Chapter 1 Chapter 1

When I received the news that the kindergarten was on fire, my heart pounded terribly hard. I immediately rushed over. My daughter, Nina Leif, was inside. With trembling hands, I called my husband as many times as I could, yet I was unable to reach him. When I was by the gates of the kindergarten, I was completely baffled. The entire building was engulfed in flames and thick smoke. The air was hard to breathe in and had a charred smell. "My child! My child is still inside!" There were parents of the children yelling and wailing outside the gates. "Nina! Nina!" I waded past through the crowd, searching for Nina in every kid who was rescued out of the kindergarten. My voice trembled. Every step I took felt heavy to me. At that moment, I saw Samuel Leif. He was the lieutenant of the city's fire department, and also my husband. I yelled his name in hysterics, shoving people aside to get to him. I grabbed him by his arm. "Honey! Nina! Nina is upstairs in the dance studio!" Samuel looked at me and frowned in detest. He said impatiently, "Nina isn't in school today." I suddenly remembered. "No! Honey! She was pretending to be ill today! She said she wanted to learn a dance at school to surprise you! Nina is upstairs! She's in the dance studio!" I pleaded hard, afraid that he was not going to rescue her. Nina was his daughter. How could he possibly not want to save her? My pleas became incoherent. The wailings and weepings of the parents around me felt like a knife stabbing into my heart. I couldn't wait any longer! Samuel shrugged me off and looked at me coldly. "Enough! Rachel Chapman. You can stop with the act! Nina is only four, stop being a bad influence on her! Can you act like a mother?""What do you mean?" I looked at him in disbelief. "What do I mean? You can stop with the act." Samuel sneered. "You're just trying to stop me from saving Dana's daughter. How cruel can you be?" I was struck dumb. How could he think I was lying? Why would he think that I want to stop him from saving Dana Sharp's daughter? Dana was one he truly loved. He said coldly. "Dana is fragile. If she loses her child, it will destroy her. She won't survive the loss of her child." He ignored my calls many times just a few moments ago. I thought that the reason I could not reach him was because he was busy putting out the fire at the kindergarten. Turns out, it was not. I looked at Samuel in a daze. "Then, what about me? Do you think I will survive this if I lose my daughter?" Samuel ignored me. He turned and prepared for the rescue. "I asked the principal. Today's Saturday. Only part of the ground floor was open. There is no one upstairs!" I ran over to him and tugged on his uniform. I snatched his phone and threw it on the ground. "Samuel! Who said that there was no one upstairs? Nina is upstairs! She's your daughter! What can I say to make you believe me?" He shoved me aside and frowned. "Move out of the way!" My heart broke into a million pieces. I was so heartbroken I could barely breathe. "Samuel! Why would I joke about our daughter's life?" I sat on the ground, looking at the flames in despair. All I could think of was Nina. "Nina! I'll come and save you!" I stood up with difficulty and charged into the fire maniacally. The smog made me choke. Tears fell from the irritation. My skin burned. Everything was hurting… But I had to do it. My daughter must be crying and waiting for me! She needed me! I can't… "Enough! Stop with the act!" Samuel suddenly appeared and pulled me back. His grip was so strong that it felt like he was going to crush me.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

I knelt in front of Samuel and pleaded, "Samuel, please! I beg you! You need to save Nina! She's really inside! Please!""Shut up!" He kicked me aside and looked at me disgustedly. "Take her away! Don't let her near the fire!" I was dragged away by a few firemen. They ignored my pleas no matter how much I yelled or struggled. "Samuel!" Chaos was everywhere, but all I could hear was my heart pounding. As time passed by, children kept being rescued from the fire, but Nina was still nowhere to be found. Two hours later, Samuel came out with a girl in his arms. I immediately recognized her to be Tilly Sharp, Dana's daughter. I rushed over in a panic and grabbed Samuel's arm. My nails dug into him. "Samuel! Where is Nina? Where is our daughter? How could you do this? How could you be so cruel!" He ignored me, showing a hint of annoyance. He lowered his head and gently wiped away the tears on Tilly's face. "Tilly, don't be scared. You're okay now." At this moment, Dana rushed over. When she saw her daughter, she hugged Samuel. "Samuel! I knew you would rescue Tilly!" What an ironic scene. It was as if they were a family of three. With a strong wind, the kindergarten was engulfed in an even bigger flame. I trembled and looked at the fire incredulously. I shook my head violently. "I-Impossible! N-No! Help! Somebody! Put out the fire!" I sat on the ground and sobbed hysterically. Even as the fire was put out, Samuel had never once looked at me. Once the fire was put out, the surroundings quieted down. Samuel took Dana and Tilly into the ambulance and left without looking back. I stood up with difficulty and stumbled into the kindergarten. The building was burnt beyond recognition. I slowly walked upstairs. With every step I took, my heart sank a little more. Nina's favorite dance studio was right at the end of the corridor. I entered the studio trembling. I saw two burnt bodies. An adult and a child. I fell to the ground and sobbed loudly once more. Nina's dance teacher was hugging her tightly. With trembling hands, I gently pushed the dance teacher's body aside. Nina's whole body was burnt, except her face. She looked like she was sleeping soundly. I pulled Nina into my arms. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry. It's all my fault! I couldn't protect you…" The fire in the kindergarten had been put out, but the fire within me was raging. I bowed at the dance teacher gratefully. She made sure that Nina knew she was loved, even at the last moment of her life. The doctor and the coroner came. I calmly picked up Nina's body and immediately sent her for cremation. Nina liked to be pretty. I did not want her to see her burnt body. I hugged her urn. I wanted to cry but no tears came out. "Nina, please don't ever be my daughter in the next life…" I took Nina home. Without Nina, the place felt empty. When I saw Nina's clothes and belongings, a huge wave of sadness overwhelmed me again. Samuel called out. His voice was icy, "There's a celebration tonight. Bring Nina along." The day of his celebration was the day of my daughter's death. His honor was paid for by my daughter's life.

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

"Nina won't be able to be there." Samuel was infuriated. "Enough of this nonsense! I'm telling you! If it were not for the others wanting to see you, I wouldn't have called you in the first place! You're being ungrateful!" I took a deep breath. "Fine. I'll bring Nina over." Samuel tutted over the phone and said, "I knew you were pretending! Nina is fine! Don't be late and don't embarrass me tonight!" At night, I attended the celebration party for Samuel at the hotel. In the distance, I saw Dana in a tight-fitting red dress. She was sitting next to Samuel. I quietly took my seat. The other firemen who saw me were stunned. Their eyes gleamed with curiosity. Compared to Dana — who was dressed up to the nines — I was in a raggedy t-shirt and my hair was disheveled. When Samuel saw me, he frowned and said in detest, "Why are you dressed up like this? Didn't I tell you it was a party? Can't you put on a little bit of makeup? You're embarrassing me!" I ignored him. I picked up the cutlery on the table and started wiping it hard with a napkin. Everything in front of me felt dirty. "Where's Nina?" Samuel questioned me. He said impatiently, "This is an important day for me. Why isn't she here?" My heart hurt terribly. "I told you. She won't be able to come.""What do you mean by that?" Samuel snatched the spoon in my hand and threw it on the table. "How the Hell did you raise her? Since when did Nina become so naughty?" Dana quickly tugged on Samuel's arm. "Samuel, please calm down. That's not what Rachel meant. She—""That's exactly what I meant!" I sprang up and looked at them coldly. "Nina won't be able to come today. She won't be able to come forever!""What do you mean?" Samuel was stunned. Then, he fumed. "Explain yourself right now!" I took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress the raging emotions in me. I enunciated every single word, "Samuel. I begged you! I begged you to save Nina! But you didn't… You saved her instead!" I angrily pointed at Tilly, who was sitting on his lap. Tilly immediately wailed out crying. Dana pulled Tilly into her arms, consoling her, "Don't be scared. It's alright." Suddenly, Samuel swung his arm without a second of thought and I immediately felt a sting on my cheek. "Rachel, I'm warning you. Stop with this nonsense at once!" he roared at me, shouting at my face. "Go bring Nina over right now! If not, you can say goodbye to this home!" I looked at him coldly. I suddenly found it amusing. This was the man that I loved for ten years. This was the family that I was trying so hard to protect. From the moment that Nina passed away, everything was gone. "You disgust me, Samuel!" I threw a plate on the floor, causing it to shatter into pieces. Time seemed to have stopped. Everyone looked at me in shock. A few seconds later, everyone reacted. "Rachel, calm down. Let's talk it out.""There are kids here...""Samuel and his team worked really hard. Let's all sit down and have a good meal." I picked up the bag I brought along with me and placed it right in front of Samuel. Dana suddenly stood protectively next to Samuel. She said, "Rachel, don't do this. Samuel has not seen Nina for two days. He just misses her. Just bring her here. She is his daughter after all."

Chapter 4 Chapter 4

I laughed and looked at Dana. "Ah yes, how can I forget about you? "If it weren't for you! Throwing yourself at a married man. "If it weren't for you! Nina would never… "It's your—" Before I could finish my sentence, Samuel pulled Dana behind him and swung his hand once more. I wiped away the blood at the corner of my mouth as I stood up. I glared at him with my reddened eyes. "Samuel, you really wanted Nina to be here, right?" Without waiting for his response, I opened the bag and placed Nina's urn in front of him. Dana — with Tilly in her arms — was so shocked she immediately stumbled backward. The other firemen looked at each other. It was obvious what I just took out, yet Samuel pretended and asked, "Rachel, what the Hell are you playing at?" With reddened eyes, I said, "Nina is here. She's right here." "Are you doing this on purpose? Are you trying to humiliate me at my celebration party?" Samuel yelled at me as if I was an evil woman. Dana was horrified by the scene in front of her. She hugged Tilly tightly and hid behind Samuel. She popped her head out and said gently, "Rachel, don't do this. You're scaring the kids." "Dana Sharp, you can stop with your fake kindness! "If it weren't for you constantly being around Samuel, he would not have abandoned Nina and rescued your daughter!" I sneered as the tears finally started to pour. "You… I did not!" Dana's face paled. Her eyes reddened too as if she was holding back tears. "Enough!" Samuel slammed the table. "Rachel! I am a firefighter! If you keep causing a scene like this! I will never be able to rescue anyone!""Anyone?" I chuckled in fury. I pointed at Tilly in Dana's arms and said loudly, "Is your daughter not just anyone? Did you or did you not rescue her? Well you didn't! I told you! Nina was upstairs in the dance studio!""Enough!" Samuel roared and swept the urn onto the floor. The urn fell to the ground and the ashes spilled everywhere. I looked at Samuel in disbelief with tears constantly falling. "S-Samuel! H-How could you! That's Nina!"