He Burned Me Alive, Now I Shine Like the Stars

The wedding was happening at my house in Eastlake. It was Kimberly's idea. I knew she was doing it to make me watch as everything I cared about was taken away from me, piece by piece. Still, I hadn't expected her to be this vicious. She barged into my room, dressed in a luxurious, elegant wedding gown. Her face twisted into a nasty sneer. "Not even that huge fire could kill you, Lilian. You really are one tough little cockroach."

I didn't want to waste words on her. "You've already got everything you wanted. What more do you want?"

She scoffed. "Of course, I want you dead. Only when you're dead can I rightfully become Mrs. Todd."

After that, she pulled out a lighter and set the curtains on fire. The moment I saw the flames shoot up, the colour drained from my face. I dragged my broken body, trying to stop her, but she kicked me hard against the bedpost. Then she ran to the door and started screaming for help. Jacob practically teleported into the room. He held Kimberly tightly, all worried. "Kimmy, what's wrong? Where are you hurt?"

My mother was right behind him. Even though she clearly couldn't see a single scratch on Kimberly, she still yelled anxiously, "Quick, get Kimmy to the hospital!"

Everyone swarmed around Kimberly. Not a single person noticed that Kimberly had slammed me hard enough to make my head bleed. Kimberly nestled in Jacob's arms, crying with wide, scared eyes. "Jacob, I was just worried that my sister was upset, so I came to comfort her. But she said since her face was ruined, I don't deserve to wear a pretty wedding dress either. Then, she started a fire, saying she'd burn me beyond recognition, too. I was so scared..."

Jacob looked at me like he wanted to tear me apart. "Are you insane? Kimmy was just trying to help you finish the wedding ceremony. Instead of being grateful, you try to hurt her? Look at you! You're disgusting!"

My mother's eyes were full of disappointment. "If I'd known how twisted you are, I would've let that fire burn you to death. You're not even worth one of Kimmy's fingers. Someone as malicious as you doesn't deserve to be my daughter. You deserved to be burned like this."

They picked up Kimberly and left without even looking back. As he reached the door, Jacob glanced back at the flames licking the curtains and sneered. "You like playing with fire so much, huh? Then play to your heart's content." He locked the door. "No one is allowed to open this."

My desperate pleas for explanation and mercy were cut off by the cold slam of the door. Listening to the frantic banging on the door from inside, a hint of unease flickered in my mother's eyes. "Jacob, is it really okay to just lock Lily in there? Won't something happen?"

"What could happen? She set the fire herself. Do you think she'd really burn herself alive? She probably has an extinguisher hidden somewhere." Jacob rushed Kimberly straight to the hospital. After the check-up, she was confirmed entirely unharmed and he finally remembered me. He sighed and opened his phone, only for a breaking news alert about a massive fire at the Eastlake to pop up on the screen.

He frowned and was about to call the butler when the butler's call came through first. "Let her out," he said. "I'll go pick her up now. We're heading off for the honeymoon. I've already picked the place. France, her favourite."

The butler's voice trembled on the other end. "Sir, the fire was too big. Madam … she didn't make it out."