Three Days to Goodbye Chapter 1

Five years after I accidentally landed in this world, the System finally flagged me as a bug.

It was preparing to send me back to my own time, granting me three days to say my goodbyes.

On the first day, my wife, Valentina, held a wedding ceremony with her childhood sweetheart. I smiled as I personally placed the ring on his finger.

On the second day, my birthday, she sent 999 roses to her sweetheart with a heartfelt public declaration of her love. I quietly liked the post on her social media feed.

On the third day, she planned to take her darling sweetheart on a honeymoon to the Lake District—the one place I had always dreamed of seeing. I helped them pack.

As they boarded the train, I turned and stepped into the portal that would take me home.

* * *

I was reading when Sam called.

His voice was a storm of indignation, all on my behalf.

“Valentina has lost her mind! She actually went through with a wedding for that childhood friend of hers, Noah, just because of some whimsical promise he made.”

“You’re her actual husband!”

“You should have been there, Leo. All her friends and family were calling Noah ‘son-in-law.’ He was smiling so hard his face was about to crack. And Valentina? She didn’t say a word. Anyone who didn’t know better would think they were the real couple.”

I wasn’t at the wedding, but I knew.

After all, I was the one who put the ring on Noah’s hand.

Besides, my social media feed had been flooded with them all day. Valentina, who never posted anything, had uploaded seven different stories dedicated to Noah.

The funny thing was, when we got married, she’d said our friends list was full of unimportant people, that there was nothing worth posting.

So now, everyone who saw their feed thought Noah was her boyfriend, her husband.

I let out a soft laugh. “It’s alright, Sam. Don’t be angry.”

He grumbled for a while longer before finally calming down, but his tone shifted to confusion. “Leo, how are you not angry at all?”

My hand paused. Perhaps the old me would have been furious. I would have caused a scene, maybe even screamed at her, demanding an explanation.

But I was leaving now. I was going back to my own time.

That era wasn’t like this one, with its advanced technology and peaceful, prosperous society. In my time, many people still starved, still shivered in the cold. I needed to learn as much as I could before I left, to take that knowledge back with me. There was too much to do. I had no time for heartbreak.

“Maybe I’m just over it,” I said with a wry chuckle.

Then, my voice turned serious. “Sam, let’s meet up tomorrow. I think… I have to go soon.”

Sam was my only real friend here, the only person I was reluctant to leave.

Before he could answer, a voice came from behind me. It was Valentina, her tone sharp with a rare hint of panic.

“Go? Leo, where are you going?”

For some reason, hearing those words made Valentina’s heart clench.

I didn’t say anything, but Noah, standing beside her, spoke up with a smirk. His eyes were full of mockery, but his voice was pitifully soft.

“I knew it. The wedding today must have upset Leo. It’s all my fault. Valentina, you should comfort him. After all, in this world, you’re the only one he can rely on.”

He finished with a light cough, pressing a hand to his chest.

Valentina immediately rushed to his side, her eyes filled with concern. But Noah’s words had reminded her: Leo didn’t belong to this time. Where could he possibly go without her?

At that thought, her expression hardened into one of disgust.

“Leo! I told you, I was just helping Noah fulfill a dream! Do you have to be so difficult about it?”

She snorted. “You want to go? Fine. Go now. I’d like to see how far you get.”

I stood frozen as the wind from the open window chilled me to the bone. Watching them walk upstairs together, a cold smile touched my lips. She said it was to fulfill a dream. Were the red marks on your neck part of his ‘dream’ too, Valentina?

Whatever. In three days, I would be free of this place.