Swallowed by the Flames of Regret

Atlas came back a day later. This time, he brought Jasmine home.

As soon as she entered the door, she looked left and right. Her composed expression made it seem as if she were the mistress of the house. Seeing me, she smirked and caressed her flat belly. "Go pour me a glass of red wine."

Hearing her commanding tone, a chill flickered in my eyes.

Before I could respond, Atlas frowned. "Drinking while you're pregnant? Naomi, go pour Jasmine a glass of milk."

I simply could not believe my ears. My gaze fell on the oil lamp not far away as I slowly headed toward the kitchen.

Today was the last day I would be around, so I would let them do as they pleased.

Seeing me come out with milk, Atlas raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Why are you being so obedient?"

I ignored him and turned around to work on something else. Atlas could not help but glance at me a few more times. Finally, he could not help coming up to me. "I’m not comfortable with Jasmine carrying my child while living outside, so I'll let her stay at home for the year."

I said nothing.

He stopped pressing the matter and turned to instruct the housekeepers, "Put away all the dangerous things in the house. If Ms. Scott gets hurt even slightly, I won't spare you!"

The housekeepers put protective pads on every table corner and put the small oil lamp in the storage room. The storage room was the closest to my room, which was perfect.

Alfred could not help but remind, "Mr. Payne, maybe we should throw this away. I’ve always thought it was a bit dangerous to keep it around. What if it catches on fire?"

Atlas retorted impatiently, "How could it possibly catch on fire? Even if it did, this villa has fire extinguishing facilities installed."

Looking at his confident expression, I smiled and kept quiet. I had already deactivated the fire extinguishers.

Jasmine was incredibly touched as she immediately wrapped her arms around Atlas's neck in front of me. "Atlas, you're so good to me. I love you so much!"

She spoke to Atlas, but her eyes were on me.

Atlas instinctively looked toward me and only relaxed when he saw that I did not react. He walked up to me and said earnestly, "Naomi, I have some things to take care of at the company, so I'll leave Jasmine in your care for now."

As he spoke, he bent over and whispered in my ear, "But don't worry, I'll still sleep in your room tonight."

I suddenly felt like laughing. I wondered, 'What's this? Do you think you’re doing me a favor?'

I forced a smile and nodded. "Sure. You can go ahead and take care of work."

He ruffled my hair, satisfied. "Don't worry. Jasmine's very well-behaved." Then, he left.

No sooner had he left than Jasmine's shrill voice rang behind me. "Now I understand why Atlas doesn't like you. You're just too pathetic."

She walked up to me. She was much younger than I, yet she lectured me like an elder. "Women have to cry and make a scene for men to care about them. Don't wait at the door like a lapdog every day, hoping he'll come home."

Hearing her provocation, I scoffed. "But after all you've said, everyone still calls me Mrs. Payne, not you. You've schemed and plotted, yet you're still worse off than a lapdog."

Jasmine immediately lost it. "What nonsense are you spouting? Do you think you can be Mrs. Payne forever? Atlas already told me he'd divorce you as soon as the baby's born!"

With that said, she angrily opened her phone's recording app and played an audio clip. A familiar voice rang out.

"Jasmine, don't worry. I'll marry you after the baby is born. Naomi is just a mistake I made when I was young, and it's time to end things with her here."

...

My mind went blank.

Before I could react, Jasmine fell backward, and a huge glass bottle shattered on her.

Blood instantly splattered onto my face, and I immediately grabbed the first-aid kit to treat her. I heard her crying behind me. "Atlas... Don't go... It hurts so much..."

I turned around stiffly and saw her holding up her phone, giving me a triumphant smile.

In less than five minutes, the door was kicked open.

I had never seen Atlas like this before: breathless, panicked, and furious.

My first instinct was to explain, but he only gave me a cold gaze.

He scooped Jasmine up in his arms, his eyes filled with an unprecedented disgust. “Naomi, I thought you were sincere, but it turns out it was all an act! I've only been gone a short while, yet you've already resorted to violence! If anything happens to Jasmine's child, I won't spare you!”

He turned to look at Alfred. “Lock Naomi in the storage room. She's not allowed to come out without my permission!”

Watching his resolute back, I completely lost the desire to call out to him. I just let the bodyguards drag me into the storage room.

Soon, the world was plunged into darkness.

Alfred's comforting voice came from outside the door. "Mrs. Payne, don't be afraid. Mr. Payne is just in a fit of anger. He still cares about you!"

'Cares about me?' I pondered as I looked around at the impenetrable walls and let out a self-deprecating laugh.

If Atlas had even the slightest bit of affection for me, he would not have thrown me in here like garbage.

Fortunately, I was prepared. I took out a key and kicked down the oil lamp in the storage room without hesitation. Then, I lit a fire, disguising it as an accident caused by the lamp. Afterward, I escaped and hid in the backyard, watching the housekeepers scream and run out of the villa.

The luxurious, pristine white manor was now shrouded in thick smoke as it was engulfed by flames.

I threw away the key, tore off the necklace around my neck, and threw it into the fire. Then, listening to the roaring flames behind me, I left the villa where I had grown up. I thought, 'Atlas, let's never meet again.'