Chapter 1

The fire trapped my mother-in-law and me inside.

I called my husband, Fire Captain Michael Grant, begging him to bring his crew.

But he was too busy using a city fire truck to film a rain transition reel for his "friend" Olivia Stone.

He snapped, "Emily Carter, that's enough. I know you went to your parents' today. You saw my reel with Olivia and got jealous again? How many times do I have to say it? Olivia and I are friends.

"Do you have to turn everything into a drama? Now you're using my mother's life to threaten me?"

I tried to explain. He hung up.

My mother-in-law died from severe smoke inhalation.

My thigh was burned.

The baby I'd struggled so hard to conceive through IVF was gone.

Meanwhile, Olivia posted: [Perks of having a fire captain friend for rain transition reels!]

There she was, in a wedding dress, leaning on his arm under an umbrella.

She was holding onto my husband's arm, while he held an umbrella over her.

Behind them, his fire truck was spraying fake rain.

Later, I filed for divorce. My heart was finally dead. When he learned the truth, it was already too late.

*****

I couldn't tear my eyes away from the video.

My hands wouldn't stop shaking.

In a single night, I lost my baby and the woman who would have been their grandmother.

And while I was suffering, Michael was still with Olivia, shooting that video.

The comments section was flooded with hype and excitement.

[I'm totally shipping you two. Get together already.]

[I'm all for it.]

[This is no different from a wedding shoot.]

I stared at those comments.

Olivia, acting all coy, replied, [Oh, stop it. Michael's already married. He has a wife, you know. We're nothing but friends.]

When the doctor came in and told me my mother-in-law didn't make it because of severe smoke inhalation, I finally broke down.

My phone crashed to the floor.

The doctor gave me a sympathetic look, speaking carefully, "Ms. Carter, I'm afraid that because of the amount of smoke you inhaled, your baby probably can't be saved. We need to operate immediately."

Two silent tears slid from the corners of my eyes.

I closed my eyes.

After the fire broke out, my mother-in-law did everything she could to protect the baby I was carrying and me.

She held me close, shielding me from the flames right up to the very end, giving me her last hope of survival.

I never imagined I'd end up losing everything.

"If you insist on keeping the baby, it would only be stillborn," the doctor said softly.

I gripped my phone tightly. "Go ahead with the surgery."

I was wheeled into the operating room. The cold sting of the needle pricked my skin as the anesthetic started to take effect.

Then, everything went black.

When I finally woke up, it was already the morning of the third day.

My phone was blowing up with messages from Michael.

There were also a bunch of missed calls.

I called him back.

I thought he might actually care about me this time.

But instead, he went off on me. "Emily, you're way out of line! First, you use the baby to get sympathy, and now you're blaming me for my mom's death?

"How many times do I have to tell you? Olivia and I are friends. If there was really something between us, do you think you'd matter?

"I'm super busy these days. I gotta go out of town for training. Don't call me again!"

With that, he hung up.

I pulled a sarcastic smirk.

Turned out he never cared about me.

The news I gave him before the surgery, that his mother had died in the fire, meant nothing to him.

What a joke.

I clenched my phone, fighting back the heartache, and called Michael once more.

No matter what, my mother-in-law had treated me decently while she was alive.

I owed it to her to let him know.

But no matter how many times I dialed, the line was always unavailable.

Finally, after what felt like a hundred tries, the call finally went through, and someone answered.

I said, "Michael, I'm telling the truth. Your mom's gone. Her body is in the—"

Olivia cut me off. "Emily, you're such a pain! Michael already said he's busy. So what if you're pregnant? Do you have to be so dramatic? Stop calling. Michael's got a ton going on. He's not gonna revolve around you and your baby all day."

With that, the call was cut off.

I felt a wave of fury rise up inside me.

I had gone through a fight for my life because she held up the rescue.

I'd also lost the baby I was carrying.

And she still had the nerve to make snide remarks.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. I started frantically calling Olivia. "Olivia, do you have any shame at all? Always clinging to my husband?

"'Friends'? Please, you're basically his mistress. Put Michael on the phone right now. I have something urgent he needs to hear. If he doesn't come back, he'll regret it for the rest of his life."

"Emily, can you give it a rest? How many times do I have to say it? Olivia and I are friends. Why do you always have to take it out on her? You're acting like a drama queen."

"If you're gonna keep being this emotional, maybe we shouldn't talk for a while!" Michael's voice on the other end was laced with reproach.

"Ugh, she's such a pain in the ass. That's why having me as your friend is so much better," Olivia chimed in with her overly sweet, affected tone.

With that, the call was cut off. When I tried to call back, the line wouldn't connect anymore.

Michael had blocked my number.