He Saved His "Work Wife", I Saved Myself

Chapter 1

The explosion threw me into the rubble.

By the time I got my head up, my husband and his partner had already pulled back fifteen feet.

I opened my mouth to call for help, and the man who was supposed to be protecting me was walking away.

The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder, shaken up over a scrape the size of a dime.

Like I had never existed at all.

At the department, Arthur and Elena were the golden pair. Everybody said so.

Out in the field, they were the kind of partners who put their lives in each other's hands.

And no matter how hard I worked, all I ever did was trail behind them. Just civilian staff.

Arthur used to grip my shoulder and promise me, "Don't worry. Anything goes wrong, we're the first ones through the door."

Then something went wrong, and he threw himself in front of Elena without a second of hesitation.

Looking at the two of them walking away, I was suddenly just so tired.

A marriage where I'd always be the outsider. I didn't want to do it anymore.

*****

A sharp cold hit my left arm, followed by tearing agony. I slammed into a rusted metal rack. My vision went black. Smoke poured down my throat, and I coughed up blood-flecked spit. Nothing but ringing in my ears.

I pressed my mangled right hand against the ground, trying to get up. My palm slipped in a pool of blood.

When I looked up through the acrid smoke, I saw my husband. Arthur.

He kicked in the second floor's teetering iron door. He didn't glance my way. He went straight for Elena in the corner.

A burning support beam came crashing down. Arthur threw himself over it without hesitation, blocking the flames with his back and pulling Elena into his arms. She clutched his bulletproof vest, still in shock, legs too weak to stand.

They were not even fifteen feet from me.

"Arth—" I tried to call out.

Arthur didn't break stride. He locked his eyes on the emergency exit and walked straight out.

It wasn't until the search and rescue team charged up to the second floor and shined a high-powered flashlight in my face that anyone noticed me.

"Severe casualty here! Stretcher!"

They carried me out of the rubble. Blood from my left arm dripped onto the steps, soaking through most of my shirt. The ambulance's flashing red and blue lights stabbed at my eyes.

The paramedic cut open my sleeve and blasted the wound with saline. I shook from the pain.

"Shrapnel's lodged in the muscle. Needs stitches now. Blunt force trauma to the back of the head too. Don't move!" the medic shouted.

I leaned against the ambulance wall and said nothing.

Five steps away at the other ambulance, Arthur was unscrewing a bottle of water for Elena, tilting it toward her lips. Her pale arm barely had a scratch on it.

"I'm fine, Arthur. Really." She took a sip. Her voice was shaky.

Arthur stared at the broken skin. His voice dropped low, thick with leftover fear. "If that beam had come down a little to the left and hit your head..."

He didn't finish the sentence. His hand gripped her shoulder tight.

I watched their backs.

Two hours ago, right outside this warehouse, Arthur had gripped my shoulder the exact same way.

"Chloe, the dealer's demanding to see the municipal archives. You work in the records office. Just go in and stall him for ten minutes." His voice was rushed. "Don't worry. Elena and I will be right downstairs. Anything goes wrong, we'll be the first ones in."

I was a desk worker. My physical fitness wasn't even up to the level of an average officer.

But he was my husband. I agreed.

And when the explosion hit, the first person he protected was his "golden partner."

The doctor gave me a pain shot and helped me stand. As I stepped down from the ambulance, my foot caught on an empty medicine bottle on the ground.

The plastic clatter made Arthur turn around.

He saw half my body soaked in blood, and his brow furrowed instantly. "Chloe, didn't you study the floor plans before the operation? Why didn't you evacuate along the designated route?"

Elena poked her head out from behind him and smiled, ever so understanding. "Chloe, don't blame Arthur. It was chaos in there. He had to secure the scene. You're just civilian staff. The explosion rattled you and you took a wrong turn. We all get it."

They were the acknowledged golden partners.

A perfect match.

I didn't argue. I didn't mention who had dead-bolted the only backup exit on the second floor right before the explosion.

I turned and walked toward the ambulance designated for transporting serious casualties.

"Chloe! Where are you going? We haven't finished our statements for the case!" Arthur yelled after me.

I slammed the ambulance door shut. The flap fell, sealing us out of sight.

I worked my blood-caked wedding ring off my ring finger, bit by bit.

And dropped it straight into the trash.