The Unwanted Wife's Return (Ex-Husband Wants Me Back) novel Chapter 146

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Until My Last Breath

ELIJAH’S POV:

The cottage came into full view through the trees, and the sight made my blood run cold.

The fire was spreading fast, consuming everything in its path. Flames tore through shattered windows like wild, hungry creatures. Thick black smoke spiraled violently into the sky, blotting out the stars. The heat hit me even from the road, searing my skin like a physical blow.

My breath left me in a broken gasp.

“Hannah…” I whispered.

What if she was in there? What if she was trapped inside a burning building?

“Elijah, STOP!” my godfather shouted through the phone. “Do NOT go in there! You don’t have protective gear! The structure is completely unstable! If you go in there, you’ll die!”

I heard what he was saying. The logical part of my brain understood that he was right.

But I couldn’t stop. Not when Hannah might be inside.

I slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car before it had even fully stopped. The heat was immediately suffocating, stealing oxygen from the air itself. The ground felt unstable beneath my feet as I ran toward the burning structure, my lungs already burning with every breath.

“I’m going in,” I announced with finality, my voice steady despite the terror coursing through my veins.

“Elijah!” he yelled through the phone. “WAIT! Just wait two more minutes for backup!”

Two minutes. It might as well have been two hours. Hannah didn’t have two minutes if she was trapped in there.

Then I heard it. A small voice, so faint I almost thought I’d imagined it.

“I can hear her,” I choked out.

“What? Elijah, what are you…

“I can hear her voice,” I said again, and this time I was certain.

It wasn’t loud and it wasn’t clear. But it was there. Fragile and weak and calling for help.

“Elijah…” The sound was barely there, so thin and quiet I had to strain to hear it over the roar of the flames. But it was unmistakably her voice.

My wife’s voice.

Fear wrapped icy fingers around my heart and squeezed until I couldn’t breathe.

“Hannah!” I screamed, my voice breaking violently with emotion. “I’m here! I’m here, my love! Hold on!”

I ran toward the side of the cottage where the flames seemed less aggressive, immediately coughing violently as smoke swallowed me whole.

The heat was unbearable, like standing too close to the sun. I could feel my skin starting to burn.

I ripped off my shirt and tied it around my mouth and nose, trying to filter out some of the smoke. My eyes burned instantly, tears streaming down my face.