01

"Mrs. Shaw, the office is on fire!" Panic cracked in the secretary's voice on the phone. "Mr. Shaw is in his office. I've called several times, but he's not picking up his phone, and he's not answering the door either."

“What?”

Hadley yelled and shook in fear. Her phone fell on the floor. The glass of wine she had been drinking also fell and broke on the floor.

She and her husband, Andrew Shaw’s two years wedding anniversary is today. Earlier, she helped Andrew secure a contract deal as his company director with Sky Group, one of the biggest companies in the city. And while she waited impatiently for him to return home to tell him the good news about the contract, she has been baking a celebration cake since it is also their two years anniversary today.

"No... no, Andrew will be fine..." Hadley assured herself. She hurried upstairs in a hurry even though she is overweight, her mind racing.

With trembling hands, she pulled open the drawer and took out the key card that Andrew had given her only a week prior. He had told her while grinning comfortingly, "Sweetie, the new system at the office needs face recognition, but if you ever need to get in, just use this card.”

Hadley never thought she would need to utilize it in this manner. She was unable to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes.

After telling the chef to check on the cake baking, Hadley rushed outside and drove to Andrew’s office. Her nerves were being scratched by the sirens of fire engines and ambulances outside, which cut through the air like a dull knife.

She couldn't wait another second as she considered Andrew imprisoned inside his office. She snuck beneath the police cordon and hurried into his office while no one was looking. The scent of burning things and thick black smoke tore at her throat.

With every step seeming like it required all of her might, Hadley forced herself up the stairs. She was breathing heavily by the time she got to the 29th floor. She reached for the key card with shaky hands, not stopping to regain her breath. Then she heard a moan from behind the door, faint but distinct. She was frozen.

With her heart racing in her chest, her hand lingered in midair.

Do she hear things? At last, she put the key card to the lock. The quiet was broken by a mechanical beep. She was the first to hear the moan again as the door hissed open.

"Mmm... Drew, ahh. Yes fuck!" 

Hadley’s throat constricted. She stood frozen in the doorway, unable to take her eyes off Andrew whose body was tangled with another lady. His back slippery with perspiration and his movements wild and desperate.

The same man who hadn’t had sex with her for a while— no refuse to have sex with her. He now moved like a predator freed from its prison, thrusting her with each ragged breath.

The falling sound of the access card made Andrew pause, then he turned his head and looked at Hadley.

More agonizing than the actual betrayal, the hunger that was still burning in his eyes consumed Hadley throughout this moment.

Hadley’s heart halt at that instant. Rushing into a burning building made her feel like such a fool, like a pitiful joke.

"What are you doing here?" Andrew asked coldly.

She was brought back to reality by his icy, irritated voice.

Why had she come here? She had come out of fear for him, fearing that he may die in this fire. However, the expression in his eyes? That look of contempt and loathing told her everything. She wasn't supposed to be here. She was the unwanted visitor who had broken into a place she wasn't supposed to be in and see what he didn’t want her to see.

With a broken heart, Hadley laughed bitterly. The woman on the couch slowly rose up before she could even say anything.

 Laura?

It was her sister?

Hadley froze.

"I apologize, Had,” Laura smiled teasingly and said, "I can’t get up properly because I'm a little sore down there. Drew told me that he is no longer able to get it up for you. Claimed that it's like sleeping with a corpse when he sees you attempting those rigid positions from those films to look sexy for him. I mean, with the way you look so overweight, I don’t blame him.”

Each word clung to Hadley like thorns, small but painful. She smiled through it, pretending it didn’t hurt, but inside, her confidence chipped away piece by piece.

With a smirk on her lips, Laura shrugged casually. "So I had to... step in. He says he likes me as I’m skinny. Maybe try losing weight first. I’d rather die before looking like you.” 

Laura laughed.

 Hadley didn’t even need to hear her anymore—she turned to Andrew and saw it in his face. The disgust. The mockery.

"Andrew, why? Why did-" she was unable to finish her statement.

She gasped for air.

She was filled with rage. So Andrew had only cheated on her because she was overweight? But he said he liked the way she was. So this was all a lie not to make her suspect he was having an affair with… her sister? 

For how long had this been going on, Hadley wondered. Was this why when even her colleagues gossip about her at the office, Andrew pretended not to hear them because he is already with Laura?

Wow! What a big fool she been. 

“God, you're huge,” Andrew said, not bothered to hide his displeasure. "Do you ever stop eating, Hadley? You look horrible."

After two years of marriage, Hadley never once suspected that Andrew was having an affair and even with her sister. She would still be unaware of this if she hadn't hurried here to save him.

Hold on, rigid poses? How on earth was Laura aware of that?

So Andrew had shown Laura the intimate pictures she had taken for him at home two days ago?

 

Hadley felt ill to her stomach at the prospect. Her trust and vulnerability, all those private moments she'd shared with Andrew, became something he could make fun of with Laura.

They had been mocking her behind her back the entire time, calling her stupid and pitiful, but pretending to love and care for her in front of her?

"Well, I won't interrupt you two then.” Hadley laughed bitterly. She turned and slammed the door behind her.

Let this scumbag and bitch burn in the fire. She wiped away the tears on her face and put on the smoke mask. She also brought another one for Andrew, but she won’t be giving him anymore. She made her way to the emergency exit without hesitation.

The office door sprung open behind her just as she took a few steps. Andrew hurried out, holding Laura’s hand. Both of them looking unkempt and half-dressed.

"What the..there’s fire here? You couldn’t say anything about the fire, Hadley. Are you trying to kill us? I'll take care of you later.” Andrew yelled icily.

"Let’s go.” Andrew and Laura hurried past Hadley, pushing her hard into the wall.

Hadley’s back crashed into the wall. She lost control and the mask she was holding fell as a searing pain surged through her shoulder.

"Drew, look. She’s wearing a mask. She has another one too.” Laura yelled in a high-pitched, excited voice.

Panic took hold of Hadley, causing her heart to beat faster. She raised her head in time to look Andrew in the eyes, then picked the other mask from the floor.

Something icy and brutal briefly flashed in his eyes. Then he started walking quickly towards her. He moved like a predator getting closer to its victim, poised to attack and tear her to pieces. A sly grin appeared on his face.

“You came here to save me, didn't you? So give that mask to me.” Andrew yelled icily.

"No..." Hadley said in a trembling voice.

Andrew removed both the mask on her face and the one in her hand by dragging it. "We appreciate your help, Had.”

Andrew pushed the emergency exit door and fled with Laura, leaving Hadley there.

 

Hadley caught a glimpse of Laura turn and smiled triumphantly and mockingly at her.

One was the girl she considered sister after being adopted by her family, and the other was the man she had given everything to and loved for four years.

She was unable to understand why they were treating her this way when she hasn’t done anything to them. 

Was it because of her weight? 

The heat dried Hadley’s tears before they could fall as the fire rushed out into the stairs. Her lungs were filled with thick smoke, stifling and choking her until she could no longer breathe.

The world faded into a haze as her vision became blurry. Darkness seeped in, engulfing everything in its path and pulling her farther into the emptiness. At last, all went dark. She lost consciousness.

……

Hadley is in shock that she is still alive when she woke up in an hospital bed. She lay there staring at the ceiling for what seemed like ages until everything came back into focus.

The ER smelled like blood mixed with disinfectant. The door opened and the doctor came in.

“You are very lucky to have survived. Although your right arm is severely burned, it will eventually heal with time.” The doctor said in a relieved tone as he examined her

“Thank you for saving my life, Doc.” Hadley’s eyes filled with tears.

The doctor nodded, but there was a look in his eyes that suggested he wanted to say more but wasn't sure how. He was her and Andrew's doctor for four years now.

"We called your husband several times, but he didn’t pick up. Doesn’t he know you’re here?” 

Hadley didn’t say anything. There was a shift in her expression. Her husband, the man she had risked her life to save, had taken the masks from her and escaped with his lover, leaving her to burn. She would have been dead by now if not for the doctor.

The doctor stopped pushing after noticing the shift in her expression. "Mrs. Shaw, you must still remain here for a few days to recover fully." He sighed after sayiing, turn and left.

 

Hadley closed her eyes, this was the last straw for her.

What's the point of staying in this mess of a marriage?

As soon as she gets out of here, she’s asking for a divorce. He loves her sister right? Then she’ll grant them their wish to be together.

“Two years of dating and two years of marriage means nothing to a man who has stopped loving you. His heart won’t bleed for you, won’t bend for you, won’t keep a place for you—no matter how deeply you once belonged.”