The night I first told Doreen I loved her, she wept uncontrollably. She said she had seen the future, and she wanted to make a pact with me. When I asked her why, she only said, “I can’t remember the details, only that my future self is filled with a terrible, soul-crushing regret. Noah, promise me. No matter what happens, you’ll give me three chances. Please.” Deeply in love, of course, I agreed without a second thought. But in the years that followed, as she and her male assistant became inseparable, joined at the hip, she seemed to forget all about it. Only now do I understand why she made me promise. Because the moment my pen touched the divorce papers, I heard a familiar voice. It was the voice of the nineteen-year-old Doreen. She was crying. “Noah, you promised me, didn’t you? You promised you would give me three chances.” 1 “Mr. Bond, a man as magnanimous as you will surely step aside and let Doreen and me be happy together, won’t you?” The message on my phone was from Finn, Doreen’s assistant. Below the text was a gallery of photos and videos. A passionate embrace under the Eiffel Tower. Whispering sweet nothings before the masterworks of the Louvre. And then, them, completely naked on the white sands of the Maldives. There were even photos of them in the throes of passion against a floor-to-ceiling window, the city lights a glittering backdrop to their betrayal. It was only then that I truly understood. The Doreen I knew was gone. We had met when we had nothing. For the sake of her acting career, I worked from dawn till dusk, pouring every cent I earned into her auditions, into networking for her, into her dream. For seven years, I was so exhausted I’d fall asleep on the subway home. I drank so much at business dinners that I ended up with a bleeding ulcer. All of it to build a company from scratch, to build a foundation for her. And Doreen had finally made it. She was a superstar, adored by millions. But all the things we had once dreamed of doing together, she chose to do with her little assistant instead. I didn’t hesitate any longer. I drew up the divorce papers. Just as my pen was about to sign my name, a voice, sudden and ethereal, whispered in my ear. “Noah, don’t. You promised me three chances, didn’t you?” The familiar sound struck me like a bolt of lightning. I trembled, turning my head. There she was—the nineteen-year-old Doreen, standing before me, her form translucent, ethereal. She was wearing the simple three-hundred-dollar dress I’d bought for her with money from a part-time job I’d squeezed in between my other work. In that dress, she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I stared at the ghost of the girl I fell in love with, and a slow, bitter smile spread across my face. “Alright. Three chances it is.” Just then, my phone rang again. “Noah Bond! I’ve told you a thousand times, stop bullying Finn! He’s just my assistant, and he’s exhausted from traveling the world with me!” The voice on the other end was the current, twenty-seven-year-old Doreen. I put her on speaker, and her angry words filled the room. “If you cause any more trouble, that trip to the beach I promised you is off!” I glanced at the nineteen-year-old Doreen beside me. A gentle smile touched my lips, which only made her spectral face contort with anger. “How can she talk to you like that! How dare she!” The younger her was shaking with rage. The older her was cold as ice. “Feeling bold, are we, Noah? You have a woman with you now? Get yourself to the Aether Tower in the next thirty minutes, or else…” The nineteen-year-old Doreen abruptly hung up the phone for her. I just said, my voice soft, “That’s the first chance, Doreen.” I wasn’t sure if I was saying it to her, or to myself. It took me forty minutes to get to the Aether Tower. The traffic around the skyscraper, the monument to her success, was gridlocked. When I finally reached her penthouse office and pushed open the door, her voice snapped at me instantly. “Noah, I warned you. Be here in thirty minutes. And now…” “Yes.” I cut her off, my voice flat, and casually sat down on the sofa. Her assistant, Finn, was also in the office. His head was bowed, his eyes were red, and he was clutching his left wrist. My indifferent attitude seemed to provoke Doreen further. She slammed her hand on the desk. “Noah, what is this attitude? Are you still refusing to admit you were wrong?” Before I could speak, Finn did. “It’s okay, Doreen. It was just a watch. It’s not Noah’s fault.” His words only made her angrier. She suppressed her fury, turning to him with a gentle, soothing voice. “What do you mean it’s not his fault? He’s so petty he’d steal the birthday present I gave you. Don’t worry, I won’t take his side.” She whipped her head back to me, her tone turning sharp as a razor. “Noah, I’m giving you one last chance. Give the watch back to Finn.” This had happened countless times. Finn would frame me, and no matter how I explained, it was useless. The Doreen who had once trusted me unconditionally now only suspected me unconditionally. I was done arguing. I stood up, unclasped the worn watch from my wrist, and tossed it lightly at Finn’s feet. The act made both Doreens—the past and the present—speak at once. The nineteen-year-old cried, “Noah, I’m begging you, please… don’t do this.” But the twenty-seven-year-old’s eyes were bloodshot, her rage finally boiling over. “Noah! Have I been too good to you?!” 2 The watch lying at her feet was the only one I owned. She had given it to me after she landed her first real role. It was just a supporting part, but we had been ecstatic for weeks. After filming wrapped, she used her meager salary to buy me that two-thousand-dollar watch. I never wore another one after that day. I still remember how she placed it in my hand, her own hand trembling, her eyes red with what felt like guilt for not being able to give me more. “Noah,” she had whispered, “this is all I have right now. When I make it big, I swear I’ll buy you the one you’ve always wanted.” And she did buy that watch eventually. She just didn’t give it to me. She gave it to Finn. I turned to leave, too tired for this. “You—!” the older Doreen sputtered, speechless with rage. Finn, however, was quick to console her. “Doreen, calm down. Maybe the birthday present you gave me was really important to Noah. If that’s the case, then it was my fault. It’s only natural he’d send someone to take it back. Don’t blame him. I’ll be fine.” His voice dropped. “Besides, no one’s ever celebrated my birthday with me before. Just having you there was enough. The gift doesn’t matter.” His words calmed Doreen’s ragged breathing. She managed to give me a slightly less hostile look. “Noah, give Finn back his watch. I’ll buy you a better one later.” “No, thank you. The one on the floor, and any you might buy in the future… I don’t want them.” With those cold words, I strode out of the office. But the nineteen-year-old Doreen rushed up and clung to my arm. “Noah, Noah, don’t… can we get the watch back? Please? I gave that to you.” Her eyes were red, but her tone was hesitant, as if she were afraid of making me angry. I looked at her fresh, beautiful face, and my heart softened. “Alright. But this is the second chance. Are you sure you want to use it?” She nodded without a moment’s hesitation. I gently stroked her hair and turned back from the elevator. I pushed the office door open again, only to find a scene that made the nineteen-year-old Doreen’s spirit rage. Finn had Doreen in his arms, whispering intimately in her ear. They sprang apart the moment I entered. “Noah, when did you become so rude? Don’t you know to knock before entering someone’s office?” I shot her a cool glance and walked straight toward them, bending down to retrieve the watch. But Finn subtly stepped on the watchband, pinning it to the floor. I had no choice but to stand up again. Finn looked at me, his eyes downcast. “Noah, I was just comforting Doreen because she was so upset. Please don’t be angry.” Seeing Finn play the victim again, the older Doreen couldn’t hold back. “Noah, look at yourself. What have you become? Finn is so understanding, yet you torment him again and again. Apologize to him.” I ignored her, my eyes locked on Finn, my own anger barely contained. “Could you please move?” He pretended not to hear. “Noah, I really didn’t mean anything by it.” Doreen grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at her. “Apologize to Finn.” I looked at her furious face, then turned my head slightly to look at the ghost beside me. She was frozen, silent tears streaming down her face. My heart ached for her. The anger inside me dissipated. “I’m sorry,” I said softly. 3 “Oh, Noah, you don’t have to do that, really.” Finn took a cautious step back, but I saw the flicker of a triumphant smile on his lips. I ignored whatever else Doreen was saying, bent down, picked up the battered watch, and left the office. On the way out of the Aether Tower, the nineteen-year-old Doreen was sobbing, apologizing to me over and over. I stroked her head. “It’s okay, Doreen. You didn’t do anything wrong.” I looked at her lovely face and asked gently, “Do you know what tomorrow is?” She looked at me blankly, then glanced at the date on the car’s display. A blush crept up her cheeks, and her expression turned to one of excitement. “It’s the day you’re going to propose to me.” Yes. Six years ago, on our first anniversary, I had made her a promise. Whether we were rich or poor, on Valentine’s Day six years from then, I would propose to her on the beach. “That’s my girl. So, will you come with me tomorrow?” My voice was gentle. Her nineteen-year-old eyes were filled with stars as she looked at me. Then, as if she’d made a momentous decision, she told me a secret. “Noah, do you know why I know about the future?” “The night you told me you loved me, I made a wish on a shooting star. I wished to see our future. But I wasn’t allowed to remember it… until midnight tomorrow. Then, I’ll remember everything I saw.” A single tear rolled down her spectral cheek. “So tomorrow night… she will regret it.” But none of us could have predicted how it would play out. The twenty-seven-year-old Doreen did appear on the beach. She just wasn’t there for our date. “Noah, you’ve been spying on me? You followed me all the way here? Fine. You’re really something else!” The beach where I had planned to propose was now covered in roses, with elaborate fireworks set up behind them. And in the center of it all stood the twenty-seven-year-old Doreen, her hand still firmly clasped in Finn’s, even as she looked at me. “The three chances are used up, Doreen,” I murmured. Beside me, the nineteen-year-old Doreen grabbed my arm, her voice desperate. “Noah, Noah, don’t. Maybe she prepared this for you. Let’s just go see, please?” Her voice was almost a beg. But the older Doreen’s voice was like ice. “Noah, get over here!” I gave my ghostly companion a gentle look, then walked toward them. “Noah! What more do you want?” Doreen snapped the moment I was close. “You stole Finn’s watch, and I let it go. Now I’m trying to make it up to him with a fireworks display, and you want to ruin this too?” I shrugged. “Not at all. I’m here to enjoy the fireworks. If you don’t mind, I’ll just take a seat.” My casual demeanor seemed to stun her into silence. I paid her no more mind, taking the sobbing nineteen-year-old Doreen by the hand and leading her to a spot on the sand. I tried to comfort her, but her tears wouldn’t stop. Seeing that I wasn’t going to cause a scene, the older Doreen relaxed. She and Finn began to openly embrace, whispering and laughing together, completely ignoring me. I felt nothing. I just held the nineteen-year-old Doreen’s cold, small hand. As the hours passed and night deepened, just as Valentine’s Day was about to end, the fireworks shot into the sky. Beneath the explosions of light and color, I took the ring I had prepared from my pocket. I knelt on one knee before the nineteen-year-old Doreen and said softly, “Doreen, will you marry me?” She covered her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears. “You… you still want to marry me?” “Of course. I will always love the you that is here right now.” I looked into her eyes, sincere and devoted. The starlight in them was the love of my life. After a long moment, she nodded emphatically and held out her left hand. “Noah, I do. I do.” I smiled, my heart full, and gently took her hand. But just as I was about to slip the ring onto her finger, the clock struck midnight. The nineteen-year-old Doreen dissolved into motes of starlight, vanishing completely before my eyes. The tears I had been holding back finally fell. “Goodbye, my love.” At that moment, a man’s voice, sharp and unwelcome, spoke from behind me. “Doreen, look at him. Poor Noah looks so pathetic, all alone. Who is he even proposing to? I guess I’m the lucky one, having you by my side.” I turned. At some point, Finn had led Doreen to stand behind me. From an angle she couldn’t see, his face was a mask of pure mockery. But Doreen… Doreen was weeping, her face awash with tears.
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