Chapter 41: Shelia's POV - An Apology Five Years Late

If there's anything in my life I truly regret, it's agreeing to that bonfire party proposal five years ago.

Esther's contemptuous gaze felt like a thousand needles piercing my skin. Hugh didn't scold me, but his silence made me feel even more ashamed.

Back then, to protect us from online harassment, the media didn't reveal our real names or photos in any of the news reports. The boy who started the fire was sentenced to one year in prison for arson. The other six of us and I were punished with three months of community service. After the fire, even though we attended the same school, we became strangers, never contacting each other again, all of us too ashamed to recall the incident.

After leaving the hospital and returning to the office, I was distracted all afternoon.

I searched online for the name of the firefighter called "Jackson". I found some old photos of him. He wasn't particularly tall, but he looked spirited, with a strong square jaw, and when he smiled, he showed eight