight to win me over. He’d run all over town in the dead of winter to buy me the hot chocolate and pastries I was craving. When a drunk harassed me once, Jack had shielded me, getting his head split open with a bottle for his trouble.
He’d told me that the first time he saw me, he felt a spark. That his life wouldn’t be complete without me. His love had been a burning, brilliant fire, and his unwavering devotion had won me over.
From school uniforms to office attire, we’d known each other for ten years, been in love for seven. We had been part of each other’s lives for nearly half our existence.
Even if we were to break up someday, how could I, Nina, become nothing more than a mistake from his youth?
I looked at my Jack, who was standing on the balcony. His knuckles were white, his jaw tight with suppressed anger and a fierce desire to defend me.
I let out a small breath of relief. Maybe in the older Jack’s timeline, something had drastically changed. But the 24-year-old Jack, the one here with me now, was still completely mine.
But then, the older Jack spoke again, and my heart seized in my chest.
“If you don’t believe me,” he said with a cruel smile, “I can help you see the truth about your own heart.”
2
Worried I would notice something was wrong, Jack moved into the guest room, using the excuse that he didn’t want to disturb my rest.
The next morning, he left for work before I woke up. It wasn’t until late in the afternoon that he called to say he wouldn’t be coming home that night. His tech startup had recently moved to a new office park on the other side of the city, so it wasn’t unusual for him to stay over when he worked late. But this time, a deep sense of unease settled over me. I called him back.
His voice was tinged with a weary sort of patience. “Nina, the project is about to launch. I’m just so busy.”
“Once we’re live, I’ll propose again, I promise. I’ll give you the wedding you deserve.”
Hearing the exhaustion in his voice, I felt a pang of guilt. I was about to tell him to take care of himself when he cut me off.
“Gotta go, a line of code just bugged out. It’s going to be a long night.”
“Be good, okay? Take care of yourself and the baby. Love you both.”
He hung up. I stared at the blank screen, stunned by the abruptness. A second later, a friend request popped up on my phone. The profile picture was a close-up of a succulent. I had a feeling it was someone I knew, so I accepted.
They didn’t say a word. They just sent a video.
In the video, Jack was at his computer, typing intently. Sitting right beside him, beaming, was Chloe.
Her voice, sweet and cheerful, drifted through the speaker. “Jack, thank you so much for helping me with this proposal. I would have been here all night without you.”
They were so close their shoulders were almost touching. Jack didn't seem to notice or mind. He just turned his head and gave her a small smile.
“It’s no problem. Girls shouldn’t stay up all night; you’ll get wrinkles.”
An invisible hand squeezed my heart, and I could barely breathe. So this was his “busy night.” Helping Chloe write a proposal.
For the next few days, Jack didn’t come home. And every day, “Succulent” sent me messages. Videos and photos of Jack and Chloe. At first, it was one a day. Then it became several. I learned that when Jack told me he was busy, he was actually taking Chloe to theme parks, going shopping with her, or staying late at the office to help with her work.
In the first few videos, Jack seemed indifferent toward her. But as the days passed, the look in his eyes when he watched her grew softer, warmer.
I watched the videos and photos over and over, unable to sleep. The initial shock and anger slowly curdled into a numb, chilling heartache.
It was time for us to talk.
3
I asked Jack to meet me at our favorite restaurant.
I waited for over an hour. The food had gone cold by the time he finally arrived. He was wearing a new suit I’d never seen before, and there was a smudge of cream on the cuff. The older Jack followed him in, his face a thundercloud.
“Today is Chloe’s birthday. Why did you leave her to meet this woman? She’s all alone.”
“If you go back now, you can still make it for the cake.”
Jack ignored him, his jaw tight, and sat down beside me. A faint, unfamiliar woman’s perfume drifted toward me. My stomach churned, and I subtly shifted away.
“Project keeping you that busy?” I asked.
He didn’t seem to notice my discomfort, rubbing his temples. “Yeah, we had to add a new feature last minute. It’s been chaos.”
He reached for my hand. “I’ve missed you this week. Have you missed me?”
I pulled my hand back before he could touch it. “I can’t stand sweet smells right now.”
He finally noticed the cream on his cuff and fumbled for a napkin. “Oh, uh, one of my colleagues had a birthday. I must have brushed against the cake on my way out.”
But I had seen the video. He’d gotten that smudge while helping Chloe bake her own birthday cake.
His movements faltered, his gaze shifting away from mine.
“Sorry, Nina,” he said, avoiding my eyes. “The job I was saving for you at the company… I gave it to an old classmate.”
“Her name is Chloe. We went to the same high school. Remember her?”
“She was having a really tough time at her last job, her boss was a nightmare, so… I gave her the position I’d promised you.”
I gripped my water glass, my knuckles turning white. A cold dread spread through me.
His startup was his dream, and it desperately needed someone with advanced programming skills. To help him, I’d turned down a high-paying job my professor had arranged for me. I’d poured my heart and soul into building his technical framework. Now that the project was finally taking off, he had casually given away the core technical role he had promised me.
I looked him straight in the face, deciding to give him one last chance to be honest.
“I remember she had a crush on you in high school. Are you helping her because you feel sorry for her, or because you have feelings for her?”
Jack’s pupils constricted. His voice rose. “That was ages ago! Of course I don’t like her! You’re pregnant, you’re emotional. Don’t say things like that!”
Realizing how harsh he sounded, he softened his tone, taking my hand in his. “You have a master’s degree, Nina. Any company would be lucky to have you. She only has an associate’s degree. It’s hard for her to find a good job in this city. Just… let her have this one.”
My heart turned to stone.
I calmly pulled my hand away. Under his expectant gaze, I nodded. “Fine. She can have it.”
If Jack was destined to fall in love with Chloe, then I, the temporary placeholder, needed to cut my losses and get out.
4
We never did eat that cold meal.
Jack’s phone rang. He answered, his voice instinctively softening. “Chloe? What’s wrong?”
I couldn’t hear what she said, but his brow furrowed. “Don’t worry. I’m on my way.”
He hung up and looked at me, a flicker of guilt in his eyes. “Nina, something urgent came up at the office. I have to go. You eat first, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I sat there until the restaurant closed for the night. He never came back.
That evening, I went home and scheduled an appointment for an abortion.
I placed a hand on my flat stomach. This unexpected child would never get to see the world. If there was anyone to blame, it was your father, whose love and promises were as fleeting as the wind.
I started packing my things. After seven years together, the gifts Jack had given me filled two large boxes. A custom night-light, matching watches engraved with our initials, pillows with our photos printed on them, a couples’ jigsaw puzzle, a thick stack of tickets from all the trips we’d taken…
He used to say that each gift held a memory of our time together, that when we were old, we would show them to our children and tell them the stories. I had cherished every single one.
Now, they were just junk, painful reminders of a love that was dying. I threw them all in the trash without a second thought.
When I arrived at the clinic, the doctor told me after a preliminary check that my health was too poor for the procedure. It would be safer to build up my strength first. I’d lost my appetite recently, and my weight had plummeted. She prescribed some supplements and told me to get more rest. I was to come back for another check-up the following week.
I walked home with the medicine, and as I reached my apartment building, I saw two figures arguing in the hallway. Or rather, the 34-year-old Jack was trying to drag the younger Jack away.
My Jack was holding a small velvet box. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing the faint scar on his collarbone. He’d gotten that in college when we went hiking. I’d slipped, and he’d thrown himself forward to catch me, his skin scraping against a sharp rock.
He shoved the older Jack away. “Get off me!” he growled. “I’m going home to see Nina!”
“Why are you even going back?” the older Jack, impeccably dressed, shot back. “You’re already falling for Chloe, so why are you still planning to propose to Nina? If you’re worried about the baby, just have her get rid of it.”
“Shut up! Chloe and I are just colleagues. I only love Nina.” My Jack’s eyes burned with a stubborn, youthful defiance. “You’re the one who cheated, you bastard. You have no idea how much I care about her.”
“Is that so?” the older one sneered. “Then why are you so happy when you’re with Chloe? When her boss was giving her a hard time, you gave her the job you promised to Nina.” He took a step closer. “And if that’s not love, then how do you explain this: when Nina had morning sickness and couldn’t eat, you ordered some random soup online for her. But when Chloe casually mentioned she was craving that special ramen from downtown, you drove halfway across the city to get it for her.”
My Jack froze. “I… I only felt sorry for her,” he stammered. “You told me about her difficult childhood.”
I felt a wave of nausea. I turned to leave, but he saw me.
He quickly pocketed the velvet box and rushed over, grabbing my hand. His voice became gentle. “When did you get back? I tried calling you.”
I pulled my hand free, my face a blank mask. “Just now. What is it?”
He seemed relieved, not knowing that I could see his older self, that his bizarre argument with the air wasn't a secret. He took my hand again, pulling me toward the elevator.
“I’ve been so busy with work lately, I’ve neglected you. I’m sorry about dinner yesterday. I booked the same restaurant again. Let’s have a proper meal tonight.”
“We don’t need to eat. I have something to say to you.”
I tried to pull away, but his grip was firm. He led me to the car, settled me in the passenger seat, and leaned over to buckle my seatbelt. Just as he had done countless times before, he gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, his smile soft.
“I have something to say to you, too. We can talk over dinner.”
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