I Erased Our Marriage Timeline Chapter 03
Three days later, while I was in the library doing research, something suddenly came to my mind.
In my previous life, Bethany died of bone cancer.
It was stage four when she was diagnosed.
Meaning, the cancer could already be spreading in her body right now.
I sprang to my feet, knocking over my chair as people around shot me a glare.
Without apologizing, I rushed out of the library, calling Bethany while running.
“Bethany, are you free this afternoon? I wanna buy you coffee.”
At the café, when I said I wanted her to accompany me for a health check, Bethany smiled in amusement. “Perla, why so sudden? Are you not feeling well?”
I made up an excuse. “The school requires it. I’m scared to go alone. So, can you go with me?”
Bethany eyed me with suspicion. “Really?”
I tried to sound as sincere as possible. “It’s true. And I’d like you to get checked, too. Think of it as… a premarital check-up, since you’re marrying Joseph.”
Bethany’s cheeks turned red. “You…”
Just then, her phone rang. It was Joseph.
“Where are you?”
“Having coffee with Perla.”
After a brief pause, he said, “Come home early.”
The call ended, and Bethany couldn’t help but tease him, “What a mother hen!”
I managed a smile, used school as an excuse to take my leave, and asked to meet her on the weekend.
As I reached the school gate, I saw Joseph’s car parked there.
He stepped out, seized my wrist, and dragged me to the corner.
Before I could register, he flung off my hand.
I staggered and fell to the ground.
My knees and elbows stung sharply. I looked down to find blood seeping from my scraped skin.
He stared at me, his eyes cold and condescending.
“Perla, I warn you. Stay away from Bethany.
“Keep your mouth shut, and don’t do what you shouldn’t do.”
I pushed myself up, my voice shaking. “I didn’t.
“I only wanted her to accompany me for a health check.”
He paused. “Are you sick?”
He almost blurted out those words.
I was stunned briefly, then shook my head. “No. It’s a school requirement.”
He studied me for a long time, his expression changing slowly, as if he remembered something and needed to confirm it.
After a moment, he crouched down and examined my wounds.
“Get in the car.”
He drove me to a drugstore to buy iodine and gauze, then squatted by the curb to tend to my wounds.
He wasn’t gentle, but he was careful.
He said quietly, “I’ll take you both for a health check this weekend.”
I looked down at my feet, tears blurring my vision.
On the day the results came back, Bethany cried herself to a mess.
She had early-stage bone cancer.
The doctor told her, “It’s fortunate that you’re diagnosed in time. The chances of a cure are high.”
Joseph held Bethany tightly, his hands trembling nonstop.
With red-rimmed eyes, Bethany looked at me and said, “Thank you so much, Perla. I really mean it.”
I nodded and patted her back.
Joseph’s gaze slid over Bethany’s shoulder, settling on me.
It was deep and indecipherable.
I recalled the day Bethany died in my past life. The rain was pouring.
When Joseph learned that she had left him because of our one-night stand, he stood at her grave for a day, soaked from head to toe.
After returning home, he smashed everything within reach and discovered the diary I had hidden at the bottom of the drawer.
So, he assumed that I told Bethany that we slept together.
I explained, but he didn’t believe it.
Then he divorced me, left me with nothing, and made sure I couldn’t find a job.
In the end, I died in a rental house with no one by my side.
Now, it was not too late to fix everything.
Bethany would survive.
Joseph wouldn’t resent me.
And I would be gone as far away as possible.
A huge weight was finally lifted from my heart.
When we left the hospital, the sun was setting.
Joseph went to handle the admission, Bethany and I waited in the lobby.
Bethany rested her head on my shoulder and whispered, “Perla, I’m frightened.”
I squeezed her hand softly. “Don’t be. Joseph will always be there for you.”