Two years ago, my best friend and I both married into the Cruise Family. I married the elder brother, an emergency doctor and she married the younger brother, a police officer.
The day I found out I was pregnant, my husband hadn’t returned from work yet, but he invited his childhood friend, Lily James, over for dinner to celebrate.
As I went back to the bedroom to take some medicine, there was a gas explosion in the kitchen. Flames engulfed the entire room.
My best friend had gone out to buy groceries and narrowly escaped. I was locked in the room by Lily and pounded on the door, desperately calling for help. I inhaled too much smoke and soon lost my voice, while blood began to seep from beneath me.
At that moment, my husband came home from work, but the first thing he did was rush out with Lily in his arms. Hearing the commotion, I used my last bit of strength to call him.
On the other end, the phone rang with a mechanical voice, no one picked up. Just before I lost consciousness, he finally answered, but instead of concern, he yelled angrily, “How could you be so careless with cooking? How could you leave Lily alone at home? Do you know how close she came to getting hurt? I’m on my way back to the hospital, we’ll talk when I get back!”
He hung up and I was left utterly powerless. In the end, it was my best friend, returning from the grocery store, who saved my life, though she lost a leg in the process.
As I was wheeled into the operating room, she immediately called her husband and demanded justice for Lily.
But her husband harshly rebuked her instead, “If it weren’t for your friend, would Lily have gotten hurt? You two ran off quickly enough, maybe you’re the ones plotting murder! I’m heading to the hospital now. Don’t waste my time!” he said.
After the surgery, we both decided to file for divorce. When I opened my eyes, I borrowed her phone and sent a message to Jacob, telling him I wanted a divorce.
I thought it would be another case of no one answering, but the phone rang just once.
Jacob’s furious voice erupted immediately as he said, “Alana, I’ve called you dozens of times, did you not see? What’s this about a divorce? Do you realize what you’ve done is unforgivable? How dare you mention divorce to me?”
He kept yelling, “Lily is a guest and you left her alone at home, with the gas in the kitchen still on! If I had been a minute later, she’d be dead! I’ve put up with your jealousy and tantrums, but today you nearly caused a fatal accident, do you understand that?”
“I don’t care where you are right now, but you’d better get to the hospital and apologize to Lily! Otherwise, don’t bother coming back home! I’ve been far too lenient with you!” he was furious.
I was stunned by his words and didn’t even have time to respond. My best friend couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed the phone from me, shouting back at him, “Jacob, you’re not even a man! The universe doesn’t think you deserve to be a father! Do you even know the truth? Do you know how the fire started?”
“Lily this, Lily that, why don’t you two brothers just stay with her from now on and leave us alone!” She ended the call abruptly.
Tears streamed down my face. Seven years of my life, two years of marriage and five years of dating, were worth less than a few words from Lily during the fire.
When she entered the house earlier today, she was even carrying gifts for me, knowing I was pregnant. Her delicate face was all smiles as she offered her congratulations to me and Jacob.
For a moment, I had thought I had misunderstood their relationship, that all my doubts were just in my head. I was thinking about apologizing to her in person at the dinner table tonight for the previous misunderstanding.
But in the blink of an eye, she had locked me in the bedroom while I was taking my medicine. She ignored my desperate cries for help. Was that also a misunderstanding?
I had always checked the gas lines in our home every quarter. How could there suddenly be an explosion today? And it was a controlled, small-scale fire at that. I didn’t know the exact cause.
The first thing I did when the fire broke out was call Jacob. Normally, his phone was always available to me 24/7, but this time, it showed he was already on a call.
It wasn’t until I had given up shouting that I heard Lily calling for help on her phone outside. At that moment, something inside me collapsed.
The smoke began to seep through the cracks in the door. I dampened a towel with the water I had used to take my medicine and covered my nose.
I kept calling Jacob, unwilling to give up. But no matter how many times I had called, his line never disconnected.
Tears blurred my vision and I could feel blood gushing from beneath me. My fingers left horrifying bloodstains on the door as they became raw and bloody.
My strength ebbed away with the oxygen in the room. Just before I passed out, I heard a familiar voice.
Jacob had finally returned. But I no longer had the strength to cry for help.
My weak knocking was drowned by the flames and he rushed into the house only to carry Lily out first.
At that moment, I lost the will to survive. Luckily, my best friend returned just in time to save me.
I was saved, but I lost my baby. To rescue me, my best friend jumped from the second floor and broke her leg. Even after hanging up the call, she ignored her own pain and kept comforting me.
My tears fell uncontrollably onto her hands, but she was even more upset and full of guilt and said, “If only I hadn’t listened to them and hadn’t gone out. I should’ve stayed with you after knowing you were pregnant. Men are never reliable …”
No sooner had she finished complaining than her phone rang.
It was Robin, her husband, angrily calling to accuse her on his brother’s behalf and said, “Why did you yell at my brother? Are you following your friend in acting crazy? I haven’t even questioned you about the explosion and now you’re trying to accuse us first?”
“My brother said that when he got home, apart from Lily being locked inside, the house was empty. You and your friend had disappeared long before that!”
“I think you did this on purpose, didn’t you? You’ve caused all kinds of jealous drama before and failed, so today you went for something bigger? Do you know this is attempted murder? You could go to jail for this!”
“Divorce won’t be enough. Sure, you can get divorced, but you’re also going to jail!”
He ranted without giving my friend a chance to explain and hung up. It seemed that the two brothers only had any patience when it came to Lily.
My best friend stared at the phone screen for a long time before coming back to her senses.
She was so angry that she smashed the phone on the bed and gritted her teeth, “Fine, let’s divorce! Do they really think they’re that great? If I’d known what kind of men they were, I’d never have married! The Cruise Family sure raised two loyal lapdogs, they’ve missed their calling as dog trainers!”
Her tone was defiant, but her reddened eyes and the tears glistening in them betrayed her feelings. We both knew we had lost in this marriage.
The signs had been there from the day we got married. The ill-fitting wedding rings, the ill-fitting dress, the ill-fitting love. The private social media, the wedding with no guests and the groom who slipped away halfway through.
It was our stubbornness that had cost us our youth. We foolishly believed that love could conquer childhood bonds.
It took today’s painful lesson to finally wake me up from the dream I had woven for myself. In his heart, Lily would always be number one, she was irreplaceable. There was no room for anyone else in this love triangle.
Not me and certainly not our child. We were merely sacrifices in this failed gamble of love. Sadly, I realized this too late and the price I paid was too high.
I lay on the hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. After a long pause, my best friend gently nudged my arm. She held her phone up to me, her face full of undisguised disgust.
I glanced at the screen. In the video, the hospital bed, which was as white as mine, was filled with desserts and snacks that girls like. In the corner, a familiar pair of hands without wedding ring were carefully holding a thermal lunch box.
In the bottom-right corner, it was marked ‘Someone you might know.’
The caption read, “What’s it like to have a childhood friend who’s a doctor? It’s like being in the hospital is a blessing.” It was clear who had posted the video.
I remembered the few times I mentioned wanting snacks in the past, only to be scolded harshly by Jacob, who called them junk food and said I was childish.
A wave of nausea rose in my throat and I covered my mouth, my eyes red with suppressed anger.
My best friend scrolled through the user’s page, which was full of videos documenting sweet moments with her childhood friend.
She watched them all from start to finish, laughing sarcastically, “Being in the hospital is a blessing? I hope she stays that happy for the rest of her life. That way, the three of them can even save on a wedding house!”
Lily’s hospital videos had garnered a lot of attention and followers.
The comment section was full of envy, “Is that what being in the hospital is like? Meanwhile, I’m stuck doing paperwork and holding my IV on my own. Does that make me independent?”
“I declare, only love like this is worthy of marriage! If your boyfriend doesn’t show up at the hospital, add one hundred thousand to the dowry!”
I rubbed my dry eyes and forced a bitter smile and said, “Stop watching. This doesn’t concern us anymore. While we have time, let’s print the divorce papers and get them signed. Once we’re discharged, we can finalize everything.”
Since my friend couldn’t walk, we asked the nurse to deliver the papers to Jacob.
But as soon as we said this, the nurse hesitated, “Dr. Cruise did a great job with the emergency response during the fire and the hospital wants to use it for PR. He might be busy with interviews right now. Maybe wait until he’s finished?” She nodded apologetically and left the room.
My best friend, fuming, slammed the divorce papers down on the bed and yelled, “He didn’t even save his own wife and child and that’s considered good work? An interview? He doesn’t deserve one! What kind of hospital hires people like him? No wonder they’re going out of business!”
After her outburst, she searched the hospital’s official page and found an article and video praising Jacob for his actions during the fire. She immediately left a furious comment, calling him out by name.
I didn’t stop her because I didn’t think she was wrong. Just two minutes after the comment was posted, Jacob called to question her.
It can be seen that he was always paying attention to the direction of public opinion. My best friend snorted coldly and wanted to take the opportunity to talk about divorce.
But as soon as she pressed the answer and speaker buttons, Jacob’s voice burst out, filled with unprecedented rage while he shouted, “Give the phone to Alana! Has she gone mad? That comment on our official page, it was from her, right? Are you two trying to ruin my career? Do you know how serious this is? The higher-ups are paying close attention!”
“Lily was injured in the fire and I was just doing my duty as a doctor. How can this be about cheating? Even if it was a stranger, I wouldn’t have let them die! I’m a doctor. Saving lives is my duty!”
“I haven’t even addressed the gas explosion yet! Thank goodness Lily isn’t holding a grudge, but why is Alana acting crazy? Tell her to delete the comment right now, or I won’t go easy on her!”
He hung up the phone abruptly.
My best friend was seething with anger, ready to explode. She immediately sent a voice message to Robin, saying she was mailing him the divorce papers to sign and that she wanted nothing more to do with either of those brainless idiots.
After sending the message, she blocked both of their numbers. The room fell silent again and tears slipped down my cheeks.
I never imagined that after seven years together, this was how he saw me, as an unreasonable woman.
To support his job and his passion, I never once made him worry about anything at home.
We had been living in peace for seven years, but this time, just because Lily was involved, he could throw all the dirt on me without hesitation.
At this point in the relationship, it seemed that there was no other choice except divorce.
Fortunately, during the fire, I quickly covered my nose and mouth with a wet towel, so after a week in the hospital, I was cleared to be discharged.
In those seven days, there was no response from Robin to the divorce agreement my best friend had sent him.
The comment under the official account was deleted by the administrator on the day it was posted. Her account was also blocked by the authorities.
It seemed that this could erase all the things Jacob did to me, but unfortunately the painful memories will never disappear.
Lily’s account continued to update daily with her ‘heartwarming hospital meals.’ Her following grew larger by the day.
I was happy to see it. The higher she floated now, the harder her fall would be when the time came for her to face justice.
After being discharged, I bought a new phone and took my best friend back to my house. Her leg made it hard to move, so she had to wait downstairs.
I confirmed the damage wasn’t too severe and could be reported to the police for evidence. I took pictures of the gas pipe that had been cut and the bloodstains left behind the bedroom door from my desperate struggle. We then hailed a taxi to the police station.
On the way, I sent a message to Jacob: [If you don’t want to sign the divorce papers, fine. Let’s just meet at the civil affairs bureau tomorrow. Don’t forget to take Robin with you.]
No sooner had I sent the message than his call came through. I hung up immediately and blocked his number.
When we arrived at the station, my best friend sat in a chair at the entrance while I explained the situation to the police officer. He had a strange look in his eyes as I spoke. “This fire has already been reported,” said the police.
My heart sank as I recalled Robin’s reaction.
The officer continued, sounding somewhat hesitant, “But the person who reported it said to hold off on the investigation for now, so …”
I didn’t wait for him to finish. I interrupted coldly, “That was him. This is me. I want the investigation and it need to happen now.”
As I described the fire’s details, the officer’s expression grew more unnatural with each word. I didn’t dwell on it too much and after finishing my statement, my best friend and I left.
As we walked away, the officer quickly pulled out his phone and sent a few messages.
We returned to the small apartment I had lived in before the marriage. After we finished cleaning up, Robin called.
My new phone hadn’t had time to block him yet, so he managed to get through. My best friend saw the serious look on my face and grabbed the phone.
As soon as she pressed answer, Robin’s furious voice blasted through, “Why did you block me? Are you going crazy with your friend? And you even went to our workplace to file a report? Are both of you out of your minds?”
“Do you even realize that her starting that fire could be considered attempted murder? Lily is kind enough not to press charges, or do you think you’d still be enjoying your lives this week? Stay away from that lunatic!”
“My brother doesn’t need her to file for divorce, he’d never stay with an attempted murderer anyway. But why are you getting involved? Have you had enough of your good life?” he kept talking angrily.
My best friend was trembling with rage and shouted back into the phone, “Shut up! You and your brother are both blind and stupid! What’s wrong with reporting the fire? Is she ‘kind’ for not pressing charges, or is she just scared that the truth will come out? You think living with you was a ‘good life’? I’ve never suffered this much in my entire life!”
“See you at the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow! We’ll make room for you three bastards!”
After hanging up the call, my best friend was still furious for a long time. I quickly grabbed my phone and blocked Robin’s number as well.
The next morning, my friend and I waited outside the civil affairs bureau. To my surprise, the first person we saw was Lily.
My fists clenched tightly beneath my sleeves and the pain in my still-healing fingertips, raw from scraping against the door, shot through me like a shock to my heart. Her eyes were red and tears of grievance welled up, ready to fall.
Seeing my friend and me, she slowly approached, sobbing while she said, “I know you didn’t lock me in the house on purpose that day. It was a misunderstanding. Robin wanted to file a report, but I stopped him. I wanted to see you earlier, but they insisted on taking turns watching over me at the hospital. I just couldn’t get away.”
She paused, as if recalling something and glanced at my flat belly. “Is your baby okay? You waited so long to get pregnant … If anything happened, it might take another seven years. Oh, no, Jacob said he doesn’t want to tolerate you anymore, so this could be your only child …”
I couldn’t believe she dared mention my child after what she had done. Before she could finish, I slapped her hard across the face and shouted, “You can fool those idiots, but don’t fool yourself!”
Though I didn’t hit her that hard, she fell to the ground, clutched her face and cried hysterically. The memory of the fire rushed back and my vision turned red with rage. I took a step forward, ready to hit her again.
But before I could act, I heard Jacob’s furious voice behind me, “Stop! What are you doing?”
The next second, he suddenly raised his foot and kicked me in the side of my waist. I flew to the side.
My best friend tried to catch me, but with her injured leg, she fell with me to the ground. The two of us were piled together in a mess and her face was twisted in pain.
Before we could get up, Robin and a group of policemen rushed over and surrounded us, ordering, “Detain these two suspects!” he ordered.
Only then did Jacob remember the baby I was carrying. He turned to me in a panic, his voice trailing off, “Be careful, the baby …”
But he stopped mid-sentence when he saw my flat stomach, the hem of my clothes revealing nothing but emptiness. His panicked expression froze and he slowly lifted his gaze and asked, “Where’s the baby?”
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