"Perfect... just perfect," Eli mused, looking at the caller ID.
How the hell was he meant to tell her that they would have to cut short their preparations?
How was he going to raise the money to go ahead with the wedding?
Now even the low-budget wedding he planned couldn’t hold.
His savings weren’t sufficient to carry the entire load.
He had planned to add it up with his next paycheck... which, of course, was no longer available.
Eli was torn between answering the call or simply leaving it.
But the thought crossed his mind.
’She always understands... This is no different... I just have to explain.’
He didn’t want to make her worried, so he took a deep breath before accepting the call.
He pressed the phone to his ear, waiting to hear her sweet voice.
"Haha, Eli. What’s good? Been a while since we last talked, hasn’t it?"
Eli paused, looking at the caller ID with a confused look again.
That voice—it was definitely not the one he recognized.
It wasn’t Isabel...
"Who the fuck is this?!" Ezra asked, confused, feeling a tingle of worry.
’Who the hell is with Izzy’s phone? Is she alright?’
He restrained the urge to fire all the questions right away.
"Ah... has it been so long that you’ve forgotten my voice. It’s Sonic. Much more attractive hero that you met during your office party."
Eli’s mind reeled...
’That voice...’
How could he forget it...
The office party he took Isabel to, where Sonic—the C Ranked hero basically oogled her the entire night.
She assured him that there was nothing there, held his hand and whispered into his ear that he was her everything.
It wasn’t unusual for people to hit on Isabel, after all she was way above his league.
Nor was it unheard of her heroes to act like assholes and completely disregard normos.
Eli wanted to forget the altercation completely, but Sonic made it explicitly clear that he wouldn’t stop till he got Isabel.
But she would never do that to him.
Right?
Despite his efforts, Eli didn’t bother with him... with time, it appeared as though Sonic had completely left the case.
Until now...
"Sonic, what are you doing there?! Where’s Isabel?" Eli’s voice was low, strained—like a dam ready to break.
The answer came with a smirk in his tone. "You mean my girlfriend?"
Eli blinked. "Stop joking. Give her the phone. Now."
"You still don’t get it, do you?" Sonic’s voice turned cold. "I told you I’d tap that ass. You actually thought that broke skinny you could keep her. It’s kinda sad."
"Give her the phone this instant... else I’ll do everything to make sure you spend the rest of your life in—"
"Oh, shut up, Eli... Who the hell do you think you are? Spend my life where? In prison? Where’s the money going to come from... you jobless motherfucker."
’How does he know? How does he know that I lost my work?’
"What did you do?!" Eli couldn’t contain the restrained rage anymore; he lashed out.
"What else? I simply paid a few fees to get a mouse out of the house," Sonic said with deep laughter.
"But what does it matter... I simply just saved you the stress of arranging a stupid marriage."
Eli felt the words hit deeper...
Eli’s heart slammed in his chest.
"Where’s Isabel? Give her the phone." He said eeriely calm.
"Right here," came a female voice—too calm, too composed.
Her tone lacked the warmth that used to light up Eli’s day.
"What is he doing there?"
"Tell me he’s lying. Please."
"No, Eli," she said, and her voice wasn’t angry or sad—it was tired.
"He’s not lying. I gave him the phone."
Silence stretched between them.
"Why?" Eli’s voice cracked. "Why would you be with him?"
"Because I’m tired, Eli. I’m tired of scraping by. Tired of dreaming about a future that’s never going to come. You keep saying things will get better... but they don’t."
"We had a plan... a life."
"A life with what, Eli? Hope?" She laughed, and it was hollow. "I watched you fight for us, but all we did was lose. Sonic offered a different future. One I don’t have to struggle for."
"Is this really what you want to do?" Eli whispered. "After everything..."
"No," she said. "I just stopped pretending I didn’t want more."
Eli stood there, his gaze darkening... the lines between reality blurring.
Her words resounded in his ears.
He felt a stab in his chest.
It drilled a hole right through him. He couldn’t see it... but he could feel it.
"I guess you’ve heard it all, hehe? Poor brat. Next time think twice before ever crossing me."
Sonic had sounded smug in the message.
Too comfortable.
Too proud.
Like a man who knew he had won.
And that meant this wasn’t recent.
She stood by and watched them crush him.
"Hey, Sonic. I’ll crush your legs someday."
"Haa!" He chuckled. "Sure thing, Champ." And the line went silent.
The words resounding in his mind.
The pain he felt on the inside... there was nothing left, just an empty space.
Outside, the sky wept with him. Night slowly spread its curtain, cloaking the world in darkness.
He once wanted to watch this nightfall with Isabel beside him, on a vacation by the sea.
Now, it was nothing more than a shattered dream.
As he wandered aimlessly, his eyes caught a small boy standing at the roadside, eyes gleaming as he admired a sleek red Lamborghini parked nearby.
Eli smiled faintly.
He remembered being that boy. Dreaming of a flashy life, success, status...
That was before life twisted him into this shadow.
’What a fool I was...’ he laughed painfully at himself.
’I chased a woman over the dreams I had... now she left me for that same ambition I once had.’
It really hit.
It ate to the core of his very being.
Sigh...
He let out a sigh, and just then...
He caught the blaring light of the truck.
~HONK!~
His gaze moved from the boy and then took the truck.
It was Fast. Too fast. It came barreling down the road toward the boy.
"Shit."
His legs reacted before his mind could catch up
And in the next instant—
He was there.
Shoving the boy out of the way.
Why did he do it? He didn’t know...
The last thought that ran through his mind was bitter and ironic.
"All this..... For a life that spat me out? What a bad day."
Squelch...
The pain came once... a tremendous pain that shot through every vein and artery... if they still existed.
Darkness.
All around him.
An endless, suffocating void.
Then, slowly... light.
Eli groaned, his eyelids fluttering open.
His body was back, the sky was riddled with stars, and just below them around him was what looked like a throne room dipped in gold.
The beautiful woman sat atop her throne and looked down at him. "Elijah Payes, for you extraordinary feat of selflessness, I grant you the—"
"Shut up."
She eyes widened. Trying around to see if someone else was in the room—but no one was. "Excuse me?" She said in a tone that questioned reality itself.
"Send me back."
"Back?" She repeated, unsure if she heard correctly. "You died."
"I don’t care. I promised someone I’d break his legs and I meant it. Send me back."