: I Have to Save Her First

A fire broke out in the mall, and I was trapped inside.

My husband, Hugh Pierce, a firefighter, was the first to find me.

But after hearing the cries for help from his childhood sweetheart, Gia Lowell, he left without a moment's hesitation.

"Maeve, you're my wife. You of all people should understand."

"Gia's had weak lungs since she was a child. I have to save her first."

So, I was the one who could be devoured by the merciless flames.

Not even a complete skeleton could be recovered. My ashes were scattered forever beneath the ruins.

Afterward, Hugh Pierce was still at the hospital with Gia Lowell, complaining about how unreasonable I was.

Not until he returned home and found the ultrasound report on the table.

The child he had longed for, now one that would never be born into this world...

...

The thick smoke made me cough until my lungs burned, and the scorching heat felt like it was melting me.

Through the haze, I saw someone running frantically toward me.

"Maeve, are you okay?"

"Stay with me!"

It was my husband, Hugh Pierce, the firefighter.

Seeing him, my heart instantly settled.

'I'm saved!'

But Hugh Pierce didn't immediately lead me out. Instead, he started looking around.

He asked me, "Have you seen Gia?"

"She just sent me a WhatsApp message, saying she's trapped in here too!"

Before I could speak, Gia Lowell's weak cry came from downstairs. "Hugh Pierce, is that you?"

Hugh Pierce didn't hesitate. He pulled his hand from mine and turned to leave.

My heart sank. I quickly called out, "Hugh Pierce, I…"

Hugh Pierce turned back to comfort me.

"Maeve, you're my wife. You of all people should understand."

"Gia's had weak lungs since she was a child. I have to save her first."

"My colleagues are right behind me. They'll come get you."

He rushed in Gia Lowell's direction, not noticing that I had collapsed to my knees behind him.

In the chaos just now, I had accidentally fallen and inhaled a lot of thick smoke.

A searing pain burned in my nasal passages, my throat, and even my lungs.

My vision started to blur, and my limbs went weak.

Hugh Pierce, my husband.

When he was pursuing me, he had solemnly promised, "Maeve, I will protect you for the rest of my life."

We were together for four years and married for two.

Six years of love, only to be abandoned at the brink of death so he could save his childhood sweetheart.

'Hugh Pierce, what did I do wrong?'

...

As my consciousness faded, a familiar voice reached my ears.

"Zone T, second floor, east wing, all clear…"

"Maeve, what are you doing here? Why didn't anyone report a survivor in this location?"

"Hurry, come with me! This place is about to collapse!"

I recognized the fully geared firefighter as Hugh Pierce's colleague, Greg Lucas, and was about to give him my hand.

I looked up, and my pupils contracted suddenly.

The ceiling was falling.

Instinct took over. With the last of my strength, I pushed Greg Lucas away.

A sharp pain shot through my head.

And I was buried forever beneath the rubble.

THUMP—

The muffled crash of the falling ceiling seemed to still echo in my ears.

My soul began to rise.

I watched as Greg Lucas fell to the ground, staring, completely stunned, at the spot where I lay buried under the rubble.

He muttered to himself, "So close! I was so close!"

RUMBLE!

There was no time for him to grieve.

The scene began to collapse around him.

Greg Lucas scrambled to his feet and rushed out.

I could clearly see him trying to wipe away tears under his protective mask, and for a moment, I felt a pang of guilt.

'I'm sorry, Greg Lucas.'

'I hope this doesn't scar you for life.'

I floated upward, drifting outside the blaze, just in time to see Hugh Pierce running out with Gia Lowell on his back.

"Get the medics!"

Paramedics rushed forward and placed Gia Lowell on a stretcher.

Her left leg was covered in horrifying wounds.

Hugh Pierce immediately requested a shift change from his Captain to stay by her side. He took off his protective mask, revealing his handsome face.

I floated in mid-air, following behind him.

In the crowd of onlookers, two young girls were staring at Hugh Pierce, whispering to each other and sighing things like, "He's so handsome," and "Think we can get his number?"

A bitter smile touched my lips.

When Hugh Pierce first pursued me, I was also first drawn to his face.

But the reason we truly got together was because of how good he was to me.

We got married right after we graduated from college.

Who would have thought that not long after we were married, his childhood sweetheart would return from abroad and start clinging to him relentlessly.

Hugh Pierce told me he only saw Gia Lowell as a sister, that from beginning to end, I was the only one he truly loved.

But today, reality slapped me hard in the face.

I spoke coldly into Hugh Pierce's ear, "Hugh Pierce, so this is what you meant by 'just a sister'?"

Hugh Pierce couldn't hear my sarcastic remark; he was completely focused on supporting Gia Lowell.

The Nurse started treating Gia Lowell's wounds.

Her broken skin was caked with dust and debris, a shocking sight.

To clean it, the debris had to be picked out, pulling at the raw flesh.

Every time this happened, Gia Lowell would hiss in pain, purse her lips pitifully, and look at Hugh Pierce with tear-filled eyes.

Hugh Pierce, so anxious he was scratching his head, snapped, "Nurse, can't you be a little gentler?"

"Look how much pain she's in..."

The Nurse shot him a glare. "Are you the Doctor, or am I?"

"If the patient's wounds aren't treated immediately, they can easily get infected."

Hugh Pierce was rebuked into silence.

He had no choice but to bend down, let Gia Lowell grab his hand, and comfort her softly, "Don't cry, Gia. It'll be cleaned up soon."

'Anyone who didn't know better would've thought Gia Lowell was some fragile doll.'

Just then, someone at the scene shouted:

"Look, the building's collapsing!"

Everyone looked up.

The massive building was reduced to rubble in an instant. The intense flames forced the crowd to retreat again and again.

I sighed.

'Great. Now there's really no body left to find.'

Just as I was musing over this, Hugh Pierce's face went deathly pale as he suddenly grabbed his colleague, Leo Lee, who was standing beside him.

He had just come off his shift from the fire, not even having a chance to catch his breath, when he heard Hugh Pierce ask anxiously, "Where is she?"

Leo Lee scratched his head.

"Hugh, are you talking about Saozi?"

"According to the reports from all the squads, there are no civilian casualties so far. Saozi might have been taken to another hospital."

I was a little surprised.

I didn't know about anyone else, but I had definitely died in that fire.

If no deaths were being reported, it could only mean that something had happened to Greg Lucas, the only one who found me.

I wanted desperately to ask about Greg Lucas's condition, but I had forgotten that I was a ghost now. The moment I tried to touch Leo Lee, I passed right through him.

So I placed my hopes in Hugh Pierce.

After all, he was always telling me that every colleague in the Fire Department was a brother he'd die for, that they all cared for each other.

'With a fire this huge, he's bound to ask about him.'

But to my surprise, Hugh Pierce didn't even let him finish, because Gia Lowell was being loaded into the ambulance.

Hugh Pierce immediately jogged over and stopped the ambulance doors from closing. "I'm the patient's family. Let me go with you."

Leo Lee looked completely baffled. "Hugh, aren't you going to go be with Saozi?"

Hugh Pierce paused for a moment as he was getting into the ambulance.

Just when I thought he would ask Leo Lee about me, I heard him scoff:

"She's probably still throwing a jealous fit over Gia."

"If I go find her now, I'll just be asking for an earful."

"Don't worry about her."

Leo Lee opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.

But Hugh Pierce had already slammed the door shut with a THUMP.

I was forced to follow Hugh Pierce everywhere.

Maybe it was some lingering obsession, but I couldn't move more than 30 feet away from him.

So I had no choice but to watch as he brushed the stray hairs from Gia Lowell's forehead.

The look of pained tenderness on his face made me remember what it was like before we got married.

Back then, I had no idea his childhood sweetheart, Gia Lowell, even existed.

All of Hugh Pierce's tenderness and affection had been reserved for me.

When I got my period, I would be in absolute agony.

Hugh Pierce would get so worried he couldn't sleep all night. He'd stay by my side, gently rubbing my stomach with his big hands and coaxing me to sleep.

One scorching summer day, I was craving a green bean popsicle.

Hugh Pierce had just gotten off work and hadn't even slept. He ignored my protests and bought a whole case, telling me, "When you're with me, you'll never have to wait for anything you want to do or eat."

Once, on Memorial Day, I leaned against my mom's gravestone and whispered to her, telling her all about Hugh Pierce.

"Mom, you and Dad can rest easy. Your daughter found a good man."

"His name is Hugh Pierce, and he's proven with his actions that he's truly good to me."

"I think I'm going to marry him someday."

Thinking about it now, I just want to slap myself.

Who's ever a perfect boyfriend right from the start?

I was just the one who planted the tree, and now she's the one resting in its shade.

Now that Gia Lowell was back from abroad, Hugh Pierce's heart was starting to waver.

And I, his actual wife, had become an obstacle in their path.

Now that I'm dead, I've cleared the way for Gia Lowell.

Talk about rotten luck.

Gia Lowell was taken to Civitas Hospital.

The doctors immediately got to work, cleaning and stitching the wound on her left hand.

Hugh Pierce stayed with her the entire time.

He got her water, paid the bills, and picked up her prescription.

During the consultation, he even insisted the doctors run a full check-up on Gia Lowell, using the excuse that she'd had pneumonia once before.

Meanwhile, all Gia Lowell had to do was sit in her wheelchair and enjoy being waited on by Hugh Pierce.

A few family members of other patients gathered around, gossiping.

"That young man is so handsome. I should introduce him to my daughter."

"Don't even think about it, Mrs. Warren. Can't you see he's already taken?"

"What a sweet young couple!"

...

My lips twisted into a sneer.

'Hugh Pierce, you always said you just thought of Gia Lowell as a sister.'

'People aren't blind. The fact that they mistake you for a couple means you've already crossed the line. How long are you going to keep lying to yourself?'

...

By the time the whole ordeal was over, it was the middle of the night.

Gia Lowell's eyes filled with concern as she reached out to caress his face.

"Hugh, you were busy fighting that fire yesterday, and you've spent all night taking care of me. You must be exhausted."

"I'm so worried about you."

I was so disgusted I could have gagged.

So I floated in front of Hugh Pierce and mimicked Gia Lowell's cloying tone. 'Oh, Hugh, I'm just *so* worried about you.'

But Hugh Pierce pulled away.

He ignored Gia's crestfallen expression, tucked the blankets around her, and made a convenient excuse. "Gia, I'm like a brother to you. Of course I'm going to take care of you."

Hugh didn't leave the room until he saw Gia Lowell's eyes drift shut.

Out in the hallway, he pulled out his phone.

Aside from messages from the Fire Department and his colleagues, our chat log was completely silent.

The last message was the one I'd sent from inside the fire, begging him for help.

He looked agitated.

'I was confused.'

'Shouldn't Hugh Pierce be relieved that he wasn't hearing from me?'

'After all, ever since Gia Lowell came back, Hugh Pierce had been leaving my messages on read and complaining that I was distracting him from his work.'

'So who was this little act for?'

Hugh Pierce opened our chat. He hesitated for a long time, his thumb hovering as if he were about to start a video call.

Suddenly, a scream erupted from Gia Lowell's room.

"Fire! It's everywhere!"

"Hugh, where are you?"

"Don't leave me! I'm so scared!"

Hugh immediately shoved his phone away and rushed into the room.

"Gia, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

Gia Lowell buried her face in Hugh Pierce's chest.

This time, Hugh Pierce froze for a second, but he didn't push her away.

Like a wounded fawn, Gia Lowell nestled into Hugh's arms and murmured, "Hugh, actually... there's something I haven't told you."

"My injury... it was caused by Maeve."