He Left Me in the Fire Chapter 05
After blocking him, I transferred to a different hospital.
Meanwhile, back in the hospital room, Nathan stood before the empty bed.
He ran his fingertips over the smooth sheets as a hollow ache spread through his chest.
He thought of what the nurse had said.
“Ms. Hayes already checked out. She left without taking a thing.”
For the first time, panic cracked through his composure.
No matter how badly we’d fought before, I had always stayed put, waiting for him to come around.
But this time, I’d left without a sound.
No clinging. No confrontation. No tears.
He pulled out his phone. Every one of the dozens of calls he tried went straight to voicemail.
His iMessages had turned green.
I had severed every connection between us.
Soft footsteps sounded behind him. Vivian’s eyes were rimmed with red.
“Nathan, is Serena angry?
“It’s all my fault. If only I hadn’t lost my memory.”
She fell back on her usual act: helpless and hurt.
But this time, Nathan didn’t even acknowledge her.
“Or maybe she is upset that you went to Aspen with me?”
Nothing got through to him.
The fire alarm replayed on a loop in his mind.
Instinctively, he had shielded Vivian and run.
I’d been lying facedown on that hospital bed, unable to move.
And he had forgotten me completely.
He saw the raw, bleeding burns on my back and the blisters covering my hands.
I had never once cried out to him in pain.
For the first time, a nameless mix of panic and unease rose inside him.
“Get some rest.”
Nathan’s voice went cold as he evaded Vivian’s touch.
Vivian froze.
She watched him search frantically for any sign of me.
Talousy and hatred filled her eyes.
Across town, I climbed into Derek’s car and left the city that had held me captive for more than a decade.
Nathan had saved me ten years earlier.
From that moment on, I had followed in his footsteps..
I had worked myself raw in this city, saving every dollar to help Nathan succeed.
I had never imagined it would end so bleakly.
The scars on my back itched and throbbed in waves.
They were the fire’s lifelong mark on me.
I wouldn’t let Vivian get away with this.
Derek handed me a bottle of water.
“Now for the first piece of news.
“You are the Ashfords‘ long–lost biological daughter and rightful heir.”
I stared blankly for a moment, then looked up.
“No wonder Vivian has been trying to take everything from me.
“Nathan’s been convinced her amnesia was caused by the fire.
“It was just a ploy to get close to him.”
Derek smiled faintly.
“Vivian has also weaponized Jason’s sacrifice to keep Nathan tied to her. She is calculating.”
I thought about it and had to agree.
“Poor Nathan.”
Derek glanced over. “So are you going back to him?”
I shook my head.
“No.
“The moment he chose to leave me behind in that fire, we were already over.”
He nodded.
“Then get some rest. I’ll handle everything.”
I leaned against the window, watching the scenery blur past, and murmured a quiet reply.
Nathan and I owed each other nothing anymore.
That night, Nathan didn’t sleep at all.
He never found me.
e hospital’s security footage gave him no clue where I had gone.
He sank into the couch, defeated.
His gaze swept the room for some proof that I had ever lived there.
The drawer beneath the coffee table tugged at his memory.
He pulled it open. It was empty.
At one in the morning, he called Rosa, our housekeeper.
It took a while before she answered.
The handmade ceramic flowers I had stored there had already been thrown out.
“Mr. Carter, your wife said they were taking up space…”
Nathan’s voice shot up.
“Where did you throw them?”
When Rosa said they were in the dumpster downstairs, Nathan grabbed a jacket and rushed for the door.
Then he saw the cartoon bunny T–shirt hanging in the closet.
He remembered the matching Tom and Jerry shirts I had once had custom–made for us.
He had thrown them away unopened.
Nathan finally realized that he had never once taken my hurt seriously.
He emptied the dumpster onto the pavement and searched every scrap.
Nathan, who had always been meticulous about his appearance, now reeked.
The ceramic flowers were nowhere to be found.
He remembered them now: delicate ceramic blossoms, one after another.
Slumped against a tree, Nathan finally understood the truth.
I had swallowed one disappointment after another until I left without a word.
