Chapter 1

"Jeff, help me." Flames were raging all around me as I clung desperately to the only safety rope.

However, my husband of ten years, Jeff Lewis, pried my fingers off.

He looked at me with pure impatience. "Winona, Sophie has severe asthma. She can't handle the smoke. You're a grown woman. Can't you save yourself? Stop using your pregnancy to compete for attention."

Then he tied the safety rope around Sophie's dog and rushed out of the fire with her and her daughter, never once looking back.

At that moment, the burning wreckage collapsed around me, and I lost our baby.

What Jeff didn't know was that a private jet landed over the ruins that very night, and Beloris's richest man carried me out in his arms, his eyes red with fury.

The next time Jeff and I met was at his awards ceremony.

*****

After three years of marriage, Jeff finally pushed me to the brink of death.

Right there in the fire, he pulled my fingers off the only safety rope and tied it to Sophie's Pomeranian.

When the wreckage crashed down, I lost the baby I'd been carrying for three months.

The first thing I did when I woke up was call my elder brother, Michael Lane. "Michael, I want to come home."

There was a brief silence on the other end. When he spoke again, his voice was low. "Winona, wait for me. I'll be there soon."

I hung up and stared at the ceiling of the hospital room.

My body was wrapped in bandages, my right arm still oozing blood, and the pain pump was almost out, but none of that mattered.

What mattered was that Jeff hadn't shown up.

It had been forty-eight hours since the fire. I had been in the ICU for two days, and he hadn't visited once.

When the nurse came in to change my bandages, she glanced at me cautiously. "Mrs. Lewis, your husband called earlier to ask about your condition. He said he's been busy with work and couldn't come."

I gave a bitter smile. "Okay."

The nurse was about to say something else when a noise at the door interrupted her.

Jeff finally showed up with Sophie by his side.

He was wearing his dark navy uniform, frowning as he walked straight over to my bed.

However, he didn't even ask about my injuries. "Winona, Sophie said you shouted some awful things at her during the fire. She was terrified. She's been crying for the past two days.

"Whatever your feelings toward her, you shouldn't have lost your temper in a situation like that."

I turned to look at Sophie, who was shrinking behind him.

She lingered by the door, her eyes red and swollen, looking like she had been terribly wronged.

When she caught my gaze, she stepped back and whispered, "Winona, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be here."

Jeff immediately turned back to her. "Don't be scared. I'm here with you."

Then he turned to me, his voice full of impatience. "Look at you. You're already badly hurt, and you're still making a scene.

"The doctor said you need to rest. Focus on getting better and stop overthinking everything."

I locked eyes with him. "Jeff, that safety rope."

He froze for a second. "What safety rope?"

"The one you pulled out of my hands and tied to her dog."

The room went quiet for a couple of seconds. Sophie's expression shifted.

Jeff frowned, his voice hardening. "Things were chaotic. Sophie has asthma, and her dog is her emotional support animal. If she lost the dog, she could have had an attack.

"You're an adult, and you've had basic fire safety training. I knew you could get yourself out. It was a professional decision. Don't twist it into some excuse to attack me."

Professional decision?

He called it a professional decision when he pulled his wife's fingers off the only safety rope and gave it to a dog.

I looked down at my arm, swathed in bandages. Three of the nails on my right hand had been ripped off when he pulled my fingers away.

"What about the unborn baby?" I asked. "Was that your professional decision, too?"

Jeff froze for a moment. "What baby?"

"Three months." My voice was flat. "I told you in the fire. You said I was using my pregnancy to compete for attention."

The room suddenly went still. Sophie covered her mouth in shock.

Jeff's face went pale. "Were you pregnant?"

"Not anymore," I said. "It was gone when the wreckage came down."

Jeff stood frozen, his lips moving several times without making a sound.

Sophie reacted before anyone else, tears spilling down her cheeks instantly. "Winona, I'm sorry. I had no idea you were pregnant. If I'd known, I swear I would have stopped Jeff."

"That's enough," I cut her off.

I wasn't angry. I simply didn't want to hear it.

Jeff managed to speak. "Winona, I swear I didn't know. Your voice was so quiet, and with all the chaos in the fire, I didn't make it out."

"You did." I looked him straight in the eye. "You told me, 'Stop using your pregnancy to get attention.' You heard every word."

Jeff swallowed. He reached out, trying to touch my shoulder.

I turned my head away.

His hand froze in midair. "Winona, I—"

"Let's get a divorce," I said.

I was surprised at how calm I felt as those words left my mouth.

The fire had burned the skin from my right arm. It had taken the baby from my womb. Now, it had burned away the last bit of hope I had left for him.