He Burned Me Alive, Now I Shine Like the Stars

The day before the model competition, I found myself locked inside my house as it went up in flames. By the time they rescued me, my face was torn and scorched and most of my body was severely burned. Outside the operating room, my mother was crying like her heart had shattered, blaming herself over and over for accidentally locking the door. My fiancé pulled every string he could, rallying all the top dermatologists in the city, swearing he'd restore my face to the way it was.

However, just as I was being wheeled into surgery, I heard my mother's hesitant voice through the door. "Jacob, even if it's to help Kimmy win the modeling contest, wasn't it too cruel to set the fire and lock the door, leaving Lily disfigured like that?"

Jacob Todd let out a cold laugh. "If Lily weren't so vain and selfish, I wouldn't have had to go this far. She knew Kimmy had depression, but she kept flaunting her perfect figure in front of her. All she lost was her face and skin. Meanwhile, Kimmy lost her happiness. Lily owed her. Don't worry, I'll still marry Lily. Once she has the title of Mrs. Todd, even if she looks like a monster, no one will dare talk. I'm being so good to her; she should be grateful."

Is destroying my health and career being "good" to me? I gritted my teeth, a mix of coldness and pain tearing through my heart. The man I loved deeply, the mother who doted on me—I wanted neither of them anymore.

***

"Hold off on the surgery. Get all the specialists out of the room. Let them wait," Jacob ordered.

The doctor, who had just put on his gloves, looked surprised. "Mr. Todd, Miss Stewart's burns are too severe. Her trachea has also been damaged by the smoke. If we don't operate immediately, she'll not only become mute, but her face and skin will be completely ruined."

Hearing this, my mother seemed to soften. "Jacob, Lily is so badly hurt; she definitely can't participate in the model competition tomorrow. Why not just let her have the surgery … "

"If she's ruined, so be it. Suppose we operate now with her vain and selfish personality, even if she can't win. In that case, she'll find a way to sabotage Kimmy. The only way to stop her is to break her spirit completely. This is for her own good. She needs to be taught a lesson."

He picked up a damp cotton swab and gently dabbed it on my cracked lips. His touch was soft, but his words cut deeper than any wound. "I promised Kimmy. She has to win this modelling contest. I won't let anyone stand in her way."

My mother let out a small sigh and turned to the doctor. "At least ease her pain. Just clean and disinfect her burns. Be gentle, don't let her suffer too much."

No one noticed how hard I was shaking as my soul had just been stabbed right through. So, it wasn't an accident after all. The fire that nearly killed me was all part of their plan. The man I loved set me up just to clear the way for Kimberly. Even my usually doting mother was an accomplice.

They stood at the door, indifferent to my desperate cries for help from the other side, their minds filled with relief that I was finally ruined. The pain crushed my chest. My raw throat convulsed and I coughed up a mouthful of blood. My mother hurriedly reached out but then realized there was nowhere on my body she could touch. Her eyes welled up with tears of distress. "Baby, Mommy's here. It hurts, doesn't it? Don't be scared. Mommy's not going anywhere."

Jacob lost his temper and snapped, "Where the hell are those skin specialists? If anything happens to my wife, your whole hospital is done!"

The doctor, who had obviously been briefed, explained obsequiously, "Mr. Todd, we've been urging them. There was a traffic accident on the way and the road was blocked. The earliest they can arrive is tomorrow."

Jacob kicked him out of the way. "Get lost!"