Phoenix Mode, Activated: Burn Me Once, Watch Me Rise

Hope dimmed in Chelsey's eyes, and she felt herself slipping toward unconsciousness as she waited for the inevitable.

Without warning, a powerful, scorching grip closed around her wrist, and she was yanked forward into a firm, unyielding hold.

"Hold onto me!" a man demanded as he hoisted her up with little care.

Almost immediately afterward, an explosion thundered ahead, and his arm forced her head tightly against his chest.

Burning smoke flooded her lungs, and a blast of heat rushed past her back.

Cutting through it all was a sharp, chilling scent that struck her as oddly familiar.

Thick smoke stung Chelsey's eyes until they shut on their own, and she fought to open them, desperate to see who had pulled her from danger.

Through the gap beneath the firefighter's mask, she managed to glimpse a pair of deep-set, unreadable eyes.

At the same time, the edge of her vision caught Brett already outside the flames, carrying Lydia to a safer area.

Clutched in his arms, Lydia was held as though she were something precious reclaimed, and Brett's face showed a depth of fear and anxiety she had never once seen before.

Gradually, Chelsey let her eyes fall shut, and a quiet tear traced its way from the corner of her eye.

Deep down, she felt certain that Brett had also been reborn.

This time, however, he chose Lydia.

In their past life, he had pulled Chelsey from the flames, and that decision had cost Lydia her life.

Because of that loss, he carried Lydia's photograph with him for seven long years, grieving her day after day.

So much so that he would not allow any other woman to give him a child.

At last, he had saved the one who mattered most to him, making up for his greatest regret.

He must be happy now.

At the thought, Chelsey curved her lips into a faint, mocking smile.

Perhaps this second beginning was to give them a clean break from a relationship that was doomed from the start. Letting go felt overdue.

After Chelsey breathed in too much smoke and enduring the surge of overwhelming emotions, darkness crept into her vision, and consciousness slipped away.

Just before everything vanished completely, she thought she heard Brett's voice, filled with urgency and panic. "Where is Chelsey?"

Conviction settled in Chelsey's mind that she must have heard it wrong.

By now, Brett's thoughts and emotions revolved entirely around Lydia, and she no longer held any place in his heart.

...

Morning light greeted Chelsey when she regained consciousness.

Slowly lifting her lids, she was met with the worried face of her mother, Gretchen Holden, whose expression brimmed with fear and concern.

"Dear, you're awake at last. Does anything hurt? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?" Gretchen asked in a rush.

Tears welled up immediately as Chelsey bolted upright and wrapped her arms around her mother, clinging to her as if she might disappear.

"Mom, I missed you so much..." she said, her voice breaking as sobs overtook her.

Having her mother by her side in this life felt like an unexpected gift.

In the life before, a few months after she married Brett, her parents had traveled for business, and their private plane vanished into the mountains after a crash, leaving nothing behind.

From that moment on, aside from Brett's outwardly gentle but hollow affection, warmth had been absent from Chelsey's world.

Attention from others was fixated solely on her stomach, followed by whispers and judgment about why she still had not conceived.

Regardless of how much her body ached or how deeply grievances weighed on her heart, she had always endured everything in silence, with no one to lean on or speak to.

More nights than she could count, she had jolted awake from restless dreams, tears soaking her pillow as she longed for her mother to hold her again and reassure her that everything would be fine.

This time, however, fate had shown unexpected kindness by giving her another opportunity.

In this life, she vowed that none of those tragedies would ever happen again.

While Chelsey reached that quiet resolve, Gretchen continued to stroke her back with gentle, steady motions.

"Were you scared last night? Thank goodness Brett reacted fast and rushed in to save you. I was terrified. My sweetheart, you are about to get married. If anything happened to you, how would I go on?"

At those words, Chelsey's brows knit tightly together.

From what she had seen, Brett had clearly charged in to rescue Lydia the night before.

It was someone else who had pulled her from danger. The thought that Brett would take credit for it ignited anger in her chest.

Even so, she knew it was not the right moment to explain everything. Tightening her grip on Gretchen's hand, Chelsey spoke with quiet firmness. "Mom, I'm not marrying Brett."