Chapter 7: A Love Across Time
I stood there, my breath heavy in the stillness, my heart echoing in my chest like a distant drum. The world around us had shifted again—a clearing, the forest silent, as if time itself was holding its breath. Beside me, Henry tightened his grip on my hand, his pulse matching my own. We had escaped Callum, for now, but I could feel it—the ripple of the timeline still quivering, as fragile as glass about to shatter.
But more than that, I felt the weight of what was left unsaid between Henry and me. His gaze was still fixed on where Callum had vanished, his jaw clenched with the tension of everything that had come to pass. I knew I should say something about Callum’s threat, about the world we were still trying to save, but instead, all I could think about was the way Henry had pulled me to safety, how he had shielded me from the unraveling chaos like I was the only thing that mattered.
“Are you alright?” His voice broke the silence, low and filled with concern, but also something else—something deeper.
I nodded, unable to meet his eyes at first, my mind still racing from everything that had happened. “I think so.” I took a shaky breath. “But this isn’t over, is it?”
Henry’s expression softened, and he turned to face me fully, his eyes searching mine. “No,” he said quietly. “Callum won’t stop until he gets what he wants.”
I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of that truth press against me. “What does he want, Henry? Why is he so obsessed with destroying the timeline?”
There was a pause, a hesitation I hadn’t seen in him before. Henry ran a hand through his dark hair, his gaze distant as if he was reaching for something buried deep in his past. “It’s complicated,” he said finally, his voice heavy. “Callum and I… we were once allies. We both wanted to change the timeline, to correct what we thought were mistakes. But somewhere along the way, he lost sight of what was right. He started believing that rewriting the past meant erasing it. That the only way to fix time was to control it completely.”
I shivered, the thought of someone wielding that kind of power making my skin crawl. “And what about you?” I asked softly, my voice trembling. “What are you trying to do?”
Henry’s gaze locked onto mine, and for a moment, there was only the sound of our breathing, the soft rustle of leaves around us. “I’m trying to protect you,” he said quietly, his words like a weight that settled between us. “I’m trying to keep you from becoming another casualty of time’s unraveling.”
The intensity in his eyes was almost too much to bear, and for a moment, I looked away, my heart racing. “But why me, Henry? Why do I matter so much in all of this?”
He took a step closer, his hand reaching out to gently cup my chin, lifting my face so I had no choice but to meet his gaze. “Because you’re more important than you realize, Olivia. You were never supposed to fall into this timeline. You’re the variable, the one thing Callum can’t control. And that makes you dangerous to him. But to me…” His voice softened, and his thumb gently brushed against my cheek. “To me, you’re everything.”
My breath caught in my throat at the way he was looking at me, the raw vulnerability in his eyes. It was as if the walls he had kept up since the beginning had finally crumbled, and I could see the truth of everything he felt—everything he had been holding back. I had felt the connection between us since the moment we met, but now, standing here in this fragile moment of peace, I knew it was something more.
“Henry,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
Before I could say anything else, he closed the distance between us, his lips brushing mine in the softest, most hesitant of kisses. It was as if he was afraid I might pull away, afraid that this moment would slip through his fingers like time itself.
But I didn’t pull away. I leaned into him, my hands finding their way to his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath my fingertips. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer, and the world around us seemed to fade, leaving only the warmth of his embrace and the soft, urgent press of his lips against mine.
For a moment, there was no time, no fractured timelines, no threat of Callum tearing everything apart. There was only us, suspended in a fragile, perfect instant.
But as much as I wanted to stay in that moment, reality had a way of creeping back in.
I pulled back slightly, my forehead resting against his as I tried to steady my breath. “Henry,” I whispered again, my voice shaky. “What if we can’t fix this? What if… what if I can’t save you?”
His arms tightened around me, and he pressed a kiss to my forehead, lingering there for a moment before pulling back to look at me. “You don’t have to save me, Olivia. You just have to trust me.”
There was a determination in his eyes that made me want to believe him, to trust that somehow, despite everything, we would find a way out of this. But as much as I wanted to cling to that hope, the shadow of Callum’s threat loomed over us.
“What if it’s too late?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Henry shook his head, his hand cupping my face gently. “It’s never too late. Not as long as we’re together.”
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to trust that we could find a way to stop Callum, to fix the timeline before everything unraveled completely. But deep down, I knew that the choices we made now would determine everything.
Suddenly, the air around us shifted, a cold gust sweeping through the clearing. I felt it before I saw it—a ripple in the fabric of time, like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings. Henry stiffened beside me, his body going rigid.
“Callum,” he whispered, his voice filled with dread.
I turned, my heart leaping into my throat as I saw the faint outline of a figure emerging from the shadows. Callum.
He stood at the edge of the clearing, his expression unreadable, his eyes locked onto us with a chilling intensity. “Did you think you could escape me?” His voice was calm, almost amused. “I told you, Henry. This isn’t over.”
I stepped forward, my hand instinctively reaching for the pocket watch. But before I could act, Callum raised his hand, and the ground beneath us began to tremble. Time itself seemed to warp around him, bending to his will as the world around us flickered and shifted.
“Enough games,” Callum said, his voice filled with cold authority. “It’s time to finish this.”
The air crackled with tension, and I could feel the weight of the moment pressing down on us. This was it—the final confrontation. Everything we had fought for, everything we had sacrificed, was about to come to a head.
But as I stood there, facing the man who had caused so much destruction, I realized something. I wasn’t afraid anymore. Because no matter what happened next, I knew that Henry and I were in this together. And that was enough.
I tightened my grip on the watch, my heart steady as I took a step forward. “We’re not going to let you win, Callum.”
He raised an eyebrow, a cold smile playing on his lips. “We’ll see about that.”
And then, with a flick of his wrist, the world exploded into chaos.
***
The clearing dissolved into a swirling vortex of time and space, and I felt Henry’s hand slip from mine as we were pulled into the unknown, the very fabric of reality collapsing around us.