The Fiancé My Rival Became

My world with Ethan was meant to be a fairytale, a perfect match destined for a future built on love and family legacy.

Then came the crash. One moment, metal screaming, the next, silence. But when Ethan opened his eyes, he looked right through me, mumbling a stranger's name: "Jess?" He remembered nothing of me, his girlfriend, only Jessica Vance, his supposed "one true love."

Heartbroken and humiliated, I watched the boy I loved treat me like a ghost, while my dead Grandma Rose' s sassy voice boomed in my head. She wasn't just there for moral support; she unveiled shocking "past life" memories, revealing Ethan's repeated betrayals with that conniving Jess, painting a brutal picture of manipulation. My family, unconcerned with my pain, pushed me to choose a new fiancé for strategic gain.

How could he forget only me? Was this amnesia real or a cruel charade? And was I losing my mind, hearing my dead grandmother warn me that Ethan was a "charlatan" who'd broken my heart before? The vivid flashbacks she showed blurred past and present, revealing a terrifying pattern of deceit.

Pushed to the brink, and guided by Grandma Rose' s outrageous, yet wise, advice, I made a choice that stunned everyone: I chose Liam O'Connell, my lifelong rival, as my fiancé. This wasn't just strategy; it was my declaration of war against a history determined to repeat itself, a defiant step into a new future, guided by an impossible voice and newfound courage.

The world went black, then exploded in a starburst of pain behind my eyes.

Metal screamed, a terrible, tearing sound.

Then, silence, except for a high-pitched ringing in my ears.

I tasted blood, coppery and warm.

"Ethan?" I tried to say, but my voice was a croak.

He was next to me, slumped against the steering wheel. The car was a wreck, wrapped around a thick oak tree on the side of Old Mill Road.

My head throbbed. I reached out, touched his shoulder.

"Ethan, are you okay?"

He groaned, stirred. His eyes fluttered open, unfocused.

"Jess?" he mumbled, his voice hoarse. "Jess, where are you?"

Jess? Jessica Vance? What was he talking about?

"Ethan, it's me, Sadie," I said, my heart starting to pound a frantic rhythm against my ribs.

He blinked, looked at me, but his eyes were vacant, like he was looking through me.

"Who... who are you?" he asked.

A cold dread washed over me.

"It's Sadie, Ethan. Your girlfriend."

He shook his head slowly. "No. My love... my true love is Jessica. I remember her. I need to find her."

Before I could process the crushing weight of his words, another voice, sharp and familiar, echoed in my mind.

Well, isn't that a fine kettle o' fish, sweet pea? The little weasel.

I flinched. That voice. It couldn't be.

Grandma Rose?

But Grandma Rose was dead. Buried three months ago in St. Patrick's cemetery.

Don't you be mindin' that gobshite, Sarah girl, the voice continued, clear as a bell inside my head. He's playin' you, just like he did in that other time. Amnesia, my foot! Only remembers the other one, does he? Convenient, that.

My head spun. Was I concussed? Hallucinating?

Paramedics arrived then, sirens wailing, lights flashing. They pulled Ethan out first. He kept asking for Jessica.

When they helped me out, I was dizzy, shaken, but mostly whole.

As they checked me over, Grandma Rose kept up her commentary.

See? Not a scratch on ya, praise be. But that charlatan, Ethan? He's rotten to the core, I tell ya. Always was, always will be. You need to steer clear of him, Sadie. Far, far clear.

"I... I don't understand," I whispered, more to myself than to the paramedic taking my blood pressure.

You will, darlin'. I'm here now. Your old Nana Rose isn't about to let that snake hurt you again. Not this time around.

Again? This time around? What did she mean?

That Liam O'Connell, now there's a proper lad. A bit rough around the edges, maybe, but a good heart. He's the one for you, mark my words. He looked out for you before, when you didn't even see it.

Liam O'Connell? My rival? The guy I'd argued with since kindergarten? Grandma Rose thought he was the one for me?

This had to be a nightmare. A very, very strange nightmare.

But the throbbing in my head was real, Ethan' s blank stare was real, and Grandma Rose' s voice, full of her usual Irish sass and no-nonsense advice, was undeniably, impossibly, present in my mind.

A week later, I was sitting in Grandpa Joe' s study. The scent of old books and his pipe tobacco usually comforted me, but today, I was a bundle of nerves.

Ethan was home from the hospital, still claiming he only remembered Jessica Vance, his "one true love." He'd barely acknowledged me. Our families, the Millers and the Hayes, pillars of this prosperous New England town, were treading on eggshells.

Grandpa Joe, head of the Miller Family Foundation, a man whose calm demeanor usually settled any storm, looked at me with concern.

"Sadie, my dear," he began, his voice gentle. "This situation with Ethan... it's unfortunate. Very unfortunate."

I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat.

Unfortunate is one word for it, Joe, Grandma Rose chimed in my head. The boy's a feckin' eejit, is what he is.

"The family's standing, alliances... these things are important, Sadie. Stability." Grandpa Joe sighed, then slid a small stack of glossy photographs across his mahogany desk. "I've taken the liberty of... well, of considering alternatives."

My eyes widened. They were photos of young men. Eligible bachelors, all from prominent local families. Chad Peterson, grinning like a golden retriever. Tyler Maxwell, looking serious and dependable. And then, my breath caught.

Ethan Hayes, a photo clearly taken before the accident, his arm possessively around a pre-crash me.

And Liam O'Connell, leaning against a stone wall, a hint of a smirk on his lips, his dark hair ruffled by a wind I couldn't feel. He looked intense, almost brooding.

"I want you to choose a fiancé, Sadie," Grandpa Joe said, his gaze steady. "Secure your future. Secure a beneficial alliance for the family."

My mind reeled. A proposal game? This was archaic. This was... insane.

Now, now, Joe has a point, even if he's goin' about it like a bull in a china shop, Grandma Rose mused. But he's got the wrong bull in mind.

I looked at Ethan' s photo. The boy I thought I loved. The boy who now looked at me like a stranger, unless he was talking about Jess.

He's a cheat, Sadie. Broke your heart to pieces in that other time. Left you for that same conniving little witch, Jess.

Grandma Rose' s "memories" had been seeping into my consciousness all week – flashes of a life I didn't recognize, filled with a pain that felt terrifyingly real. Ethan, charming and deceitful. Jess, sly and triumphant. And Liam... Liam was always there, in the background, a silent, unexpected protector.

I picked up Liam O'Connell's photo. My long-time rival. The one person in town who could always get under my skin.

That's the ticket, sweet pea! Grandma Rose cheered. He's a good lad, a strong lad. He won't let you down.

My hand trembled. This was crazy. But crazier than hearing my dead grandmother in my head? Crazier than my boyfriend forgetting me for someone else?

I took a deep breath. "Okay, Grandpa."

I pushed Liam O'Connell's photo forward.

"I choose him. I choose Liam."

Grandpa Joe' s eyebrows shot up. He stared at the photo, then at me, a flicker of disbelief in his eyes.

"Liam O'Connell?" he said, his voice laced with surprise. "But... you two have always been at odds."

Attraction, Joe, me boy. Sometimes it looks like a fight to the untrained eye, Grandma Rose quipped.

"He's my choice, Grandpa," I said, a strange sense of calm settling over me. Or maybe it was just Grandma Rose' s unwavering confidence seeping through.

The decision was made. I had just chosen my rival as my fiancé. The town was going to have a field day.