When the Flames Revealed His True Love Wasn’t Me

Both my husband's childhood sweetheart and I were caught in a roaring fire, and he chose to save me first because I was pregnant. When he came back, all he found was her lifeless body, consumed by the flames. He blamed me for being hysterical and delaying the rescue, refusing to let our daughter call him "dad."

Six years later, when a time machine was invented, he ignored our family's objections and insisted on going back to the past.

"Selena, if you hadn't used the baby to manipulate me, I would have saved her first," Riley accused.

Even our daughter didn't want to call me her mother anymore. "If you hadn’t caused Aunt Natalia’s death, why would dad hate me?" she said.

Facing everyone's contempt, I decided to go back to the past too. This time, I would save myself and owe Riley nothing.

...

The dizziness from the time machine subsided, and I was hit by a nearly unbearable wave of heat. As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Riley standing in front of me, his lips pressed into a thin line. He glanced at me briefly, then rushed without hesitation to Natalia, who had collapsed on the ground.

The fire threatened to consume me, and I desperately tried to escape. Just as I was about to exit the inferno, Riley sped past me, carrying Natalia. In her panic, she shoved me back into the flames. I fell, and a toppled cabinet landed squarely on my back. Despite the searing pain, I gritted my teeth, moved the cabinet off, and crawled out of the blaze slowly.

When I finally reached safety and was coughing violently on the ground, Riley, who had already escaped with Natalia, walked over and looked at me with cold indifference. "Selena, turns out you could get out on your own? You stayed in the fire to make me save you, leaving me no time to save her."

His icy gaze extinguished the heat of the fire.

At that moment, he didn’t know I had also traveled back via the time machine.

"Planning to run to your parents to complain, right? Say what you want, but if you drag Natalia into it, don’t blame me for ignoring our marriage," he warned.

Hearing that, I instinctively touched my stomach and calmly said, "Riley, let's get a divorce."

Riley froze, staring at me for a long moment before replying impatiently, "I'm not in the mood for your drama."

"I'm serious. Let's end this."

In his previous life, Riley’s two biggest regrets were not saving Natalia first from the fire and marrying me because of his parents' wishes. I wasn't going to repeat the same mistakes, so I would help him fulfill these regrets.

Riley looked at me coldly, his voice growing more frigid. "Don't think I don't see through your little schemes. You want to use the divorce to create drama about me saving her first, making my parents dislike her even more."

"Marriage isn't a game. Stop using divorce as a way to act out. Let's go; I’ll take you to the hospital for a full check-up."

With that, Riley reached out to help me up, his gaze clearly warning me not to continue with this.

A dull pain throbbed in my lower abdomen. I had barely lifted my arm when Natalia was already clinging to Riley's hand. "Riley, Skittles isn’t looking well—maybe it's the smoke. Could you come with me to take it to the vet?"

Seeing Natalia's tearful concern, Riley agreed without hesitation. Only then did he look at me again.

Following his gaze, Natalia pleaded, "Selena, since you're not seriously hurt, could you wait here a bit? Skittles means the world to me."

Skittles was a parrot Riley had given Natalia.

"I'll call an ambulance to get you to the hospital. Once Skittles is taken care of, I’ll come to the hospital to be with you," Riley promised.

I nodded lightly. "Alright, you go ahead."

A trace of surprise crossed Riley’s eyes, but seeing how anxious Natalia was, he didn’t ask further and drove off with her.

After they left, I struggled to open my oversized jacket, revealing the bright bloodstains on my dress. By the time the ambulance arrived and I was wheeled into surgery, the doctor’s grave expression told me everything.

"Miss Jacobs, you came in too late. I'm sorry, but we couldn't save your child."

...

Last time, because Riley saved me first, our child was unharmed. After our daughter was born, Riley provided financially but did nothing else.

Our daughter once cried and asked me why other kids got gifts from their dads, yet Riley hadn’t even bought her a toy.

The truth hit me when I overheard Riley talking to her by chance: "Don't call me 'dad.' I won't acknowledge you as my daughter. I'll find other ways to make it up to you."

Looking into her tear-filled, bewildered eyes, Riley carefully pulled out feathers he had kept for years. "If people hadn't been busy rushing your mom to the hospital the day you were born, Skittles wouldn’t have gotten lost. Natalia must hate me for not saving her and for losing Skittles."

"If I had another chance, I would protect her and Skittles, even if it meant losing my child."

Remembering this, my eyes stung with unshed tears.

From the moment I came back, I hadn’t intended to keep this child, so I accepted the outcome calmly.

No sooner had my friend delivered the divorce papers than Riley appeared at the hospital, a bag of toys in hand.

"I saw these on the way and thought they were cute—little gifts for the baby in advance," he said, placing each toy beside me with a carefree smile.

"Did you find Skittles?" I asked.

Riley paused, then nodded. "Yes, so I hope you won’t mention today's events to my parents. I don’t want them to misunderstand Natalia. If you can keep this secret, I’ll agree to anything you ask."

So, he bought these toys to appease me only for Natalia's sake.

I glanced at the toys and saw the "For Parrots" label on the tags. Instantly, something seemed to block my heart.

These were meant to cheer me up but were casually bought when he was shopping for Skittles with Natalia.

"Anything?" I asked, holding back tears and forcing a smile.

When he nodded, I pulled out the divorce papers my friend had delivered, leaving only the signature section visible.

"Then sign a promise," I said, covering the rest of the document.

Riley frowned in confusion. "What promise?"

"That you'll never change your mind."

I used to love making such childish requests, so he didn’t doubt me and signed his name without hesitation.

Stashing away the divorce papers, I felt strangely relieved.

In the past, Riley was my savior. This time, let me give him his freedom.

Riley and I had known each other since we were kids. My family wasn’t poor, but after my parents divorced and I was sent to live with my father and his new wife, I became the most unwelcome person in the house.

When our class was required to order school uniforms, I had to wear a knock-off my stepmother bought me.

Amidst the derisive laughter of my classmates, Riley tore his own uniform and stood next to me, restoring my shattered dignity.

"Is it so funny to accidentally buy a knock-off? Not everyone cares about these things. Her clothes are just like mine."

Later, when my stepmother was pregnant, my father, wanting to rid himself of a burden, locked me in a house that accidentally caught fire. At the brink of death, it was Riley who risked his life to save me...

After my father went to prison and my stepmother disappeared with the money, Riley covered my tuition, preventing me from dropping out of school...