“Dad! I… I’m over here!” “Nicky, cover your nose and mouth, stop talking.” By the time my son and I realized the building was on fire, the flames had already spread too far. All we could do was hide in our room. My husband, Ethan Cole, was the one leading the rescue team today. When Nicky and I saw him from upstairs, we thought our savior had arrived. I had texted him the hotel address and our room number before we went on the trip. But when Ethan made it to our floor, he passed right by our room and went straight to the next door—to rescue Allison and Lucas. Nicky couldn’t hold it in anymore. Crying, he asked me: “Mom, Ms. Allie is here too… and Dad only cares about them… Is he going to leave us again? Mom, I can’t… I can’t breathe… it’s too hard…” The room was full of smoke. Nicky was only five years old, and he was starting to lose strength. Frantically, I wet a towel and covered his mouth and nose, hugging him as I rushed to the door. “Ethan! Nicky can’t hold on much longer, please save us!” “Ethan, I’m begging you!” Just this once, could he turn around and look at us? Ethan passed right by our door again. I screamed at him, my voice raw and breaking, but he didn’t even stop. Through the roaring flames, all I could hear was him speaking softly to Allison. “Don’t worry, Allie. I’m here. You and Lucas are going to be okay.” The smoke was choking me, clouding my thoughts. I tried to cover Nicky’s ears, but it was too late. His eyes were filled with tears, and his pupils had already begun to fade. “Why… why can’t Dad ever see me?” “I… I yelled so… so loud…” Cough cough “Mom… I’m sorry I can’t… stay with you any longer…” “In my next life, Mom… please… give me a different Dad… okay?” Nicky’s hand went limp as he finished speaking. My mind went blank, a buzzing silence filled my head, leaving me with nothing but the sensation of nails being driven into my chest, the pain unbearable. I struggled to my feet, clinging tightly to his little body, tears flooding my eyes uncontrollably. “Okay, Mom will listen to you. Just don’t sleep, Nicky. Please, hold on a little longer. Mom’s going to get you out!” Thick smoke was everywhere. I couldn’t even see Nicky’s face anymore. The floor was scorching hot, and so was the door. Flames were eating away at my body, burning me and my son together. How much pain must my baby be in? I sobbed, trying desperately to put out the flames on his small body, but nothing worked. The smoke was overwhelming, and the fire was too big. When I couldn’t walk any further, I crawled. But it felt like the hallway was endless. In the end, it was the other firefighters who came and found us, pulling us out and taking us to the hospital. Ethan brought Allison and her son to the room next to ours. But just like at the fire, with a single wall between us, he never noticed Nicky and me. His whole world was consumed by Allison and her son. The doctors wanted to take me away to treat my burns. I refused. I knelt on the floor, begging them, over and over again, to save my son. “He’s just really tired. He’s only sleeping. Please, save him!” The doctors sighed as they took Nicky into the ER. The defibrillator shocked his little body again and again, but he never opened his eyes. One of the doctors said, “The child suffered a lot in the fire. Don’t make him suffer any more in death.” Yes… Nicky was always so afraid of pain. How could he bear this? I was severely burned all over, so I called my brother, Daniel, to handle Nicky’s funeral and to start the process for my divorce from Ethan. The divorce papers were ready the day I was injured, and I signed them immediately. But I couldn’t reach Ethan. His phone was off—just like it was the day of the fire. Then it hit me. He’d blocked me again. Whenever he was with Allison and Lucas and didn’t want to deal with me, he would block my number. When he was in a better mood, he’d unblock me. I’d put up with this for six years, but at that moment, I suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion and disgust. Daniel went to the funeral home to arrange Nicky’s service, leaving just me and a nurse in my hospital room. I asked the nurse to help me into my wheelchair. I needed to go see Ethan next door. I couldn’t stand this ridiculous marriage for even one more second.
The room next door was a private room too. I come from money, and with my monthly salary of $20,000, I never needed to rely on Ethan’s income. With the little he makes as a firefighter, it’s a struggle just to support our family, let alone afford a private room for Allison and her son. They’d barely been singed by the fire, with only some smoke stains on their faces and a few minor burns, but Ethan was doting on them like it was the end of the world. I thought about Nicky’s charred, unrecognizable little body, and my chest tightened so painfully that I could hardly breathe. It’s true, love makes all the difference. “Ethan Cole!” I gritted my teeth, spitting out his name. Ethan turned his head to look at me, the smile on his face vanishing instantly, his brow furrowing. “Rachel, who said you could come in here? Get out!” I wore a hat and mask to cover my burns so I wouldn’t scare anyone. But I was in a hospital gown, sitting in a wheelchair—anyone with half a brain could see I wasn’t in good shape. Yet Ethan seemed blind to that. All he cared about was that I might disturb Allison and her son’s recovery. He immediately got up to push me out of the room, not forgetting to scold me on the way. “I’ve told you a thousand times, Allie and I are just friends. How many more times do I have to explain this? Her husband passed away years ago, and she doesn’t have any family to help. Can you stop being so petty and jealous every time?” I’ve heard these lectures so many times that I’ve grown numb to them. Allison didn’t have a husband, but she had Ethan. I had a husband too, but it felt like I didn’t. When the water pipes in our home burst and soaked through the downstairs ceiling, Ethan was at Allie’s house, changing her lightbulbs, telling me not to rely on him for every little thing. In the end, it was Derek Shaw who helped me. When I got into a car accident, Ethan was with Allie, helping her pick out baby clothes, telling me to stop causing problems. When Nicky had a high fever in the middle of the night and started seizing, Ethan stayed at Allie’s place, comforting her son Lucas, who had been scared by a horror movie, and told me not to make such a big deal. These kinds of things happened over and over again. Looking at Ethan now, standing there so righteously, I felt a wave of nausea. I didn’t even want to waste a word on him. “You sign these divorce papers, and I’ll leave. You won’t have to worry about me bothering your happy little family anymore.” I shoved the divorce papers toward him. But Ethan thought I was just trying to cause a scene. He didn’t take the papers, just said irritably, “When Allie and Lucas are better, I’ll come home. Can you stop with this nonsense?” He always promised me the same thing, but this time, I had no hope left: “If you don’t sign, I’ll have my lawyer take it to court. And by the way, Nicky’s funeral is in six days, you…” Before I could finish, Allison groaned softly from inside the room, “Ethan, it hurts…” “Don’t worry, I’m coming!” Ethan replied urgently, full of concern. Without even asking about his own son’s funeral, he rushed back into the room. I stared at the closed door, feeling like a thousand knives were stabbing me in the chest. I don’t even remember how I got back to my room—just the suffocating tightness in my lungs that wouldn’t let up. Ethan didn’t ask a single thing about Nicky, not even up until the day of the funeral. Even when the service was about to start, the father of the child still hadn’t shown up. The guests started whispering to each other— “Where is the father? Why isn’t he here yet?” “I heard he’s at the hospital with some woman and her kid. That woman’s supposed to be his ex.” “Still, how could he miss his own son’s funeral? That’s outrageous—this was his son!” Everyone looked at me with pity in their eyes. Some people, worried I might break down, came over to comfort me. I thought of all the times Nicky had looked at his dad with hopeful eyes, always waiting for him to spend time with him. It felt like thorns were crawling up my throat, every breath laced with pain. I clenched my fists, my nails digging into the blisters on my palms. The sharp pain was the only thing that helped me hold back the flood of anger. This was Nicky’s final farewell to the world. I couldn’t let it be ruined. I turned to my brother. “Dan, call Ethan. He’s blocked me again.” Dan’s face darkened as he dialed Ethan’s number. He got through quickly. “Ethan, today is Nicky’s funeral. You…” “Rachel, when are you going to stop? Allie and her son are in the hospital with burns and infections, and I’m here taking care of them, doing what’s right. Can you stop being so bitter and seeing everything as dirty? Did you really think you could lie to me about Nicky’s death just to get my attention? Unbelievable.” Ethan was angrier than I was. He hung up the phone right after saying that. No wonder he hadn’t reacted at all when I told him Nicky had died… He thought I was making it up. I’d been accused of being irrational and jealous so many times before, but this time, I was shaking with fury, too stunned to even speak. Ethan had been shouting so loud that Dan, standing right next to me, had heard everything. Dan grabbed the phone from me and sent Ethan a picture of Nicky’s death certificate, then called him again. Each word came out of his throat like a growl. “Ethan, do you see it now? Nicky has been dead for a week. You haven’t shown your face once, and you have the nerve to call yourself his father? Are you even human?!”
Dan had already said everything that needed to be said. Anyone with half a brain would know that Nicky’s funeral wasn’t some sick joke. I thought that once Ethan understood the truth, he would apologize, feel guilty, regretful. But instead, he hung up the phone without a word. He didn’t show up—not even after the funeral ended. I spent the entire service trying to hold myself together. I don’t remember who was there or what they said to me. Nothing registered. All I could do was sit in my wheelchair, staring at Nicky’s gravestone with his smiling picture on it, haunted by the sound of his voice, echoing in my ears. “Mom, it hurts so much!” “Mom, didn’t Dad know which room we were staying in? Then how did he remember Ms. Allie and Lucas were in the room next door?” “I yelled so loud, Mom… Why couldn’t Dad hear me? Mom, are we going to die?” Those words played on repeat, over and over, like invisible threads wrapping tightly around me, trapping me in a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. After the funeral, Dan took me straight to the emergency room. The burns on my body had become severely infected after spending so long outside. I had a high fever, and my mind was foggy, drifting in and out between reality and dreams. All I could remember was someone holding my hand and saying, over and over, “Rachel, don’t fall asleep!” When I finally stabilized and was moved to a regular room, ten days had already passed. Ethan was sitting by my hospital bed, his eyes ringed with exhaustion, his face unshaven. He looked nothing like the man I once knew. When he saw me wake up, his face lit up with relief. “Rachel, you’re finally awake! I…” As soon as I saw him, all the anger, the despair, the suffocating pain I’d been holding in exploded inside me, threatening to crush me. Slap! I sat up, gritting my teeth, and slapped Ethan hard across the face. How dare he show his face here?! His cheek swelled immediately, and his eyes filled with bitterness. “I know I should have gone to Nicky’s funeral. That was my fault. If you’re angry, take it out on me, but don’t keep it bottled up—it’s bad for your health.” Allison stepped forward, her face pale as she dropped to her knees in front of me. With a single blink, tears began streaming down her face. “I’m sorry, Rachel. If you need someone to blame, blame me. Lucas had a heart attack that day, and I was terrified. Ethan was just trying to take care of us, and that’s why he missed Nicky’s funeral.” “This is all my fault. You can hit me if you want, just please don’t ruin your marriage because of me!” Allison grabbed my hands and pressed them to her face. She had pulled this act so many times before, and every time I never knew how to respond. But this time— Slap! I slapped her across the face, and when that wasn’t enough, I slapped her again, harder. “You’re disgusting! Truly disgusting! Out of all the men in the world, you had to go after one that was already taken? Does stealing someone else’s husband make you feel good about yourself?” I was ready to hit her a third time when Ethan, face flushed with anger, grabbed my wrist. “That’s enough! I’ve told you a thousand times, Allie and I are just friends! She’s a single mother with no one else to help her. Why do you have to turn this into something dirty?” I yanked my hand out of his grip. I didn’t even have the energy to argue with him anymore. I just pointed toward the door, full of contempt. “Get out.” “Rachel, how can you treat Ethan like this? He’s only trying to…” Allison still tried to play innocent. I grabbed whatever I could reach and hurled it at them both. “Get out! Both of you!” Ethan looked at me with a complicated expression, but soon, he turned and shielded Allison as they left the room. I used to feel heartbroken watching scenes like that. Now, I just felt numb.
I was raised in a wealthy family, while Ethan Cole came from humble beginnings as a firefighter. We should never have crossed paths. But one night, my best friend, heartbroken from a breakup, dragged me out to a bar to drink. The bar caught fire, and in my most desperate moment, Ethan found me and risked his life to save me. He was handsome and had just saved my life. I became infatuated with him. When I found out he was single, I pursued him relentlessly. It took a while, but he eventually agreed to date me, and soon after, he proposed. Ethan was always a gentle man. He smiled at everyone and never let anyone or anything get under his skin. No matter how strange or chaotic the situation, he always remained calm. When you first met him, you’d think he was an open book—easy to approach. But over time, I realized just how hard it was to truly connect with him. After we got married, Ethan handed over his entire paycheck and took care of all the housework. Everyone said I’d married the perfect husband. But to me, his kindness felt more like politeness. Even when we were intimate, it felt like he was just going through the motions—like a duty. It was as if there was an invisible barrier between us. I thought he was like that with everyone. That is, until Allison came back from overseas after her divorce, and for the first time, I saw Ethan lose control. It was our wedding anniversary, but Ethan took the day off from work to spend it with Allison, and he didn’t even come home that night. That’s when I found out Allison was his ex-girlfriend. They’d started dating in middle school and were together for nearly ten years. They were deeply in love. Their families disapproved, though, and in the end, they were forced to break up. Ethan told me that Allison’s husband had passed away, and she was struggling to raise her child on her own. He was just trying to help her out, and he swore he’d never done anything to betray me. I believed him. And that’s why I lost so completely. I forgot that betrayal isn’t always physical infidelity. After Ethan left, he flooded me with messages—paragraphs of text, one after another. I didn’t bother reading a single one. I blocked his number and his social media and called my brother, Dan, to have him fire Allison from the company. At the time, I didn’t know she was Ethan’s ex. I’d heard she was a struggling single mom, and since she worked in media, I thought I was being generous by giving her a job at my company. Looking back, I’m sure plenty of people must’ve had a good laugh at my expense. The day after Allison got fired, Ethan came storming into the hospital. He was furious, his brows knitted together. “Rachel, if you want to be mad at me, fine! I can handle that. But firing Allie just because I’ve been helping her? You’re letting your jealousy get the better of you. She still has to provide for her son—how could you do this to her?” I stared at him coldly. “It’s my company. I can fire whoever I want. If you don’t like it, feel free to find your precious Allie a new job. I’m not stopping at firing her. Every penny you spent on her while we were still married—I want it back.” Be considerate of Allison? I was. And look where it got me. She was one step away from sleeping in my bed with my husband! Ethan’s face darkened. “Rachel, I’ve told you time and time again—I’ve done nothing to betray you. Allison is my ex, but I only see her as a friend now!” “Friend, friend, friend…” I was so sick of hearing that word. And sick of his self-righteous attitude. I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “A friend more important than me and Nicky?!” “Nicky’s funeral was ten days ago, Ethan. If you cared even a little about me and our son, you’d know that he died in room 1217—right next to Allison’s room!” “Nicky screamed for you. He begged for his father while watching you break protocol, ignoring our room so you could save another woman and her child!” “I’m not asking you to favor us over them. But you could’ve at least asked if there was anyone else in the room when you saved them. Or maybe not tell the other firefighters that the floor was clear! If you had, Nicky might still be alive!” I was shouting, hysterical, pouring out all the anger and pain that had been festering inside me. Ethan just stood there, the frustration on his face fading into something dull and lifeless. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. His eyes were suddenly full of pain and fear.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “294955”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic #浪漫Romance #惊悚Thriller
Leave a Reply