Chapter 1The night my boyfriend proposed, I somehow called him. Five years into the future.
I'm sitting there. Ring on my finger. Can't stop smiling.
Telling him about the fireworks. The proposal. How perfect tonight was.
He just listens. Doesn't say anything.
Then I hear her. This breathy little moan in the background.
I freeze. Then laugh it off. "Wait—is that ME? Oh my god, do I sound like that? Are we happy? Please tell me we're happy."
He still doesn't answer. Just flips the camera.
And there she was. My bestie. In OUR bed. Under him.
I couldn't look away. Couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
He turns the camera back. Still catching his breath.
"Yeah. Fucked her an hour after I proposed."
"So now past-you knows, Sloane. Stay and play mistress, or get the fuck out. Your call."
---
"Your call."
Those words were still ringing in my ears when the call dropped.
I just sat there, could still see him on one knee from a few hours ago.
My hand just kept twisting the ring, round and round.
I didn't believe it.
Holden and I've known each other for twenty years. He's been following me around since we were six.
No way he'd cheat on me.
I tried calling him. Wouldn't go through.
Called Joelle. First time, no answer.
Second time, straight to voicemail.
I grabbed my jacket and drove to her place.
Got to her apartment building, saw her lights were still on.
She gave me a spare key ages ago, said I could come over whenever.
I walked up to her door, stood there in the hallway.
Two pairs of shoes by the door—hers and a pair of men's dress shoes.
Custom ones. Three hours ago when Holden got down on one knee, those were the exact shoes I was staring at.
The hallway was dead quiet.
Except my phone buzzed. New message from future Holden.
"You're at her place, aren't you? Forget it. Just flip over your ring and look inside."
My fingers went stiff.
Then slowly took the ring off, held my phone light up to the inside.
Tiny engraving: J&H, forever.
Joelle and Holden.
Not S&H.
Sloane and Holden.
I slid down to the floor, clutching that ring.
Texted future him, hands shaking so bad I could barely type.
"Why the fuck is her name on MY ring?"
Took forever for him to reply.
"'Cause I was gonna propose to her first. Then figured you'd make a better wife. Didn't have time to get the ring re-engraved."
Felt like I got punched in the stomach.
All I could think about was tonight—fireworks going off, Holden down on one knee, Joelle up front just losing it, mascara everywhere.
I grabbed her hand and said thank you for being happy for me.
She just cried harder.
Yeah. That wasn't happy crying.
I buried my face in my knees and just laughed. Sounded insane.
Stumbled back home around 2 a.m.
Holden was already there, sound asleep.
I just stood there looking at him.
Six to twenty-six. Known this dude my whole life.
I put the ring on the nightstand and sat on the couch all night.
Morning came, he woke up and saw the ring.
Picked it up, stared at it a minute, then walked over and put it back on.
Leaned down and kissed my forehead.
"Why'd you take it off? I told you when I put this on—don't ever take it off."
A tear came down my face. He wiped it away with his thumb, smiled.
"Happy tears?"
I just looked down. Didn't say anything.
That night I texted future him.
[so when did you guys first hook up]
He hit me back pretty quick.
[same night i proposed to you. remember i said i had to go deal with work stuff? went straight to her place]
[and yeah. never stopped]
Felt like I was gonna puke.
That night after he proposed, he told me he had to run back to the office real quick. I was annoyed as hell.
Then Joelle texts me: [sloane dont be sad ok. just go to bed. hes working so hard for you]
I even texted back: [thanks jo]
Chapter 2
Next day I went to my studio like normal.
Used to trust Joelle with everything. After she started working there, never even looked at her computer.
This time I did. Opened her files.
My whole body went numb.
All my designs. Every single one. Organized by date, full backups, everything.
I texted future Holden right away: [did you know joelle copied all my designs?]
He wrote back later that afternoon.
[yeah i knew. your studios getting bought out this year. some new company. joelles behind it]
[i gave her the money. she stole everything off your computer]
I sat there staring at my screen.
All those sketches. Every one of them I'd pulled all-nighters for.
Three years ago I walked away from my corporate job to start this place.
Holden backed me up completely. Gave me every cent he had.
Now he was gonna rip it all away and give it to HER.
Joelle showed up that night with coffees.
"Sloane, you good? You look like shit. Spa weekend?"
I looked at her.
"Yeah. Sounds good."
Soon as she left I texted him again.
[do you regret it? what you did to my studio?]
He hit me back fast.
[yeah. that was everything to you. shouldnt have touched it]
[but joelle said she wanted her own thing too so]
That night Holden made dinner. My favorite—beef stew.
He turned around when I walked in, smiled.
"Hey, you're home. How was work?"
I sat down at the table. He handed me a fork.
"Sloane, next month we're getting married. You want a church thing or something outside?"
I forced a smile.
"You pick."
After he fell asleep that night, I took a shower.
The scar on my right shoulder was still there.
Fifteen years ago I got hit trying to protect Joelle from her stepdad.
Back then she was too scared to go home 'cause he'd beat the shit out of her. I stayed up with her every single night.
I thought after all that, we were basically family.
I opened my phone.
[tell me everything else joelle did. dont leave anything out]
Took him a few minutes to answer.
[worst thing she did wasnt about your career. it was about your dad]
[your dads got a bad heart. ive been setting up his specialist appointments every month]
[the day he died we couldve saved him. but]
The text just stopped.
Soon as I saw "your dad" I fucking lost it.
Kept texting him. Over and over.
Nothing.
Nothing till sunrise. Then my phone blew up.
He must've been sitting there forever trying to figure out what to say.
[ok so next month. your dads gonna have a heart attack]
[youre gonna be out of town. work thing]
[i set up this whole specialist team to be there. best cardiac surgeons. all lined up]
[then joelle calls me that morning. says she just miscarried. begging me to come over]
[so i go. tell my assistant make sure everythings covered at the hospital]
[what i didnt know was joelle already called them. told them to cancel the specialists. just use whoever was there]
[by the time i show up at the hospital its already over]
[youre on the floor outside the OR]
[you didnt even look up. just sat there. whole night]
[i still see that sometimes. you sitting there. and i feel like shit every single time]
I read all that. Just closed my phone.
Then got in my car. Drove straight to my parents'.
Chapter 3
Dad was on the couch when I walked in. Reading glasses on, book in his lap.
His pill organizer sitting on the coffee table. Seven little compartments all filled up.
I sat down next to him. Put my head on his shoulder.
He patted my hand, laughing a little. "What's going on? Holden do something stupid again?"
"No. Just wanted to see you."
I stayed the whole day.
Helped Mom in the kitchen. Played chess with Dad.
Right before I left I texted future him again.
[what about my mom? what happens to her?]
He wrote back fast.
[after your dad died you had a breakdown. joelle put your mom in some shady nursing home. used your name to sign the papers]
[by the time i found her theyd been giving her the wrong meds for months. she didnt recognize anyone anymore]
I gripped my phone so hard my hand hurt.
Then turned around, saw Mom in the kitchen humming to herself.
On the drive home I pulled over.
Put my forehead on the steering wheel. Couldn't stop shaking.
That kid who used to scare off anyone who messed with me.
That teenager who shoved his umbrella at me in the rain and ran home soaking wet.
The guy who transferred every dollar he had when I started my business. Didn't even hesitate.
He really did all this?
But it was way too specific. Had to be real.
I wiped my face and kept driving.
Back home, I started packing.
I was done.
Then my phone rang. Hospital.
Figured they just wanted me to come pick up my results.
But the doctor stopped me cold.
"Ms. Sloane, congratulations. You're three months pregnant. Baby's healthy."
My hand went straight to my stomach.
Three months.
Before Holden even proposed, this baby was already here.
My eyes got wet.
Not from pain. From how fucked up the timing was.
I sat in that hospital hallway for hours holding the ultrasound printout.
Finally pulled out my phone and texted him.
"Do we… have a kid? In the future?"
Screen showed he was typing. Stopped. Started again.
Over and over.
Finally:
"We did. Once."
Then another message.
"Stop asking. Please."
An hour of silence.
Then a voice memo popped up. His voice sounded wrecked.
"Sloane, that baby… if you got rid of it now, it'd be better."
"Don't let anyone know. Not even me right now."
