The next day, the factory fire made it into the local headlines, but the focus quickly shifted. The videos of me allegedly refusing to use the key to save Harvey had gone viral overnight. Media outlets feasted on the scandal, plastering headlines across every platform: [Heartless Wife Leaves Husband to Burn?]
Online, comments poured in like venom.
[Monster!]
[Cold-blooded snake. If I were her husband, I'd leave her immediately!]
[She's clearly hiding something. Check her bank accounts and lovers—bet there's a man in the picture.]
Fabricated stories surfaced soon after. Opportunistic men, seeing a chance for attention, began to spin ridiculous tales of affairs and "secret relationships," fueling the fire with their lies. My name had become a public curse word.
***
When I arrived at the hospital the following morning, the lobby buzzed with activity. I walked past journalists clustered by the reception desk, their whispers carried faintly through the air.
Inside his room, Harvey sat upright in bed, pale and weak, with dark shadows beneath his eyes. He looked small against the stark white sheets. Yet his tired eyes flicked immediately to me and his expression softened with desperation.
"Maya!" he called out, his voice strained but urgent. He struggled to sit straighter, his trembling hands gripping the blanket. "You're finally here!" His eyes locked onto mine, searching, pleading. "I don't blame you at all. Please, don't do anything foolish."
The reporters who had been swarming him turned in unison, sensing a shift. Microphones were raised, cameras refocused. The red lights blinked alive once more and the lens of every device turned toward me.
Evelyn, perched by Harvey's side, scoffed loudly, drawing all eyes back to her. She tossed the damp towel onto the bedside table and turned to glare at me, a venomous smile twisting her lips. "Hmph! You still dare show your face here? I've never seen such a shameless woman!"
"Mom, stop it!" Harvey weakly interjected, wincing as he tried to calm her.
By the window, Lucia had been arranging a tray of freshly washed fruit. Now, she set it down with a deliberate click, the sound oddly sharp in the quiet room. A sardonic smile twisted her lips as she turned to me. "Why are you even here?" she asked, her voice cool with contempt.