After the explosion, I fled to a small border town and assumed a new identity, working at an environmental protection station.
Everyone believed I had died in that gas explosion.
For two whole years, my cenotaph was kept spotless—someone cleaned it every single day.
Until today.
A team from the higher-ups came to inspect our station.
The moment the door opened, I froze. Walking in was my former superior.
She stared at me in utter disbelief. "You're alive? Why didn't you come back?"
Her voice trembled as she added, "Renald has been guarding your grave for two years. He nearly killed himself down in the mines."
Renald—my ex-husband.
He had a childhood sweetheart named Lorraine. Fifteen years ago, her parents died saving Renald's mother during a mining accident.
Since then, the Montgomery family had treated Lorraine as their own daughter.
After I married Renald, she started coming after me.
The first time, she tampered with my safety rope. I fell into an abandoned shaft and shattered nearly every bone in my body.
Renald brought in the best specialists to pull me back from the brink of death.
The second time, she damaged my oxygen tank. I nearly suffocated in a sealed tunnel.
Renald led a six-hour search before finding me unconscious.
She harmed me; he saved me.
Again and again.
Until the very last time.
Lorraine triggered a gas explosion in my work area. My entire body was burned, my lungs destroyed.
As they carried me away on a stretcher, I used the last of my strength to beg Renald to call the police.
He crouched beside me and shook his head gently.
"Danica, Lorraine didn't mean it. Her parents died saving my mother. For my sake... just let it go, alright?"
At that moment, my heart died completely.
——
The next day, when I woke up in the mining hospital, the first thing I did was call his mother.
I knew she had never liked me.
"Mrs. Montgomery," I said, my voice terrifyingly calm. "I agree with the divorce."
There was a brief silence before her firm, almost relieved reply came through, "I'm glad you've come to your senses. I'll have someone bring the papers. Just sign them."
Not long after I hung up, the Montgomery family's lawyer appeared in my room, politely handing me the divorce agreement.
Tears blurred my vision as memories of Renald flooded back uncontrollably.
Three years of marriage—he had been gentle, considerate, and attentive.
But when it came to Lorraine, he had no limits.
The first time I met her, she had lured me into a restricted mining area, where I inhaled toxic gas and spent a week in the ICU.
I cried and begged Renald to hold her accountable, but he only held me and whispered, "Danica, Lorraine just made a mistake at work. She's not a bad person. As long as you're safe, that's what matters."
From then on, every injury, every betrayal—he brushed them all aside.
When the lawyer finally collected the signed papers, he exhaled in relief.
"Ms. Alba, once the divorce certificate is ready, I'll deliver it personally."
After he left, the room fell silent.
A few moments later, the door creaked open again.
Lorraine walked in, smiling sweetly, carrying a bouquet of white chrysanthemums.
My body went rigid. I instinctively backed away.
"What are you doing here?"
She dropped the flowers to the floor, her smile bright and sinister.
"What else? I came to send you off myself."
"The gas explosion didn't kill you, so I'll just have to finish the job."
Before I could react, she lunged at me and wrapped her hands around my throat. I struggled desperately, but my burned, weakened body was no match for her trained strength.
The air in my lungs thinned rapidly, my vision darkening. Just as my consciousness began to fade, the door burst open.
A doctor doing his rounds screamed, "What are you doing?! Stop right now!"
In the chaos, I gripped his sleeve with the last of my strength.
"C–call... the police…"
