The woman I loved was getting married today.
I stood at the back of the wedding hall with a glass of champagne in my hand, watching her smile beneath a ceiling decorated with white roses.
Rebecca looked beautiful.
No.
Beautiful wasn't enough.
She looked happy.
That was what hurt.
She wore a simple white wedding dress that somehow made the entire room feel dull by comparison. Her hair was styled differently than I remembered, and a small silver necklace rested against her collarbone.
I had seen that necklace before.
I gave it to her.
Years ago.
She had laughed when she received it, saying it was too expensive and that I shouldn't waste my money on her.
I remembered telling her that it wasn't a waste.
Apparently, I was wrong.
Because I wasn't the person standing beside her today.
"You're really going to drink alone the entire night?"
I glanced to my side.
Leonard stood beside me, holding his own glass.
"Apparently."
He sighed.
"You could still leave."
I looked back toward the stage.
Rebecca was talking to one of her relatives. Every few seconds, she smiled politely and nodded.
"I could."
"Then why aren't you?"
I didn't answer.
Because the truth was embarrassing.
I had spent years convincing myself that I had moved on.
I hadn't.
I had simply become better at pretending.
Leonard leaned against the wall.
"You know, Terrence… you don't have to punish yourself."
"I'm not."
"You've been staring at her for twenty minutes."
"Have I?"
"Twenty-three."
I took another drink.
"You're keeping track?"
"I'm trying to figure out whether I should stop you from doing something stupid."
I laughed quietly.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to ruin her wedding."
"That's not what I'm worried about."
I looked at him.
"What are you worried about?"
Leonard stared at me for several seconds before answering.
"That you're going to keep living like this."
His words hit harder than they should have.
I looked away.
The music changed.
Everyone's attention shifted toward the entrance.
Rebecca's husband walked onto the stage.
The guests applauded.
I didn't.
I couldn't.
I watched the man I had never met properly take Rebecca's hand.
He looked nervous.
She smiled at him.
That smile.
I knew that smile.
I'd spent years trying to earn it.
And someone else had.
"Terrence."
Leonard's voice became quieter.
"Let's go."
I nodded.
"Yeah."
I placed the untouched glass on the table and walked toward the exit.
One step.
Then another.
I didn't look back.
At least, that's what I told myself.
The moment I reached the doors, I heard laughter from behind me.
Rebecca's laughter.
My feet stopped.
I closed my eyes.
For just a moment, I imagined turning around.
Walking back.
Telling her everything.
Telling her that I loved her.
That I always had.
That I regretted every stupid decision I'd made.
That if I had another chance, I would do everything differently.
But reality had never been kind enough to give people second chances.
So I opened my eyes.
And walked out.
The rain started twenty minutes later.
I stood beneath the awning outside the hall, watching cars disappear into the night.
Leonard had already left.
He had offered me a ride.
I refused.
I didn't want company.
I didn't want advice.
I just wanted to go home and forget today had happened.
My phone vibrated.
I glanced at the screen.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Then it vibrated again.
I answered.
"Hello?"
There was silence.
"Hello?"
A faint voice finally came through.
"Terrence?"
I froze.
I knew that voice.
"Rebecca?"
The line crackled.
"Where are you?"
I looked back toward the wedding hall.
"I'm outside."
"Don't leave."
Something about her voice was wrong.
"Rebecca, what's happening?"
"I—"
The call suddenly cut out.
I stared at my phone.
Then I called back.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
A cold feeling settled in my chest.
I ran.
The wedding hall was only a few hundred meters away, but it felt like the longest distance I'd ever traveled.
I pushed through the doors.
People were screaming.
The decorations that had looked beautiful minutes ago were scattered across the floor.
Someone had knocked over a table.
Glass covered the ground.
"Rebecca!"
No answer.
I pushed through the crowd.
Then I saw her.
She was lying on the floor.
My heart stopped.
I don't remember reaching her.
I don't remember pushing anyone aside.
One moment I was standing across the room.
The next, I was on my knees beside her.
"Rebecca."
Her eyes were closed.
There was blood on her dress.
"No."
My hands trembled as I tried to wake her.
"Rebecca, wake up."
Nothing.
Someone shouted for an ambulance.
Another person was crying.
I couldn't hear them.
All I could see was her.
The woman I had spent years regretting.
The woman I had finally convinced myself I could live without.
"Please."
My voice cracked.
"Please, Rebecca."
Her fingers moved.
Barely.
I grabbed her hand.
"Rebecca!"
Her eyes opened.
For a second, she looked directly at me.
She was afraid.
And somehow, that frightened me more than anything else.
"Terrence…"
"I'm here."
She struggled to breathe.
"I…"
"Don't talk."
I squeezed her hand.
"The ambulance is coming."
She looked at me.
Then she smiled.
Even now.
She smiled.
"You're… here."
My throat tightened.
"Of course I'm here."
Her fingers slowly tightened around mine.
"I thought…"
She coughed.
"I thought you left."
"I did."
I swallowed.
"But I came back."
Her eyes began closing.
"Why?"
The question broke something inside me.
Why?
Because I loved her.
Because I had always loved her.
Because I had been too much of a coward to say it when it mattered.
I leaned closer.
"Because…"
My voice trembled.
"Because I never stopped loving you."
Her eyes opened slightly.
For a moment, everything seemed to disappear.
The crowd.
The rain.
The wedding.
The years between us.
There was only Rebecca.
Then her hand went limp.
"No."
I shook her.
"Rebecca?"
Nothing.
"No, no, no…"
Someone grabbed my shoulder.
I pushed them away.
"She's still alive!"
"Terrence—"
"She's still alive!"
I didn't know who I was yelling at.
Maybe everyone.
Maybe God.
Maybe myself.
I refused to let go of her hand.
The sirens grew louder outside.
But somewhere deep inside me, I already knew.
I was too late.
Again.
The hospital corridor was bright.
Too bright.
I sat alone beneath fluorescent lights, staring at my hands.
There was still blood on them.
Rebecca's blood.
Hours passed.
Or maybe minutes.
I couldn't tell.
A doctor eventually walked toward me.
I stood.
"She's okay, right?"
The doctor stopped.
He didn't answer immediately.
That was enough.
My legs felt weak.
"I'm sorry."
Two words.
That's all it took to destroy me.
I sat back down.
The doctor said something else.
I didn't hear it.
My mind had already gone somewhere else.
Back to the first time I met Rebecca.
Back to the first time she smiled at me.
Back to every argument.
Every missed opportunity.
Every message I didn't answer.
Every time I told myself there would be another day.
Another opportunity.
Another chance.
There wasn't.
I covered my face.
For years, I had blamed circumstances.
I blamed work.
I blamed timing.
I blamed other people.
I blamed her.
I blamed myself.
But the truth was painfully simple.
I had been given countless chances.
I just never realized they were chances until they were gone.
I looked through the hospital window.
The city lights blurred behind the rain.
"If I could go back…"
My voice was barely audible.
"I'd do everything differently."
I laughed bitterly.
"Just once."
I closed my eyes.
"I don't need money."
"I don't need power."
"I don't need anything."
I clenched my fists.
"I just want another chance."
A car horn suddenly blared outside.
I opened my eyes.
Headlights flooded the window.
There was a violent screech.
Someone screamed.
And then—
Nothing.
Darkness.
I couldn't feel my body.
I couldn't hear anything.
I couldn't even tell if I was breathing.
Am I dead?
The thought came strangely calmly.
Then I heard footsteps.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Someone was approaching.
I opened my eyes.
A girl stood several meters away.
She looked young.
Far too young.
Long black hair fell over her shoulders, and she wore an outfit that looked like someone had combined a school uniform with gothic clothing.
She was holding a massive black scythe.
I stared at her.
She stared at me.
Then she sighed.
"You really made a mess."
I looked around.
"Where am I?"
"Dead."
"What?"
She pointed her scythe at me.
"You're dead."
I stared at the weapon.
Then at her.
Then back at the weapon.
"…Are you a cosplayer?"
Her expression became blank.
"What?"
"You look like a Reaper."
"I am a Reaper."
"Right."
I nodded slowly.
"Of course you are."
She narrowed her eyes.
"You're taking this surprisingly well."
"I just watched the woman I love die."
Her expression changed.
For the first time, the strange girl looked serious.
"You really loved her?"
I didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
"Even after she married someone else?"
"Yes."
"Even though she chose another man?"
"Yes."
"Even though you waited until the end to tell her?"
I looked down.
"…Yes."
The Reaper stared at me for a long time.
Then she walked closer.
"My name is Rosalyn."
I looked up.
"Terrence."
"I know."
My eyes narrowed.
"How?"
She smiled.
"Because I've been watching you."
That answer should have frightened me.
Instead, I was too tired to care.
Rosalyn crouched in front of me.
"Normally, this is where I would explain that your life is over."
I looked at her.
"But?"
"But you're an unusual case."
She reached into her coat and pulled out a black envelope.
She held it toward me.
I didn't take it.
"What is that?"
"Your second chance."
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was impossible.
"Second chance?"
Rosalyn smiled.
"Yes."
She placed the envelope in my hand.
"You're going back."
My heart stopped.
"Back where?"
"To the beginning."
The darkness around us began to crack like glass.
Light poured through the cracks.
Rosalyn's voice became distant.
"But there's one thing you need to understand, Terrence."
I looked at her.
She smiled.
This time, there was something almost sad in her expression.
"You can rewrite your fate."
The world shattered.
"But Fate…"
Her final words echoed through the darkness.
"…can rewrite you too."
And then—
I fell.