The medical laboratory explodes one day, and Celia Lumley and I are stuck in the fire together.

My boyfriend, Xaiden Seager, gives up on me and chooses to save her first. I don't stop or beg him—I allow him to leave me in the fire.

In my past life, I used my identity as the dean's daughter and the threat of Xaiden's future to force him to save me. Celia died in the fire.

Later, he took over my family's inheritance and locked me in the laboratory. I was almost due for labor, but he still set a fire and burned me and our child to death.

When I begged him to let me go, he laughed cruelly and said, "If not for you threatening me with your family, Celia would never have died such a horrible death! I'll make you suffer the pain she did in a hundredfold, Winifred Zalmer!"

When I open my eyes again, I discover that I'm back to the day Celia and I get caught in that fire.

A loud crash filled the air as a cabinet slammed onto my body. It hurt so badly that I awoke from my unconscious state.

I had no time to worry about the sharp pains all over my body. I tried hard to figure out what was happening in front of me. Yet, the dense smoke in the air choked me and left me unable to open my eyes. I could only cover my mouth while coughing aggressively.

That was when waves of pain stirred in my lower abdomen. I instinctively shielded my stomach with my arms. "My baby… Hang in there!"

Much to my dismay, my stomach was flat, even though I was due to deliver my baby soon. How did that happen?

Before I could comprehend things, I heard a panicked voice beside me.

The person shouted, "Celia? Celia! Are you alright?"

Why did that voice sound so familiar?

Then, Celia Lumley's frail voice rang out, "Save me, Raiden…"

Disbelief filled me as I looked up. I saw Raiden Seager half-kneeling beside Celia as he frantically moved a table off her body.

I could barely breathe while watching the two before me—hang on. Didn't Raiden lock me inside a medical laboratory earlier and start a fire to burn me alive moments ago? He killed me and my baby...

That thought caused me to curl up in misery, and my entire body trembled uncontrollably.

My colleague, Serena Wagner, was at the door to the medical laboratory. She screamed at the top of her lungs, saying, "Have you lost your mind, Raiden? You should rescue Winifred first! She's your girlfriend!"

The scene felt so real that I finally realized I wasn't dreaming. I had somehow been reborn! I had somehow gone back to the day I was trapped in a fire with Celia, whom most hospital staff declared was a hottie.

A creak sounded as Raiden finally moved the table off Celia. He didn't even spare me a glance. He merely picked Celia up in his arms and ran for the door.

I let out a self-deprecating laugh. Wasn't Raiden also like this in my previous life? He only had eyes for Celia, even though I was his girlfriend.

Indeed, Celia was beautiful. Not only was she regarded as a jaw-dropping goddess in the hospital, but she was also rumored to be the daughter of Lumley Medical's chairperson. It made sense that Raiden had long fallen in love with her, even if he wasn't single.

I wriggled, trying to stand, but the cabinet pinned me down. My calf was also bloody after being cut by glass. Those left me unable to move at all.

Raiden seemed to notice me only now. Even so, there wasn't a shred of concern in his eyes. There was only disgust as he frowned and said, "Celia's the daughter of Lumley Medical's chairperson! The entire hospital will go down if anything happens to her! I'm doing this for everyone's sake!

"Your wounds don't look too bad, Winifred. I'll come back for you after I get Celia out of here."

I snorted. I would have believed Raiden's excuse of doing this for "everyone's sake" if I hadn't been reborn. However, he claimed I wasn't badly injured even when I was covered in blood.

Serena didn't even think twice before charging into the fire. Luckily, another colleague behind her prevented her from going further. They yelled, "You need to calm down, Serena! There are many combustible items in the laboratory! It's too dangerous!"

That was right. From what I remember, this laboratory had roughly 15 minutes left before it would explode.

In my last life, I had urged everyone to vacate the scene after being rescued from the laboratory. That kept everyone alive. Raiden wanted to save Celia but ultimately didn't because the flames kept growing.

That was why I would never believe his promise to come back and save me in this life. I knew he wouldn't. However, I didn't want to implicate others who genuinely cared about me.

I willed every last bit of strength I had to shout from the ground where I lay. "Don't come in, Serena! This place is about to blow! You guys need to run!"

Raiden was still heading out with Celia in his arms, but he paused when he heard my words. He looked back in disbelief at me. All warmth left his eyes, as though he were looking at a stranger. "How am I now realizing you're so sly, Winifred?

"The firefighters will be here and can control the flames in half an hour! What will our colleagues think of me now that you're saying this place will blow up? Can't you be a little more considerate like Celia?"

His hypocritical words angered me so much that I scoffed. "Why didn't you say I was sly when you slept with me, then?"

Upon seeing the situation, Celia tugged at Raiden's collar and spoke feebly, "Raiden, it hurts…"

Raiden's eyes left me once he heard Celia's voice. He looked down at Celia while soothing her. "Hang in there, Celia. I won't let anything happen to you."

After saying that, he took her away without looking back at me.

I summoned all my might to push the heavy cabinet off me. Pain plunged into me like a blade several times. However, it wasn't a big deal compared to the agony I endured in my last life.

Serena slumped to the ground in shock upon seeing that. "Raiden, you jerk! The hospital director will never forgive you for this!"

She was the only person who knew my true identity in this hospital. Alas, her words only garnered a more heartless, taunting response from Raiden.

Raiden sneered, his tone full of disdain. "Won't forgive me?" He clicked his tongue. "Ridiculous! Celia's the only daughter of Lumley Medical's chairperson. The director will never forgive me if anything happens to her!"

I struggled to climb out of the gap between the cabinet and the floor. The wound on my leg had been ripped open in the process, my blood staining every inch of my body. Even so, I couldn't care less. I had to live!

There wasn't much time left, so I shouted at Serena at once, "Stop begging him to save me! Get out of here!"

I would never forget the moment Raiden poured gasoline on me in my previous life. His eyes gleamed with insanity. There wasn't a hint of love when he looked at me, only boundless hatred.

As he lit me on fire, he didn't care about my cries and screams, much less the baby I carried.

Only then did I realize he had blamed me for Celia's death all those years. He hated me deeply…

Before I could snap out of those painfully deep memories, Serena had already ignored the flames and ran toward me. "Hang in there, Winifred!"

The thick smoke left me coughing nonstop. My vision had also blurred, and I could only see Serena's small frame. "Have you freaking lost your mind? Get out of here!"

Serena ignored my curses. She gritted her teeth, exerted tremendous force to lift the upper half of my body, and dragged me out of the laboratory step by step.

The scorching air roasted our skin. Even a handful of Serena's hair had been seared, the end of those burnt strands glowing faintly. Despite that, Serena didn't seem to be in pain while dragging me ahead.

Conflicted emotions stirred in my chest as I peered at her side profile, which had been stained with ash.

I struggled to raise my hand and look at my watch. There wasn't much time left. We would die here if we didn't leave now.

With a deep inhale, I forced myself to stay conscious while shouting, "Serena, let's jump out at the count of three! You keep yourself safe and don't worry about me. You got it?"

Serena answered without looking back at me, "You can shout at me all you want, but I'm not letting you go!"

That warmed my heart, and I no longer wasted my breath. I fixed my eyes on the laboratory door. It was our only hope of survival.

"Three! Two! One! Jump!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. Then, I didn't hesitate while leading Serena to jump out the door.

A deafening explosion rang behind us almost as soon as I charged out the door.

The overwhelming impact sent me rolling on the ground. It felt like my eardrums had been shattered. All I could see was the color white and nothing else. I also couldn't hear anything save for the endless ringing after the explosion.

"Winifred! Winifred, are you okay? Can you hear me?"

I didn't know how long had passed since, but Serena's anxious voice eventually filled my ears. I tried hard to open my eyes and reply, "I'm fine… It's just my leg…"

Serena glanced in the direction of my lowered gaze. "It looks awful! Stop looking at it! I… Wait here for me!"

After saying that, she frantically ran off.

It wasn't long before Serena rushed back with a few of our colleagues and a stretcher. Our colleagues' expressions shifted once they saw the wound on my leg.

One of the younger male colleagues exclaimed, "My God! H-How many sutures will it take to close those wounds…"

My entire body ached, as though it were falling apart. Yet, I remained conscious the whole time.

I saw Raiden when I passed by one of the emergency department rooms. He affectionately placed one arm around Celia's shoulders and softly consoled her.

It was as though nothing had happened between him and me. It was like he had forgotten about me entirely.

One of the nurses, whom I had a good friendship with, checked on my wounds while shaking her head with pity at me. "What have you done to deserve this, Winifred? There are too many broken bones in your body. You may need an entire year before you can fully recover…"

The more she spoke, the more her voice softened like she was about to cry. "Thank God… Thank God you didn't hurt your right hand. You can still perform surgeries after you recover."

I weakly chuckled. Although I wanted to say something, I was in too much pain to muster a response.

The nurse suppressed her voice more, as if she feared someone would hear her. She whispered, "I heard that Celia only has some superficial wounds. Dr. Seager got all worked up over nothing! Tsk!"

Serena had been listening to our conversation. Upon hearing that, she couldn't help but blow up with rage. She pointed at Raiden's nose and barked, "You're a vile piece of shit, Raiden—"

Before the former could finish, Celia let out a few weak coughs. Then, she said with a honeyed voice, "I'm a little tired, Raiden."

Raiden immediately felt bad for Celia. He soothed her with a gentle voice, "Hang in there, Celia. Our colleagues will be here soon."

He then looked up, glanced at me, and snapped with irritation at Serena, "Isn't Winifred all good now? Why do mine and Winifred's affairs concern you? Can you not stick your nose where it doesn't belong?"

I stared at Raiden's repulsive face down before declaring, "You and I have nothing to do with each other from now on. Let's break up."

Serena nodded with passion. "Good! After all, what's the use in reasoning with a scumbag?"

Raiden was briefly stunned. It was like he never imagined I would say such a thing. A frown soon marred his face as he snapped, "What the hell are you up to now, Winifred? Are you messing with me?"

I snorted. "Messing with you? Are you even worthy of such efforts from me?"

I fought back my tears and looked at Celia, who rested behind Raiden. I solemnly stated, "You would rather save another woman than me. Is this how a boyfriend should behave?"

Celia summoned her tears, which streamed down her face right away. "How could you say that about Raiden, Winifred? He just knows that you're better at surviving than me. He's probably just more confident in you, so he chose to save someone else who needs him more…"

The emergency department's ward fell into chaos. Noises of Raiden blaming me and Celia sobbing filled the space. It attracted the attention of countless onlookers.

"What mega-hottie Celia says makes sense! She definitely needs someone to look after her because she's weaker!"

"Yeah! Dr. Seager only did it for everyone's sake. Why's Dr. Zalmer being so stubborn?"

"Exactly! Ms. Lumley here is the darling daughter of Lumley Medical's chairperson. Saving her is more important!"

That was when my dad, Arthur Zalmer, rushed back from abroad.

Raiden's expression instantly changed. He approached my dad and spoke with a friendly tone, "Mr. Zalmer! The medical laboratory has blown up. I, uh… I risked my life to rescue Celia from there. Celia says she can get Lumley Medical to double down their cooperation with our hospital!"

My dad's expression dimmed as he bellowed, "Where's Winifred?"

Raiden thought Arthur would blame Winifred. So, he immediately spoke up, "Celia and Winifred were the only two people in the laboratory earlier, Mr. Zalmer. Celia says she's sure Winifred was behind the explosion.

"Winifred has just been rescued. Her wounds aren't severe, but I suggest we exclude her from the lab experiments. Celia can handle it alone."

Dad's expression withered even more.

Meanwhile, I lay on the hospital bed and sneered in my heart. I thought, "Just you wait, Raiden. You'll have plenty of hardships to face in life now that you don't have me beside you anymore!"