Chapter 2

"Actually, Brittany," I said, my voice calm, "I've made my choice."

Her eyes widened slightly, a flicker of surprise, quickly masked.

Chad looked relieved, then curious.

"Oh?" Brittany purred. "Do tell. Someone from the list, I presume?"

Her tone implied that anyone chosen would be a consolation prize if it wasn't her.

"Captain Maya Ramirez," I stated simply.

Brittany' s smile froze. Chad looked utterly confused.

"Captain who?" Brittany finally managed, her voice a little too sharp.

"Maya Ramirez," I repeated. "A U.S. Marine Captain."

Brittany scoffed, a delicate, dismissive sound.

"A soldier? How... quaint, Ethan. Trying to be patriotic?"

She then laughed, a tinkling, unpleasant sound, and looped her arm through Chad's.

"Well, don't let us keep you from your... duties."

She gave me one last look, a mixture of disdain and something else I couldn't quite place, then swept out with Chad in tow.

As she walked away, she threw over her shoulder, "Good luck with that, Ethan. You'll need it."

Then she leaned towards Chad and whispered something, and he snickered.

I watched them go, a cold knot in my stomach.

The past was a heavy cloak, and Brittany was its most suffocating thread.

But this time, I would not let her pull me under.

My choice was made, not out of a desire for social standing, but for something real.

Something Brittany, in her world of glitter and ambition, would never understand.

The news of my engagement to Captain Maya Ramirez spread through New York high society like wildfire, just as Mrs. Ainsworth had predicted.

"Ethan Cole to wed disabled war hero!" the gossip columns screamed.

"Ainsworth heir makes shocking choice!"

The city was buzzing.

The Vanderbilt family, Brittany' s "old money" clan, were suddenly in the spotlight.

Everyone assumed this was some elaborate play, that I was still pining for Brittany.

Reporters camped outside their mansion, asking for comments on my "unexpected" engagement.

The Vanderbilts, usually so private, found themselves uncomfortably illuminated.

The prevailing theory was that I was trying to make Brittany jealous, to force her hand.

After all, everyone "knew" I had been obsessed with her for years.

My past self had been, a naive fool blinded by her beauty and social grace.

This new Ethan, the one who remembered drowning, knew better.

The advantages of an Ainsworth connection were immense.

Mrs. Ainsworth was a queenmaker, her influence unparalleled.

Aligning with our family meant access, power, and an unshakeable position at the apex of society.

Many families were eager for such a tie, and the Vanderbilts were no exception, despite their established name. They always wanted more.

Brittany, however, held a different view, or so she projected.

She believed I was still hers for the taking, whenever she chose.

My engagement to Maya was, in her eyes, a desperate, pathetic gesture.

A few days later, she stormed into the Ainsworth Foundation office where I sometimes worked on philanthropic projects.

She didn't bother with an appointment.

"Ethan Cole, what in God's name do you think you're doing?" she demanded, slamming her designer handbag on my desk.

She was furious, her face flushed.

"This... this sham marriage to some crippled soldier! It's an insult!"

I leaned back in my chair, keeping my expression neutral.

"It's my decision, Brittany. And Captain Ramirez is a hero."

"A hero you're using to try and get to me!" she spat.

"You think this will make me want you? You think I'll come running back?"

She paced the office, her anger radiating.

"Let me make this perfectly clear, Ethan. I will never marry you. I am with Chad. We are happy. He understands me."

I felt a flicker of the old pain, the memory of her past rejection.

But it was distant now, overlaid with the knowledge of her ultimate betrayal.

"I never asked you to marry me, Brittany," I said quietly. "Not in this life."

"And I'm not trying to 'get to you.' My wedding to Captain Ramirez is real."

I focused on the cold, hard truth of my past life, her abandonment, my death.

That memory was my anchor, keeping me from being swayed by her theatrics.

This time, I would not be her fool.

She stared at me, momentarily speechless, perhaps surprised by my calm.

Then her eyes narrowed. "You're lying. This is all a game to you."

"It's not a game, Brittany."

"Then call it off!" she insisted. "If you're not doing this for me, then stop it! You're making a fool of yourself, and frankly, you're embarrassing everyone who knows you."

"The wedding is in a few days," I stated, my voice firm. "Captain Ramirez has accepted my proposal."

"She accepted because you're an Ainsworth!" Brittany countered. "What other reason could there be for her to marry a man she barely knows, especially in her... condition?"

"Perhaps she sees something you don't," I replied.

Brittany scoffed. "What I see is a desperate man making a desperate move."

She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.

"You know, Mrs. Ainsworth won't be happy if this blows up in your face, Ethan. She values stability."

I knew that Mrs. Ainsworth was indeed vulnerable right now, recovering from a minor health scare she tried to keep private. I wouldn't burden her with Brittany's drama.

"My mother supports my decision," I said, though I knew her support was conditional on this not becoming a circus.

Brittany' s frustration was growing.

"You always were stubborn," she hissed.

"What will it take for you to see sense?"

"I have seen sense, Brittany. That's why I'm marrying Maya."

She threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Fine! Marry your soldier! But don't come crying to me when it all falls apart!"

She then delivered a parting shot, a veiled threat.

"Chad and I are announcing our own engagement soon, a real engagement. You'll see what a proper society wedding looks like."

I knew what she meant, she would make a public spectacle, designed to overshadow mine and make me look foolish.

And she did.

The very next day, Brittany and Chad announced their engagement with a lavish party, covered by every society magazine and blog.

Photos of them, radiant and "in love," were everywhere.

They hinted at a wedding date, a grand affair, carefully chosen to coincide with mine, though they didn't state it explicitly, just dropped heavy clues.

The narrative was clear: Brittany, the desirable socialite, choosing her true love, while Ethan Cole, the spurned second choice, settled for a "charity case."

I became the city's laughingstock, the jilted man making a fool of himself.

The public perception was overwhelmingly that I was still pathetically chasing Brittany.

I remained outwardly calm, unaffected by the headlines and whispers.

Inside, I simply confirmed what I already knew.

Brittany Vanderbilt meant nothing to me anymore.

Her games, her manipulations, they were like distant echoes from a life I was determined to leave behind.

A few days later, Mrs. Ainsworth insisted I attend a charity gala at the Met.

"You need to be seen, Ethan," she' d said, her voice firm despite her recent fatigue. "And you need to hold your head high."

I knew she was worried about the public ridicule, about how it reflected on the Ainsworth name.

So, I went, bracing myself for the inevitable.

My arrival caused an immediate stir.

Whispers followed me like shadows as I moved through the glittering crowd.

The air was thick with judgment.

It was clear everyone had seen the news about Brittany and Chad, their opulent engagement, their thinly veiled mockery of my own impending nuptials.

I was the joke of the evening.

Chad, emboldened by his new status as Brittany's fiancé, approached me, a smug look on his face.

"Ethan, old man," he said, clapping me on the shoulder with false sympathy.

"Heard about your... situation. Tough break. But Brittany and I, we're thrilled. Our wedding is going to be the event of the season. We're thinking of having it in five days, actually. A beautiful, grand affair."

He was practically gloating, enjoying my public humiliation.

The crowd around us watched, eager for drama.

I met his gaze, my expression unreadable.

"Congratulations, Chad," I said calmly.

Then, I raised my voice slightly, enough for those nearby to hear.

"Actually, my wedding to Captain Maya Ramirez is also in five days. A bit of a coincidence, isn't it?"

A ripple of surprise went through the onlookers. Chad' s smugness faltered. Brittany, standing nearby, looked startled.

They thought they had me, that I would be shamed into silence.

They were wrong.

Later that evening, seeking a moment of quiet, I stepped out onto a terrace overlooking Central Park.

The city lights twinkled below.

Suddenly, someone shoved me hard from behind.

I stumbled, lost my balance, and plunged over the low railing into the dark waters of the Central Park Boating Lake.

The cold shock, the familiar terror of drowning, it all came rushing back.

My past life, Brittany's betrayal, the dark water closing over me.

It was happening again.