Chapter 1

On the day I got engaged, a fire broke out in the building right across from my boyfriend, Albert Ryan's place.

Albert dashed for the stairs, determined to save Vita Payne, his childhood friend, who was trapped in the burning building.

But the blaze was out of control and firefighters had already begun the rescue, so I held him back, refusing to let him throw himself into danger.

After we married, Albert devoted himself to looking after Vita, who'd been left horribly scarred by the fire.

I spent more than thirty years living all alone. I ended up not having any children. When I was dying, Albert pulled the plug on my oxygen.

He asked, "Thalia, have you lived a happy life?

"If you hadn't stopped me back then, Vita's whole face wouldn't have ended up ruined."

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day I was supposed to get engaged.

Albert said anxiously, "Vita's my friend. I need to save her!"

I pushed him urgently and said, "Hurry up and save her."

*****

Albert rushed out so fast he didn't even bother to close the door behind him.

Back in the dining room, everyone was left awkwardly frozen, not knowing what to do or say.

"Well..." My mom, Tasha Soto, looked embarrassed, glancing at Albert's parents.

"Who's Vita?" my dad, Emerson Soto, asked.

Albert's dad, Kendrick Ryan, shook his head, while Albert's mom, Luna Ryan, nervously rubbed her hands together, clearly uncomfortable.

Astrid Ryan, who was Albert's grandmother, sat at the head of the table and said, "She's a girl from our neighborhood, the same age as Albert. They grew up together."

My parents nodded, finally understanding.

Luna quickly turned to me, forcing a smile as she tried to explain, "Thalia, don't overthink it. Albert and Vita are just good friends."

Kendrick chimed in, "Yeah, the Paynes are always lazing around, and Vita hasn't held a proper job since vocational school. Their family's not even in the same league as ours. Our worlds hardly ever overlap."

I smiled.

"Luna, Kendrick, is it alright if I head to Albert's room for a bit?" I asked gently.

"Of course," Luna said with a kind nod.

I turned and walked away.

In Albert's room, I picked up a blue-covered diary from his desk and the photo of Vita tucked under his pillow.

I had time-traveled back to the past, so I knew exactly what his treasured belongings looked like and where to find them.

Back in the dining room, I handed both items to Kendrick and Luna.

I said flatly, "Albert's had feelings for Vita for ages.

"See for yourselves.

After a moment's silence, I added, "He chose to go to Vita today instead of being me. It's pretty clear she's the one he's always cared about.

"He chose her over me, so it's obvious he never liked me.

"Please cancel this engagement.

"From here on out, Albert and I are strangers."

With that said, I didn't even give Kendrick or Luna a chance to speak, just turned straight to my parents.

"Dad, Mom, let's go home," I said.

"Fine, let's go," Tasha snapped, her anger barely held back.

Albert and I went to high school together. Sophomore year, he topped the year in the subject of Bluernian. When he stood up to give his speech in class, he was so charming and confident.

That was when I started having a crush on him.

After the SAT, at our class gathering, by pure chance, I ended up sitting next to Albert. We chatted about which colleges and majors we wanted to go for and about our dreams for life.

We spent the whole afternoon just talking.

When the scores were finally released, Albert called me up.

"Thalia, how about we start dating and apply to Autumnwood University together?" he suggested.

"Sounds perfect," I said, happiness bubbling up inside me.

We were together all four years of college, and once we graduated, we met each other's parents. Then, we got engaged.

On this very same day in my previous life, I held Albert back and wouldn't let him go.

That was because when I stood on his balcony, I saw the building across the street burning wildly, with smoke getting thicker by the second, pouring straight up into the sky.

Firefighters were already swarming the scene, police and medics everywhere, the whole area blocked off with police tape.

I couldn't stand the idea of losing him. Even though I knew the cops wouldn't let him charge into the fire, I was desperate to keep him safe. I latched on tight and refused to let go, no matter how hard he tried to pull away.

In the end, the firefighters got Vita out, but she was left with terrible burns all over her left cheek and shoulder. Albert watched over her every day for three full months.

Back then, I kept telling myself that he did it out of guilt and loyalty as a friend. He'd tried so hard to save her, so it made sense that he'd feel responsible for her injury.

Even when I found Vita's photo hidden under his pillow, I still found ways to talk myself out of worrying about it, convincing myself that I was just overthinking.

After the wedding, Albert was always off taking care of Vita. At first, I tried to brush it off, but it started to eat at me. We talked about it and even had a fight, but none of it ever made a difference. Nothing I did could pull him back.

So we just drifted through life but never lived to the fullest.