Chapter 4
826 Words
Charlotte closed her eyes tightly, feeling as if a knife had been plunged into her heart, causing her unbearable agony.
She wanted to say something to comfort her future self ten years from now, but she realized that any words of consolation would be shallow and inadequate.
After a long silence, she slowly sent a reply to her future self: "Even if my daughter was never born, I will find another way to live my life."
After sending the message, she could no longer hold on. Her vision went black, and she lost consciousness once again.
On the other side, Raymond woke up with a start in the middle of the night. He went to check on his wife, only to find the hospital room empty.
"Sarah, Charlotte's gone."
Sarah's eyes widened in shock. With a look of terror, she rushed over and grabbed Raymond's arm.
"What do you mean? She was just sleeping! How could she just disappear?"
"I don't know."
Raymond shook his head slightly, his hands trembling as he took out his phone to call Charlotte.
The phone rang for a long time before a mechanical voice finally answered, "The number you have dialed is unavailable. Please try again later."
"Did she answer?"
Sarah asked urgently, her almond-shaped eyes filled with worry.
Raymond shook his head with a grim expression. "Nothing. Let's head back to the house and see if she's there."
"Okay."
The woman standing before him responded hastily before turning around and rushing home in panic.
They found Charlotte in the study. A pool of blood had formed beneath her.
Tears suddenly streamed down Sarah's face as she lunged forward, crying out in a broken voice, "Charlotte!"
"I'm calling an ambulance."
As Raymond spoke, he reached out to check Charlotte's breathing.
Upon feeling the warmth of her breath, he let out a momentary sigh of relief.
"Don't panic, Sarah. She's still breathing. She'll be okay once the paramedics get here."
Sarah was about to nod when her gaze fell upon the photograph on the desk, and her brow furrowed deeply.
"She was doing okay... why did she pull out the photo album?"
Raymond looked over at the sound of her voice and immediately spotted that familiar photograph.
His face turned deathly pale in an instant. With trembling hands, he picked up the photo and saw the familiar words written on the back.
— Raymond loves Sarah—loves her so, so much.
He had taken this photo during their second year of high school, back when the three of them were working part-time jobs together.
At that time, Sarah's smile was so brilliant that it dazzled his eyes and found its way into his heart.
He had originally planned to confess his feelings to her after the college entrance exams, but he never expected to receive a confession from Charlotte instead.
He wanted to reject Charlotte at that moment, but before he could speak, Sarah pushed Charlotte into his arms with a laugh.
"What are you waiting for, Raymond? You don't think our Charlotte isn't good enough for you, do you?"
Hearing those words and meeting Charlotte's bright, sparkling eyes, he ultimately failed to reject her.
Standing beside him, Sarah noticed his face growing increasingly pale. Confused, she snatched the photo from his hands.
"What's wrong with this photo? Why are you..."
She stopped mid-sentence, falling instantly silent the moment she saw the line of text on the back of the photograph.
A second later, her trembling and terrified voice echoed through the study. "Raymond... does she know?"
In the next moment, the doorbell rang.
The ambulance had arrived.
Charlotte was carried into the ambulance by the nurses. Upon arriving at the hospital, she was rushed straight into the emergency room.
Outside the emergency room, Sarah could no longer keep her composure and burst into tears.
"It's all my fault. If I had just stayed away from you, she never would've ended up like this."
"She is my best friend, and she is my family... How could I do this to her?"
Raymond keenly noticed that Sarah's emotions were spiraling. He quickly walked over and pulled her into his arms.
"Look, Sarah, stop it. You didn't do anything wrong."
"No, it's on me. If I'd just been straight with Charlotte from the start, we wouldn't be in this mess."
"I'll talk to her when she's awake and own up to everything. She can scream at me or hit me. I don't care. I'll take it."
Sarah broke down in tears. "You can't do that! You're her husband. You can't just walk away when she's like this. She just lost the baby. She can't lose you, too."
"Sarah, you're so worried about Charlotte, but what about me? Am I supposed to just let you go?"
Raymond pulled Sarah back slightly, staring at her with a heavy, intense gaze.
"I already missed out on three years with you. I'm not losing you again."
- Writer
