Chapter 17
Andrew stared hard at the burning wreck, his body trembling uncontrollably.
The police and firefighters wore solemn expressions.
“Sir, please calm down. The fire is too intense… anyone inside…”
The fire chief didn’t finish the sentence, but the implication was clear.
No one could survive a blaze like this.
Timothy collapsed to the ground as though all the strength had left his body.
In his mind, scenes of Gabrielle flashed endlessly.
From the first time they met at six years old, to the two decades they spent together.
Her smiles, her tears, her admiration and reliance on him.
He remembered her shy confession and her tears when he proposed.
Her devastated expression when she discovered his affair…
Her cold, final words when she broke up with him in the hospital…
Her chilling calm when she agreed to the arranged marriage…
Why… Why did it have to end like this?
It was his fault. He had failed her. He had betrayed her.
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He hadn’t even had time to make it right, to tell her he regretted everything.
Why did fate have to punish him like this?
“No… no… Gabrielle can’t be dead…”
He muttered to himself like a soulless puppet.
At last, the flames were extinguished.
Thick white smoke and a pungent odor filled the interior of the car.
Firefighters cautiously pried open the deformed car door.
Everyone held their breath.
And then, they saw it.
In the charred remains of the driver’s seat was a curled–up and completely burned body.
It had been carbonized, completely unrecognizable.
Only a piece of the wedding dress could tell something.
The body should be the missing bride, Gabrielle Cobbett.
“No!”
Darlene let out a scream and fainted once again.
The once–imposing Andrew now stood weeping uncontrollab barely able to stay upright.
Timothy lunged at the police line again, trying to break through.
“Gabrielle! Gabrielle!”
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His voice was hoarse, raw with despair.
It took several officers to restrain him.
The scene was a mess, cries, shouts, and sirens mingled into chaos.
Journalists furiously clicked their shutters, capturing every tragic
frame.
The daughter of the Cobbett family and Goldstein family’s future daughter–in–law… perished in a fire on her wedding day.
The news would undoubtedly shake all of Balamora, if not the entire
nation.
No one noticed…
Amid the chaos, a nondescript fire command vehicle quietly drove
away.
In the back seat sat someone in a firefighter’s uniform, face darkened with soot.
Slowly, she removed her helmet and oxygen mask.
And beneath it was Gabrielle’s dusty but incredibly calm face.
Through the car window, she took one last look at the chaos behind her.
She saw her father’s tears, her mother’s collapse…
And Timothy, utterly broken.
In her heart, there was no hatred. No love, Only peace.
The Gabrielle who loved Timothy Goldstein for twenty years had already “died” in the fire.
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What survived was a brand–new, free soul.
The vehicle accelerated, heading toward a private airport far away.
Inside the car, Gabrielle removed the heavy firefighter uniform and changed into a casual outfit that Zachary had prepared in advance.
She wiped away the ash applied to her face, revealing her delicate features, though tinged with exhaustion and daze.
Zachary sat beside her, handing over a bottle of water.
“How are you feeling?”
His voice, for once, carried genuine concern, rather than the usual tone of a business deal.
Gabrielle took the bottle and unscrewed the cap, but she didn’t take any sip.
“It feels like I’ve just come out of a long, vivid nightmare.”
She gazed out the window as the familiar cityscape flashed by in
reverse.
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Chapter 17
1 288 (Vouchers
What survived was a brand–new, free soul.
The vehicle accelerated, heading toward a private airport far away.
Inside the car, Gabrielle removed the heavy firefighter uniform and changed into a casual outfit that Zachary had prepared in advance.
She wiped away the ash applied to her face, revealing her delicate features, though tinged with exhaustion and daze.
Zachary sat beside her, handing over a bottle of water.
“How are you feeling?”
His voice, for once, carried genuine concern, rather than the usual tone of a business deal.
Gabrielle took the bottle and unscrewed the cap, but she didn’t take any sip.
“It feels like I’ve just come out of a long, vivid nightmare.”
She gazed out the window as the familiar cityscape flashed by in
reverse.
12.54
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.