This Time I Chose Him

The list lay on the polished mahogany table, four names, my future, dictated by my father.

Just four heirs to the city' s most powerful families.

The world expected me to choose Ethan Miller, the charming heir I had publicly chased for years.

They thought they knew our story, the pathetic heiress hopelessly in love.

They didn' t know the real story, the one that ended with the screech of tires and the crushing impact of metal.

I remembered the joy of my wedding day, shattered a year later when he declared our marriage a sham, publicly embracing his assistant, Sophia, his supposed true love.

Then Sophia vanished, and Ethan turned his grief into a weapon against me.

He brought home a new woman with Sophia' s gentle eyes every week, forcing me to endure his cruel reminders.

The last thing I remembered was his unfeeling face as paramedics pulled my broken body from the car wreckage – the brakes had failed. It was no accident.

Six months ago, I woke up in my own bed, nineteen again, the cold truth a burning scar on my soul.

My heart went cold, a familiar chill, as I looked at the list.

I would not choose Ethan Miller.

I would not walk that path again.

My finger traced past his name, landing on Liam Thorne.

He was quiet, often overlooked, but he was kind.

This time, my definition of smart had changed. It was no longer about power or passion. It was about survival.