He Drowned Me to Save Her

On our three-year anniversary, my boyfriend took me on an island vacation to see the ocean, only for a tragic accident to plunge us both into the watery depths.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at our college graduation ceremony two years ago.

When he stood on stage and announced he wanted to thank the most important woman in his life, my eyes welled up.

I waited for him to propose, just like he had in our past life.

Instead, he slipped the diamond ring onto the finger of the wealthy heiress who had relentlessly chased him.

At that moment, it hit me—he had been reborn, too.

I thought he was just sick of the crushing poverty we had endured, desperate to take a shortcut by marrying into a tycoon's family.

Going our separate ways seemed like the best ending I could ask for.

That was, until I stumbled upon him in a hospital corridor, grabbing a doctor by the collar and roaring:

"I didn't turn back time at that island just to let Daphne die again!"

 ......

I snapped my eyes open, gasping greedily for air.

My vision slowly sharpened. There was no isolated island. No raging storm. No capsized yacht.

Instead, I was staring at the Gothic vaulted ceiling of the college auditorium, surrounded by deafening cheers.

"Next, please welcome our outstanding graduate representative, Elias, to deliver his valedictory speech!" the university president's voice echoed through the microphone.

It hit me then. I had been reborn.

Ten minutes ago, I distinctly remembered Elias and me getting caught in a horrific storm during our anniversary trip, plunging together into the ocean.

The suffocating, burning despair of death still prickled at my nerve endings, yet here I was, thrust back into our graduation ceremony two years in the past.

Elias walked up to the podium. His gaze swept over the crowd before finally landing in my direction.

On this exact day in my previous life, right at the end of this very speech, Elias had suddenly dropped to one knee. He had pulled out a ring he spent six months working to afford, and declared his love for me in front of the entire school.

It was the happiest moment of my past life. Even when we later struggled to make ends meet, even when Elias's startups repeatedly went under, I had leaned on that single memory to get us through.

Since God had given us a second chance, I quietly vowed to help him dodge every investment trap that had ruined us before.

As his speech drew to a close, Elias took a deep breath. His voice boomed through the speakers. "On this special day, beyond thanking the university, there is one specific person I need to thank. She showed me the way forward. She gave me endless courage."

The students around me started whistling and cheering. Friends who knew us well turned to look at me with warm, teasing smiles.

But Elias's gaze completely bypassed me.

It locked onto Daphne—the pharmaceutical heiress who had relentlessly pursued him for four years in our past life without ever getting a fraction of his attention.

"Daphne, will you marry me?"

The auditorium completely erupted in gasps and cheers ten times louder than before.

The smile froze on my face.

Following his gaze, I saw Daphne stand up. She covered her mouth, her eyes turning red with emotion.

The friendly glances from my surrounding classmates instantly morphed into shock, pity, and a few mocking smirks from those enjoying the drama.

I sat frozen in my seat.

I watched him slip the ring onto Daphne's finger. I watched them kiss in front of the entire faculty and student body.

Out of the corner of his eye, Elias shot me a fleeting glance. There was no guilt in his eyes. Only a high-and-mighty sense of liberation.

At that moment, it all clicked. He had been reborn, too.

"Nora... are you okay?" my roommate Amy nudged my arm carefully, her eyes full of concern. "What the hell is he doing? Weren't you guys just together yesterday?"

I took a deep breath, forcing down the nauseating cocktail of shock, betrayal, and sheer absurdity rising in my chest.

"I'm fine," I said. My voice was surprisingly calm, though only I knew how tight my throat really felt.

I stood up and walked straight toward the auditorium exit.

Pushing open the doors, the fresh air outside momentarily helped me find my rhythm of breathing.

But before I could get far, Elias had chased after me, cornering me in an empty hallway.

Without Daphne and the crowd watching, he dropped the act.

"I need you to be rational about this," Elias said, lowering his voice so only we could hear. "Nora, I am so utterly sick of the absolute poverty and the constant dead-ends we faced in our past life. Let's just treat the past as a dream and let it go. Daphne can give me the shortcut and the future I actually want."

Hearing those words, an invisible hand violently crushed my heart. A bitter, agonizing sting flared through every vein in my body.

It was true. He really had come back.

Three years of our lives. Minimized into an I'm sick of it, reduced to a disposable dream.

I bit down hard on my lower lip, desperately blinking back the hot tears threatening to spill over.

My fingers reached into my pocket and brushed against a necklace. It was the token of love he had given me in our past life.

I stared at the cheap pendant in my palm, then slowly looked up at this man—someone so intensely familiar, yet entirely foreign.

I opened my hand.

The necklace dropped into the trash can beside us with a soft clink. Just like that, the last shred of my affection for him was tossed away.

Forcing my raw, pain-laced voice to steady itself, I looked him dead in the eye. "I hope you get exactly what you asked for, Elias."

With that, I turned on my heel without hesitation. Only I knew that as I walked away, my nails were digging so hard into my palms it felt like piercing flesh.

It wasn't until the sudden vibration of my phone in my pocket that I snapped out of the haze.

[Nora, your offer has passed the final approval phase. Please report to the lab on Monday.]

Staring at the email from the top biomedical lab's mentor, I exhaled a long, heavy breath.

If Elias wanted to trade his life for a new one, then it was time for me to move forward, too.

In our past life, I had painfully turned down this dream offer just to stay by his side and support his hustle. Now, I could finally pour my heart and soul into my own scientific career.

Going our separate ways. That was my only thought.

Fate, however, clearly had no intention of letting me walk away that easily.