Since Harrison was sick, James went to work a little late, which was unusual for him.The moment he walked into the fire station, everyone stopped what they were doing and started looking at him sympathetically. Derek was holding the tote bag that he'd found at the fire.James took the bag and snapped in displeasure, "Why do you have my wife's bag? Did she come here to see me? Didn't I tell her not to come over during working hours? I'd have to deal with her temper tantrums when I'm busy with work!""Captain Ellis, Mrs. Ellis is…"Derek's lips quivered. He tried to part them a few times, but he kept squeezing them shut again."What on earth are you trying to say? Did Alice bring a bunch of people over to cause a scene here?""No, Mrs. Ellis is…"Derek's eyes were bloodshot. He kept choking at the mention of me and couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence."Forget it. She can do whatever she wants. The next time you see her, tell her she can forget about getting a divorce!"
Sitting in his office, James took out the ring from his pocket."They say you're dead, but I don't believe them. You're really something, aren't you, Alice? You got so many people to put on an act with you. Do you think you can fake your death so that you can run off with another man? Well, in your dreams!"James howled at the ring, rueing me for my change of heart before firmly declaring he wouldn't let go of me.But why was he crying?He stayed in his office for a long time, but at last, he went to see Derek, whose injuries had been bandaged."Where… is she?""Her body is still in the morgue. They're waiting for you to identify her and claim the body."After a while, James' hoarse apology rang out."I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that earlier."Before Derek could respond, James headed toward the morgue. Mine was the only body in the entire room.He looked down at the white cloth that covered me, but he couldn't bring himself to move.To be honest, I looked forward to see
After leaving the morgue, James regained his usual composure. He had my body cremated before taking the still-warm box of ashes to the hospital.Monica was currently at the hospital looking after Harrison, who was hospitalized due to his allergic reaction."I don't want to eat that. I want to eat the clam chowder Mommy makes."Harrison tossed the prepackaged food Monica had grabbed from the convenience store onto the floor before crying for me.To make the clam chowder he mentioned, I would wake up at 5:00 am and head to the local farmer's market to get the freshest clams in order to ensure the flavors were as delicious as possible. Every now and then, I would go through all that effort to make it for him.Now that Harrison was sick, he finally remembered me."If you don't want it, then don't bother eating at all. I don't care. I'm not as patient as that mother of yours!"Thinking that James wouldn't show up at the hospital anytime soon, Monica blew up at Harrison. She was so fi
James clutched the ultrasound report in silence.Thinking that the earlier matter was settled, Monica bit her lip and remarked out of jealousy, "Captain Ellis, didn't you tell me you hated children? You wouldn't have wanted one if Mrs. Ellis hadn't nagged you about it.""Shut up!" James roared before kicking Monica to the floor.I watched as she curled up in pain, but I didn't feel any joy at all.After all, he'd once been so protective of her to my face, but now he felt nothing for her. His feelings had vanished just like that. Was that all there was to his so-called love?Monica had never been treated this way by a man before. Clutching her abdomen, she shrieked in disbelief, "How dare you kick me? I didn't do anything!""Did you or did you not see Alice returning to the house last night?" James questioned."I said no, didn't I? I didn't see anything! You're the one who said your house was old and that it didn't matter if it burned down, so why are you getting upset with me no
After heading home, James organized a funeral for me. During the funeral, my parents grieved deeply and demanded that James return me to them. He allowed my parents to lash out at him and hit him without fighting back.Once everything was over, James packed all of Harrison's belongings and delivered him to my parents' house. He even transferred them a huge sum of money.After resigning from the fire crew, he got the tote bag from Derek and invited Monica out. Thinking he'd had a change of heart, she dolled herself up to meet him.However, as soon as she met James, he started stabbing her repeatedly without hesitation. Even as she crumpled to the floor, she stubbornly demanded to know why he was doing this.James smirked as if he'd just heard the most absurd joke in the world. He bent down and removed the knife he'd stabbed into her chest, killing her once and for all.Her blood splattered over his face, and he wiped it off in disdain.Once she'd completely stopped breathing, he f
Frowning, I stared at the body that was half buried under a wall. The right hand, burned to a crisp, was stretched out toward the door, while the left was holding onto the abdomen protectively.The grotesque scene made me jump back in alarm, but as my soul slipped through the wall next to me, I came to the belated realization that I was dead.That female corpse whose face was now unidentifiable after the fire was me.Half an hour ago, I was elated as I came home with my pregnancy report in hand. However, before I even reached the front entrance, I saw black smoke billowing out of the blazing house.Immediately, I thought about my son, Harrison Ellis, who should be sleeping in his room. Wasting no time, I drenched a piece of tissue to cover my nose and mouth before rushing in.As soon as I entered the living room, I could feel the flames licking at my skin. The pain intensified as boils soon formed on my red, swollen skin.Every time I breathed in, it felt as though I were inhalin
Oh. I'd almost forgotten that James was a firefighter too.James had claimed that Monica Sloan, the woman Harrison had expressed his overwhelming admiration for, was merely nothing more than his colleague.But in the last six months, Harrison no longer clung to me or needed me. Instead, he asked to spend time at James' workplace, often saying he wanted to see Monica.At first, I didn't think much of it. I assumed it was normal for young children to like hanging out with a pretty young woman.Alas, it had slipped my mind that a man like James would like a pretty young woman too.The constant messages and calls at night had James rushing out of the house even in the middle of the night. Initially, I thought it was due to emergencies at work. After all, firefighters worked to save lives, and that was of the highest priority.Yet, after inadvertently seeing the same name flashing on his screen several times, my sixth sense kicked in belatedly. I realized something was amiss.The cal
When James came out of the shower, I tried to confront him with his phone, but he flew into a rage."Who allowed you to touch my phone? You're infringing on my privacy! Can't you give me some private space?"When we were dating, James was the one who promised he would be more than happy to let me keep tabs on him as much as I wanted to prove that I was the only one he loved.And now, after just ten years, he was lashing out at me and calling me unreasonable.Our fight woke up Harrison, who was sleeping next door. His bleary eyes stared at me in fear. Sobbing, he kept calling for James and even Monica, but not me—his mother, who'd raised him.I was overwhelmed by an inexplicable sense of pain and sorrow, making it impossible for me to speak.After a while, I looked at Harrison, who was hiding behind James, and asked, "Harrison, do you want me or your daddy?"Harrison said he didn't want a fierce mommy like me. He wanted Monica to be his mommy.Feeling utterly disappointed, I pac