That fiancé of hers had waited five agonizing years for her return.
If she'd known the truth back then, she never would have chosen to take me with her.
"Winona, enough."
"We were kids playing house. You actually took it seriously?"
The arms wrapped around me fell away.
"Dominic, how can you be so heartless?"
Her accusation came through tears, as if I were the villain who deserved to be torn apart.
But Winona, you don't know.
In my past life, I believed we'd have our happily ever after too.
It wasn't until you remembered the man you truly loved that I realized how foolish I'd been.
The moment my grandmother and I died in that city so far from home, all I could think was—if I ever got another chance, I would never go back to Ashford with you.
Word spread through our little mountain village like wildfire that Winona was the daughter of the wealthiest family in Ashford.
Everyone showed up at our courtyard wearing their most ingratiating smiles, crowding in for a look.
"Dominic, you've really hit the jackpot! Don't forget about us country folk when you make it big!"
"That's right—I heard the Hensons only have the one daughter. Doesn't that make you heir to a fortune?"
"I always said Lena didn't look like she belonged in a backwater like this. See? Turns out she's a real-life princess!"
The courtyard buzzed with chatter, everyone talking over everyone else.
I glanced at the crowd, walked to the water pump, rinsed my hands, and splashed some water on my face.
"Show's over. Go home."
"Winona's already gone."
I knew exactly why they'd gathered at my door. They wanted to squeeze something out of Winona. After all, even the dust that fell off someone like the Henson family patriarch could feed an ordinary household for a year.
Everyone was stunned that I hadn't left with her. The murmuring swelled around me.
I didn't bother engaging. I shut the door.
"Dominic..."
Grandma's frail voice drifted from the bedroom. I rushed in.
The moment I saw her—the woman who, in my past life, had frozen to death on the steps of the Henson mansion—tears slid down my face.
"Oh, sweetheart, why are you crying?"
"Is it because Lena wouldn't take you with her? Are you upset?"
I shook my head.
"Then tell Grandma what's wrong. Grandma will fix it."
I shook my head again and helped her sit down.
"Grandma, I'm the one who chose not to go with her."
"I want to stay by your side for the rest of my life."
She smiled tenderly and rubbed the top of my head, pulling me close and stroking my back.
"Silly boy..."
She began humming a soft melody, an old lullaby that carried me down into sleep.
But the dream waiting for me was the past life I could never escape, no matter how hard I tried.
The first day I followed Winona back to Ashford, I stood at the gates of the Henson mansion clutching the dried fish, cured meat, and free-range chicken Grandma had packed for me.
That was the moment I learned what it meant to not belong.
I gripped Winona's arm like she was the only lifeline I had.
She gave my hand a gentle squeeze and smiled. "Don't be scared. I'm right here."
Those were the words I used to say to her.
When I first found Winona, she was covered in injuries. Her right knee was the worst—badly damaged. She limped everywhere, and other kids never let her forget it, mocking her, pushing her around.
Back then, I'd step in front of her, shield her, fight her battles. "Don't be scared. I'm right here."
Grandma and I worked ourselves to the bone to pay for her treatment, buying her the best and most expensive rehabilitation equipment we could find.
She'd always tear up and promise she'd repay us someday. She said once she was better, she'd be the one to take care of us.
Eventually, she made good on that promise.
But she also broke it.
"So you're Dominic?"
The woman addressing me was Winona's mother, Claire Winfield.
