Eighteen Again: And He's Out

“The acrid smell of smoke choked Sarah Miller, her leg a searing agony as flames licked at her home. Just moments ago, her husband, Rick, had shoved her down the stairs, breaking her leg, then watched calmly as the faulty wiring he ignored ignited their house. Trapped and engulfed by the roaring fire, Sarah screamed his name, but no answer came. He was gone, abandoning her for worthless papers, leaving her for dead in the inferno stoked by his own negligence and rage. Twenty years of selfless support, of being his scapegoat and bankroll, all culminated in this cruel, final act. The betrayal burned hotter than the flames. How could the man she sacrificed everything for simply leave her to die, blaming her even in her last moments? The injustice, the monumental waste of her life, consumed her. Her bitter last thought: "I wish I' d never met Rick Peterson. I wish I could do it all over again, without him." Then, darkness. She awoke, not in a choking inferno, but in her childhood bedroom, sunlight streaming through familiar windows. It was 1995. She was eighteen again, at the cusp of meeting the man who would ruin her. Her wish had come true. This time, things would be different. This time, Rick Peterson would feel the full force of a woman who finally chose herself.”