He Burned Me Alive, Now I Shine Like the Stars

Jacob turned back, a face full of fake guilt as he squatted down in front of me. "Babe, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault for being so late and making you suffer so much. Don't worry. No matter what it takes, I'll definitely fix your skin and face. I'll get you back on that runway."

I stared blankly at his Oscar-worthy performance, a bitter taste in my mouth. "Can I really get better?"

"Yes, you absolutely can." His confidence lies just made me feel like a complete idiot. To get rid of me, this obstacle in Kimberly's way, this man who went from school uniforms to wedding vows with me, who swore he'd love me forever, used lie after lie to push me to my breaking point. Even my mother, who'd treasured me like a princess since I was little, had chosen to raise the knife for Kimmy, the two-faced adopted daughter she favored more than her own blood.

At that moment, I really wanted to scream at them, to ask why they were being so cruel to me. Alas, all the words just froze in my ice-cold heart, turning into dead silence. A few doctors walked over with antiseptic, their faces showing pity and sympathy as they looked at my horribly burned body. "Miss Stewart, the specialist hasn't arrived yet. We'll have to disinfect the wounds first. It's going to hurt a bit. Please bear with it."

Still, "a bit" was a joke. The moment the disinfectant touched my skin, the pain shot through my body like fire. It felt like I was being thrown into the flames all over again. My fragile veins burst open and the entire bed was soaked with blood and pus. My mother stood there watching, clutching her mouth, her whole body shaking as she sobbed. Jacob's eyes were red. His fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white like he wished he could take the pain for me. Their concern looked so real, but I knew the truth. It was all fake. The only real things were the lies and the pain.

When I woke up again, two days had passed. I could hear Jacob and my mother talking outside the ward door. "Jacob, Lily's condition is already this bad. We've been delaying treatment for two days. Do we really have to give her that new experimental psychiatric drug? The doctor said the drug hasn't been fully tested yet. The side effects could be seizures and incontinence."

After a few seconds of silence, Jacob's voice was firm. "That's exactly the side effect we want. Today is Kimmy's celebration party and a lot of important people will be there. Anyway, Lily is already a mess; a little more embarrassment won't hurt. Only when she's completely lost her dignity will she not compete with Kimmy. After tomorrow, I'll announce our engagement. That can be considered my compensation to her."

After speaking, he carefully instructed, "Mom, have those specialist doctors wait outside the house. As soon as the celebration banquet ends, they can treat Lily."

My mother agreed immediately. I stared blankly at the ceiling as silent tears streamed down my cheeks. The salt stung the open wounds on my face, sending waves of sharp, searing pain through me. Still, none of it compared to the pain in my chest.

These were the two people closest to me. They knew how weak and sickly I'd been since I was a kid. They saw how hard I worked and how much I gave up to become a model. Now, just with a few careless words, they had destroyed my lifelong dream. If I had known I would end up like this, I would have instead been burned to death in that fire.

The hospital room door was pushed open. Jacob saw I was awake and handed me two pills with a look of tenderness. "Babe, I just asked the doctor. This is a new painkiller the hospital developed. It has no side effects and will help ease your pain a lot."

I lowered my eyes to look at the two bright red pills, my throat feeling like it was full of rust. My voice was hoarse as I spoke, "Jacob, the medicine is too bitter. I don't want to take it."

Jacob hesitated for only a couple of seconds before smiling and squeezing my hand. "Seeing you suffer every day breaks my heart. Can you bear to see your husband in pain? Please, honey, just do it for me."