I believed my husband and I would be together forever—until the fire changed everything. It scarred me physically and revealed the truth about Evan’s shallow love. Though his rejection crushed me, life had other plans, and in the end, I got the last laugh.
It was a chilly fall evening when the fire started. The old furnace in our rented house had been unreliable for months. I’d urged Evan to have it checked, but as a busy medical student, he dismissed my concerns. That night, I lit a few candles to brighten the room during a power outage. Engrossed in a book, I barely noticed the acrid smell until it was too late. Flames climbed the walls, and in my panic, I accidentally knocked over the candles, worsening the fire.
