The Life I Stole

[Whitney is definitely coming, right? She waited ten whole years for Jethro! How could anyone not be moved by that kind of devotion?]

[Seriously. There hasn't been so much as a rumor about her getting married all these years. I always knew she was still waiting for Jethro.]

[I really want these two to end up together. I'm so invested in them!]

I stared at the messages racing across the screen. My fingers tightened around my phone without me realizing it, but my eyes drifted toward Whitney Charlton, who was sleeping peacefully beside me.

She looked completely at ease, her breathing slow and even. Under the soft glow of the bedside lamp, the usually cool, distant lines of her profile looked surprisingly gentle.

Fifteen years.

Fifteen years had passed since my senior year of high school, when I awakened to my memories and learned the truth. I was not the hero of this story. I was not even an important side character. I was just some forgettable extra whose name barely mattered.

When I started college, the first thing I did was deliberately get close to Jethro Scott. He was the brightest, most dazzling guy on campus, the kind of person who seemed born to be the center of attention.

As I knew how the story was supposed to go, I always managed to show up at exactly the right moment when he needed someone. Whenever he was hurting, I knew exactly what to say. Before long, I had naturally become his best friend.

Everyone used to say, "Patrick, you lucky bastard. How did you end up becoming Jethro's best friend?"

Only I knew the truth.

I was simply riding his spotlight, borrowing some of his main-character luck to make my own life a little easier.

Throughout our four years of college, I went everywhere with Jethro. I joined him in all kinds of activities, met everyone in his circle, and eventually met Whitney too.

She came from a wealthy family, had the grades to match, and was as icy and untouchable as they came. Yet somehow, Jethro was the only person she ever seemed to see.

Then graduation came. Jethro chose Yoana Gibson, the most popular girl on campus, and left the country with her.

Before he left, he clapped me on the shoulder and grinned. "Patrick, Whitney's a really great girl. You two should get together. Then I'll be able to leave without worrying about her."

As I watched his easy, carefree smile, I knew the truth better than anyone.

Whitney only had eyes for him. According to the original story, ten years later, when Jethro returned home, Whitney was supposed to run straight into his arms with our child in tow.

But so what?

Whitney's family background, education, and abilities were all things someone like me, a guy from an ordinary family, could never reach no matter how hard I worked. Marrying her meant I could use her connections to move up, enter better circles, and build a network of my own.

As for love? I had never expected it.

Hence, when Jethro tried to set us up, I did not hesitate. I told Whitney how I felt. Back then, I was as calm as if I were closing a business deal. I had every step planned out.

What I had not planned for was the way a person's heart could slowly soften after spending day after day with someone.

By our third year of marriage, my company successfully got off the ground. Whitney quietly put access to many of her connections and resources at my disposal.

In our fifth year, our son, Lucas Cooper, was born. Whitney curled up against me and whispered, "I'm so happy."

She remembered that I could not stand cilantro. She knew I had a sensitive stomach, so she always made sure I had my medicine nearby.

In our eighth year, my company ran into a crisis. Without a second thought, she used her own savings to help me get through it.

Ten years.

For ten years, everyone kept telling me the same thing.

"Patrick, you married a good woman."