Chapter 2A Warning from Seven Years Ahead

[Am I unhappy seven years from now?]

After I sent the message, the other person went silent for a long time.

Then my phone rang. She was calling me.

I answered.

My own voice came through the speaker, but it sounded older, hoarse with pain and stripped of all hope.

"Seven years from now, you and Caleb are married. You have a beautiful, romantic wedding. You even have a son named Andy."

A small spark of happiness had barely begun to stir inside me when she continued.

"But you're not happy. Your life is miserable.

"Savannah never moves out. She and Caleb cross every boundary imaginable, but whenever you confront him, he dismisses your concerns and insists she's only his sister.

"When you're eight months pregnant, you catch them together in your own bed. You nearly bleed to death giving birth to Andy."

Her voice broke, followed by the sound of quiet sobbing.

Listening to her felt like having my heart carved open.

"Caleb feels guilty afterward. He cries, apologizes, and swears he'll change. You believe him. With a newborn to care for, you can't bring yourself to leave.

"But when Andy is three months old, Caleb starts sleeping with Savannah again. Before long, he stops feeling guilty altogether.

"He becomes disgusted by the loose skin on your stomach, the dark spots on your face, and the way postpartum depression has affected you.

"Even the child you nearly died bringing into the world starts calling Savannah 'Mom.'"

She then sent me a photo, a family portrait.

Caleb had one arm around Savannah, while a boy who looked about five sat across their laps, grinning at the camera.

I was the only one missing.

I should have been there.

Listening to her, I felt her pain as if it were my own.

Only after she finished speaking did I remember the photo she sent earlier of the empty bottle of sleeping pills.

My voice trembled.

"The pills. You took them, didn't you? What should I do? How can I save you? How can I save myself? Are you going to die?"

The future Delilah let out a long sigh, and her voice gradually grew weaker.

"Probably. The pills are already taking effect. Caleb took Savannah and Andy on vacation. The staff probably won't find me until tomorrow. Break up with Caleb. Walk away and never look back."

The moment she finished speaking, a sharp crash came through the phone, as though it had slipped from her hand and hit the floor.

Then the call went dead.

I broke down, sobbing so hard that I could barely breathe. It felt as though I were already trapped in that cold, empty room seven years from now, watching my own life slowly slip away.

I had no idea how long I cried before exhaustion finally set in.

Sometime later, Caleb quietly opened the bedroom door. He sat beside me, gently pulled me into his arms, and looked at my swollen, tear-filled eyes.

"Delilah, I'm sorry about what happened today. I..."

I lifted my tear-streaked face and looked at him.

"Caleb, we need to break up."