Semua Bab I Wish I'd Never Met You: Bab 1 - Bab 10

The icy mountain wind cut across my face like a blade, carrying the damp chill of the forest.I couldn't take my eyes off the man standing before me—the one claiming to be me, twenty years in the future.He looked ancient.Hideous.His face, buried beneath wrinkles and scars, looked as though it had been ripped apart and crudely stitched back together.And yet...The moment his clouded, despair-filled eyes met mine, something deep inside my soul trembled."W-What are you talking about?" My throat tightened, and my voice shook uncontrollably. "Nicole... how could she possibly...""How could she not?" he snapped. His rough, calloused hand clamped around my wrist with astonishing strength, the coarse skin scraping painfully against mine.Without waiting for another word, he dragged me deeper into the woods, deliberately avoiding the routes where the search party was most likely to look.As we stumbled over rocks and uneven ground, his raspy voice echoed through the trees like something cr

"Ethan."The older version of me tightened his grip on my hand until his fingernails nearly pierced my skin."Have you cried enough?"His voice trembled with urgency."I risked everything to come back here and find you."When we get back, Nicole is going to propose. You have to reject her. Reject her in front of everyone. Then leave her immediately."Disappear. Never let her find you again. Do you hear me?"His cloudy eyes burned with desperate, almost manic hope.I looked at the weathered face before me.At the scars covering his body.Slowly...The trembling in my body stopped.The unbearable pain tearing through my chest slowly settled into something colder.Deeper.A lifeless abyss.I lowered my hands from my face and wiped away the tears."We're close to the hotel now."You should hide."Don't let anyone see you."My own voice sounded strangely unfamiliar in the rain. It was rather hoarse and calm.The older me blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting me to recover so quickly.T

The hands around my throat froze.A second later, his grip loosened completely. It was as if every ounce of strength had drained from his body.He staggered backward several steps, staring at me in disbelief.I clutched my neck, coughing violently as I struggled to pull fresh air back into my lungs.When I finally caught my breath, I straightened up and walked toward him."I know what you've been through. And I know you're at your limit."My voice softened. I stepped forward and gently embraced this broken version of myself."You've been trapped for so long that all you can think about is escaping her. "There's nothing wrong with that. But running away isn't our only option."I held him tighter."I promise you, I will never betray myself."I spoke each word slowly, firmly."So listen to me. I'm going to destroy her. I'm going to strip away everything she has."I'm going to make her wish she'd never met me. But I need your help."I looked him straight in the eyes."You have twenty year

The wedding was held in the grand ballroom atop the largest five-star hotel in Ashton City.The room was packed with guests.Nicole had become one of the fastest-rising stars in the business world, and she'd carefully cultivated the image of a self-made success who had never forgotten the man who stood by her through the hardest years of her life.This "against-all-odds love story" had become a media sensation. Reporters and cameras filled the venue.I stood before the full-length mirror in the bridal suite, dressed in a custom-made tuxedo worth tens of thousands of dollars.Behind me stood my older self. He wore a janitor's uniform. His scarred hands carefully straightened my bow tie."Everything ready?" I asked, meeting his eyes in the mirror."Rest assured."He patted my shoulder gently. His voice trembled with excitement."The livestream has already been routed to the ballroom's main screen. It's broadcasting across every major platform."The trending topics are already in place. T

The wedding had become a complete disaster.The police arrived soon afterward.Not only had I exposed Nicole's affair, I'd also reported her for stealing $1 million from me.After all, most of that money had been earned through my own work. The account was in my name.With millions of people watching the livestream, Nicole, still dressed in her pristine white wedding gown, had a pair of cold steel handcuffs locked around her wrists.As the officers led her away, her eyes were empty.I don't know what she was thinking. But for a fleeting moment, I saw the seventeen-year-old girl she'd once been.This time, I didn't walk toward her.The evidence against Nicole was overwhelming. Combined with the enormous public backlash, her case moved quickly through the courts. She was sentenced without much delay.The Carter family wasn't spared either. After the scandal spread across the internet, the company's stock price crashed as soon as the market opened.Potential investors pulled out one after