I Watched My Fiancé Drown, And Walked Away

The biting wind whipped across the riverbank, snapping me out of a strange, dreamlike haze. People were shoving me forward, shouting, "Someone, quick! Jump in and save William! He's gonna drown!" I looked down. My fingers were fumbling with the buttons of my winter coat. I was about to jump into the frozen river to save my fiancé, William Schneider.

Again.

The banners, the clothes, the frantic voices—it was all exactly the same as thirty years ago. The day I ruined my life by being a hero. In my previous life, I'd jumped in, dragged his half-drowned body to shore, and because we'd been seen clinging to each other in the water, a scandal erupted. He was obliged to marry me, ending his plans to break off our engagement.

For thirty years, I played the dutiful wife. I nursed him, cared for his parents, and gave him a brilliant son. And for thirty years, he never loved me. He saw my act of bravery as a calculated conspiracy to trap him. His ultimate betrayal was choosing to die for his adored first love, Sofia Davis. My own son, blaming me for his father's misery, poured my heart medication down the drain and watched me die in agony.

But now… I was back. And this time, I knew better. A heart can be warmed, but you can't melt an ice cube without freezing to death yourself.

I calmly re-buttoned my thick, cotton-padded jacket, its warmth a comforting shield. I was turning to leave this cursed riverbank for good when a splash caught my attention. William, who should have been unconscious and drowning, was suddenly swimming to shore with strong, practiced strokes. He didn't know how to swim at this point in his life; he only learned after we were married.

He climbed onto the bank, dripping and shivering, but his eyes were blazing with a strange triumph. He strode over to me, a smirk on his blue-tinged lips.

"You thought you could cling to me again, didn't you?" he sneered, his voice trembling with more than just the cold. It was laced with a venom I now recognized. "I've trained for years for this. I finally saved myself."

The puzzle pieces clicked into place. I wasn't the only one who had been reborn.