Chapter 5

Seaforth Club was in complete chaos. An electrical fire raged out of control, filling the halls with thick smoke as Brandon frantically searched for Nina.

Meanwhile, Rosalie had just stepped out of the private room when the panicked crowd shoved her back inside. The door slammed shut behind her, locking her in. Desperate, she banged on the door. "Help! Let me out! Is anyone there?"

But everyone was too busy scrambling to escape the burning club. Her shouts were lost in the chaos.

Smoke slithered in through the door gap, sending Rosalie into a fit of violent coughs. She yanked off her coat, pressed it tightly over her nose and mouth, and bolted for the window.

Just as flames surged into the room, she clenched her teeth, rammed her shoulder into the glass, and leaped.

Seaforth Club loomed three stories above the ground. The landing sent a jolt of pain through her body, leaving her unable to drag herself forward. Her legs burned, and it felt as if they had been smashed to pieces.

Just then, she caught sight of the fleeing crowd. There was Nina, freshly rescued, hovering over Brandon's unconscious form on a gurney.

A knot of dread coiled in Rosalie's chest. Biting back the pain, she forced herself up just in time for the paramedics to grab her and bundle her into an ambulance.

When they finally reached the hospital, Rosalie ignored her own injuries and hurried straight to Brandon. He was being wheeled into the emergency room, his legs covered in bloody burns.

"Brandon!" Rosalie stumbled after the gurney, her eyes wild with fear.

But the first thing he said when he weakly opened his eyes was, "Nina... Where is she? Is she safe?"

Rosalie went still.

His voice was faint as he continued, "Let me see her. I need to know she's safe..."

The doctors rushed to wheel him into the emergency room, but he kept calling for Nina, insisting on seeing her before they treated him.

Rosalie's voice was desperate. "Brandon, please! You need help now. Your burns are bad. You can't wait!"

But Brandon didn't care about his injuries. There was only one thing on his mind. "Nina… I need to see Nina…"

Rosalie staggered back a few steps at his desperate calls, her eyes glistening with tears.

He had already thrown away his life once, leaving her behind in the flames to save Nina. And now, here he was, risking himself all over again just to ensure Nina's safety. Didn't he realize that the pain he was causing Rosalie now hurt more than dying ever would?

At that moment, Nina finally hurried over, grabbing Brandon's hand from beside the gurney. "Don't worry about me, Brandon! I'm fine! You need help now. I'll be right here when you're done!"

With just those words from Nina, Brandon finally relented and let them wheel him into the emergency room.

The doctor approached, holding the surgical consent form. "Who here is family to the patient?"

Rosalie instinctively rose to her feet, but Nina snatched the paper from the doctor. "I'm his legal mother. That means I'm the one who signs."

With that, she shot Rosalie a smug look.

And she was right. Rosalie and Brandon had married in secret. She didn't even have the right to call herself his family.

Meanwhile, Nina could stand proudly by Brandon's side without question. As his stepmother, she wielded that title like a weapon, stealing every role that should have been Rosalie's.

No one knew Rosalie was Brandon's wife. Sometimes, not even Brandon remembered.

She sat slumped on the bench with her eyes fixed on the floor, her heart heavy with pain.

Just then, Nina walked up. "You've seen it for yourself. No one can ever take my place in Brandon's heart. He'd die for me without a second thought. Marrying you was just a way to hide our relationship. I'm only showing you this because I want what's best for you so that you can finally move on. Don't waste another second waiting around for him."

Rosalie shut her eyes. Holding back tears, she asked bitterly, "Do you really enjoy watching him live and die for you?"

"I just need him to keep proving he loves me—the same way I love him with everything in me."

"If you love him that much, why did you leave him and marry his father in the first place?"