Before I could throw my arms around him, before I could even cry out in joy that we'd been reborn together, he shoved me aside.
He lunged past me and scooped up the intern assistant pinned beneath a fallen beam.
"Sylvia! I finally have the chance to save you!"
So that was it. His regret had never been about me.
……
"Where's the ambulance? We have someone injured here!"
He screamed the words, clutching an unconscious Sylvia Swanson in his arms as he stumbled toward the exit.
The force of his shove had sent me staggering. I nearly fell into the flames all over again, nearly repeated the nightmare of my last life.
I threw myself to the ground and rolled, then crawled through the choking smoke until I was out of the factory.
My throat burned like I'd swallowed a razor blade. But it was nothing compared to the dull ache splitting my chest open.
Eugene Henson knelt outside, cradling Sylvia, his face alight with the wild, tearful joy of a man who'd recovered something he thought was lost forever.
"Sylvia, this time I saved you. Thank God. Thank God."
"This time, we can start over."