Chapter 4 — That Night of Fire

I laughed, laughing so much that my wound twitched in pain: "Your mother said I was faking it, Hua Nhuy said I was making a mess, so you believed it. You put on a firefighter's suit to save others, but when you got home you locked up your wife who was trying to kill you." There was a sound of cold air outside the door. A young nurse covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes red. Chu Nghien raised his head, his voice trembling: "The baby... can still..." I interrupted him: "It's dead." The last bit of blood drained from his face. I looked straight into his eyes, crushing every word: "When I cut the cake, it was already dead." Chu Nghien's body went limp, his hands clung to the edge of the bed, his knuckles turned white. "It's impossible." He shook his head: "It's impossible, you were still healthy yesterday, how could it be..." I reached for the phone at the head of the bed. The screen was cracked, the edges of the phone were burned black, but luckily it could still be turned on. I turned on the synced recording file in the cloud. My voice was heard in the sea of fire, mixed with the sound of coughing and the sound of broken glass. *"This is the fourth floor, building number 4, Ngo Dong area, Thanh Giang street. The lower floor is on fire, I'm locked in the house, help me!"* The operator said: *"Ms. Lam, the system shows that you have called many times for non-emergency help. Please confirm whether there is really a fire at the scene?"* Chu Nghien died standing on the spot. The recording continues. *"I'm pregnant, I have a stomach ache, the downstairs is on fire."* *"Please contact your family first."* *"I can't contact him!"* Chu Nghien raised her hand to hug her head, the blue veins on the back of her hand clearly visible. I don't turn it off. Inside, there was the sound of a chair hitting the window, the glass exploded, I cried and screamed: *"Baby, don't be afraid, mommy will take you out."* No one in the hospital room spoke. The doctor turned away. The nurse's eyes were red. Chu Nghien slowly collapsed to the floor, continuously muttering: "I don't know, I don't know..." I threw the phone at his feet: "Now you know." He raised his hand to touch my blanket. I shrink back. This action is even more cruel than scolding him. Chu Nghien's hand stiffened in midair, her fingertips trembling. I looked at him: "I want a divorce." He suddenly raised his head: "No." "I will sue you." His breath caught. My voice was hoarse, but so determined that I even felt strange: "Chu Nghien, I will not forgive you, nor will I let you go." 【Chapter 3】 Chu Nghien stayed outside the hospital room all night. Every time I close my eyes, I hear him slapping himself in the face in the hallway. One. Two. At the third step, the nurse stopped her. "Don't come here and act for the patient anymore. She just finished surgery and needs to rest." Chu Nghien's voice was hoarse: "I'm not acting." The nurse suppressed her anger: "Then stay away for a bit. If you stand here, her heartbeat will never stabilize." I opened my eyes wide, watching the index line on the heart rate monitor jump beat by beat. Every inch of my body hurts, my wounds hurt, my bones hurt, my uterus is painfully empty. But the most painful thing is, every time I close my eyes I see that birthday cake. The cream is pink, the candles are silver, Hua Nhuy smiles from ear to ear. She said: *Every year my wish is to have you by my side, it's so good.* As for my child, I don't even have the chance to see this world once. It was morning, people from the police station arrived. Fire investigators also arrived. They asked me about the situation that night. I handed over all recordings, call history, text messages proving that Chu Nghien locked the door, and even screenshots of when my number was blocked.