Chapter 9
When she heard what Kole said, Kiana knew she couldn’t hide it anymore. She got furious and yelled at him, “You’ve got some nerve! If you hadn’t rented cars and clothes to act rich, I would’ve never looked at someone like you!
“Every time I see your face, I feel like throwing up! Besides money, what else do you have going for you?
“So, what are you going to rent with the money you’re asking for this time?”
Kiana and Kole started cussing each other out, and it quickly turned into a grapple.
Seeing the mess, Antonio wrapped his arms around me to protect me and then got us out of the hospital.
We wandered around the streets, and Antonio looked regretful.
“Grace, would you believe me if I told you I came from eight years in the future?”
He gave me the quick version of what happened in those eight years, then let out a sad smile and looked down.
“I didn’t get to Kiana in time, so I always blamed you. I thought it was because of you that she died.
“Every time I saw you, I thought of her, so I avoided you on purpose. I didn’t want to be around you.
“But honestly, seeing how sad you looked hurt me too. I knew I didn’t want things to be like this. I was struggling during those years.
“I still remember you once told me that if you ever got married, you wanted someone who would stick with you forever and never cheat. You didn’t want to end up like your parents.
“But in the end, I let you down.
“I didn’t know what to do back then. When the time machine showed up, I thought my chance had finally come. If I went back eight years and saved Kiana from the fire, I could be with you without any guilt, and we could have a real, warm home together.
“But why did it end up costing me you this time? If I had known it would turn out like this, I would rather not have come back. I could’ve lived with the guilt of not saving Kiana, but at least I wouldn’t have lost you.
“Do you think all this sounds crazy?”
Of course not, because I went through it too.
Those eight years he struggled with were tough for me too.
But I didn’t plan to tell him that I also came back through the time. machine.
“Is this the second ending you had in mind? It does sound sad. But now both Kiana and I are still here,
and you did what you wanted to do. Isn’t
that the best ending?”
Antonio looked at me and choked out, “If it means losing you, then it’s not what I want.”
The love in his eyes was so intense that it felt like it could drown me. I never expected that something I had waited eight years for would come to me like this.
“Antonio, I’m leaving.”
He froze, staring at me blankly, unsure of what to do.
“I hope you don’t come looking for me. If what you said is true, it’s best we part now.”
Chapter 10