“Caroline, why are you calling again?” Derrick Glover’s familiar voice came through the line.
He continued, “Emery already told me everything! Don’t be so petty. It’s just one trip.
“Why make up nonsense about your house catching fire? That’s bad luck! Young people need to stop messing around with stuff like that!”
Derrick was one of Emery’s closest friends from the fire department and a die-hard supporter of Emery’s first marriage to Sasha Woods. To him and others like him, I was just the wicked woman who had come between their “fairytale love story.”
Since Sasha suddenly returned to town, Emery had been spending less and less time at home. Even when Luna had a high fever a few nights ago, he still refused to leave Sasha’s place, where he was staying.
Emery had gone out of his way to make me look like a nagging, controlling wife. In my past life, I always wondered why his friends hated me despite how well I treated them—cooking meals, buying groceries, and giving them all the space they needed to hang out.
Yet, his circle always carried this unspoken hostility toward me. This time, I did not waste time arguing with Derrick. I hung up and immediately called a more distant fire station. I begged for their urgent assistance.
The fire continued to spread uncontrollably. I could hear the faint sound of furniture cracking and exploding inside the house.
Paula came running toward me. Her face was full of panic. “Caroline, thank goodness you’re here! What are we going to do?”
“Luna and Liam are still napping. I’m scared that waking them up suddenly will frighten them, but leaving them asleep is just as bad!”
I followed her gaze to the flames, which had started in the north wing of the house—right where the kids’ bedrooms were. To make matters worse, there was a strong wind today, causing the fire to dance wildly in every direction.
My anxiety soared. Although Luna and Liam were Emery and Sasha’s children, Sasha abandoned them shortly after giving birth and disappeared without a trace.
She only resurfaced recently, claiming she had been battling a severe illness and did not want to burden Emery and the kids. Emery had been heartbroken when she handed him an old medical document as proof. He blamed himself for not being there for her and swore he would do everything he could to make it up to her.
I was the outsider in this tangled web of emotions—the “bitter wife” who had simply filled in for five years while Sasha was gone. However, my bond with Luna and Liam went deeper than that.
I had poured my heart into raising them, not just because I loved Emery, but because the countless nights spent caring for them had forged an unbreakable connection. Though the kids knew I was not their birth mother, I could feel their love and trust in me.
That was exactly why I could not just stand here waiting. I scanned my surroundings anxiously. The fire trucks still had not arrived, and time was slipping away.
In my past life, Emery had used his training to rescue them. Now, I tried to recall every move he had made.
I glanced up at the neighbor’s balcony. Our apartment was on the fifth floor, but years of climbing practice had made scaling that height manageable for me.
I grabbed a large cleaning bucket from the building’s maintenance area, filled it with water, and soaked myself from head to toe. Then, I removed my silk scarf, dampened it, and tied it around my nose and mouth.
