The Girl She Was

The night I confessed my love to my Sophia, she wept so hard that she could barely breathe.

She said she could see the future, and she wanted me to promise her for something.

I was confused. She only shook her head.

I don't remember all I know is that in the future I regret something so terribly.

James, no matter what happens, you must give me three chances. Will you?

I was deeply in love with Sophia, so I agreed without hesitation.

But later, it was as if she had forgotten all about that night when we promised forever to each other.

She forgot it so well that she clung intimately to her male assistant.

Only then did I understand why she'd made me promise that all those years ago.

And when I signed my name on the divorce papers, I heard a familiar voice.

It was Sophia at nineteen.

Through her sobs, she pleaded,

"James you promised me, didn't you? You said you'd give me three chances."

[James, I know this must be painful for you.]

[But what Sophia and I have is real. I hope you can let it go and make her happy.]

The message was from Alexander Lee, Sophia Williams's assistant.

Aside from that message, that shameless bastard also sent me videos and photos.

An impassioned embrace beneath the famed Tower of Love.

Whispers of affection before exhibits of one of the most famous museums in the world.

Naked bodies tangled on the sands of a tropical paradise.

And even images of their making love in unrestrained pleasure against a floor-to-ceiling window.

Only in that moment did I fully understand that Sophia was no longer the woman I had once loved.

Sophia and I met when we had nothing.

For the sake of her acting career, I worked day and night, pouring every cent into her performances and running errands for her film crew.

For seven long years, I slept on subway rides home after toiling all day and drank so hard at business parties that my stomach bled.

Piece by piece, I built a company from nothing.

And in those same years, Sophia rose to fame, her name celebrated across the nation.

Everything we dreamed of achieving togethershe chose, in the end, to share with her assistant.

Without hesitation, I drafted the divorce papers.

Just as I was about to sign my name, a voice suddenly echoed at my ear.

"James, don't! You promised me, didn't you? You said you'd give me three chances."

The familiar voice struck me like lightning. My body trembled.

I turned and there stood Sophia at nineteen, delicate and ethereal, wearing the 30-dollar dress I once bought her with money from a part-time job.

As I remembered, she had always been the most beautiful in that dress..

I stared blankly at her ghostly form, then unexpectedly, I laughed.

"All right. Three chances."

Just then, my phone rang again.

"James! How many times have I told you? Stop picking on Alexander!"

"He's only my assistant. He's already exhausted every day, running around with me from place to place."

"If you keep this up, forget about that seaside trip I promised you!"

I put the call on speaker. Her furious voice filled the room.

I glanced at the nineteen-year-old Sophia, offering her a gentle smile.

Anger flared on her youthful face.

"How can she talk to you like that? How dare she speak to you this way! "

Nineteen-year-old Sophia trembled with fury. But the twenty-seven-year-old version of her was cold as ice.

"James, looks like you've grown boldkeeping another woman at your side now."

"I'll give you half an hour to get to Marlen Tower. If you're not here by then"

She hung up without finishing.

I muttered, "That's the first chance, Sophia."

I wasn't sure if I was speaking to the nineteen-year-old girl before me, or simply muttering to myself.

Anywayby the time I drove to Marlen Tower, forty minutes had already passed.

The area around Marlen Tower was swarming with people.

By the time I reached the top-floor office that belonged to Sophia, I had barely pushed the door open when her voice rang out,

"James, I warned you. You had thirty minutes to show up in front of me, and now"

"Mm." I cut her off with a flat response and dropped onto the sofa casually.

Alexander, her ever-present assistant, was in the office as well.

He kept his head bowed, eyes rimmed red, gripping his left wrist with his right hand.

My indifference seemed to ignite Sophia. She slammed her palm against the table.

"James, what's with that attitude? You still refuse to admit your mistake?"

But before I could speak, Alexander beat me to it.

"Sophia, it's nothing, really. Just a watch. Don't blame James."

As Alexander said that, Sophia's anger deepened.

Yet instead of lashing out at him, she restrained herself, her voice softening as she turned to comfort him.

"How can you say it's nothing? James's so petty that he even snatched the birthday gift I gave you."

"Don't worry, I won't take his side in this."

Then she turned back to me, her tone sharpening like a blade.

"James, I'll give you one last chance. Return the watch to Alexander."

I had lost count of how many times this had happened.

No matter how many times Alexander framed me, no matter how I explained, it never made a difference.

The woman who once trusted me unconditionally now only doubted me without question.

I couldn't be bothered to argue.

Rising to my feet, I unbuckled the worn watch from my wrist and tossed it lightly to the floor at Alexander's feet.

That single gesture broke the restraint of both Sophiasthe one from nineteen, and the one from twenty-seven.

The nineteen-year-old burst into tears. "James, please don't don't do this."

But the twenty-seven-year-old's eyes blazed red, her fury no longer containable.

"James! Do you think I'll tolerate this?"

The watch lying at her feet was the only one I ever owned.

Back then, she had landed her first role.

It was just a supporting part, but she was happy for days.

After the filming, she used what little pay she received to buy me this watch, which was barely worth two hundred dollars.

From that day forward, I never wore another watch.

I still remember when she placed it in my hand, her voice trembled with a promise.

"James, this is all I can afford right now."

"But one day, when I earn big money, I'll buy you the watch you love most."

And she did, eventually, buy that watch. But it wasn't for meit was for Alexander.

I saw no point in speaking further. Turning, I headed for the door.

"You!"

Sophia was so enraged that her words stumbled. Alexander was quick to soothe her.

"Sophia, calm down."

"If the watch you gave me really means that much to James, then I'm at fault."

"It's only natural he'd send someone to take it from me."

"Don't blame him. I don't mind."

His voice grew lower, tinged with melancholy.

"After all, I've never had anyone celebrate my birthday with me since I was a child."

"Having you with me this year is already more than enough. Gifts don't matter."

His words slowly steadied Sophia's ragged breathing.

She forced herself to appear calm and offered me a cheap compromise.

"James, give Alexander his watch back. I'll buy you a better one, I promise."

"I don't want it." I gestured to the one on the floor. "Not that one, and not any you'd ever buy me in the future."

Having said what I wanted to say, I strode out of the office.

But before I could reach the elevator, the nineteen-year-old Sophia suddenly rushed forward and clung to my arm.

"James, please don't. Let's take that watch back I gave it to you!"

Her eyes were rimmed red, and her voice was hesitant, as though she feared I might be angry.

Looking at her fresh, innocent face, my heart softened.

"Fine. But this will count as the second chance. Are you sure you want to use it now?"

She nodded firmly, without a moment of hesitation.

I ruffled her hair, then turned back from the elevator and walked once more toward the office.

But when I pushed open the door again, the sight that greeted me made the nineteen-year-old Sophia explode with fury.

Alexander was holding Sophia in his arms, whispering intimately against her ear.

The moment they saw me enter, the two sprang apart.

"James! When did you become so rude?"

"Don't you know you should knock before entering someone else's office?"

I shot her a cool glance and walked straight toward them, bending down.

But Alexander stealthily pressed his foot onto the watch strap, pinning it to the ground.

I straightened again, ready to confront him.

That fucking bastard lowered his gaze, his tone meek.

"James, I was only trying to comfort Sophia. She was so upset. Please don't be angry."

Hearing that, Sophia couldn't hold back any longer.

"Just look at yourself, James. Look at the way you act."

"Alexander is so considerate, yet you keep making things hard for him again and again."

"Apologize to him!"

I ignored her words, fixing my eyes on Alexander, fighting to hold down the fire raging in my chest.

"Move."

But he pretended not to hear.

"James, I really didn't mean anything by it."

Then Sophia's hand shot out, gripping my chin hard.

"Apologize. To Alexander."

I stared at her furious face, then turned slightly toward the nineteen-year-old Sophia standing nearby.

She was frozen in place, tears streaming down her cheeks.

The sight made my anger dissolve in an instant.

I gazed at the young Sophia with aching tenderness and muttered,

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, James, there's no need for that, really. Don't apologize."

Alexander backed away cautiously, but I caught the faint smile curling at the corner of his lips.

No longer caring what they said, I bent down, picked up the watch, and walked out of the office.

On the way out of Marlen Tower, the nineteen-year-old Sophia sobbed uncontrollably, apologizing to me over and over.

I stroked her head gently.

"It's all right, Sophia. You didn't do anything wrong."

Looking at her delicate face, I asked, "Do you know what tomorrow is?"

She blinked at me, then glanced at the car's display clock.

Suddenly her cheeks flushed, and excitement lit her eyes.

"It's the day you're going to propose to me."

Yes. Six years ago, on our one-year anniversary, I made her a promise.

No matter if I had money or not, on Valentine's Day six years later, I would proposeby the sea.

"Good girl. Then tomorrow, you'll come with me, won't you?"

I spoke with quiet warmth. Her eyes sparkled like stars, locking onto mine.

After a long silence, she whispered a secret.

"James, do you know why I could see the future?"

"When you confessed to me, I made a wish on a shooting star that I could glimpse the future."

"But I wouldn't remember any of it not until midnight tomorrow, when the real Sophia will recall everything."

The nineteen-year-old version of Sophia shed another tear.

"So tomorrow night she'll regret it."