Chapter 4 He Burned My Future for Her

Blood immediately began flowing backward through the IV tube, and my face turned deathly pale within seconds.

Only then did Nolan panic.

He shouted for the doctors. When they rushed back in to save me, he stood frozen at the side of the bed. He didn't relax until they confirmed I was no longer in danger.

My left leg was fractured, and I had lost so much blood that I nearly died. Yet, Nolan was insistent that I apologize to the person responsible for my injury.

"Apologize to Kayden," he said, his tone severe. "Do that, and we can move past this."

Then, he added, almost like he was making me a promise, "We're going to be a family. I don't want you two to start off on the wrong foot."

Kayden stood behind him, his lips curled into a mocking smile. He looked just like Irene, my childhood tormentor.

I stared at them coldly. "Never."

My voice was hoarse, but firm. "I will never raise Irene's child."

Irene and Mallory.

Even our names told the story of our family.

Her name meant peace, while mine meant misfortune. I existed solely to absorb every bit of suffering meant for her from the day I was born.

I spent every dollar I earned from scholarships and part-time jobs throughout college just to change my name through legal means.

Nolan didn't become angry; instead, he simply reached over and gently stroked my hair. He murmured, "Babe, you can't bear to leave me."

Once upon a time, he would have been right.

Nolan was the only person who ever showed me favoritism.

He used to wake up early to prepare heart-shaped lunches for me.

He always came to pick me up no matter how late I worked.

Once, he even physically confronted a male coworker who harassed me so severely that he ended up at the police station.

Back then, I genuinely thought someone had finally chosen me. Now, I knew all that love was just because I resemble Irene.

So, I said it again, "Nolan, I want a divorce."

He laughed softly. "Your entire life revolves around me. Where will you go after you divorce me?"

After my IV treatment ended, he personally pushed my wheelchair back home.

The journal was gone.

He had burned it himself.

Then, he held me gently and vowed, "I won't contact Irene anymore. The journal is gone, too. You can stop worrying now, okay?"

Irene contacted me herself later that night.

She sent me a text asking to meet.

"You want a divorce, don't you?" she wrote. "I can help you. I'll give you the evidence."

When I didn't reply, another message appeared.

"And that legal document cutting ties with the family? I'll sign it too."

I took a deep breath and called a taxi back to my parents' house.

Irene was already inside. There were two cups of coffee on the table.

"Have some coffee first," she said casually.

She kept her silence when I didn't move.

So, I took a small sip just to get her talking.

Her lips curled into a smile when I did.

It was the kind of smile someone wore after successfully tricking an idiot.

"I recently messed around with a man who's insanely possessive," she drawled. "Powerful, too. He wants me dead now, but I don't want to die alone."

Before I could react, she suddenly lunged at me and flicked open a lighter. The tiny flame trembled between her fingers.

"I turned on the gas before you got here," she whispered, almost giddy. "So, Mallory... how about you stay my punching bag in the next life, too?"

Her smile widened, and I felt my head droop.

The room started to blur.

Suddenly, flames erupted before my eyes.

I smashed the coffee cup against the floor and grabbed a broken shard, dragging it across my thigh hard enough for the pain to cut through the fog.

I was bleeding badly, but I still managed to shove Irene away and limp toward the door.

Nolan was already there when I staggered outside.

His eyes turned bloodshot the second he saw me.

Instead of helping me, he shoved me to the ground.

"How could you be this heartless?" he shouted. "Why didn't you bring your sister out?"

He dashed into the burning house.

I blacked out due to severe smoke inhalation.

I woke up to blinding agony.

Someone was cutting skin from my thigh and face.

Nolan's gentle voice cut through the pain as he spoke. "People online are saying Irene slept around with different men. They're saying she started the fire after her promiscuity was exposed."

He sighed. "Mallory, you still have me. I don't care what you look like. I'll take care of you forever. So, you should let Irene live her life. All you have to do is stay with me, okay?"

I tried to speak, but panic flooded my body when nothing came out.

My vocal cords were gone.

Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face.

Nolan had destroyed every possible future I had left for Irene's sake.

Nolan, who was outside the operating room, clasped his hands together and prayed for the surgery to succeed.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

His eyes widened in fear the instant he saw the message on the screen. He rushed over and began pounding on the doors of the operating room.

"Stop!" His voice cracked in his desperation. "Stop the surgery right now!"