60
It didn’t take long for the firefighters to get me out.R
I left the villa immediately and took a cab back into the city–to the apartment Frederick and I once shared.
It had been a while since I was last here. A fine layer of dust coated every surface, as if this place had forgotten me as well.
Not wanting to waste any more time, I packed while searching online for a rental agent. I had nowhere else to go after leaving that house, and I needed a new place–fast.
Bitterness welled up inside me, but I had nowhere to put it. I shoved my clothes into my suitcase one by one, each fold and zip laced with heartbreak.D
Eventually, exhaustion overtook me, and I lay down for a brief rest.§
I never expected Giselle to show up here.>
I woke to her shoving me hard, disoriented and choking on thick, acrid smoke. I coughed violently as the smell of burning filled my lungs.
Tears streamed down her face as she clutched her stomach in a panic.>
“The house is on fire! I’m pregnant with Frederick’s baby–you have to save me!“}
I froze, stunned by her words. What was she doing here? How did she even find this apartment? And why the hell was it suddenly on fire?}
I leapt out of bed and rushed to the bedroom door–only to be greeted by thick smoke billowing through the living room. The flames had already engulfed the furniture and curtains.}
A pile of delivery boxes near the front door was ablaze, completely blocking the only exit.
My eyes stung, and I could barely breathe.
I grabbed a thin blanket, soaked it with water in the bathroom, and was about to cover my face when Giselle snatched it from me.}
“I’m carrying Frederick’s child,” she snapped. “If anything happens to me here, do you think Frederick will ever forgive you?“>
I didn’t answer. Instead, I soaked another towel, covered my nose and mouth, and opened the window. With a solid blow, I smashed the glass from the inside.
Fire trucks had already arrived outside.
Just then, my phone buzzed–it was Frederick calling.
For a fleeting moment, I hoped he might be worried about me, that he might care. But the moment I picked up, his voice thundered through the phone.
“Gracie, I can’t believe how vicious you’ve become! You lured Gracie there and set the place on fire just to hurt her?! I swear, if you lay a finger on her, I won’t forgive you!“}
“Frederick, are you really going to believe everything she says? If I wanted to hurt her, would I be stupid enough to trap myself in here too?“} But he didn’t want to hear it. He dismissed my words like they meant nothing.
The fire was growing. Giselle had already climbed halfway out the window. One slip and she would fall.
E OF IN
Suddenly, the firefighters burst through the door, blasting the flames with high–pressure hoses. A path opened through the smoke. Frederick followed them in.
He froze when he saw Giselle dangling halfway out the window, eyes wide with terror. At that moment, I was right beside her.
To escape the thick smoke, Giselle clung to my arm, her entire body leaning desperately outward. The smoke was thick, and she was using me to keep from falling./
The moment she saw Frederick, her eyes welled with tears.
“Frederick, you’re finally here! I was so scared–I thought I’d never see you again.”
“Don’t be afraid, I’m here. I’ve got you.“”
He stepped toward her–but just as he reached us, Giselle shoved me with all her strength.
I crashed to the floor, my arm landing on a piece of charred wood, searing pain shooting through me as the burned edge scorched my skin.
Giselle tilted backward toward the open window.”
Everyone gasped.
Luckily, Frederick lunged just in time and pulled her into his arms.
“I was so scared… If you hadn’t caught me… I would’ve died,” she sobbed, trembling in his embrace.§
“You’re safe now. I won’t let anything happen to you.“}
Then he looked at me–his eyes full of cold fury.
Without hesitation, he raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face.
“Gracie! Why did you push her? Do you realize if I hadn’t caught her, she and our baby could have died? How could you be so cruel?!”
The pain in my burned arm was blinding, but it couldn’t compare to the pain in my heart.”
He held Giselle protectively in his arms while looking at me like I was nothing but trash. “Don’t blame Gracie, Giselle whimpered. “Maybe… maybe it was an accident…“%
