Chapter 1

I participated in a viral Snapchat trend, pretending to make a "space-time call" to my 17-year-old self.

Filled with hope, I whispered into the phone, "Ethan, what is our life like at twenty-eight? Are we married? Are we... happy?"

There was a long silence on the other end. Then, Ethan’s exhausted voice came through:

"Not great."

"Chloe, I’ve wasted my entire life on you."

"Do me a favor. In your parallel universe, just let me go."

I froze, almost believing I had misheard him.

When I finally snapped out of it, I called my mom, crying hysterically.

"Mom, I—"

"I know," my mom interrupted, letting out a gentle, pitying sigh. "You're seventeen-year-old Chloe right now, aren't you?"

"Ethan hasn't had it easy. He and Sienna have been deeply in love for ten years. Because of you, they've had to suppress their feelings all this time."

"Chloe, take my advice. In the next life, just let him be with Sienna."

The tears dried instantly on my cold face. My hands shook as I made one last call—to my sister, Sienna.

On the other end of the line, she was in the middle of a passionate, breathless tryst with Ethan. She let out a muffled, trembling sob:

"Chloe, please forgive me. Just tonight. He only belongs to me tonight."

"I won't fight you for him in this life. But I beg you, in the next life, please step aside for once."

With tears streaming down my face, I hung up the phone. My heart was completely dead.

Forget it.

No need to wait for the next life, or some parallel universe.

In this life, I would set them free.