My wife, Rosalie Lockwood, locks me up in a villa located in the suburbs for three days because I've forgotten to feed her first love's dog once.

Unfortunately, the villa somehow gets set on fire. I call Rosalie for help and beg her to tell me where she's hidden the key.

But she merely replies lightly, "Today is Caleb's birthday. Don't think about ruining this big day for us! Once Caleb's mood lightens up after we're done celebrating his birthday, I'll let you out."

I try to save myself, but the water supply in the villa is already cut off. Soon, the signal goes out, too. I can only watch as I get surrounded by the ruthless inferno.

Eventually, everything in the villa is reduced to ashes. Even when I'm burned to nothing but bones, help still never comes for me…

My body lay in the corner, burned beyond recognition by the raging fire, my stomach gnawing with hunger.

On the third day after I was locked inside the house, Rosalie Lockwood cut off all my food.

It all started because I forgot to feed Caleb Stratford's dog, and he ate something he shouldn't have, getting poisoned. Rosalie believed I killed Caleb's dog on purpose out of jealousy.

There were tears in Caleb's eyes as he lashed out at me. "Why would you hurt Bentley? If you don't like me, I'll just leave."

Before I could explain, Rosalie frowned, staring at me with her lips pressed tight. "Damian Whitmore, you're truly vicious."

She barked, "Apologize!"

I shook my head. "Rosalie, I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I apologize?"

While taking care of Bentley for Caleb, he bit me three times, and I had to get three rabies shots.

Last night, after getting the shots and taking medicine, I grew drowsy and forgot to feed Bentley. I never thought he would eat something strange and end up poisoned.

Rosalie said, "You even pick on Caleb's dog—you're truly pathetic! Caleb's birthday is in a few days. Since you get jealous so easily, stay here. The last thing anyone needs is for you to show up and ruin his party."

A sharp thud rang out as Caleb raised his hand and punched my face.

I was about to retaliate when Rosalie suddenly grabbed my wrist. "Since you refuse to repent, stay here until you're ready to admit your mistake."

She locked me inside a villa in the suburbs.

The fire broke out without warning. All the windows were sealed shut, and since I hadn't eaten for three days, I had no strength to run far.

I grabbed my phone and called Rosalie. "Rosalie, where's the key?"

Rosalie was in the middle of hosting Caleb's birthday party. She replied indifferently, "It's only been a few days, and you already can't handle it. Did you stop to think about how much Bentley suffered while you were hurting him?

"It's Caleb's birthday today. Don't even think about ruining it. Once it's over and he's had a good time, I'll let you out."

"Rosalie, the house is on fire! Please tell me where the key is!" I screamed hysterically.

She sneered. "What trick are you trying to pull now? Wasn't killing Caleb's dog enough? Do you want to ruin his birthday too?"

A man's voice cut through the noise. "Rosalie, come cut the cake."

Voices wishing Caleb a happy birthday echoed through the phone as I remained trapped in the fire, waiting to die.

"Rosalie, let Damian join us," Caleb said.

"No," Rosalie replied. "He'll definitely cause trouble if he comes. He's the jealous type. If he shows up, he'll start acting jealous again for no reason. Let him stay locked up and starve for a few days. Only then will he learn his lesson."

I choked on the smoke and let out broken whimpers for help. After Rosalie hung up, I tried calling the fire department, only to find both the phone signal and the water cut off.

Leaning against the corner, I clawed at the window repeatedly, trying to open the sealed frame. Even after my hands were raw and bleeding, the window wouldn't budge. I could only lie there in agony as the flames consumed me.

For some reason, my soul drifted toward Rosalie after I died.

She had just wrapped up a meeting in her office.

I used to follow her around and loved making homemade lunches to bring to her office. It had been a week since I last stepped through that door.

Something seemed to cross Rosalie's mind. She frowned, then asked her assistant, Mira Langston, "Where's Damian? Has he made up his mind yet? When is he planning to apologize to Caleb?"

Mira's expression shifted, and after thinking for a while, she replied, "Ms. Lockwood, Mr. Whitmore should still be at the villa."

Rosalie paused for a moment. "Don't let him out until he's ready to apologize to Caleb and Bentley. Someone so vicious deserves a lesson. Otherwise, his jealousy will know no bounds, and he won't even spare a dog."

Mira was about to leave to call me when Rosalie suddenly stopped her. "Wait. Let him stay there for a few more days and release him after that."

Mira hesitated for a long moment before finally nodding. "Alright."

When Bentley pounced on me last time, I fell and hit the back of my head on a rock.

Rosalie looked at me, unmoved, and kicked my hand with her foot. "Damian, your acting is pretty good, but I'm not falling for it. Stop pretending and get up!"

It wasn't until blood started running from my head that her expression changed, and she told Mira to take me to the hospital.

Seeing my pale face, Rosalie dismissed it with hollow words of comfort. "It was just a bump on the head, and you're not really hurt, but Caleb only has this one dog."

Right in front of me, Caleb held Bentley up toward Rosalie and said, "Look, this is Mom."

They called themselves Mom and Dad to the dog, yet Rosalie aborted our child without a second thought. Her excuse was always that she was too busy with work.

When Bentley got sick, Rosalie rushed him to the vet with Caleb, incredibly worried. But when I was ill, she would only scoff and ask, "Is it really that fun to pretend you're sick again?"

Even a dog's life mattered more to her than mine.

When Bentley was poisoned, Rosalie went to the vet with Caleb every day. She looked genuinely worried for the dog, yet she never once looked at me that way during my hospital stays.

When Bentley recovered and was discharged, Rosalie even had Mira order a cake.

Today was also my birthday, but no one knew that my body was still lying in that villa.

Mira carefully asked, "Is the cake for Mr. Whitmore?"

Rosalie froze while holding her phone. "Does he deserve one? Stop helping him test me. Order a pet cake and have it delivered right away. Remember not to put any chocolate in it. Dogs can't eat chocolate."

She even remembered that dogs couldn't have chocolate, yet she forgot that it was my birthday.

My soul drifted in the air as I watched Rosalie celebrate with Caleb and Bentley. The whole scene felt absurd and ridiculous.

Caleb wrapped an arm around Rosalie's shoulders. "Rosalie, thank you. You're really good to me."

Rosalie smiled and leaned against his shoulder. "Don't be silly. I won't let anyone treat you badly. I'll make sure Damian apologizes to both you and Bentley. If he hadn't been so cruel and refused to feed Bentley, Bentley wouldn't have suffered so much."

As soon as she finished speaking, a hint of malice flickered in her eyes.

Rosalie opened her phone and pulled up our WhatsApp chat. It had been a long time since I last messaged her.

Mira came through the door, her expression uneasy. "Ms. Lockwood, there seems to be a fire at the suburban villa. Would you like to go check on it?"

Rosalie owned a lot of properties. She thought for a moment before replying, "If there's a fire, then put it out."

Mira sighed. "But it seems Mr. Whitmore is still inside the villa."

As soon as Mira finished speaking, Rosalie laughed. She stared at Mira with a cold gaze. "Ms. Langston, did Damian tell you that?" she asked.

"He's only making up stories like this to escape," she continued. "He just wants to avoid his punishment. Tell him that he's not going anywhere until he apologizes to Caleb."

Mira forced herself to nod. "Alright."

After Mira left, the office door was suddenly kicked open. Celine Fairmont stood in front of Rosalie, her voice shaking. "Rosalie, where's Damian?"

Rosalie slowly looked up. "He's at the villa."

Celine was Rosalie's best friend and our mutual friend from college.

"Then, why isn't Damian answering my calls?" Celine asked.

Rosalie gave an indifferent smile. "How would I know?"

Compared to Rosalie's calm demeanor, Celine appeared anxious. She grabbed Rosalie by the collar and said, "Rosalie, you're his wife. If you don't know, then who does?"

Rosalie unhurriedly signed an agreement and swatted Celine's hand away from her collar. "He's at the villa in the suburbs. You can go find him yourself, but I won't let him out until he apologizes to Caleb."

At the mention of the villa, Celine's face darkened. "The suburbs? That place is so remote that even food delivery can't reach it. What has he been eating this whole time?"

Rosalie paused for a moment. "He's a grown man. He'll figure it out. It's not like he'll starve to death. Besides, it's his punishment. I already said I'd let him out if he's willing to apologize to Caleb. If he won't apologize, then he can stay there."

Before leaving, Celine shot her a glare.

She drove to the villa to look for me. When she opened the door, she couldn't help but frown and raise a hand to cover her nose. The entire place smelled like something had burned.

Her expression shifted, and she rushed straight to my room. The door was scorched black, and the lock gave way with just a light push.

Celine froze the moment she saw my charred body curled up in the corner. She dropped to her knees beside me, staring in disbelief.

I watched as a single tear fell from her eye onto my body, which was so dry that it absorbed the tear almost instantly.