Chapter 1

The night I find out I'm pregnant, my family's villa suddenly goes up in flames. I endure the suffocating smoke and run the risk of being disfigured as I run to my son's bedroom. However, it's empty. Just then, I hear his excited exclamations outside the window.

"Monica, you look so cool when putting out fires! I bet you'll get first place in this upcoming Firefighter Challenge!"

I'm about to head downstairs to lecture him when a wall collapses and crushes me. As I drift in and out of consciousness, I hear my stern, stoic husband praise Monica Sloan for her courage.

If I'm guessing correctly, my husband and son have started this fire to please her.

I stare at the door, which is so close and yet so far. I send out one final text before dying of asphyxiation.

Chapter 1

Frowning, I stared at the body that was half buried under a wall. The right hand, burned to a crisp, was stretched out toward the door, while the left was holding onto the abdomen protectively.

The grotesque scene made me jump back in alarm, but as my soul slipped through the wall next to me, I came to the belated realization that I was dead.

That female corpse whose face was now unidentifiable after the fire was me.

Half an hour ago, I was elated as I came home with my pregnancy report in hand. However, before I even reached the front entrance, I saw black smoke billowing out of the blazing house.

Immediately, I thought about my son, Harrison Ellis, who should be sleeping in his room. Wasting no time, I drenched a piece of tissue to cover my nose and mouth before rushing in.

As soon as I entered the living room, I could feel the flames licking at my skin. The pain intensified as boils soon formed on my red, swollen skin.

Every time I breathed in, it felt as though I were inhaling burning hot coals. Even my throat felt like it'd been scalded, causing so much pain that I couldn't even speak. My tears flowed uncontrollably.

My instinctive reaction was to leave this place at once, but the thought of Harrison being caught in the fire upstairs made me grit my teeth and rush to him.

At last, with great difficulty, I made it to the room, but the doorknob was scalding hot too. Clenching my jaw, I grabbed the doorknob. Every inch of my skin that came into contact with it instantly turned red. I even saw smoke rising from it.

However, the room was empty. Before I could feel relieved that Harrison wasn't there, I heard his voice coming in through the window. Outside, he cried out in excitement, "Monica, you look so cool when you're putting out a fire. I bet you'll win the Firefighter Challenge this time!"

His childish exclamations made me a little dizzy, but at the very next moment, I was infuriated by how nonchalant he was about the fire—something dangerous enough to take lives.

I wanted to march down there at once to reprimand that immature son of mine, but as soon as I got to the door, the wall collapsed on me.

The searing pain shot from my back down to my abdomen, and I instinctively cupped it to protect my unborn child.

Nevertheless, I still felt something damp trickling out of me. I'd lost my child.

I felt even more lightheaded, but the voices that came from outside the house sounded even clearer to me now.

My husband, James Ellis, had always been a serious, no-nonsense man, but now he was praising another woman for her courage.

"You handled the situation very efficiently this time, Monica. I think you'll do well during the next Firefighter Challenge."

Chapter 2

Oh. I'd almost forgotten that James was a firefighter too.

James had claimed that Monica Sloan, the woman Harrison had expressed his overwhelming admiration for, was merely nothing more than his colleague.

But in the last six months, Harrison no longer clung to me or needed me. Instead, he asked to spend time at James' workplace, often saying he wanted to see Monica.

At first, I didn't think much of it. I assumed it was normal for young children to like hanging out with a pretty young woman.

Alas, it had slipped my mind that a man like James would like a pretty young woman too.

The constant messages and calls at night had James rushing out of the house even in the middle of the night. Initially, I thought it was due to emergencies at work. After all, firefighters worked to save lives, and that was of the highest priority.

Yet, after inadvertently seeing the same name flashing on his screen several times, my sixth sense kicked in belatedly. I realized something was amiss.

The caller had been given the nickname "The Clumsy Little Klutz". It was such an affectionate nickname that I couldn't even try to talk myself out of feeling suspicious.

Once, after an intimate night with James, I couldn't resist checking his phone while he was in the shower.

He barely had any calls from his workplace. An overwhelming number of them had come from that woman. She was the only contact he'd pinned to the top of his chat list. Although their chat was simple and casual, it was filled with thoughts and comments that he never felt the need to share with me.

Whenever he responded to my texts, it was always a simple message saying, "Got it."

I proceeded to check the woman's WhatsApp stories and was immediately greeted with a photo of her and James. She'd even added a blissful message that made it clear how much he adored her.

"Thanks to the world's best captain, Captain Ellis, for getting me a cake!"

I checked to see when the story had been posted—August 27th.

That was our 7th wedding anniversary. He'd come home extremely late that night. Just as I thought he'd forgotten about our wedding anniversary, he'd brought out a small cake and given it to me.

Although it had clearly looked like a half-hearted gesture, it had made me feel loved anyway.

Alas, unaware of the situation then, I'd overlooked James' unnaturally stiff expression and the buttercream on his sleeve.

The cake in Monica's photo looked a lot more presentable than the one James had given me.

He'd only gotten me a cake for our anniversary because he'd needed to get a cake for Monica anyway. In fact, it had only been an afterthought.

Chapter 3

When James came out of the shower, I tried to confront him with his phone, but he flew into a rage.

"Who allowed you to touch my phone? You're infringing on my privacy! Can't you give me some private space?"

When we were dating, James was the one who promised he would be more than happy to let me keep tabs on him as much as I wanted to prove that I was the only one he loved.

And now, after just ten years, he was lashing out at me and calling me unreasonable.

Our fight woke up Harrison, who was sleeping next door. His bleary eyes stared at me in fear. Sobbing, he kept calling for James and even Monica, but not me—his mother, who'd raised him.

I was overwhelmed by an inexplicable sense of pain and sorrow, making it impossible for me to speak.

After a while, I looked at Harrison, who was hiding behind James, and asked, "Harrison, do you want me or your daddy?"

Harrison said he didn't want a fierce mommy like me. He wanted Monica to be his mommy.

Feeling utterly disappointed, I packed my bags and moved out of the house.

Just like that, three months passed.

When I found out I was pregnant, I considered getting an abortion. However, James had mentioned wanting a daughter many times. Even the boisterous Harrison had kept asking why he didn't have a sister yet.

In the end, I gave in and decided to talk to the two of them.

Never would I have thought that, upon returning home, both my child and I would end up dying in the fire they'd set just to please another woman.

Perhaps the lingering sense of indignation kept my soul tied to them. My soul drifted out of the house and floated beside James.

James, Monica, and Harrison were chatting away warmly and happily.

Harrison, who always liked rebelling against me, was staring at Monica, the woman he'd met less than three months ago, in awe. He was blushing as he clapped to celebrate her practice session.

James, my husband, was stroking Monica's head with an affectionate expression.

"You're not a little klutz anymore. I guess I have to change your nickname on my phone to 'The Little Genius'."

Feeling shy, Monica sweetly replied, "It's all thanks to your expert guidance, and you even set the fire so that I could get some hands-on practice! I'll do even better next time."

She was going to do even better next time, huh?

Looking at the still-burning house, I smirked mockingly.

My body was probably still burning in the lingering flames.

Chapter 4

While James, Monica, and Harrison celebrated the end of Monica's flawless practice session, the neighbors who'd been alarmed by the fire were busy calling the fire station and questioning them with a frown.

"Why did you people only send a single firetruck to deal with such a major fire at Jasper Heights? Do you not take our lives and safety seriously?"

After a brief silence, the dispatcher explained, "We didn't receive any reports of a fire at Jasper Heights. Can I confirm with you that you're reporting a fire in the area? I'll send a fire crew out at once!"

In less than a minute, James' phone started ringing.

"Jasper Heights? I'm already here. No one was harmed. You don't need to send anyone else over."

The dispatcher continued speaking, but James firmly declared that he would assume full responsibility if anything happened. Once the dispatcher confirmed that no one was hurt, he decided against sending another fire crew over.

James had put the call on speaker mode, which meant that Monica caught the entire argument between him and the dispatcher.

With her brows furrowed, she made a show of apologizing.

"Will you get punished because of this, Captain Ellis? If that's the case, I'd rather resign than cause trouble for you!"

It was evident that James didn't see the determined, possessive look in Monica's eyes. He pulled the seemingly heartbroken Monica into his arms.

With a gentle tone that had long eluded my ears, James said to her, "What's the big deal? It's not worth crying your eyes out over. It's just a house. I'd be more than happy to burn down ten houses if it means you get to gain more experience."

Amused by James' exaggerated declaration, Monica laughed and hit his shoulder with her fist.

"What are you saying? Where will you and Harry stay if you burn down all those houses?"

"I can stay with you, Monica!"

Overhearing his nickname, Harrison eagerly raised his hand and expressed his fondness for Monica's house.

James wasn't mad that Harrison was fawning over Monica either. Instead, he asked why.

"Monica's house has everything, and she even lets me eat snacks! Meanwhile, that mean old witch at home doesn't let me eat anything. I like Monica a lot more."

Even though I was merely a wandering soul without a body, Harrison's childish yet cruel words still made me feel as though I'd been stabbed in the heart.

For the sake of minor things like treats, Harrison, the boy who used to sweetly declare that he loved me the most, didn't even hesitate to choose another woman over me. He even called me a mean old witch.

"You like me? Well, why don't I treat you to fried chicken today?"

After nudging Harrison's nose affectionately, Monica looked at James, who was standing in silence. She cocked her head to the side and asked, "Why aren't you saying anything? Do you not want to eat with me, Captain Ellis?"

James shook his head and silently pocketed his phone, but thanks to my keen sense of sight, I noticed that he'd been reading my chat with him. The last message on the screen was the one I'd sent just before I died.

"I'm pregnant. You're not the father."

Chapter 5

It was obvious James was affected by that message of mine that had come out of the blue. At least, even as he sat in the car, he didn't look as happy as he had before. His forehead was slightly creased, and it looked like he was in a bad mood.

Even Harrison, who was always a chatterbox, knew better than to try and talk to James at a time like this. However, Monica carefully poked James in the arm and asked, "What's the matter, Captain Ellis?"

Her concerned tone melted his icy expression a little. "It's nothing. I just saw something displeasing."

Good.

The more displeased he was, the more pleased I was. Why should he get to openly spend time being all friendly and intimate with his female colleague while I had to stay at home to wait on him and Harrison like a maid?

Although I hadn't actually cheated on him, I still wanted him to feel discomfited by it. I wanted it to keep him up at night.

"Well, you're the one who taught me to deal with my negative emotions by venting with a shout before confronting it and resolving it. Why aren't you taking your own advice?"

Upon hearing Monica's reminder to James, I felt such a tightness in my chest that I thought I'd died once again.

Following James' first mission as a firefighter, he developed insomnia after having witnessed someone die with his own eyes. I was the one who stuck with him through those grueling times.

I gave up on my high-paying job as a translator and chose to stay at home so that I could look after the emotionally scarred James. Even so, he still blamed himself for not saving everyone from the fire.

No matter how hard I tried to counsel him, he continued to wallow in guilt and regret.

In the end, I took him hiking. When we got to the peak, we shouted together, and I said to him the very same words Monica had just said.

James had breezily shared the past between us with another woman.

"I'll do my best," James replied to Monica. Seemingly taking her advice, he took his phone out and sent me a message.

"Let's find a time to meet up and talk things through. If you get an abortion, I'll pretend like nothing ever happened. By the way, what do you want for dinner? Shall I bring you some fried chicken from the place you used to love the most?"

He was referring to a fried chicken store in the northern district of the city. While we were dating, it was the only good food James could afford to get me. To avoid hurting his self-esteem, I always smiled and told him how much I loved it. It got to a point where I even started believing it too.

Alas, even my neighbors knew that I didn't like fried food, but my own husband never realized that. Had I done too good of a job hiding it, or had James never cared to pay attention?

Well, the answer to that question didn't matter anymore.

They were still heading to the northern district when James got a call again.

"Captain Ellis, didn't you say the fire at Jasper Heights has been put out? Why are we still getting multiple calls about it? Are you sure the fire was completely extinguished?" the dispatcher questioned angrily.

All the color drained from James' face. Leaving the scene of a fire without permission when the fire was still containable was a severe offense. It could lead to an official warning, a suspension, or even termination.

"Time is of the essence. I've dispatched a fire crew over to Jasper Heights. Hurry up and head over there to help them!"

Chapter 6

Work was far more urgent. Even though James wanted to have dinner with Monica, he had no choice but to rush back to Jasper Heights.

The fire, which hadn't been put out, had spread into a raging sea of flames before the other fire crew arrived. The windows exploded from the heat, and the glass shards scattered everywhere, emitting piercing sounds.

All of the furniture and household items had been incinerated in the fire, turning into clouds of smoke and piles of ashes.

The cries from the neighbors, the siren of the fire trucks, and the crackling sound of the flames formed the soundtrack of a tragedy.

Gregory Hanks, the station chief, had rushed over as well and harshly rebuked James for his recent poor performance.

"What on earth has been up with you lately? Many of your colleagues have mentioned that you haven't been giving your full effort! Don't you know how dangerous it is when a fire isn't completely distinguished? This fire even occurred where you live! You better reflect on yourself!"

"Captain Ellis didn't do it on purpose…"

Seeing that the man she liked was being reprimanded, Melody tried to stand up for James.

"Quiet, you! With your response time, you wouldn't even reach the scene before the victims die in the fire! Time is precious. The faster you get there, the higher your chances of saving more people!"

Gregory didn't fall for Monica's act. Already in a foul, agitated mood, he scolded both of them at once.

I let out a bittersweet chuckle as I watched the way Monica hung her head low as she got admonished.

Firefighters who didn't uphold their professional ethics were a scourge to the profession, but they didn't represent the rest of the team who dutifully rushed into the fire to save the victims.

In the end, it was confirmed that one person had died and nine more had been injured in the fire. Everyone fell silent.

Someone hauled my body out after covering it with a white cloth to preserve my dignity.

"By the time we got there, the victim was already burned beyond recognition…"

The firefighter, Derek Anderson, choked out the rest of his account. "She was burned to death. I can't imagine how painful that must've been for her. We might've been able to save her if we'd arrived sooner."

Derek was James' first mentee at work, and he was nicknamed "Derek the Deer". Despite working a dangerous job where lives were often at stake, he remained a sensitive, soft-hearted person.

I'd met Derek a few times when I took food for James. Every single time, he looked pitiful, his eyes red from crying.

Nonetheless, I knew it was a hurdle all firefighters needed to overcome. Only those brave enough to look death in the eye could save people from the clutches of death.

After hearing what Derek said, James glanced indifferently at the covered body. He couldn't see anything, but just then, a ring fell off my charred finger.

It dropped onto the ground, letting out a faint clang before rolling to a stop by James' feet.