Chapter 6
Naomi still wore a hospital gown, her face deathly pale, as if she might collapse at any moment.
Remembering the video scenes, Hazel felt a wave of revulsion.
She coldly tried to walk past her. But Naomi suddenly grabbed her arm.
“Hazel Bennett,” she hissed, her voice raw. “I’m the one who truly loves Roman, so why did he marry you? Even when I swallowed an entire bottle of pills and was dying, he still wouldn’t divorce you! Why?! What makes you so special?!”
By the end, Naomi’s eyes had reddened with fury as she glared at Hazel.
A chill ran down Hazel’s spine. She wanted to say they were already divorced, but before she could speak, Naomi pressed a
chloroform-soaked cloth over her mouth and nose.
As consciousness slipped away, she heard a cold laugh.
“If he won’t divorce you, then widowhood will have to do.”
Hazel awoke to thick smoke.
Opening her eyes, she found herself in an abandoned factory with fire raging around her. A heavy security door trapped her in the small room.
She instinctively rushed to pull it open. But the door had been superheated by the flames-even the lightest touch raised blisters on her palm, and it didn’t budge an inch.
“Help! Is anyone there? Cough, cough. Help me!”
As oxygen diminished, she lay on the floor, struggling to breathe.
Just as her vision began to darken, Hazel heard a familiar voice, and then the security door was kicked open.
“Hazel! How are you? Hold on-I’m getting you out of here!”
Roman lifted the now-limp Hazel and ran toward the exit.
But the next moment, a shrill voice rang out behind them.
“Roman Winters! STOP RIGHT THERE!”
Naomi grabbed a can of gasoline, smashed it in front of herself, and raised a lighter.
“Today you can only choose one. If you save Hazel, then watch me burn to death and remember me forever!”
The firelight painted her face crimson, making her look like a demon from hell.
At this moment, only one thought remained in Hazel’s mind-this woman was completely insane!
Roman’s temple throbbed with a visible vein.
“Naomi Jensen! You’re truly out of your mind. If you want to die, then die alone!”
As he spoke, a ceiling beam suddenly crashed down.
9114
The lighter fell into the spilled gasoline. With a “whoosh,” flames erupted around them.
Roman grabbed the unconscious Naomi and glanced back at Hazel, still lying on the ground.
“Hazel, Naomi’s condition is more serious. I’ll get her out first. The ambulance is on its way-I swear I’ll come back for you!”
With that, he strode out without looking back.
The temperature rose rapidly. Hazel had no time to think,
Fighting through the pain of her injured back, she crawled on hands and knees toward the exit. By the time she dragged herself out of the warehouse, her palms and knees were shredded from the broken glass and debris.
Medical personnel tried to rush over to help her, but Roman coldly held them back.
“Take Naomi to the hospital first. Don’t worry about anything else-I’ll take responsibility for any consequences!”
Watching him hover anxiously at Naomi’s side, Hazel gave a bitter smile.
The taxi and ambulance drove off in completely opposite directions. Just like their lives, which would never intersect again.
Back home, Hazel cleaned her wounds herself, then grabbed her passport and suitcase and headed straight for the airport.
Check-in, boarding pass, luggage drop, security….
Before boarding, she removed her SIM card, snapped it in half, and tossed it into a trash bin.
Then she walked toward her new future without looking back.
21.11
