Chapter 1
When I was seven, a fire broke out at the orphanage.
It happened that the Shaw family was there that day to do charity work.
Jessica Shaw's face was ruined while she was playing with me.
The Shaw family didn't blame me, and they even adopted me.
Everyone said I was so lucky, and this could have been a Cinderella story for me.
But no one knew that beneath my clothes, my body was covered in scars.
Every time Jessica looked in the mirror, she'd put a blade to me.
"It's all your fault, you bitch! Why did you smile at me? Why did you play with me?" Jessica shouted.
Eric Shaw, Jessica's brother, lowered his eyes, and there was not a trace of warmth in his voice.
"Anna Shaw, you're the one who hurt Jessica. You should be ashamed of yourself," Eric said.
When I was an adult, Eric even forced me to have his child.
Simply because Jessica wanted to use a baby's skin to replace hers.
I didn't want my child to follow the same road I did.
So, on the day I was to give birth, I threw myself from a high building and took my baby with me.
When I opened my eyes again, I was surprisingly back to the very day the orphanage caught fire.
"Fire!"
"Quickly, run!"
I was woken with a start by the terrifying screams from the children in the orphanage.
"I want my mom and dad!" Jessica shouted.
She yanked my hands off and rushed outside.
In my old life, it was because Jessica had run blind that the hot plastic curtain scalded her face.
"Stop!" I hurriedly shouted to Jessica.
But Jessica curled her lips and started crying loudly.
"Wah! How dare you yell at me? I'm going to tell my brother, and he'll beat you up!" she wailed.
She yanked my hands away and dashed outside again.
Any second now, her face was about to be ruined once again. I caught her without thinking and shielded her face with my arm.
"Argh! That hurts!" I yelled.
I forgot I was just a little kid, and my skin was too delicate.
Shocked by the blisters that immediately popped up on my arm, Jessica rooted to the spot.
I gritted my teeth and pulled Jessica with me toward the restroom, enduring the sharp burning pain in my arm.
I wetted a towel and handed it to Jessica.
"Hold this over your mouth and nose. Don't go out," I told her.
Jessica held onto my arm.
"What are you going to do? Don't leave me alone. I'm really scared," she said.
It looked like Jessica was really scared this time. She finally swallowed her spoiled temper.
I grabbed a few wet towels and stepped out.
"I'm going to help the other kids," I said.
"Hey! Don't go! You dummy, I'm the most important one! Why bother with anyone else?" Jessica said.
Her words made me pause mid-step.
Okay, I'd take back what I just said about her.
Jessica was still the same old Jessica, a selfish one.
It came back to me that Jessica's scarred face wasn't the only cost of the fire. Another child had been injured more severely and finally even died.
Because of that girl's small size, she tripped, and her legs were injured. She could only be at the mercy of fire.
I scanned the area, and sure enough, a child was crying near the worst of the fire.
I pulled her up from the floor, struggled to carry her on my back, and headed toward the restroom.
Jessica peeped at me through the crack of the door and hurriedly opened it.
"What took you so long? I was scared out of my mind," Jessica said with a cough.
"Don't take the towel off! Keep it over your mouth and nose!" I reminded her.
I yelled so loudly that Jessica trembled.
Even with tears streaming down her face, she did as she was told and pressed the wet towel over her mouth and nose.
I used one hand to cover my own mouth and nose, and the other to help the injured kid do the same.
"I can do it myself..." the little girl whispered.
She'd stopped crying and was now quietly holding the towel over her mouth and nose.
After finishing all that, I sat on the ground and waited for rescue.
I remembered that in my old life, most of the kids were outside, picking out gifts from John Shaw and Lucy Shaw, Eric and Jessica's parents.
Only a few kids with colds were in the lounge.
The old wires in the activity area suddenly caught fire, and the older kids ran out as soon as they saw it.
The rescue team showed up pretty fast, so this time, there shouldn't be any casualties.
Bang! The restroom door burst open.
I couldn't believe the rescue team got here so fast this time.
"Jessica! Are you okay?" Eric rushed in and shouted.
He followed behind the rescue team and immediately wrapped Jessica in a hug.
"Wah! Eric, you're finally here. I was so scared!" Jessica cried.
Eric anxiously pulled the towel away from Jessica's face and checked her face.
He let out a deep breath, murmuring, "Not too late."
The rescue team wrapped us in fire blankets and brought us out.
As soon as we were outside, Jessica dashed straight to John and Lucy and cried loudly.