Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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.
1
The sirens were deafening, and the smoke, everywhere, made my eyes sting. I was on the floor, my throat burned, and my vision blurred.
Then, a flicker of hope, Mark’s silhouette appeared in the office doorway.
“Honey!”
I reached out, my voice raw and cracking.
His office was practically next to the waiting room, he had to hear me.
His tall frame brushed right past me. He didn’t even glance my way.
Instead, he ran straight to the secretarial pool.
My eyes widened.
“Mark! Cough, cough! Mark…”
My throat was so hoarse, but I knew he could hear me. I was so close.
“Cough, cough! Mark! Behind you… Help me! Help…”
My voice was gone. I gasped for air, each breath a painful struggle.
My last memory was him cradling Jenny, his childhood sweetheart, in his arms as he carried her away.
Her small frame trembled against him.
“Mark, I’m so scared, my legs feel like jelly…”
He just reassured her, his voice gentle, as he hurried away, out of my sight.
“It’s okay, we’re going to the stairwell, don’t worry.”
My tears landed on the floor, as my thoughts faded.
2
I’ve asked myself a thousand times.
Why couldn’t Mark have turned back?
He’s usually so careful, the kind of guy who could spot loopholes in contracts. How could he miss my cries?
He knew I was coming to see him. Didn’t he?
I texted him earlier asking how much longer he’d be, that I was in the waiting room.
The waiting room was on the right side of his office door.
How could he not see me?
My fingers were mere inches away from his shoes.
The secretarial pool was only steps away from the fire exit.
I was the one on the verge of passing out…
Was his childhood sweetheart really that important?
3
Firefighters pulled me out, but it was too late.
I was hooked up to a ventilator, my body merely existing.
My soul watched over my body.
If it wasn’t for the breathing machine, I would have left already.
I could see my brother, Dave, in the hallway.
He was screaming into the phone at Mark.
“Nan is your wife! How could you go to the hospital with a secretary instead of your own wife?”
Jenny was fine, just shaken up.
But Mark, overcome with worry, refused the emergency care provided at the scene. He took her to the best hospital in the next city.
I was in the closest hospital to the fire, one power outage away from death.
I listened in on their conversation.
Mark’s voice was casual.
“Watch your mouth, Dave. Jenny’s been my best friend since forever.
“If we’re really talking about who doesn’t belong, it’s Nan.”
Dave was about to shatter his phone.
“What happened back then wasn’t her fault! She’s dying!”
Mark scoffed.
“Let her die then.
“When did you two start acting so dramatically?”
Then, a voice on the other end:
“Mark, I think I have a burn on my leg, it really hurts.”
“I’m on it.”
The phone hung up.
Dave was red in the face. He threw his phone against the wall, shattering it.
He put his forearm up to hide his face, and stared at me through the glass.
4
Mark hates me.
Before the SATs, Jenny wanted to relax. She asked me to hang out with her.
Unfortunately, we ran into the wrong crowd. She got hurt, which made her miss the SATs.
Mark blamed me for ruining her future.
After missing the SATs, she studied abroad, which meant Mark had to marry someone from our social circle.
He said I ruined his life and future with Jenny.
But Jenny’s grades were average. She would’ve studied abroad either way.
But I couldn’t prove it.
It was all hypothetical.
The broken engagement between the Qins and the Jennys made it more real.
I could never say I’d liked him since the beginning.
Even though our fifth anniversary was coming up.
5
The doctor said I didn’t have much time.
Dave was determined not to give up.
But my soul knows that the doctor is right.
I’m sorry, Dave, but it’s time for me to go.
Before I go, I need to divorce Mark.
I don’t want “Mark’s Wife” on my tombstone.
I need to erase every trace of Mark from my life, and pass as Nan.
Dave got a new phone, but he didn’t want to call Mark.
If Mark still cared, he would have tried to reach Dave.
But not one phone call came.
So I did it myself.
As a spirit, I can control some electronics.
I connected to my phone, and called Mark.
6
Mark answered the third time.
“Are you serious? Jenny got hurt, quit eating jealous and get over it!”
“Mark, I’m in the hospital, can you meet me?”
He laughed.
“What, are you dying to see me? You got hurt, too?”
“You know?”
“Oh? Aren’t you dying?”
Full of mockery.
I knew he didn’t believe me.
I thought back to the fire. My hand was a centimeter away from him, but he didn’t even give me a second look. Instead, he took Jenny, and left me to burn.
It’s like I never existed in his world.
“Mark, did you know I was coming to your office the day of the fire?”
“Are you going to blame me for taking care of Jenny?”
I was speechless.
“Nan, I wanted you to die!
“But someone like you won’t die. Instead, you will live a long life and make my life even more miserable!”
Filled with hate.
I laughed.
“What if I die?”
He was stunned. “What did you say?”
“…Let’s divorce.”
The other line was quiet.
“Nan, are you joking?”
He didn’t sound happy.
“I’m serious, let’s divorce.”
7
Because of the pain involved in the treatment, Dave had me transferred to a private room.
After our parents died, we were all we had.
He couldn’t leave his company, so he hired a couple of nurses to take care of me.
He touched my hair, “I’ll be back soon.”
I’m not scared, Dave.
I won’t be scared again.
People have moments of clarity before death.
If I can get back into my body, I can sign the divorce papers.
Mark had them since the wedding.
To my surprise, Mark came that night.
I was shocked to see him.
He must really want a divorce.
He looked at the ventilator, and a look of confusion washed over him.
“Nan, get up.”
“…”
“Stop pretending, you’ve done this before. You think this is funny?”
“…”
He looked at me, and laughed.
He touched my cheek.
“I knew it. You made this up.
“Nan, you disgust me.”
He touched the tube.
“You’re really going through with it.
“If you want to play this game, I’m done.”
He pulled the tube.
I was shocked.
If he removed the tube, I couldn’t sign the papers!
“Don’t!”
I opened my eyes.
8
Forcing my soul back into my body was painful.
My body was weak.
I had enough time to live until tomorrow.
I gasped, and fell off the bed.
Mark reached out, but I slapped his hand away.
He closed his hand.
“Done?”
I sat on the floor, leaning on the bed.
“Pen.”
“What?”
He kneeled down.
“Divorce papers, sign…”
“Nan!”
He held my chin, forcing me to look at him.
“Are you serious?”
I bit my lip.
“What? You wanted me to divorce you.
“I’ll sign! Give me the papers!”
He shook.
I was shocked.
“You…don’t have them?”
I said I was divorcing him.
9
I pushed him away, and grabbed my phone to call the housekeeper.
“Hey, John, can you bring Mark the divorce papers…”
“Bam!”
He took my phone and hung up.
“What are you doing!”
Mark held the back of my head, forcing me to look at him.
“Divorce? Now you want to divorce me?”
I tried to push him.
“I’m serious! I want a divorce!”
His eyes darkened.
“Nan, where were you before? You were married for five years, and you want to end it now?
“You stole her five years, now you want to leave?
“Is this a joke, Nan?”
Joke?
Who was joking?
I was always serious.
Wasn’t he the one who was joking?
I opened my mouth, but the world spun.
“Nan!”
He held me.
I grabbed his shirt.
“So, I’m giving her back to you.
“You can get married now, shouldn’t you be happy? Ugh!”
10
Mark bit my lips.
I pushed him away.
“You’re crazy!”
He reddened.
“Yeah, I’m crazy.
“You did whatever you want and now you think you can just leave?
“I won’t let you go.
“You can’t divorce me until you pay for what you did!”
Before I could say anything, a familiar figure showed up.
“Mark, what’s going on…”
Jenny covered her mouth.