Chapter 4

Audrey’s POV

The nineteen-year-old Jared wiped another tear from his cheek.

“So tomorrow night… he’ll regret everything.”

I didn’t know whether he was trying to convince himself or me.

Neither of us expected the twenty-seven-year-old Jared to actually appear at the beach.

But he did.

He hadn’t come to keep the promise he’d made to me.

He had come for Selena.

The beach where Jared had promised to propose to me was now covered in red roses.

Black SUVs lined the road behind them, and armed Lockwood men stood at a distance while fireworks had been arranged along the shoreline.

At the center of it all stood Jared and Selena, holding hands.

The moment he saw me, his expression hardened.

“Audrey, you actually followed me here?” His voice was cold. “Are you spying on me now? How pathetic.”

Selena remained beside him, her fingers intertwined with his.

I looked at the man standing before me.

Then I quietly said, “Your three chances are over, Jared.”

The nineteen-year-old Jared immediately clutched my arm.

“Audrey, please…” His voice trembled. “Don’t say that. Maybe he prepared all of this for you. Let’s go see, okay?”

I looked at him.

He was desperate to believe that the man he would become hadn’t completely forgotten the promise he once made.

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

“Audrey. Get over here.”

I gave the younger Jared a gentle look before stepping forward.

The moment I did, the older Jared’s expression darkened.

“What more do you want from me?” His voice rose. “You took Selena’s necklace, and I let it go. Now I’ve arranged all of this for her by the sea, and you’re still trying to ruin it?”

I glanced at the roses scattered across the sand then at the fireworks waiting behind them.

I shrugged.

“I’m not here to ruin anything.” I looked around. “I just came to watch the fireworks.”

I paused. “So if you don’t mind, have someone bring me two chairs.”

Jared stared at me.

For once, he seemed to have no response.

I ignored him.

I took the nineteen-year-old Jared’s hand and led him away from them.

We sat farther down the beach.

He was still crying.

I quietly tried to comfort him, but his tears wouldn’t stop.

Behind us, the twenty-seven-year-old Jared eventually seemed to relax when he realized I wasn’t going to cause a scene, he pulled Selena closer.

She leaned against him, whispering into his ear.

I felt nothing.

I simply held the younger Jared’s cold hand tighter.

Time passed.

The night grew darker and as Valentine’s Day slowly came to an end, fireworks suddenly exploded across the sky.

Colorful lights reflected over the dark ocean.

The nineteen-year-old Jared looked up in wonder.

I turned toward him.

Then he reached into his pocket.

My breath caught.

He pulled out a small black box.

The ring he’d prepared years ago.

He stood.

Then, beneath the exploding fireworks, the nineteen-year-old Jared dropped to one knee in front of me.

His eyes were filled with tears.

“Audrey…” He opened the box. “Will you marry me?”

I covered my mouth, tears immediately blurred my vision.

“Yes, a thousand times yes!” I exclaimed happily.

Tears streamed down his face. “You’d still marry me despite everything?”

I smiled. “Of course. I'll always love the Jared before me and not the person you turned out to be.”

I didn’t know how long we sat there crying before I finally extended my trembling left hand.

His face broke into the brightest smile I’d seen on him all night.

He gently took my hand and just as he was about to slide the ring onto my finger—

The clock struck midnight.

The nineteen-year-old Jared suddenly began to glow.

I froze.

His body dissolved into countless points of light before my eyes.

“Jared…”

I reached for him but there was nothing left to hold.

My tears finally spilled over.

“Goodbye…” My voice broke. “My Jared.”

Then Selena’s voice sounded behind me.

“Jared, look at her.” Her voice carried a mocking sweetness. “She looks so pitiful, sitting there all alone. Who exactly is she talking to? I'm so glad I have you. You make me so happy.”

I turned.

At some point, Selena had brought the twenty-seven-year-old Jared behind me.

Her fingers were wrapped around his arm.

She was smiling.

But Jared wasn’t.

He was staring at the empty space where his younger self had disappeared, tears streaming down his face.