I Died In The Fire While He Married My Best Friend Chapter 05

I Died In The Fire While He Married My Best Friend Chapter 05

“The victim was a graduating senior at the school, identified as Serena S.”

“According to police, the victim’s legs were crushed by falling debris during the fire, leaving her unable to escape.”

Zachary whipped his head around and stared hard at the TV screen.

On the screen was my student ID photo from when I was eighteen.

It had been taken shortly before high school graduation. My hair was in a ponytail, and I was smiling stiffly at the camera.

Zachary stared at that photo.

The defensiveness and hatred in his eyes collapsed in an instant.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

His eyes reddened visibly, and a tear fell onto the back of his hand.

I floated in front of the TV and watched him fall apart, the corner of my mouth tugging faintly.

Zachary.

You finally know I’m dead.

Zachary stayed frozen in that position for a long time.

The news on the TV had already moved on to the next story.

Then, as if he had gone mad, he staggered toward the TV and grabbed the edges of the screen with both hands.

“Play it again,” he forced out in a hoarse voice.

“Play it again!”

Only a glaring commercial remained on the screen.

Unwilling to give up, he took out his phone and searched the local news.

His fingers shook so badly he couldn’t type a complete word. It took him five tries to type Serena Sullivan correctly.

The search results appeared.

In bold black letters, the headline read, Unidentified Female Remains in Central High School Fire Identified.

There was an old photo from the scene investigation on the page.

In the charred ruins, beneath a twisted length of rebar, lay skeletal remains burned beyond recognition.

“Liar.”

Zachary stared hard at the photo.

“Serena, you’re lying to me again.”

He shot to his feet so abruptly that he knocked over the chair.

The solid wood chair hit the carpet with a dull thud.

He stumbled toward the door and slammed into the corner of the desk.

He didn’t seem to notice. Half stumbling, half crawling, he yanked open the study door.

Olivia was standing outside with a glass of warm milk.

“Zachary, what’s wrong? You look terrible.”

Zachary shoved her aside.

The glass of milk Olivia had been holding spilled all over the floor, and the glass shattered.

“Zachary!”

Zachary didn’t look back. He grabbed his car keys and rushed into the garage.

The engine roared, and the sports car shot into the night.

I sat in the passenger seat and watched him floor the gas pedal.

The speedometer climbed higher and higher.

He ran three red lights in a row.

The shriek of brakes echoed through the late-night streets.

Tears/

He gripped the steering wheel so tightly that the veins stood out on the backs of his hands. Tears fell onto his skin, but he didn’t wipe them away.

He only stared straight at the road ahead, repeating the same words over and over.

“Impossible.”

Seven whole years had passed.

I had lain in those ruins for seven years, without a gravestone and without a name.

Everyone had cursed me.

They called me vain. They called me a gold digger. They called me shameless.

Zachary cursed me too, and he cursed me the worst.

For seven years, he had turned me into an unforgivable monster.

He had used his hatred for me as fuel, climbing higher and higher.

Now that the truth was laid bare in front of him, he was the one who couldn’t bear it.