The abandoned bride

“The fire alarm blared, a shriek that ripped through my skull. Smoke, thick and acrid, choked the air. My husband, Mark, ignoring my desperate cries, bolted from the inferno, cradling his childhood sweetheart in his arms.

I was left for dead.

My brother, Dave, livid, called Mark, his voice a thunderclap of fury.

"”She’s your WIFE, Mark! You left her in there for THAT? You couldn’t even bother to check on her?””

Mark just scoffed, a cold, dismissive sound that cut through the phone line.

"”Let her die then.

"”When did you two start putting on such a show?””

Later, as he stared at my last text message, a message I’d sent just minutes before the fire, Mark crumbled. His world shattered beyond repair.”