Chapter 1 When the Fire Rose

I coughed violently as the thick smoke choked my nose and throat. I found myself trapped in the blazing scene, my consciousness blurring. The iron door, which was the only escape route in front of me, was slowly closing. I instinctively wanted to rush forward and use my body to brace against the scorching door. Linden Rothwell and Rosalind Chambers weren't out yet! I had to hold the door open! "Rosalind!" Linden's heart-wrenching roar from nearby jolted my consciousness awake, and I paused mid-motion as I remembered the past. In my previous life, I had used both hands to hold open the iron door that was about to close, just to give my two friends more time to save themselves. My hands quickly had their flesh burned away by the high temperature, and the pain was unbearable. Even then, I continued using my body to brace the door because Linden and Rosalind still hadn't escaped. My shoulders, my back, and even my chest suffered severe burns from holding the door. I could smell the charred scent of my own body, and the pain made me lose all sensation. By the time I got to the doctors, they couldn't bear to look at my injuries. There wasn't a single patch of intact skin on my body. When I woke up in the hospital, my first concern was asking about Linden and Rosalind's condition. The three of us were the best of friends. When I learned that Linden had escaped alive while Rosalind hadn't made it out, I fell into deep self-blame. If I hadn't collapsed from exhaustion at that moment, maybe Rosalind could have survived. I wanted to cry, but Mom told me I couldn't. The burned area on my skin exceeded 90% of my body, and I would need at least five skin graft surgeries. Tears would worsen my injuries, so I didn't even have the right to cry. Just then, Linden knelt on one knee and pulled out a ring to propose to me beside my hospital bed. He said, "Rory, you saved my life. Let's get married!" The tears I had just managed to hold back nearly flooded out again. Everyone knew how much I loved him, and after eight years, my feelings were finally reciprocated. Linden's face was stern, and his lips were pressed tight when he proposed to me. At the time, I thought he was just nervous and couldn't manage any other expression. It wasn't until later, when he pushed me into a burning room right after my labor induction procedure, that I finally understood the truth. His stern expression wasn't from nerves—it was from hatred. He hated that my strength had failed me, that I couldn't hold on long enough, trapping his beloved Rosalind forever behind that door. He hated my disfigured face and ruined appearance, yet I still held the title of his wife. He couldn't bring himself to smile at me, but he stayed close, plotting his revenge. Linden spent ten whole years carrying out this revenge, just to get his so-called justice for the woman he loved most. As he pushed me into the fire, he roared, "You killed Rosalind! You let her burn alive in that fire! She was someone who was so afraid of pain. Can you even imagine how much she suffered? "Why should you get to live happily without a care for all these years? You destroyed her life—you don't deserve happiness! "Aurora Aldridge, now you can feel what it's like to be consumed by fire and despair." He was so insane and vicious, and all of it was for another woman. We had just lost a child, yet all he wanted was to see me dead. He knew perfectly well that after the fire, I was terrified of flames. He knew my labor induction procedure had been difficult and that I couldn't move my lower body afterward. He knew all of this, which made it the perfect opportunity for his revenge. When the flames consumed my body, I felt no pain at all. This physical agony was nothing compared to the emotional pain Linden had inflicted on me. The fire burned before my eyes. Standing by the iron door now, I turned back and saw Linden just a few steps away from me. I could see it in Linden's eyes. He was expecting me to use my body to brace the door, giving him more time to find Rosalind and escape with her. But I wasn't going to make the same sacrifice twice. This time, if he wanted to save her, he'd have to figure it out on his own. Before the iron door could close, I ran out without looking back.