Chapter 1

The time machine erupted with a blinding flash of light. I squeezed my eyes shut, only to suddenly hear Sophia Hayes' mocking voice.

"My parents threatened suicide to force me to marry you, Julian Reed. I bet you’re happy now that you've gotten what you wanted, huh?

"But even if we get married, what exactly will you gain? Do you really think we can be happy together?"

My eyes flew open to see Sophia standing before me, still alive and breathing.

She was wearing an elegant long dress and had her hair pulled up in a high ponytail, radiating youthful energy. Even so, her eyes were unable to hide their contempt.

The Sophia from my future was mature, cold, and unapproachable, but this version of her was bright and spirited, still carrying a touch of liveliness.

A lump formed in my throat when I laid my eyes on her.

The time machine had indeed brought me back to the past, but unfortunately, it seemed to have malfunctioned. Instead of returning to when we first met, I had arrived thirteen years in the past, on the day Sophia and I were about to be married.

Thankfully, there was still a chance to make things right at this point.

Fighting back the bitterness in my heart, I stared at her with a smirk.

"Sophia, you don't want to marry me because the person you truly want to marry is Ethan Brooks. Am I right?"

I might have struck a nerve because her body suddenly stiffened. She looked at me coldly and said, "So what if that's true? We're already standing here. How can I back out now?"

I nodded honestly. "You can."

Sophia laughed derisively. "I don't have time for your games of playing hard to get. Just sign the papers and get the marriage certificate done with. I'll wait for you outside."

Watching her walk away, my heart felt as if it were being pierced by a sharp needle.

In both my past life and this one, I had loved Sophia for many years.

She had saved my life twice without hesitation, leading me to believe she secretly had feelings for me.

Her parents, Gavin Hayes and Allison Sinclair, had also encouraged me to pursue her.

They said to me, "Sophia is harsh with her words, but she’s a softie at heart. If she didn't love you, why would she risk her life to save you twice?"

I believed them wholeheartedly and happily prepared to marry her. It was not until after her first love died that I realized she had feelings for someone else.

Her final words before death—that she wished she had never met me—had completely crushed me.

My decade of love had simply been her decade of torment.

Before activating the time machine, the stuff had told me that I could only sever our ill-fated connection by fulfilling Sophia's three regrets.

By doing this, she would not die at thirty years old because of me. Both of us would have our own smooth, diverged paths in life from that point on.

Hence, I looked down and wrote Ethan's name on the marriage application form.

I clearly remembered the three regrets Sophia had written in her diary.

"I regret marrying Julian. I regret not standing up to my parents, and I regret not saving Ethan."

Now, her first regret was being addressed.

I walked out holding two marriage certificates. Sophia was waiting for me at the entrance.

She instinctively reached for the certificates to check them, but I quickly stopped her.