Dreams of Betrayal

Ever since I was a child, I could enter the dreams of the people closest to me. However, I could only do it three times in my entire life. I used my first chance when I was ten. In my father's dream, I saw him holding another woman and telling her he had fallen out of love with my mother long ago. Heartbroken, I ran to tell my mother everything. Three months later, they divorced, and I moved in with her. I used my second chance at sixteen. In the dream, a wealthy man held my mother's hand and promised to marry her. He had only one condition: she could not bring along her unwanted baggage. He was referring to me. The next day, my mother left me $30,000 and disappeared without a trace. Two dreams. Two losses. Both times, I had lost someone I loved the most. After that, I swore I would never use my final chance, not even if it killed me. Fortunately, I met Jade Smith in college. We had dated for ten years and been married for five. I thought we knew each other better than anyone else in the world. Recently, she had been sleeping poorly. She kept her phone glued to her hand and often looked at me as if she wanted to say something but could never bring herself to. I wondered if something had gone wrong at her company. I was also worried that she might be sick. On our wedding anniversary, I finally gave in and used my last chance to enter her dream. However, I saw no signs of bankruptcy or a terminal illness. Only one person appeared in her dream: the new intern at her company. When he worked late, she braved the rain to bring him an umbrella. When he had a stomachache, she searched half the city for medicine. When he casually mentioned wanting to see the ocean, she took him there countless times. In her dream, he asked her, "If you weren't married, do you think you could ever fall for me?" She remained silent for a long time before finally nodding, her voice thick with tears. I jolted awake, my eyes wet and cold. That was what my three chances had been for. Three dreams, three people I loved, and three times I was destined to lose them. Only this time, I would not wait for her to walk away from me. I would be the one to leave first.