He Chose My Stepsister, I Left Him Forever

After loving Adrian Marsh for three years, I willingly stepped into a cryo-pod. I would sleep beside him for 200 years, then wake up in the world he came from. He told me people there could live forever, and couples could share a mind-link that would bind them for life. We would never have to be apart again. Back then, I truly believed our love could survive anything, even leaving the world we knew behind for 200 years. But when the pod finally opened, I discovered we hadn't made the journey alone. My stepsister, Sasha Doyle, was there too. Adrian hadn't brought me to the future so we could be together forever. He had done it to save Sasha from cancer. On the first day, he gave the only partner slot to Sasha. I didn't argue. The next day, he told me she needed a place to stay and expected the three of us to live under one roof. I agreed to that too. On the third day, they left together for Polaris, a place I'd dreamed of visiting all my life. Even then, I'd quietly planned the entire trip for them. Adrian had no idea I'd already arranged with the Temporal Immigration Bureau to return to my own time. In three days, I'd be gone. Before I left, they severed the neural pathway that made me love him. From then on, I would never see him or love him again. Chapter 1 I'd been in the future for a week, but I still wasn't used to any of it. Then the Temporal Immigration Bureau contacted us. We had to register as a couple right away, or I couldn't be added to the residency system. But Adrian wanted me to give my slot to Sasha. An hour before we were supposed to register, I sat in a waiting room at the Bureau, scrolling through photos on my old phone. My chest tightened. There wasn't a single posed photo of us. Instead, there were photos of Adrian mixing paint beside my easel, leaning against the window, or quietly watching me work whenever I looked away. There were also photos of museums we'd visited, sunsets by the water, and crowded subway rides. In every one, Adrian looked at me as if I were the only person in the room. His eyes held such tenderness that I'd once believed he would still look at me that way 200 years later. What I hadn't noticed was the person behind the camera. Sasha had taken most of those photos. Adrian had been looking at me while she was looking at him. I swiped back to the messages Adrian had sent 30 minutes ago. "Thea, I'm sorry. Sasha doesn't have legal residency in this century, so she can't access the medical system at all. I'm only registering with her so she can access it through me. Once she's cured, I'll dissolve our partnership and register with you. You understand, don't you? Sasha wants you to come to the registry with us. She says she'd feel safer if you were there." The old me would have fallen apart. Adrian was the man I loved more than anything. The thought of him making room in his heart for someone else would have destroyed me. Two days ago, he'd left me alone in the apartment, stranded in a world I could barely navigate. He said he was going to pick someone up. Then he came back with Sasha, and every fear I'd tried to bury came rushing back. She was pale. She'd entered the cryo center three days after I had. Until then, I'd had no idea she'd made the entire journey with us. "She came to me after she was diagnosed with cancer," Adrian said. Sasha was still weak from the pod, and he held her in his arms as he spoke. He sounded guilty, but he never let her go. "I couldn't stand by and watch her die. In this century, almost every type of cancer can be cured. I was going to tell you once she was better." Sasha hid behind him and spoke in a small voice. "Thea, I couldn't stand the thought of you watching me waste away a little more every day. It's stomach cancer. One of the deadliest kinds..." My heart felt like it had been cut open. Adrian had it all worked out. Once Sasha was cured, we could simply go back to the way things were. But he had never once asked if I was willing to wait for him. I wasn't. I wanted to go home. There was no immortality back home. No mind-link. No miracle cure for cancer. But there was real sunlight, real grass, and real earth beneath my feet. There was the texture of paint on canvas, something no machine could ever reproduce exactly. And there was the Adrian I had loved, back when he still felt human to me. The Bureau had been perfectly clear about what happened to undocumented arrivals. They were detained and sent to a waste facility to sort garbage until someone agreed to sponsor their residency. Adrian didn't care. All he could think about was Sasha and her supposed illness. He didn't even notice the healthy color in her cheeks. And he certainly didn't think about me. I had trained my hands to paint for years. Now those same hands were expected to sort garbage. There was only one other option. Anyone who refused detention would be forcibly returned to their own time. The moment Adrian gave my slot to Sasha, I turned myself in. Now all I had to do was finish the paperwork. I tapped Confirm. Adrian was the reason I had followed him into this strange century. He was the only reason I'd ever wanted to stay. Not anymore. I'd barely tapped Confirm when a voice pulled me from my thoughts. "Thea, are you ready? Let's head over together." Adrian was wearing a black suit. Sasha wore a white dress identical to mine. "Thea, thank you for letting me have this." Her voice was weak. "I know this isn't fair to you. But without residency, I can't even get into a treatment pod." "Save it," I cut her off. "If they really can cure you, then at least coming here wasn't for nothing. I hope you enjoy your life here after I'm gone." Something flickered in Adrian's eyes. "Gone? What do you mean, gone?" I didn't answer. Sasha was the first to tear up. "I must have upset her. Adrian, go talk to her. You're the only person she knows in this whole century. She'll run off just to prove a point. She used to do that all the time when we were kids..." That seemed to reassure him. Without residency, I couldn't even get past the gates of the complex. Where could I possibly go? The concern in his eyes disappeared. "Thea, the registration is only so she can get treatment. Once Sasha is better, I'll dissolve our partnership and register with you. I'm not giving you up. Don't turn this into something bigger than it is." Then he took Sasha into the registration room. But Adrian would never get another chance to choose me. Chapter 2 The next morning, I woke to the hum of a freight unit. When I stepped out of the guest room, hover units were already moving Sasha's luggage into the main bedroom. Adrian stood beside the daylight panel, adjusting the room's lighting to a warm yellow glow that was supposed to help patients recover. That room was supposed to be my studio. One entire wall opened to real sunlight, and at night, I could watch the stars through the glass. Just yesterday, Adrian had told me that almost everyone in this century preferred digital art. Real paintings were rare. He said that with this studio, I could create something no one else in the world could make. Now my paint cases, the ones I'd carried 200 years into the future, sat outside the door. He didn't turn around as he adjusted the panel. "Sasha says she's always thought of your family as her own. Now that she's sick, she doesn't want to be away from you, so I brought her here. You don't mind, do you?" "Adrian, where am I supposed to sleep?" He pointed toward the storage room at the end of the hall. It didn't even have a window. "Make do with that room for a while. Sasha needs the daylight, and she should be near me in case something happens at night." I nodded and carried my paint cases into the storage room one by one without a word. Sasha was already in what should have been my studio, sitting at my easel with a smile on her face. "Sorry for taking your room, Thea. Adrian says there's hardly any demand for paintings anymore. It'd be a waste to leave such a nice room empty, so I might as well use it while I recover." Her smile made my chest tighten. I'd been afraid of Sasha for as long as I could remember. When I was a child, my father remarried, and Sasha and her mother moved into our house. From the beginning, Sasha kept reminding everyone that she'd joined the family later and would never truly belong. She had a bedroom just like mine. My father paid the same tuition for both of us. Still, she would cry that no matter how well he treated her, she could never have the love he gave his real daughter. Eventually, my father gave her more and more and me less and less. Back then, I really did throw tantrums and run away a few times. Whenever I did, Sasha would tell him, "Dad, if you keep chasing after her, she'll only keep doing it. Just leave her alone, okay?" Eventually, he stopped coming after me. Adrian knew the whole story. Yet all Sasha had to do was say she was sick and didn't want to be homeless, and Adrian gave her the room he'd promised me. I reached over and took the brush from her hand. She gave an awkward little laugh, but the smug look in her eyes gave her away. She knew she'd won. I didn't want to argue with her. I lowered my head and started packing. There wasn't much to pack. Just the canvases and paints I'd brought from my own time. Adrian watched me roll up the canvases one by one. Only then did he frown. "Thea Calloway, what's this about now? Sasha's only using the room until she gets better. Then she'll move out." I looked up at him. For the first time, I looked at Adrian and saw a stranger. There was no love in my eyes. No anger. Not even hurt. Nothing. "I'm not making a scene," I said calmly. "I'm just packing my things." "Why are you packing?" His expression immediately changed. "You're not planning to live somewhere else, are you? Thea, if the Bureau finds you, they'll force you to return. You know how painful that is." He was right about one thing. Forced repatriation wouldn't erase my memories. Instead, it would sever the neural pathway that made me love Adrian. And I'd already agreed to the procedure. Sasha let out a laugh. "You're not going to threaten to run away again, are you? This isn't your old life, Thea. You waited 200 years just to be with Adrian. There's no way you'd walk out on him now. If you don't want me living here, you could just say so." Adrian's face darkened. "Sasha just got her registration approved. She's at a critical stage in her treatment. Can't you make things a little easier for her?" I looked at him, and suddenly, the whole thing felt ridiculous. We'd been together for three years. I'd left my friends behind for him. I'd given up the career and reputation I'd spent years building. Then I'd slept beside him for 200 years just to follow him here. Yet when I told him I was leaving, he thought I was only trying to make him chase after me. Fine. Maybe leaving like this would make it easier not to look back. That night, I slept on the narrow couch in the storage room. In the main bedroom next door, Sasha said she was scared of the surgery. Adrian comforted her again and again, promising he would stay by her side until she recovered. I closed my eyes. My terminal lit up with another notice from the Bureau. "Time remaining until targeted nerve excision and temporal return: 48 hours." Chapter 3 On the third morning, I was up by six. The couch in the storage room was narrow and hard, nothing like the climate bed in the main bedroom. I had just finished getting ready when I heard suitcase wheels rolling across the living room. I opened the door to find Adrian dressed for travel, with two silver cases beside him. He was fastening a heated wrap around Sasha. The mind-link glowed on each of their wrists. Sasha leaned against his shoulder, her heart racing. Adrian mistook it for fear and reached for her hand. "Don't be scared. I'll be right there with you. It's all arranged." His voice softened. "Polaris still has huge areas of untouched wilderness. The doctors say real sunlight and fresh air can help with recovery. It'll help you relax before surgery." They were going to the Polaris Nature Reserve. It was one of the few places in this century where nature had been preserved. Every 50 years, something extraordinary happened there. Two colors that did not exist in Earth's natural spectrum appeared along the horizon. To an ordinary person, they looked like two separate rings of light. But partners connected by a mind-link could see through each other's eyes, allowing the two colors to merge into one neither could see alone. They called it the Shared Light. For many people, it was a once-in-a-lifetime sight to share with the person they loved most. I'd dreamed of painting that impossible color, one that could exist only when two people shared what they saw. Now Adrian was taking Sasha to the place he'd promised to visit with me. Adrian heard me come out and looked up. His tone was almost businesslike. "Thea, perfect timing. You're better at this than I am. Check Sasha's bags for me. She just got her residency, and she still doesn't know how to take some of her medications." I went over and checked each medication against the list. Adrian watched me do it without complaint, and guilt flickered across his face. "Thea, Sasha can't put off her treatment. Once her surgery is over, I'll make it up to you. I'll take you to Polaris myself." Sasha looped her arm through his. Only I caught the spite beneath her sweet voice. "Thea's always been so generous. Once I'm cured, I'll give Adrian back to you. We have forever ahead of us. What's the rush? No wonder he likes you. You always do whatever he tells you." That single word, "likes," hurt more than anything else she could have said. But I wasn't angry. I simply asked, "Adrian, what would you do if our relationship ended today?" He froze for a second, then frowned. "Why are you bringing this up again? Sasha's surgery is in a month, and we'll be back long before that. I know you're upset, but the natural environment on Polaris is good for her. Do you really have to keep score right now?" "Treatment?" I repeated the word softly, studying the healthy color in Sasha's cheeks. "Is she really so sick that she had to travel 200 years into the future for treatment?" Sasha's expression changed. She suddenly clutched her stomach and doubled over. The mind-link flickered wildly. Adrian caught her and pulled her against his chest, his expression turning cold. "Medical reports don't lie. Look how scared she is. How can you still question her?" I stepped closer and met his eyes. "Three years ago, you arrived in my time with nothing. I took you in and made you part of my family. To follow you into the future, I gave up my career, said goodbye to my grandparents, and climbed into a cryo-pod. What have you done for me? "You never even checked whether Sasha was really sick. You hid her from me and brought her here behind my back. You gave her the slot that should have been mine. You moved her into our home. And now you're taking her on the trip I waited 200 years to share with you. "It hurts you to know she has no residency. It hurts you to know she's afraid of surgery. It hurts you to think she might die. But what about me? Have you ever felt sorry for the woman who gave up everything for you, only to wake up alone in a world she doesn't even know?" Chapter 4 My question stopped Adrian cold. Sasha was the first to cry. "Thea, do you really think I'm faking my illness? You grew up with parents who loved you. You're a talented painter. Everyone loves you wherever you go. All I want is to stay alive. Why can't you even let me have that?" Adrian wiped away her tears without a second thought. "The report is in the Union medical network. It can't be fake. Thea, you don't understand this era. Stop letting your jealousy get the better of you." You don't understand this era. I'd given up everything familiar to me for him, only to wake up in a world I barely knew. Yet somehow, my unfamiliarity with this world became his excuse to dismiss everything I said. "I'm not jealous." I looked him straight in the eye. "I just want you to take her for a full scan yourself. Don't rely on some old report stored on her terminal. Scan her now." Sasha's breathing suddenly grew shallow and rapid. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed into Adrian's arms. "I won't go." She clutched his collar with both hands, sobbing. "Those machines remind me of the chemo I went through back then. I have so little time left, and you want to lock me in a scan pod?" Adrian held her tighter. "Enough. She said no. Stop pushing her." Whatever urge I still had to reason with him died right there. I said nothing more and placed the last emergency injector into the travel case. "That's everything. Her medication and clothes are all packed. You can go." My calm seemed to frustrate Adrian even more. His expression hardened as he picked up the cases. At the door, he looked back at me. "We'll talk about the registration again when we get back. Stay home for the next few days and don't wander around. This isn't your century. Without my access, you won't get far." I asked quietly, "Adrian, what would you do if I really disappeared?" "Not this again." Impatience flashed across his face. "Three years ago, you threatened to cut your father out of your life, but you couldn't go through with it, could you? You get upset, then you calm down. By the time I come back, you'll have gotten over this too." Then he helped Sasha into the flyer. Before they took off, he lowered the window and called out to me, "Remember to refill the nutrient solution for the blue roses in the sun chamber! Sasha likes them. Don't let them die." Those were the last words Adrian ever said to me. I stood by the floor-to-ceiling window and watched the flyer shrink to a silver speck in the distance. The beacon at the back of my neck buzzed one last time. "Targeted nerve excision ready." "Temporal return channel open. Please confirm destination: 2026 CE." I opened my travel case and took out the sketchbook filled with drawings of Adrian. One by one, I tore out the pages and dropped them into the disposal chute. The last one was a sketch of him sleeping in my studio. Three years ago, I'd stood beside a man who had appeared out of nowhere. All my friends had warned me to stay away from him, but I'd believed every impossible thing he told me about the future. Now, after everything I'd sacrificed for him, I'd asked him to verify a single medical report. His answer was that I didn't understand his world. As the final page dissolved into tiny specks of light, tears finally slipped down my face. "Confirm the excision. Confirm the return." A sharp sting pierced the back of my neck, and a white doorway appeared in front of me. I hugged my paint box to my chest and stepped into the light. I would still love sunlight. Grass. Every vibrant color I could put on a canvas. But I would never love Adrian again.