Where Flames Consume Love

I, Darcy Cowell, have been secretly married to my husband, Frank Winston, for seven years. He is the president of a company and has just hired a new assistant. The new assistant, Johanna Scott, is well-behaved and has a voluptuous figure. Scandalous rumors about her and Frank quickly spread throughout the company. Feeling uneasy, I seek Frank out for answers, only to overhear him telling his good friend over the phone. "I'm not interested in her. My wife, Darcy, will always be my only love." I am filled with warmth and relief at those words. A fire suddenly breaks out at the company banquet, and I get crushed under a falling cabinet. Yet, as my life hangs in the balance, Frank turns to run toward Johanna. When I next regain consciousness, I find that I have survived but lost my unborn child forever. This time, I truly lose all faith in Frank. Our child is gone, and I want him gone from my life as well. Chapter 1 As the fire raged fiercely, I took my husband's hand and tried to rush out of the banquet hall with him. However, Frank Winston shook me off and turned to run toward his assistant, Johanna Scott. As I stood frozen in disbelief, the cabinet beside me collapsed with a rumble and pinned me beneath it. I yelled out for Frank, but he simply picked Johanna up and hurried off without a single glance back at me. Flames and thick smoke enveloped me. I watched helplessly as Frank and Johanna moved further and further away until I eventually lost consciousness. When I next regained consciousness, a doctor informed me that I had barely escaped death, but my unborn child was not so fortunate. I stared blankly at the ceiling with tears streaming silently down my face. I always had trouble conceiving throughout the seven years I had been secretly married to Frank. We had finally been blessed with a child after going through great pains. I remembered how excitedly Frank hugged and kissed me back when he found out I was pregnant. He wanted nothing more than to tell the whole world that he was about to be a father. I recalled how scandalous rumors had spread throughout the company after Johanna became his assistant. Yet, I had clearly heard him declare to someone over the phone back then that he would always only love me. I also recalled how he had promised to announce my identity as his wife during the company banquet yesterday. Even after the banquet was over, he hadn't mentioned a thing. In the end, he told me that he had forgotten about it. I always assumed he was completely devoted to me. It wasn't until I saw him running toward Johanna without hesitation that I finally realized just how laughably foolish I had been to trust him. My phone vibrated twice. One of the notifications was a message from Frank. "Where are you right now, honey? You weren't hurt in the fire yesterday, were you?" At the same time, Johanna also sent me a message. "Take good care of the baby, Ms. Cowell. Don't worry about me. Frank has been taking good care of me." She had attached a photo of Frank sitting next to her hospital bed, considerately peeling an apple for her. I clearly remembered him having mysophobia. He once mentioned that he hated the sticky feeling of foreign matter on his fingers, so he always left the preparation of fruits to me. Yet, Johanna had become the only person he would make an exception for. I looked at the diagnosis report at my bedside, upon which the words "miscarriage confirmed" were clearly printed in large font. After the tears on my face had completely dried out, I smiled as if a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. I then contacted a lawyer and had him draft a divorce agreement. This time, I had truly lost all faith in Frank. Our child was gone, and I wanted him gone from my life as well. Chapter 2 After leaving the hospital, I headed to the office instead of going home. I had worked as a jewelry designer at Frank's company for seven years and created numerous popular products for the company. I needed to retrieve some of the creative data that was still stored on my work computer. However, after returning to the company, I realized that my workstation was covered with someone else's belongings. The personal belongings I had placed on my desk had all been tossed into a tattered cardboard box in the corner. I stopped a passing colleague, Timothy Elston, and asked blankly, "What's going on? Why has my workstation been occupied by someone else?" Timothy replied, "Mr. Winston said that since you were pregnant, he'd let Ms. Scott take over your workstation while you were on maternity leave. Ms. Scott has also taken over as the company's creative director." I was instantly frozen in place. Frank had never brought this up with me. Timothy did not notice my reaction and continued without care, "Ms. Scott treats us all very well, and she's also very talented. The Sky's Heart necklace, which she newly designed, has been very well-received lately." I immediately felt blood rushing to my head upon hearing the necklace's name. Sky's Heart was evidently my design—my favorite design, in fact. It was the product of countless revisions and two full years' worth of blood, sweat, and tears. Additionally, the reason I had designed the necklace was because I hoped to one day give it to my child after they were born. I looked at the pamphlet displaying the necklace inlaid with an aquamarine gem. The designer's name was clearly printed in the bottom right corner—Johanna Scott. She had blatantly stolen my work just like that. I shakily made a call to Frank. Before he could say anything, I couldn't help but ask loudly, "Why didn't you tell me you'd given Johanna my job? She stole my necklace design! That's my work!" Even though I was shouting at the top of my lungs, Frank simply sighed in annoyance. "Why must you be so petty? No matter who gets credited for the design, the profits from it belong to the company all the same. "Moreover, you're pregnant and on maternity leave. Johanna's naturally just helping you finish up your remaining work so you can have a good rest." I heard how choked up my own voice sounded, and my hand wouldn't stop trembling around my phone. "Is that so? That's two years of my blood, sweat, and tears, Frank! It's the present I'd prepared for our child!" He rudely interrupted me. "Enough. What matters most right now is for you to take good care of the baby and stop worrying about unimportant matters like this." He then hung up heartlessly. Take good care of the baby. That was what Frank said. I couldn't help but smile as I caressed my flat stomach. He was still unaware that he had already effectively killed our child. I gazed at the necklace that originally belonged to me, swallowed down my bitterness, and went to the company's HR department. "Excuse me. I'd like to resign from the company." Chapter 3 I returned to Frank's villa and started packing my things. After being married to him for seven years, our house was filled with memories of our time together. Yet, when I made the decision to leave, I realized there were very few things here that belonged to me. At that moment, I noticed a commotion outside the villa. Frank was back, and Johanna was with him. They entered the villa while bantering playfully with each other. When Frank saw me, he casually told me about Johanna. "Johanna said that she studied medicine before and knows a lot about prenatal care, babe. She'll be staying at the villa to take care of you during this time." I pursed my lips. "I don't need anyone to take care of me." My child was gone, so why would I need prenatal care? Frank assumed I was still throwing a tantrum and grabbed my hand with a frown. "Can you please stop making a fuss? It's just a necklace, right? Once the child is born, I can buy you as many as you want." On cue, Johanna chimed in with a soft, aggrieved tone, "Do you not like me, Mrs. Winston? It's alright. I won't ever appear in front of you two again then…" When he heard that she was leaving, Frank immediately grew anxious. "Johanna is such a kind-hearted person. Why are you so unreasonable, compared to her?" He then quickly started trying to cheer Johanna up, completely disregarding the fact that his actual wife was standing right next to him. I didn't want to deal with them anymore, so I turned to leave. In the end, Johanna started staying in our villa as a nurse. When Frank knocked on my bedroom door that night, I deliberately turned off the lights and pretended to be asleep. Still, he came into the room and murmured in my ear, "Don't be angry anymore, alright, babe? I'll tell Johanna about the necklace and get her to name you as the designer instead. I'll also hold a new banquet next weekend and announce you as my wife then and there." It just so happened that I would be leaving next weekend, but I didn't respond. The lights were off, so he didn't notice that my room had been tidied up. He simply stood by my side for a long while before leaving. Soon afterward, my phone chimed again. Johanna had gone to the trouble of recording a voice message for me. "Of course. I can give her credit for the necklace, but… you'll have to compensate me well. You know…" It was quickly followed by quick and labored breathing. I gritted my teeth and turned off my phone, then pulled the blankets over my head. I wasn't going to listen to those nauseating sounds. Chapter 4 I didn't expect Johanna's stay at the villa to be absolute hell for me. She was clumsy and would sometimes accidentally spill freshly boiled soup on me. She would offer to give me a massage, but she would deliberately press hard on my stomach every time, making me grit my teeth in agony. She also prepared the foods I hated the most. After she accidentally spilled an entire glass of ice water on me again, I finally reached my limit and stood up to slap her harshly. Unexpectedly, Frank happened to come in at that very moment and witness this. He immediately rushed forward to protect Johanna. He cradled her swollen cheek in distress, then turned to me with a stormy expression. "Apologize to her, Darcy." I just found the situation ridiculous. "She was the one who splashed water on me. Why should I apologize to her?" Furthermore, I still had burn scars on my legs from the last time she scalded me with boiling soup. Frank's expression darkened further at my refusal. He just grabbed me by the wrist and forcefully dragged me over to Johanna. "If you don't apologize to her today, you can forget about being named as the designer of that necklace." I turned pale and bit my lip. I knew Frank was being serious about this. He always kept to his word and treated everyone in the company equally. Even when I made a mistake at work, he would always criticize and punish me accordingly. He always kept our marriage a secret because he was worried about showing partial treatment at the company. Despite his insistence on impartiality, he made Johanna his personal assistant on her first day at the company. He had also given her the creative director position I had spent five years working for. He could treat everyone, including me, with impartiality. Yet, he was biased toward Johanna when I was clearly the person he had been married to for seven years. I closed my eyes in suffering before finally saying reluctantly to Johanna, "Sorry." I saw her smile faintly before quickly putting on a feeble expression. "It's alright, Ms. Cowell. I forgive you. I'm also willing to give you all the credit for the necklace." Frank glared at me out of the corner of his eye, then looked down at the overturned glass of water. "Get someone to clean it up. Watch out since you're pregnant. Still, you should really learn from Johanna's generosity." He then left with Johanna. I watched their retreating backs as I silently cleared the water and glass shards from the floor. In the end, I accidentally cut my finger on the shards. At that moment, I suddenly received a message from the company's HR department. "Your resignation has been approved, Ms. Cowell. We wish you a happy life in the future." Chapter 5 The instant I received the message from the HR department, I felt utterly relieved. It meant that the last possible connection between me and Frank would also be completely severed. As I still had to complete the handover, I picked a day to return to the company. I suddenly noticed a trending article while browsing the internet on my way there. It was an article about the original designer of Sky's Heart, Winston Group's newest product, being replaced. Johanna's name had been swapped out with mine. I didn't understand why the news was trending. When I saw the relevant interview, the puzzle pieces instantly fell into place. In the video, Johanna was biting her lip and had tears in her eyes, looking reluctant. "I was the one who wanted to give Ms. Cowell the credit for this design. She didn't bully me, so please don't put her on the spot." The video's comment section was practically filled with verbal attacks against me. "This is too much! How could she take the credit for someone else's design? How shameless can she get?" "Johanna looks like she's been getting pushed around in the company. A weak woman like her probably wouldn't dare to speak up against any bullying she faces." "Can the president of Winston Group come forward and handle this matter? There's workplace bullying going on in your company!" My heart beat faster and faster as I read through all these comments. As my head continued to spin, the car arrived at the company building. The company building was currently surrounded by a large crowd. Countless people had gathered by the entrance to demand an explanation for Johanna's situation. Someone noticed me getting out of the car and yelled, "The bully's here!" They rushed fiercely toward me. Some tore at my hair and clothes while others started beating me up. I could only curl up on the ground in pain, protecting my face and stomach. Just then, a light yet firm shout rang out a short distance away. "What are all of you gathered here for?" That was Frank's voice. My eyes widened, and I tried to crawl to my feet to call for help. However, one of the people around me covered my mouth, preventing me from making a sound. There were countless cameras focused on Frank. "As president of the company, Mr. Winston, shouldn't you take action against the workplace bullying incident that occurred within your company?" "We're here to demand justice for Johanna! We also hope you'll provide us with an explanation and make that woman return the credit for the necklace to Johanna!" Frank nodded minutely. "I'm already aware of the situation and will be dealing with it, so please leave. You're disrupting company operations." I was still pinned to the ground and watched helplessly as Frank prepared to enter the building. I used all my strength to bite the hand over my mouth, which finally gave me a chance to call for help. "Help! Save me!" However, I was quickly pinned to the ground again, and my mouth was once again covered. I saw Frank pause through the gaps in the crowd. "Was someone calling for help?" Hope instantly flared up within me. I prayed that he would step into the crowd and notice me. Yet, Johanna's voice soon rang out from beside him. "My leg's starting to ache, honey. Let's hurry inside." I saw Frank smile before picking her up in a princess carry and walking straight into the building. From beginning to end, he never noticed my heavily wounded figure among the crowd. Chapter 6 It wasn't until security intervened and dispersed the crowd that I was finally rescued. I called an ambulance and lost consciousness after being lifted into it. When I next woke up, I saw dozens of missed calls on my phone—all from Frank. After calling him back, I immediately heard his anxious voice on the other end. "Where are you right now, honey? Why didn't you pick up the call for so long? I was beside myself with worry!" I opened my mouth, then paused. In the end, I lied calmly, "Sorry. I was attending a party at a friend's place, and my phone ran out of battery." Frank seemed relieved to hear that. He said in a gentler tone, "As long as you're alright, babe. I'll officially announce your identity at the company's celebration banquet tomorrow night. Don't worry. There definitely won't be any accidents this time." I simply hummed in acknowledgement. Frank seemed caught off guard by my indifference and didn't know what else to say. After a long and awkward silence, he finally added, "You should hurry home then, honey. I'll miss you every second that we're apart." Of course I would go home, but only to pick up my packed luggage. After returning to the villa and making sure everything was packed up, the only thing I left behind was the signed divorce agreement on the bedside table. It didn't matter whether Frank was willing to sign it. If he weren't, I would divorce him through legal means. As a final touch, I intended to leave him a surprise. I wouldn't attend the company banquet, but I would send someone to publicize all the evidence I had gathered on Frank's infidelity during this time. After making all the arrangements, I arrived at the villa's backyard. I lit a fire there and threw all the photos Frank and I had taken over the years into it—photos we had taken while vacationing at the beach together, photos of us kissing on our wedding day, photos we took to commemorate climbing to the top of a mountain… The photos quickly curled and blackened in the flames. Eventually, they turned to ash and scattered away with the wind. It was just like our marriage, which once seemed unbreakable but was now nothing but lies and betrayal. I stood where I was, watching the fire grow smaller and smaller until the last ember was extinguished. I felt no nostalgia or reluctance, only calm and relief. I then picked up my suitcase and took a taxi to the airport without looking back.