Chapter 4

I checked into a cheap hotel.

Soaked through, stomach pain torturing me like death by a thousand cuts.

I shook as I pulled out the sketchbook.

The pages were already covered in dense writing. The blue ink was written so hastily that in some places it had bled through to the other side.

"Hey! Fortune teller!"

"Are you there? Answer me!"

"Fuck! I actually broke my leg!"

"That fat bastard crashed into me just now. I couldn't help it and went for the save anyway... My leg's broken and my forehead's cut open too, just like you said. Three stitches."

"I'm at the hospital now. It hurts like hell."

"Violet just cried. Her eyes are swollen like peaches. My heart aches. I wanted to yell at her to leave, but thinking about what you said, I didn't dare shout."

"Hey, whoever you are from the future."

"If you can predict the future, then tell me. If I love her this much, why would I change later?"

"Did Violet do something to betray me?"

Looking at line after line, my tears broke free.

Even at this point, eighteen-year-old Ethan was still trying to make excuses for his future self. He'd rather suspect I did something wrong than believe he was the one who changed.

I picked up the pen. The IV tape still clung to the back of my hand, damp with rain.

"She did nothing wrong."

"She lived with you in a basement apartment for three years. To save money for your startup equipment, she ate only one meal a day."

"She drank with clients until she had stomach bleeding, all for your business."

"To have your baby, she took countless ovulation shots. Her stomach was covered in needle marks."

"Ethan Blackwell, you're the only one who turned rotten."

"You were blinded by money. You found her haggard and plain. You thought Sophia was young and exciting and could give you thrills."

I wrote quickly. Each word was like flesh carved from my heart.

The other end was silent for a long time.

So long I thought he'd run away scared.

Suddenly, a line slowly appeared, the strokes no longer bold but carrying a tremor.

"That bastard... is really me?"

"Made Violet live in a basement? Made her drink until she had stomach bleeding? And found her unattractive?"

"Fuck that guy!"

"I'd break future me's legs! What kind of inhuman behavior is that?!"

"System... no wait, goddess, tell me what I should do now. What do I need to do to not become that animal?"

"What do I do to protect Violet?"

My heart felt like it was being carved with a knife.

It's too late.

The current Violet is already rotting in the mud.

"Ethan Blackwell," I wrote. "The only solution is to leave her."

"Don't go to the same university as her."

"Don't confess your feelings to her."

"Don't let her fall in love with you."

"Bridge to the south, city to the north. You two should never have met."