Chapter 1
Before the wedding, I received my own call— from three years later. She warned me not to marry Dylan, saying I was nothing more than a stand-in for his dream girl.
And his dream girl just so happened to be my best friend—the bridesmaid at our wedding.
Of course, I didn't believe her.
Not until the fire broke out, and Dylan abandoned me without hesitation, carrying the bridesmaid to safety instead. That was when I finally woke up to the truth: Dylan's heart had never been mine.
On the day of our wedding, I tore off my veil, threw my ring aside, and decided to let Dylan and his dream girl have each other.
Later, I heard that the once-proud heir of the Archer family crawled on the ground like a dog, desperately searching for the ring I had tossed away...
*****
The day I tried on my wedding dress, my phone slipped from the high platform, crashing to the ground. That was when I received the mysterious call.
The voice on the other end was mine—from three years in the future.
"Don't marry Dylan Archer. He's in love with someone else. You're just a stand-in. He'll never love you. The person he truly loves is your best friend."
My first thought? This person was out of her mind.
Jade Sinclair was like a sister to me. And Dylan? We'd been together for five years, and not once had he raised his voice at me.
He always said how lucky he was to have found me, that I was the love of his life.
My instinct was to hang up, but then I heard the shattering of glass on the other end. The sound sent a jolt of fear through me.
I shuddered, unable to help myself, while the voice of "me" on the other side let out a blood-curdling scream.
Then, I heard a voice I knew all too well.
"Amelia Grant, I've warned you enough—don't hurt Jade. If you even think about it, I'll make sure you regret it."
The voice was identical to Dylan's.
A sudden tension gripped my forehead.
Jade?
Could it really be my Jade?
My hands trembled as if some explosive secret was about to burst open right in front of me.
Suddenly, the future "me" started screaming again.
"No! Please, Dylan! Stop. I'm begging you!"
Her voice was filled with sheer terror, as if she were enduring some unimaginable torture.
I felt it too. Cold sweat dripped down my back.
"Amelia, how does it feel to be cut by glass? You killed our baby, and you made sure Jade'll never have children again. Nothing—no punishment—will ever make me forget that."
Dylan's voice was icy, like a dagger slicing through the phone, freezing me to the core. I felt like I had fallen into a dark, endless void.
Was this really Dylan? The gentle, caring Dylan I knew?
"No," I told myself, my mind a blur. "Dylan wouldn't do this to me."
But my lashes trembled as I fought the wave of dread that washed over me. "This isn't real. Dylan wouldn't..."
Another scream shattered my thoughts, piercing through me like an electric shock.
I flinched, my body trembling involuntarily.
I didn't know how much time had passed before the noise on the other end began to fade.
I felt cold, my voice shaking as I whispered, "Hello? Are you still there?"
The future "me" rasped in a broken voice, "Yeah."
I let out a long, shaky breath. "Thank God you're okay."
But the future "me" only laughed bitterly, her voice hoarse and ragged.
"You heard it all, didn't you? Dylan loves Jade. He'd kill for her. His parents don't approve of her, so he found a stand-in—me. If you go through with this marriage, you'll end up just like me."
My head was spinning, refusing to accept it. "That's impossible. Jade's my best friend, and Dylan is my future husband. He loves me. How could this be?"
The future "me" sighed, exhausted and weak. "You'll believe it soon enough. There's going to be a fire at the bridal shop today, at five o'clock. Dylan will leave you behind to save Jade."
"No," I said, my nails digging into my palms. "They hardly know each other."
But all I heard was the dull tone of the call ending.
"Amelia!" Jade's cheerful voice broke through, pulling me harshly back to reality.