Chapter 3

However, none of us expected that twenty-seven-year-old Ethan would actually show up at that park.

But he wasn't there to keep his promise to me.

"Eleanor! You actually tracked me here? Wow, you're unbelievable!"

The park meadow where we had once promised to get engaged was now beautifully decorated. Fairy lights hung from the trees, a white marquee tent was pitched on the grass, and a champagne tower sparkled in the twilight.

And in the center of the crowd stood twenty-seven-year-old Ethan. Even when he saw me, he didn't let go of Chloe's hand.

*Ninety-nine chances are officially gone, Ethan. I just burned the last wishing star.*

I whispered to myself. Beside me, nineteen-year-old Ethan pulled at my sleeve in absolute despair.

"El... El, please don't be like this. Maybe... maybe he set this all up for you. Let's go closer and see, okay?"

His young voice was practically begging.

But the twenty-seven-year-old Ethan’s voice was ice-cold.

"Eleanor, get over here right now!"

I turned my head and gave nineteen-year-old Ethan a gentle, comforting look, then stepped forward.

"Eleanor! What more do you want?" Ethan demanded angrily the moment I approached. "You ruined Chloe's necklace, and I let it go. Now, just because I’m throwing her a birthday party at the place we first met to make up for it, you’re here to ruin that too?!"

"Not at all," I replied smoothly. "I just came to visit an old spot. If you don't mind, I’ll find a place to sit by myself."

I shrugged, looking completely indifferent.

Ethan seemed choked by my calm reaction, his face twisting in frustration.

Ignoring him, I took nineteen-year-old Ethan’s cold hand and led him to a wooden bench nearby.

I whispered comforting words to him, but the boy just kept his head down, his shoulders shaking slightly as he wept silently.

Seeing that I wasn't causing a scene, twenty-seven-year-old Ethan finally let his guard down. He even went so far as to openly hold Chloe close, murmuring sweet nothings in her ear.

Watching them, my heart felt completely numb. I simply held nineteen-year-old Ethan’s cold, weightless hand.

As time ticked by, night fell completely.

As Valentine’s Day drew to a close, a fleet of drones took to the sky, spelling out "Happy Birthday" in glowing letters.

The fairy lights illuminated the entire meadow, turning it into a dreamland.

I reached into my bag and pulled out a watch I had prepared long ago. Inside the case, a small inscription was engraved: *“To Ethan—May our time always be in sync. El, Feb 14.”*

I handed the watch to nineteen-year-old Ethan and said softly, "Ethan, would you marry me?"

His nineteen-year-old eyes blinked hard, trying desperately to hold back his tears.

"Are... are you still willing to marry me?"

"Of course. I will always love the version of you that stands before me right now."

I looked into his eyes with absolute sincerity. The light in his young eyes was the only thing I had ever truly loved.

After what felt like an eternity, he nodded vigorously. He reached out and gently slid the scratched necklace back around my neck.

"El, I do. I do."

I smiled, my heart feeling a strange sense of peace, and squeezed his hand.

And at that exact moment...

The midnight bells began to toll.

Nineteen-year-old Ethan began to dissolve into countless glowing specks of light, vanishing right before my eyes.

My tears finally broke free, cascading down my face.

"Goodbye, my beloved Ethan."

Right then, a sharp, mocking female voice rang out from behind me.

"Ethan, look at Eleanor. She looks so pathetic sitting there all alone, talking to thin air. I’m so glad I have you by my side."

I turned around. Sometime during the countdown, Chloe had led Ethan right behind me. Standing at an angle where Ethan couldn't see, her face was twisted in a triumphant sneer.

But Ethan was staring at me, tears streaming silently down his face.

***