Chapter 2
I had no idea what he was talking about.
But Benson had truly lost his mind.
“Now you can experience what it’s like to lose someone you care about!”
My heart–wrenching screams couldn’t awaken even a shred of compassion in him.
He dragged me like a dead animal and locked me in a dark room.
I begged him to let me go, asking what our five years together had meant.
Benson showed no emotion. He even poured gasoline around the room.
My final memory was of him looking down at me, not as his newlywed wife, but as a mortal enemy.
He took out a lighter and ignited the gasoline-
“The thought of spending five years with someone as vicious as you makes me sick!”
“You like faking fires to get me home? Well, now you can experience what it’s really like to burn to death!”
And burning to death was indeed excruciating!
I still can’t forget that bone–deep agony.
4
And now, I once again faced the threat of dying in a fire.
I thought not calling Benson would prevent the same tragic outcome as my previous life.
But I never imagined he would go this far–telling his colleague I was faking an emergency.
A sharp pain shot through my abdomen, as if my unborn child was also reminding me just how heartless this man truly was.
Benson and I had been together for five years.
We bought this apartment two years ago as our future marital home.
Though it was in an older neighborhood and not particularly spacious, I didn’t mind.
We were both ordinary working people with average incomes. Being able to buy a place in expensive
08:59
Regret Him? Nah, I Prefer Watching Him Burn
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Chapter 2
Atlanta was already quite an achievement.
Having lost my parents at a young age, my deepest desire was to create a happy family of my own.
In our most intimate moments, Benson promised countless times that he would make me happy, and I truly believed him.
Every piece of furniture in our home was personally selected by us together.
The flowers on the balcony were tenderly cared for by me.
I nurtured everything with love, transforming this place into the cozy home I’d always imagined.
But just like the suddenly malfunctioning electrical wiring, my relationship with Benson had long been
compromised.
In every day that I thought was happy and secure, there lay hidden huge dangers.
In the raging fire, I calmly retrieved the precious photo album.
It contained all the pictures Benson and I had taken together over the past five years.
He used to joke that we should preserve this album to show our children someday.
But now, in an instant, the paper album burned to ashes in the raging fire.
The flames grew more intense, sweeping across the wooden bedroom door, consuming the bed, and devouring the curtains, surging toward me.
At this moment, my only escape route seemed to be the window.
I quickly crawled out.
Standing on the air conditioning unit, gripping the scorching hot window frame, I knew the danger was
far from over.
This was the fifth floor.
Not extremely high, but with my pregnant belly, the outcome of a fall was uncertain at best.
A crowd had gathered below, mostly nearby residents. At a glance, I recognized several familiar faces.
When they saw me climb out of the apartment, these neighbors grew anxious.
“Hold on tight! Don’t let go!”
–for TA?atching Him Rurn
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Chapter 2
“We’ve called the fire department!”
Even though many of them barely knew me, they showed genuine concern for my safety.
Yet Benson, who had shared over five years with me–nearly two thousand days and nights–could be so coldly indifferent.
I smiled bitterly, realizing once again the meaning of trusting the wrong person.
With so many people calling, Jason at the fire station finally realized something was wrong.
One or two calls might have been dismissed as fake, but with numerous people calling and sounding increasingly desperate, even he began to doubt.
Almost all the firefighters had been taken by Benson to save Celine, leaving Jason with no team to respond with.
The neighbors below waited, but no firefighters came.
Meanwhile, my grip on the window was weakening.
The pain in my abdomen made my face pale and my body tremble uncontrollably.
My hands were blistered from the heat, making it difficult to hold onto the railing.
Amid everyone’s horrified shouts, I could no longer maintain my grip and fell backward…
