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
While James, Monica, and Harrison celebrated the end of Monica's flawless practice session, the neighbors who'd been alarmed by the fire were busy calling the fire station and questioning them with a frown."Why did you people only send a single firetruck to deal with such a major fire at Jasper Heights? Do you not take our lives and safety seriously?"After a brief silence, the dispatcher explained, "We didn't receive any reports of a fire at Jasper Heights. Can I confirm with you that you're reporting a fire in the area? I'll send a fire crew out at once!"In less than a minute, James' phone started ringing."Jasper Heights? I'm already here. No one was harmed. You don't need to send anyone else over."The dispatcher continued speaking, but James firmly declared that he would assume full responsibility if anything happened. Once the dispatcher confirmed that no one was hurt, he decided against sending another fire crew over.James had put the call on speaker mode, which meant t
It was obvious James was affected by that message of mine that had come out of the blue. At least, even as he sat in the car, he didn't look as happy as he had before. His forehead was slightly creased, and it looked like he was in a bad mood.Even Harrison, who was always a chatterbox, knew better than to try and talk to James at a time like this. However, Monica carefully poked James in the arm and asked, "What's the matter, Captain Ellis?"Her concerned tone melted his icy expression a little. "It's nothing. I just saw something displeasing."Good.The more displeased he was, the more pleased I was. Why should he get to openly spend time being all friendly and intimate with his female colleague while I had to stay at home to wait on him and Harrison like a maid?Although I hadn't actually cheated on him, I still wanted him to feel discomfited by it. I wanted it to keep him up at night."Well, you're the one who taught me to deal with my negative emotions by venting with a shou
Work was far more urgent. Even though James wanted to have dinner with Monica, he had no choice but to rush back to Jasper Heights.The fire, which hadn't been put out, had spread into a raging sea of flames before the other fire crew arrived. The windows exploded from the heat, and the glass shards scattered everywhere, emitting piercing sounds.All of the furniture and household items had been incinerated in the fire, turning into clouds of smoke and piles of ashes.The cries from the neighbors, the siren of the fire trucks, and the crackling sound of the flames formed the soundtrack of a tragedy.Gregory Hanks, the station chief, had rushed over as well and harshly rebuked James for his recent poor performance."What on earth has been up with you lately? Many of your colleagues have mentioned that you haven't been giving your full effort! Don't you know how dangerous it is when a fire isn't completely distinguished? This fire even occurred where you live! You better reflect on
James bent down and picked up the ring. As Derek eyed him strangely, he stiffly explained, "I'll hold onto this. Let the victim's next of kin come to me to get it back."Seemingly realizing something, James rushed into the house, which was basically a pile of ruins. Surveying the house he'd lived in for seven years, he pursed his lips. There was a slightly dazed look in his eyes.Looking at one of his colleagues, who was cleaning up the scene after the fire, he asked somewhat stiffly, "Can the house turn out exactly the same if it's rebuilt?"I couldn't quite understand the emotions in his eyes.Before his colleague could respond, Monica approached him and asked, "What are you doing, Captain Ellis? Since everything has been settled, can we go get dinner now?"Her cheery question felt starkly at odds with the quiet somberness of the place in the aftermath of the fire."Someone just passed away in the fire. Can't you show a little more respect for the deceased?" Derek reprimanded M