1 - Burning Heart

“You're beautiful,” James said, gently caressing Bella's lips.

Zia's face instantly paled as she watched her husband kiss and praise another woman's beauty. She took a few steps back from the slightly open door of James's office. Zia's world seemed to collapse when she found out her husband was having an affair with the person closest to her.

James's nurse was none other than Zia's best friend, Bella.

Ten minutes earlier, Bella had called Zia to inform her that James was having a seizure and asked her to bring the medication to James's office immediately.

Upon hearing the bad news about her husband's condition, Zia braved the heavy snowstorm without wearing any warm clothes, unwilling to make her husband suffer any longer while waiting for her to bring him medicine.

It never crossed Zia's mind that she would see her husband being affectionate with his nurse.

“James, how long will you keep up this charade of pretending you have a heart condition and lost your memory?” Bella asked.

“Until Zia feels what Audrey felt,” James replied firmly.

“What do you mean?”

“I want to make Zia suffer so much that she wants to end her life.”

Like being struck by lightning, Zia's body trembled violently as she listened to James and Bella's conversation and felt the bitter cold. However, her heart felt like it was on fire.

The pain Zia felt was so intense that she couldn't describe it, realizing that James had never loved her, not even a little bit. Everything Zia believed was a lie.

James had been cheating on her, lying about his physical condition, and marrying her not out of love but to get revenge for the death of Audrey, his ex-girlfriend.

“Yes, I hope you keep your word before you finally give in and fall in love with Zia." Bella supports James.

Not wanting to hear more of James and Bella's conversation, Zia slowly walked away from James's office. Her steps were unsteady, almost losing her balance as she faced the bitter reality she had just discovered.

She stopped at the exit door. Reflecting on her life with James, Zia realized it had been far from good. James was always angry and punished her for every mistake, no matter how small or unintentional.

Even so, Zia tried to improve herself and understand James' anger. Zia thought that James was still hurting over Audrey's death and was unconsciously taking his pain out on her.

It never crossed her mind that James was doing all this intentionally.

“Do you want your husband to die?!”

Zia was startled when someone snatched the medicine box from her hands while shouting. It was Bella, glaring at Zia. Instead of responding, Zia just swallowed hard and stared back at Bella with a blank mind.

“ZIA!” Bella screamed.

“Y—yes.” Finally, Zia snapped out of her reverie.

“Your husband is dying, and you're daydreaming here. Where is your common sense?!” Bella exclaimed angrily and walked ahead of Zia.

Bella had always been like that, and Zia had never once felt offended by Bella's harsh words, no matter how harsh they were. But this was the first time Bella's words had hurt her.

When she entered James's office, Zia was shocked to see James sitting there, weak and pale, as if he were in pain. Just a few moments ago, Zia was sure James was healthy.

His acting was genuinely excellent!

“Get some water, Zia,” Bella ordered, sitting beside James.

And foolishly, Zia obeyed Bella's command even though she knew the two people in front of her were pretending.

“Here's your medicine, Jammes,” Bella said, feeding the medicine to James.

Bella gently rubbed James's back, which gradually began to look better. Meanwhile, Zia remained standing in place with a stiff body. The two of them could act so perfectly that it was no wonder she hadn't noticed it all this time.

“Oh, by the way, Zia. I have to stay at your place tonight. James needs to be monitored.”

Alexander's house was always open to Bella. It wasn't because Zia couldn't take care of James. James himself had decided to make Bella his nurse, arguing that nurses knew better how to care for the sick than Zia.

At first, Zia didn't mind. After all, Bella was her best friend, whom she considered like a sister.

“Zia, are you deaf?!” Bella snapped, pushing Zia roughly so that she fell to the floor, shattering her reverie.

Zia looked at James, hoping for a word or two from him to reprimand Bella for her rude behavior. But James stared at her coldly, as if he didn't care.

“Bella, James is fine and won't get sick again. I'll take care of him myself.”

Suddenly, James and Bella's faces changed in silence. Zia had never refused Bella's arrival like that before. Even when she knew Bella was staying over, Zia was always enthusiastic and immediately went shopping to cook a delicious meal to welcome her best friend.

Yes, for Zia, Bella was family.

Not knowing how to do it or how painful it would be to end things with Bella, continuing their friendship was like Zia handing over his life to Bella.

“It won't get sick again? You mean my illness is just a game, Zia?” James got up from his chair with an angry look on his face.

“You like to joke, James. Maybe you once joked that you were in pain, and it led you to that condition. I think so.”

Zia stood up and laughed softly so James and Bella wouldn't notice her sarcasm.

Of course, this made James even angrier. Within moments, Zia realized that she had made a mistake by starting the commotion when she saw James' eyes darken and his fists clench as he walked toward her.

With a frightened look on her face, Zia stepped away from James. Her throat tightened. Her body seemed unprepared for James' punishment.

“So you think I'm just pretending to be sick?” James's voice sounded heavy and threatening.

"N - No. I mean... I want to care for you myself until you get better."

After finding out that all of James's abuse was planned, Zia couldn't control her fear of her husband. She felt that God had made her live with the angel of death.

“But you talk as if I'm lying about my illness, Zia.”

“James, you don't have to feel that way if you weren't lying.”

Suddenly, James dragged Zia out of the office building. James' patience had run out because Zia had started speaking to him boldly, defying him. James didn't care how people stared at him with curiosity.

He continued taking Zia to the back of the office, where a large pool was, and without hesitation, James pushed Zia into the pool.

"Help... please!" Zia screamed as loud as she could, hoping for help from anyone.

The pool was deep enough for Zia, who couldn't swim. She struggled with all her strength to stay afloat, but the water was so cold it felt like it was freezing her bones. Her body began to stiffen, and her legs started to cramp.

“This is a fitting punishment for what you did, Zia!”

Zia could still hear James. Even though it was only a glimpse, she could also see Bella smiling cynically at her.

Only for a moment, before her body finally began to sink to the bottom of the pool.