Natalie's Pov.
I woke up in the dark, gasping for air as my heart raced like it did when I was running from some bad dream. My hands had clutched the bed sheet, damp with sweat. I started to blink fast to make out where I was. The room around me came into slow focus-soft stream sunlight through the white curtains, the familiar scent of lavender from the diffuser on the nightstand, the soft murmur of birds chirping outside the window.
It took a second, but then it suddenly dawned on me … this was my old bedroom.
I sat up, my heart racing, my eyes frantically scanning the room. Everything was exactly as it had been—ten years earlier. The retro wooden dresser I'd picked up at a yard sale, the framed photographs hanging on the wall, my favorite novels stacked beside the bed—all of it was from before everything in my life went so wrong. My head reeled, confusion overwhelming me. How could this be?
My hands were shaking as I leaned across the bed and picked up the mirror that lay beside me, praying it wasn't true. I gasped as the reflection stared back at me. It wasn't the worn, exhausted face I'd seen staring at me from within that mirror just the day before-the line-crvagged face of a woman whose marriage had finally crumbled, whose pain was etched into each fold. No. The face that stared back at me was younger, smoother, unscathed by the heartache I had carried for so long.
My hand reached out and touched my skin, hardly believing my eyes. "What. what is it?" I stammered, my voice shaking.
I stumbled out of bed, my legs unsteady beneath me as the fact of what was transpiring tried to make sense to me. Was this some kind of dream? Had I finally snapped under the weight of everything and created some sort of twisted fantasy in my mind?
But it hadn't felt like a dream. It had felt real-too real. The smooth wood beneath my feet, the gentle caress of the fabric against my skin, the scent of fresh morning air. It had all seemed so real, so tangible.
I glanced over at the calendar hanging on the wall and my heart almost stopped with the date staring back: ten years ago. It was the day exactly before Ethan proposed.
My breath had caught in my throat. I had traveled back in time. Impossible, I'd been cast back into the past-to my younger self-just before everything changed. Just before I said yes to a future that would unravel into heartache.
I sat down on the bed, trying to wrap my head around it all. It was not possible, but the room encircling me, my reflection staring back at me in the mirror, said different. I had gotten a second chance.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps down the hall, and my heart went to my throat. I knew those footsteps. I'd heard them a thousand times before. The door creaked open, and there he was-Ethan.
Except it wasn't the Ethan I had seen at the restaurant last night, cold and indifferent. It was the Ethan from ten years ago-young, charming, and oblivious to the future that we would share. His eyes sparkled when he saw me, that familiar smile spreading across his face as he leaned against the doorway.
"Good morning, beautiful," his voice warm and filled with the affection denied me for so long.
My chest tightened as I looked at him. He looked exactly the same—his hair slightly tousled, his smile easy, his eyes bright with the same confidence that had once made me fall in love with him. But I wasn't the same. I had lived through this already. I knew what came next. I knew how this story ended.
Natalie, are you okay?" His smile faltered and he stepped closer, concern flickering in his eyes. "You look like you have seen a ghost.
I swallowed hard; my throat was dry as I tried to gather my thoughts. What was I to say? How could I explain what I had been feeling, how seeing him, this version of him, had felt like a kick in the gut? How could I explain this pain still gnawing within my heart, this betrayal I survived, this devastation still clinging to me like a shadow?
"I'm fine," I managed to get out, my voice catching slightly. "Just… a weird dream."
He chuckled, coming over to sit next to me on the bed, his arm slipping easily around my waist like it always had back then. "Must've been some dream. You look rattled."
I pulled a smile, but inside, my mind was spiraling. This wasn't a dream. This was real. And Ethan. Ethan had no idea what was coming. He had no idea what would happen to us, what he would do to me, how he would tear my heart apart piece by piece until there was nothing left.
But sitting here beside him, with his arm thrown around me and the warmth in his voice, I couldn't help but remember why I had loved him so much. Memories of good times-the laughter, the love, the connection we once used to share-once again flooded my mind and threatened to drown out the pain.
But I couldn't forget. And I knew I couldn't allow myself to make the very same mistakes. I had lived that future, after all, and I knew how it ended. This time had to be different.
I took a deep breath and steadied myself. "What's the plan for today?" I asked casually enough, though my mind was racing. I needed to figure out what to do, how to change things. I couldn't just go along with everything like before.
"Well, I was thinking we could take a walk in the park," Ethan said, his smile returning. "But I've got something special planned for tonight. Wear something nice."
I felt my heart do a flip. I knew what tonight was. The proposal. That moment which would set in motion everything. That moment when I would say yes and set myself upon the path that would ultimately lead me to heartache.
But this time, I did not know if I can say yes.
But with the passing of the day, I found myself wearied by the weight of the choice laid out before me. I still loved him, there was little denial for that. But now, that love was tainted with a knowledge of what was to be in store: his betrayal, coldness, and distance—just waiting on the other side of that proposal.
As evening approached, I knew I was walking in the fog as my mind was really heavy with thoughts of the future that I had already lived. Ethan was his charming confident self, totally oblivious to my internal storm. He took me to the same restaurant where he proposed, and as we sat, my heart was racing.
I knew what was coming.
"Natalie," he said, his voice soft and serious as he reached across the table to take my hand. "I love you. And I can't imagine my life without you."
I looked into his eyes, and for a second, I was taken back to that restaurant ten years ago, before it had all unraveled. My heart ached with the weight of it all.
He got up, drew out a small box from his pocket, and fell on one knee, just like before.
"Natalie, will you marry me?"
The words hung in the air, and my breath caught in my throat. I looked down at him-my heart torn in two. Part of me wanted to say yes-to fall back into his arms and act like I didn't know how this story ended. But the other part of me-the one who had lived through the pain and the betrayal and the heartbreak-couldn't do it. Not again.
I was being given a second chance. A chance to alter everything. And this time, I would be in control.
"I… I need to think," I whispered, pulling my hand away.
Ethan's face fell, confusion and hurt flashing across his features. "Think? Natalie, what's wrong?"
I rose to my feet, my heart racing as I took a step backward. "I'm sorry, Ethan. I just… I can't do this. Not right now.
And with that, I turned and walked out of the restaurant, leaving behind the life to which I had once said yes, and stepped out into the great unknown.