Chapter 1

My engagement to Ethan Hayes had been a formal arrangement for ten years, a silent contract between two families. For all those years, I loved him with a quiet desperation. He was the sun I orbited, but his light never shone on me. He treated me with a polite, chilling indifference that froze my heart bit by bit.

Then Chloe Davis appeared.

She was new at our university, all sweetness and light, and Ethan, who had never shown more than a flicker of emotion to anyone, fell for her completely. He looked at her in a way he had never looked at me.

In my first life, that look drove me mad. I discovered that Chloe was the daughter of the man who had ruined Ethan' s family, the man whose actions led to the suicide of Ethan' s parents. I thought I had to save him. I found evidence and went to his uncle, David Hayes, the man who raised him.

The confrontation was a disaster. Chloe, cornered and frantic, pushed David during a heated argument. He fell, hit his head, and died instantly. Ethan walked in at that exact moment. He saw me standing over his uncle' s body, with a terrified Chloe pointing a trembling finger at me.

He didn' t listen. He didn' t even look at me. He just saw what he wanted to see: the jealous fiancée getting rid of her rival, and his beloved uncle caught in the crossfire.

I was sent to prison. I died there, alone and forgotten, while Ethan and Chloe, bound by their shared, twisted tragedy, continued their life together.

When I opened my eyes, the harsh fluorescent lights of the university library blinded me for a second. The familiar scent of old paper and dust filled my lungs. I was alive. I was back.

I looked down at my hands. They were trembling. The book in front of me was a text for a class I was taking a full year before the tragedy. I had been given a second chance.

A cold, hard resolve settled in my chest, extinguishing the last embers of my foolish love. This time, I would not interfere. This time, I would not save him.

I would step back. I would watch.

I wanted to see their great love story play out to its inevitable, disastrous end. I wanted to watch the truth crash down on them and shatter their perfect world into pieces.

I closed the book with a soft thud. My past life was a story that was finished. It was time to write a new one.

My first act was to take out my phone. I found the number for the Hayes family' s lawyer. My fingers were steady as I typed the message.

"Mr. Thompson, this is Sarah Miller. I am writing to inform you that I wish to formally and immediately terminate the engagement agreement between myself and Ethan Hayes. Please begin the necessary proceedings."

I hit send without a moment' s hesitation. The weight of a decade-long, one-sided promise lifted from my shoulders. I felt light. I felt free.

In my past life, I had clung to that engagement with everything I had. I thought it was my only path to happiness, my only claim to Ethan. I saw it as a symbol of my worth.

How wrong I was. It was a chain, and I had just broken it.

A few tables away, a soft laugh caught my attention. I looked up. It was Ethan and Chloe. They were studying together, heads bent close over a textbook. He was smiling, a warm, genuine smile that I had only ever dreamed of receiving. She was looking up at him, her eyes wide with adoration.

They looked so perfect, so in love. A bitter taste filled my mouth, but it wasn't jealousy. It was the acrid flavor of knowing the poison that lay beneath the sweet surface.

As if sensing my gaze, Chloe looked over and saw me. Her smile tightened for a fraction of a second before she nudged Ethan. He looked up, and his face immediately hardened into a familiar mask of annoyance when he saw me.

He stood up and walked over to my table, Chloe trailing behind him like a shadow.

"Sarah," he said, his voice clipped. "What are you doing here?"

As if my presence in the university library was an offense.

"Studying," I said, my voice even.

Chloe clutched his arm, her expression a perfect blend of concern and innocence. "Ethan, don't be rude. Sarah is your fiancée, after all."

The word "fiancée" hung in the air. In my past life, I would have clung to it. Now, it was meaningless.

"Not for long," I said, meeting Ethan' s cold eyes without flinching.

His brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Before I could answer, my phone buzzed. It was a reply from the lawyer. "Confirmed, Ms. Miller. I will inform the Hayes family."

I didn' t need to say another word. I simply started packing my books. My focus was elsewhere now. The petty drama of my youth was a distraction I could no longer afford. My future depended on what I did next.

I needed to secure my place in Professor Albright' s advanced research program. In my previous life, I had let my obsession with Ethan derail my ambitions. I had missed the application deadline. This time, I would not make the same mistake. That program was my ticket out, my path to a life where Ethan Hayes and Chloe Davis were nothing but a bad memory.

I stood up, my bag slung over my shoulder, and walked past them without a backward glance. I had an appointment to make. I needed to go to Professor Albright' s office and convince him to take a chance on me. My real life started now.