Chapter 1: Viral Regrets

It started with a street interview—a YouTuber with a mic, stopping strangers downtown.

It was one of those random man-on-the-street segments that show up on your feed. The YouTuber strolled through the city, catching people off guard with questions that ranged from deep to goofy. This video was blowing up on Twitter, so of course, I had to watch.

"What would you like to say to yourself from five years ago?"

There he was—Jason Carter, his arm draped around his much younger girlfriend.

Jason always had that effortless, cool-guy vibe, but on camera, he looked even more relaxed—his arm easy over Emily’s shoulders, smile softer than I remembered. They stood in front of a colorful mural, the city buzzing around them.

His voice was calm, edged with something tender.

"I wish the Jason Carter from five years ago could have met Emily Parker sooner."

He sounded almost wistful, like he truly believed fate owed him a better deal.

Emily blushed, covering her mouth as she echoed, barely above a whisper,

"Me too."

She giggled, cheeks turning a bold pink, like she’d just hit the jackpot and the world was watching.

Online, people lost their minds over how cute they were.

The comments section was a flood—heart emojis, swooning GIFs, TikTok edits set to Ed Sheeran. People were making little slideshows, dubbing them #relationshipgoals.

No one knew that five years ago, Jason Carter and I got married.

Not even he remembered.

But a week later, everything changed. And this time, the whole internet was watching.