Chapter 1

The day before my wedding, I got into a car accident saving my fiancé, Ethan.

I ended up in a vegetative state.

Before I lost consciousness, Ethan held my hand, tears streaming down his face.

“Claire, you have to wake up. I’m still waiting for you to be my wife.”

Mom and my best friend, Sophie, were crying too, begging me to get better.

Three years later, I finally wake up. But instead, everyone falls silent.

Mom just says, “Well, at least you’re awake.”

Sophie secretly pulls the doctor aside.

“I thought you said the chances of her waking up were really low?”

Only Ethan grits his teeth and says he’ll keep his promise to marry me.

I’m thrilled.

Right there in the hospital room, I get my little sister, Emma, to help me pick out a wedding dress, look at hotels, and plan our honeymoon.

Emma’s face goes pale, but she forces a smile.

“How about Bali? It’s beautiful. Perfect for a honeymoon.”

That’s when I notice the wedding ring on her ring finger.

“Emma, when did you get married? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Her expression changes, and she quickly pulls her hand back.

But I’ve already seen the letters on the ring.

E.C.

Ethan Carter's initials.

And then I understand.

In the three years I was asleep, my fiancé had already married my little sister.

……

The sunlight in my hospital room is painfully bright.

I stare blankly at what’s in front of me.

Mom has red-rimmed eyes. Sophie is silent.

And Ethan stands behind them, tightly holding and protecting Emma.

That’s when I notice her baby bump. She’s clearly pregnant.

Ethan and I had a baby once, too.

When I first got pregnant, he was like any other first-time dad, awkwardly learning how to take care of a baby.

He bought tons of baby toys ahead of time. He even had an expensive crib specially made overseas.

Then our baby died.

He held my hand, tears streaming down his face, and told me we’d have another baby someday.

Now he’s finally going to be a father again. But the mother is my little sister.

My best friend, Sophie, and I went to college together.

Then we started working together.

We even promised to be each other’s bridesmaids.

And now she clears her throat, finally breaking the silence.

“Claire, don’t blame them.”

“The doctors said the chances of you waking up were really low. Your mom’s getting older and needs someone to look after her. And Ethan… he had his reasons.”

When Mom first met Ethan, she had tears in her eyes and made him swear he would treat me well.

But now she carefully reaches for my hand.

“Emma didn’t mean to hurt you. She took care of you every day while you were in a coma. You should be grateful to her.”

I pull my hand away without thinking.

I can’t process any of it.

I just stare at Ethan and Emma, their fingers tightly intertwined.

My mind flashes back to three years ago.

Ethan was down on one knee, his eyes shining.

“Claire, I’ll wait for you. I swear I’ll marry you. Three years, thirty years, my whole life. I’ll wait.”

His promise still seems to echo in my ears.

Outside the window, the leaves turn green, then yellow, then fall, only to grow back again.

Three whole years.

Everyone has moved on. Everyone except me.

I’m still trapped in this hospital room. Trapped three years in the past.

My chest aches so badly I can barely breathe.

Seeing that I still haven’t said a word, Emma suddenly drops to her knees.

“Claire, I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”

But next second, she grabs her stomach, her face going pale.

Ethan reacts instantly. He picks her up and rushes out.

“Emma! Are you okay? Somebody get a doctor!”

Mom and Sophie hurry after them.

The way Ethan rushes away looks exactly like it did three years ago, on the day I got hurt.

Back then, he held me in his arms in the ambulance, trembling as he kept calling my name.

“Claire, wake up. Don’t go to sleep…”

“Once you’re better, we’ll get married. Please don’t leave me…”

I bury my face in my knees. My eyes sting.

Even when I was in a coma, I could still sense things.

During those long three years, his words became the reason I kept fighting to wake up.

I thought I’d wake up to a happy ending.

But it turns out our story had already ended three years ago.