From Drowned Bride To Shining Starlight

My fiancé plunged our SUV into an icy river during a blizzard. He had a choice: save me, or save his childhood sweetheart, Kianna.

He didn't hesitate. He left me to drown.

This wasn't the first time. In my last life, he' d "saved" me after Kianna drowned, only to trap me in a loveless marriage. He blamed me for her death, his silent accusations a constant torment. My own parents didn't care, forcing the wedding to secure a corporate merger. I was nothing more than a pawn.

He married me not for love, but as penance, making me his living scapegoat for the woman he truly lost.

But when I opened my eyes again, I was back in the sinking car, the icy water rising around me.

This time, I smiled and pushed him toward her.

"Save Kianna," I commanded. "She needs you more."

Chapter 1

Alyssa POV:

The world shattered around me, a sickening crunch of metal twisting and groaning as the SUV plunged into the icy depths. My breath hitched, not from the impact, but from a chilling familiarity. This wasn't the first time. I tasted salt and blood, a metallic tang that was both new and ancient.

"Alyssa! Kianna!" Christian's voice ripped through the chaos, a desperate, frantic sound.

He was reaching for me, his hand outstretched, just like before. My heart, a bruised and weary thing, thumped a discordant rhythm against my ribs. No. Not again. I wouldn't let him repeat the same mistake, condemn us all to a living hell.

The frigid water clawed at my skin, pulling me down, but a strange clarity bloomed in my mind. This was it. My second chance. A gruesome, terrifying gift. The blizzard raged outside, a white shroud over the remote mountain pass. The car, our supposed escape, was now a tomb, groaning its last before fully sinking.

"Christian, the life raft!" I yelled, my voice raw, cutting through the roaring wind and the creak of tortured steel. "Only one person. Save Kianna."

He hesitated, his eyes wide with disbelief, then panic. The small, orange life raft, designed for two, had somehow ripped during the crash, barely holding air, only enough for one adult. It bobbed uselessly in the churning water beside us. The icy current was already dragging Kianna's limp body away, tangled in the rapidly sinking wreckage. She was unconscious, bleeding, her face pale against the white snow.

"Kianna can't swim, Christian! She needs you more. Go!" I pushed his arm, pointing towards her. My voice was sharp, a command, not a plea. My own body screamed from the cold, but my resolve was colder.

Christian' s eyes darted between Kianna' s fading form and my insistent gaze. He was always caught between us. Always. The choice, the impossible choice, now rested squarely on his shoulders. Or rather, I had forced it there. A wave of exhaustion washed over me. I couldn't bear to be the reason for her death again. The weight of his