Frame Me Twice? No Way, Ma'am

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to!" Jessica snapped.

Only then did I look at Stanley. He held his head high, as if he were expecting me to bow down and worship him.

My lips curled, and while everyone else looked on in shock, I said slowly, "I'm sorry, Captain Porter. I was wrong."

Stanley's eyes were practically gleaming with scorn and smug delight. Jessica was just as satisfied with my display.

I kept my eyes lowered to hide the cold glint in them. I would let them revel in smug contentment for a little longer. It wouldn't be long before I'd wipe that cocky smile off their faces.

…

"It's Stan's celebration party tonight. Since he's the star of the event, he has to be there. You have nothing else to do anyway, so you can be on duty in his place," Jessica instructed matter-of-factly.

But I pressed a hand to my forehead, looking a little troubled. "I'd be more than happy to cover for the captain, but I'm starting to get rather lightheaded. It feels like I'm about to doze off. Do you think I'm coming down with something, honey?"

Jessica and Stanley exchanged a glance, noting the exhilaration in each other's eyes.

"Since Craig isn't feeling well, Jessica, we shouldn't trouble him," Stanley piped up in feigned concern. "We should let him go home and get some rest as soon as he can."

However, Jessica simply eyed me in disdain and said, "Why are you so weak? You're always suffering from something or another. Are you even a real man? Get the hell out of here and go home. Stop being such an embarrassment in front of everyone!"

Ignoring the attitude she took with me, I smiled warmly and reminded her, "Don't stay out too late tonight, babe, and don't drink too much. Otherwise, you'll have a bad hangover in the morning."

Jessica simply waved me off impatiently before walking away with her arm around Stanley's.

The rest of the squad glanced at me, standing there all alone, with looks of sympathy and ridicule.

"Craig's always so strict with us during our training. I never thought he'd turn out to be a henpecked husband!"

"He's more than just a henpecked husband. Isn't it obvious that she's openly cheating on him?"

"If my wife ever dared to talk to me like that, I would've divorced her long ago."

As their chatter reached my ears, I let out a self-mocking smile.

Jessica and I had been together for ten years, and our relationship had been great. Then Stanley came along.

But even after finding out about their affair, I couldn't bear to leave her and give up on our relationship.

I kept giving her more and more chances, hoping that she would come to her senses and come back to me eventually.

Who would've thought that my soft-heartedness would result in a tragedy for me?

This was the third life, and perhaps my last chance. I couldn't repeat the mistakes I'd made in my first two lives.

I'd applied to use some of my annual leave. Once it was approved, I left the fire station.

I took a cab to Henry Stone's house. He was my friend and a lawyer.

"Help me test this chicken soup for possible drugs or other unusual substances. And while you're at it, draft a divorce agreement for me," I said and handed him the resealable bag with the soup.

After taking the soup, Henry looked at me in shock. "You're serious about it, Craig? I thought you were joking in your text."

I gave a bitter smile. "When have I ever joked about something like this?"

"You two—"

I cut him off, "I don't have time to explain everything to you now, Henry. Just do what I said. When the time comes, you'll know why I'm doing this. You're my best friend. You're the only person I can trust."

After saying that, I headed straight to the airport. Once I got there, I didn't go through customs. I sat in a spot visible to all the security cameras and pretended to fall asleep, waiting for the police to arrive.

At 10:00 am the next day, the police found me.

"Craig Latham," one of the officers said, "you are suspected of arson. Please come with us for further investigation."