Ashes of Beauty, Her Fiancé Lit the Fire

Chapter 5

The fire caught fast.

Thick smoke curled toward the ceiling as flames licked the curtains, climbing higher with each second.

Coco stood there, watching it burn with a smile like it was a fireworks show.

"Let's see how long that stubborn little body of yours can hold out."

I didn't scream. Didn't beg. Just stared at her through the smoke.

"You've gone off the deep end," I said, my voice calm. Too calm. "You really think Jack's going to love you after this?"

Her smile faltered, just for a second.

Then she shrugged, stepping back toward the door.

"He won't have a choice. Once you're gone, I'll be the only one left. The only one who's ever truly loved him."

"Right," I said. "You mean the only one who's ever stolen him."

She didn't answer. Just slammed the door shut behind her and locked it from the outside.

I coughed as the smoke thickened, wrapping around my throat like a noose. My vision blurred.

This is how I die? Burned alive by the woman my mother replaced me with?

I stumbled toward the window, but it wouldn't budge. The heat was already unbearable. My lungs felt like they were filling with ash.

I collapsed to the floor.

And then, blackness.

When I opened my eyes, everything was white.

Ceiling tiles. Bleach. The quiet beeping of a heart monitor.

I wasn't dead.

I was in a hospital.

A man in a white coat was standing beside me, flipping through a chart. He looked up when he saw me awake.

"You're lucky," he said. "Someone called the fire department just in time. If they'd been even a minute later..."

He didn't need to finish. I knew.

But the thing was, I didn't feel lucky.

I felt… hollow.

Like everything inside me had already burned away.

Three weeks later, I stood at the edge of the Thompson estate again, unseen, unnoticed.

A different Lily now.

Coco wore my ring, my dress, my last name.

But this time, I wasn't the weak, ruined girl in bed anymore.

I'd died once.

Now it was their turn.