Chapter 1

Sarah Miller' s eyes snapped open, the fluorescent lights of the hospital room searing.

Pain throbbed in her head, a dull, persistent ache.

A nurse bustled in, her voice a soft murmur.

"You're awake, Ms. Miller. You gave us quite a scare."

Sarah tried to speak, her throat dry.

"What... what happened?"

"A car accident," the nurse said gently. "You're very lucky. It's July 15th, 2013."

July 15th, 2013.

The date slammed into Sarah with the force of a physical blow.

No. It couldn't be.

That was ten years ago.

Ten years before the accident that had supposedly just happened.

Ten years before the decade of quiet suffocation she'd endured married to Ethan Hayes.

Her hand flew to her stomach, flat and empty. In her real present, just before the crash, she' d been numbly going through the motions, her career a forgotten dream, her spirit a withered thing.

She remembered the rain-slicked road, the screech of tires, then darkness.

But before that, she remembered the gut-wrenching discovery: Ethan and Olivia Cartwright, his high-school flame, had renewed vows in secret.

"Forever," they' d promised each other, while Sarah was still his wife.

The misery of that life, the constant, gnawing neglect, Ethan' s emotional energy poured into Olivia like water into sand, it all came rushing back.

This was it. Her second chance.

This time, Ethan could have Olivia.

He could have her from the start.

Sarah Miller was not walking that path again.

Her father, Robert Miller, arrived within the hour, his face etched with worry that quickly turned to relief when he saw her awake and alert.

He was a man of influence, a retired lobbyist whose connections still ran deep in Boston' s veins.

"Sarah, my dear girl, you frightened us all."

"Dad," she said, her voice raspy but firm, "I'm okay. But I need to tell you something important."

He pulled a chair closer. "Anything."

"I can't marry Ethan."

Robert blinked, his composed demeanor faltering for a split second. "Not marry Ethan? Sarah, the wedding is planned, invitations sent. He's a Hayes, a perfect match."

"He's not perfect for me, Dad. And I'm not perfect for him."

She saw the questions in his eyes, the concern.

"This accident... it's made me see things clearly," she continued, choosing her words carefully. "Marrying him would be a mistake for both of us. He... he has other attachments. It wouldn't be fair to anyone."

Her father was silent for a long moment, studying her. He knew her, knew her quiet nature, her tendency to please. This sudden, unshakeable resolve was new.

"There's an... alternative I was approached about," Robert said slowly, almost testing the waters. "Something quite different. For the family's legacy, a move towards more ethical ventures. Jacob Stone, leader of a community in Oregon, Aurora Valley. They need lobbying help for water rights. He proposed an alliance, a strong one."

He paused. "It would require a marriage. Between you and him."

Sarah looked at her father, a flicker of hope igniting within her. Oregon. Far from Boston, far from Ethan and Olivia.

"Tell me more, Dad," she said, her voice steady. This was her escape.

The days in the hospital blurred into a period of quiet reflection, each memory of her first life with Ethan a fresh stab of confirmation.

She remembered the countless evenings spent alone, Ethan "working late" or "networking," which usually meant he was with Olivia, soothing some manufactured crisis or simply basking in her attention.

She remembered her architectural ambitions slowly dying, her own projects shelved or downplayed because Ethan' s career, his family' s expectations, always came first.

Olivia had been a constant shadow, her presence woven into the fabric of their marriage. Ethan' s high school sweetheart, manipulative and needy, fresh from her own brief, failed marriage to a local celebrity, always finding a way to be Ethan' s priority.

Sarah recalled the hollowness in her chest when she found the pictures of their secret vow renewal, the casual cruelty of his betrayal.

He hadn't just neglected her; he had actively built a separate life, a separate future, with another woman while married to her.

The quiet misery wasn't quiet at all; it was a screaming void.

Her determination hardened. Never again.

A week later, back in her parents' Boston home, the routines of her "old" life tried to reassert themselves.

Her best friend, Chloe, a sharp-witted journalist who had been her college roommate, was a constant source of support.

"Ethan called," Chloe said one morning, scrolling through her phone. "He wants to finalize the guest list for the rehearsal dinner. He said he'd swing by around eleven."

Sarah knew Ethan. Eleven meant one, if he showed up at all. Olivia would have some "emergency."

"Chloe, can you call him back?" Sarah asked, a new strength in her voice. "Tell him I'm not feeling up to it today. Suggest he take Olivia to lunch instead; I heard she' s having a tough time with her recent breakup."

Chloe raised an eyebrow, a slow smile spreading across her face. "Playing matchmaker now, are we?"

"Just being practical," Sarah said lightly.

As predicted, Ethan called later, full of apologies. Olivia had indeed needed him. He' d be by "later."

Sarah simply said, "Don't worry about it, Ethan. Take care of Olivia."

She hung up, a small, grim smile on her face. The patterns were already repeating. This time, she wouldn't be waiting.

Curiosity, or perhaps a need for final confirmation, led Sarah to the small Italian cafe Olivia favored in the North End a few days later.

She sat at a discreet table near the window, nursing a coffee.

Soon enough, Ethan and Olivia walked in. Olivia, dressed impeccably, was dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, her expression one of tragic beauty. Ethan was all concern, his arm around her shoulder, murmuring soothing words.

Sarah watched them, a detached observer. Olivia had always been adept at playing the victim. Her marriage to that local musician had barely lasted a year, ending in a flurry of dramatic social media posts. Now, she was clearly focusing all her energy on reclaiming Ethan.

And Ethan, as always, was lapping it up. He leaned in, his expression earnest, completely captivated by Olivia' s performance.

Sarah remembered this dance so well from her first life. Olivia's tears, Ethan's unwavering devotion to her, while Sarah herself had been an afterthought.

Nothing had changed. Or rather, everything was about to change because Sarah would no longer be a part of their toxic orbit.

She finished her coffee and left, unnoticed.

The seeds of her past were confirming the wisdom of her future path.