Love Out Of Time

Cover art for the short story “Love out of time” on the Real Novels website

Chapter 1

Three years of torment at the hands of Ethan Smith, and then he proposed.

He said, “Riley, the past is the past. From today on, you will be my wife.”

But when his childhood sweetheart went off the rails again, sobbing and accusing me of breaking her finger, he didn’t hesitate to chop off mine as compensation.

The shock caused amnesia. I forgot everything about him.

Yet, there he was, red-eyed and trembling, trying to put the ring back on my finger.

I laughed and told him, “You can’t put a ring on a finger that’s not there anymore.”

The day Ethan proposed was picture-perfect.

The lawn was decked out with flowers and balloons, a helicopter showered petals from the sky, and Ethan knelt down on one knee, his friends cheering us on.

“Say yes!”

It was a dreamy scene, but the woman standing opposite the leading man looked completely out of place.

My pale face needed no foundation, my gaunt frame couldn’t fill out the beautiful mermaid gown.

When Ethan took my hand to slip the ring on, I flinched and stumbled back, only to be pulled forward again.

Like a kite, no matter how strong the wind or how far it soared, the string was in his hand. I couldn’t escape.

“Stay still,” Ethan murmured, the cool silver band sliding onto my finger.

“No…”

I curled my finger inwards, my eyes wide with fear.

“Ethan, let me go.”

I no longer dreamed of marrying him, let alone being near him.

I just wanted to leave, to get as far away from him as possible.

But just like three years ago, Ethan didn’t care about what I wanted.

He stubbornly forced the ring onto my right ring finger and then, seemingly affectionately, kissed it.

He stared at me intensely, like a devout worshipper, his dark eyes refusing to miss a single flicker of emotion.

“Riley, three years ago, you wanted to marry me, didn’t you? Three years later, your wish has come true.”

“Let’s forget about the past. From today on, you will be my wife, and I will love you well.”

I shook my head, consumed by fear.

Three years ago, I did want to marry Ethan, to build a life with him.

But the torment of the past three years had shattered that dream. I feared him, loathed him. How could I still want to marry him?

The silver ring felt like a collar, simply moved from my neck to my hand.

Numbly, I endured his embraces and kisses, tears tracing paths down my cheeks.

He gently wiped away a tear.

“Riley, I’ll make it up to you. It’s all in the past now.”

In the past?

No, it would never be in the past.

I suddenly struggled, pushing Ethan away with all my might. Everyone was startled by my outburst.

Black-suited security guards closed in from all sides.

Ethan’s voice was cold, “Don’t hurt her.”

I was still restrained. Ethan’s eyes stormed with a silent reprimand for my disobedience.

I cowered, expecting the familiar sting of his hand.

But this time, he just ruffled my hair and sighed.

“Riley, you can’t run away.”

“From now on, we’ll live a good life together.”

Suddenly, a figure darted into my peripheral vision. A sharp slap echoed through the air.

My head snapped to the side, a red handprint blooming on my left cheek.

“You can’t wear that dress! Take it off! It’s mine! Mine!”

The woman clawed at my dress, a crazed look in her eyes.

Without Ethan’s command, the guards didn’t intervene.

My shoulder was exposed, the woman’s sharp nails raking across my skin, leaving bloody trails.

The onlookers watched with morbid fascination, taking in the one-sided spectacle like it was a play.

The fabric ripped. I was about to be completely exposed when a suit jacket shielded me.

Ethan pulled the woman away, soothing her with gentle words.

“Willow, she doesn’t owe you anything anymore. She’s my fiancée now. You can’t treat her like this.”

Willow looked up, her eyes red-rimmed and dazed.

“You’re going to marry her? Marry the woman who tried to kill me? Ethan, you can’t.”

Chapter 2

Ethan frowned, his displeasure evident.

“Willow, it’s been three years. It’s enough.”

“No, it’s not enough!” Willow shrieked. “Look at me! I’m like this because of her! Do you know what people call me now? They call me crazy! And it’s all because of her! Ethan, you can’t marry her! I won’t allow it!”

“Willow!” Ethan’s voice deepened, laced with warning. “Stop being unreasonable.”

Willow paused, her gaze darting between me and Ethan.

Finally, she held up her twisted right ring finger, tears welling in her eyes. “Just one last time, Ethan. Avenge my finger, please? Then I’ll never be unreasonable again.”

Silence fell over the crowd.

I looked up, my heart pounding in my chest as I met Ethan’s intense gaze.

“No, Ethan, her finger has nothing to do with me! You can’t just blindly take her side!”

My voice trembled. I wanted to beg, to plead as I had so many times before, but my limbs felt frozen.

The look in Ethan’s eyes terrified me. He was conflicted, but when it came to Willow, he always chose her side.

“Ethan, you can’t just listen to her! I didn’t do those things! I really didn’t!”

The mocking stares of the onlookers intensified. After a long moment, Ethan gently stroked my face, but his words sent a chill down my spine.

“Riley, it’s just a finger. It’s not a big deal. If we did something wrong, we’ll make up for it. Be good. This is the last time.”

I stared at him, speechless.

I searched his face for any trace of the boy I once knew, but I couldn’t even recall what he looked like back then.

I looked down at my outstretched hand, the silver ring glinting in the sunlight. The next moment, a guard’s blade flashed, and my right ring finger was severed at the base.

Blood spurted. The ring landed in the crimson pool.

My scream tore through the air. Despite the summer heat, I felt a bone-deep chill.

As I looked up, I saw the faintest hint of a smile playing on Willow’s lips.

She looked like a victor, silently mocking my defeat.

I felt numb, collapsing onto the lawn.

Then, I was lifted into someone’s arms.

Willow stepped in front of Ethan, her voice laced with resentment. “Ethan, you could have just had a guard take her to the hospital. I want you to stay with me.”

Ethan gave Willow a cold look, his voice edged with warning.

“Willow, we agreed. This was the last time. If you keep this up, I won’t help you anymore.”

Willow pouted, casting a resentful glance at me.

My eyelids grew heavy. Ethan’s voice, calling my name over and over, sounded like a haunting chant.

Finally, I lost consciousness.

I dreamt I was drenched, hiding on a rooftop, crying.

A boy offered me a tissue. He was backlit, and I couldn’t see his face clearly.

“Dry your eyes. You look like a drowned puppy.”

He told me his name was Ethan Smith. He’d seen me on the rooftop several times, always crying.

“Are you being bullied?”

I shook my head, then nodded. Ethan seemed to understand immediately. He straightened me up, his voice serious.

“Come on, I’ll have your back.”

I thought he was joking. I didn’t want him to get involved.

Those bullies… we couldn’t afford to cross them.

Ethan called me a coward, but he started seeking me out, almost every day.

When he was around, I felt inexplicably lucky.

No one bothered me, no one looked at me with those strange, judging eyes. I started looking out the window before the end of each class, anticipating his arrival.

Days turned into weeks, peaceful and calm. But then, one day, the familiar figure disappeared from the hallways.

And a girl named Willow entered my life.

She grabbed my hair, her voice dripping with disdain, as she addressed her posse.

“So this is the slut’s daughter. Even better in person. A little fox, just like her mother.”

“How dare you try to steal my man? I’ll teach you a lesson. Some lines you just don’t cross!”

Chapter 3

My life descended into a living hell.

I longed for Ethan to reappear, but he never did.

I saw him again on a plane.

It was a chance encounter. I recognized him instantly, but I wasn’t sure he remembered me.

He was so radiant, it made me shy.

As we were disembarking, his deep, smooth voice startled me. “Hey, I think we’ve met before.”

He smiled warmly and said my name.

We started talking, getting to know each other, and eventually dating.

But when I saw Willow at his house, my nightmare began anew.

Willow, frantic and disheveled, pointed at me, screaming as if terrified.

I learned then that after I left school, she had been kidnapped. When her family found her, she was covered in bruises.

And now, she was blaming me for everything.

I was stunned. Ethan looked at me with disgust, allowing Willow to pull my hair and slap me.

That’s when I discovered that Willow and Ethan were childhood sweethearts, their families planning to unite them through marriage.

But Willow’s breakdown had put an end to those plans.

The doctors said that for Willow to recover, they needed to find the root cause of her trauma.

And apparently, that root cause was me.

No matter how much I denied it, no one believed me.

Ethan, desperate for Willow to get better, made me her punching bag.

I tried to run away, but he always caught me.

Once, he even broke my leg.

He’d caress my face gently, his words chilling me to the bone.

“Riley, if you run again, your whore of a mother won’t live to see another day.”

I stared at him, disbelief and terror stealing my voice.

My mom wasn’t a whore. She was a victim, tricked and abandoned after I was born. But society is always harsher on women.

My biological father abandoned us both, allowing his wife to torment my mother, heaping all the blame on her.

My mom couldn’t take it. She went insane, truly believing she was at fault.

She raised me in her madness, naming me Riley, hoping my life would be sweet.

I wanted to tell her that a sweet name wouldn’t make life sweet.

For the next three years, Ethan kept me locked in a basement, treating me like a dog, a collar around my neck.

Willow unleashed all her fury on me.

One day, she beat me so badly I thought I was going to die. Then, gripping my hair, she whispered something that shattered me.

“Riley, you didn’t really think Ethan loved you, did you? Let me tell you the truth. In high school, he was just bored, playing a cruel game with you. And he gave me permission to bully you before he went abroad.”

“Do you know what he said when I asked him about you?”

“He said you were like a dog, fun to play with sometimes, but only an idiot would fall for the daughter of a whore.”

“You really didn’t get any smarter as you got older, did you?”

I wanted to argue, to deny it, but Ethan’s actions over the past three years had stripped me of any defense.

Willow was telling the truth. Ethan didn’t love me. His cruelty wasn’t love. I was just a way to pass the time.

Three years. The scars he left on me spoke volumes.

All those years of waiting, of hoping… it was all a cruel joke.

The dream was too horrifying. I wanted to wake up.

But it pulled me deeper, like a whirlpool.

Suddenly, I heard someone calling my name, over and over, their voice filled with panic.

“Riley.”

“Riley, wake up.”