No More Second Chances

“The day I was finally supposed to marry Maria, the woman I' d loved for sixty years across two lifetimes, she died. Or so they told me. I stood at the altar, waiting, while the Texas sun beat down on the small chapel. Then her mother stumbled through the doors, face a mess of tears. "Matthew," she wailed, "There's been an accident. A terrible accident." "She's gone," her father choked out. My world tilted. How could she be gone? We'd loved until we were old and gray in our past life, then woke up young again, a gift. Now, it felt like a curse. A week after the funeral, my best friend Andrew told me someone saw Maria's twin celebrating. "She didn't look like Sylvia," he murmured. "She looked exactly like Maria." My hands stopped. Cold dread crept up my spine. I drove to the Chavez house, heart pounding. It was a party. An engagement party. And there, draped over my rival Wesley Fowler, was her. Maria. My Maria. The woman I had buried. She was laughing, looking radiant, vibrant, and very much alive. "Maria?" I choked out. She saw me, a flicker of shock in her eyes, then it vanished. "Do I know you?" she asked, her voice smooth, unfamiliar. "I'm Sylvia." The lie was so blatant, so shameless, it knocked the wind out of me. The crowd whispered, pity turning to suspicion. "You're lying," I whispered, reaching for her. "You're Maria." She flinched. "You're scaring me!" she cried, hiding behind Wesley. "Make him leave!" The whole town stared. I was the deranged, grieving fiancé. Wesley smirked. This was a setup. I had walked right into it. That night, Wesley came to my house. He told me Maria remembered our last life, too. Remembered the poverty. She chose him for his money. "And there's something else you should know," he added, his smile turning cruel. "The baby. Your first kid, in the last life. He wasn't yours, Matt. He was mine." My world shattered. Sixty years of love, history, our son – all a lie. The foundation of my entire existence collapsed. How could she do this? How could she choose this life, this man, and lie about everything, including our child? It was an unbearable betrayal. I was nothing. But in my despair, I found my grandfather' s Medal of Honor. With it, a letter: "If you ever find yourself lost, son, find General Duncan. He'll know what to do." I looked at the world that had betrayed me. I wasn' t going to rot here. I drove north, seeking a new beginning, a new path fueled by honor, not revenge. My old life was dead. It was time to build a new one.”