Marina Gilbert posted nine photos, captioned: "Finally got to meet the Miss Pruitt that Felix is always mentioning. So gracious and well-bred, no wonder everyone adores her."

The photos were from a private Gilbert family brunch. Kate Pruitt sat beside Marina, and Felix leaned in to place a shrimp dumpling on her plate.

Marina messaged me privately soon after: "Stacy, Miss Pruitt came all this way to visit, so we entertained her a little. Don't read too much into it. A Gilbert daughter-in-law should have a big heart."

I replied: "Ma'am, Felix and I have broken up. The wedding is canceled too."

Marina called at once, her tone turning sharp: "What kind of child are you? Felix is willing to settle down and marry you. He's already given you plenty of face."

I set the phone down on the table and went on sealing the cardboard box.

She kept her anger clamped down on her end. "Kate is the one who got away from Felix's younger years. It's perfectly normal for a man to carry a bit of his past. Hold on too tight and you'll only push him further away."

I said, "Then let him be pushed away."

The line went quiet for a moment, then Marina let out a cold laugh. "Don't come crying later. The Fox family took plenty of our gifts. If this really blows up, it won't be the Gilberts who look bad."

I hung up and swept the plush toy, the couple's mugs, and the photo album Felix had given me into a trash bag.

At the very bottom of the closet was a gray sweater, only half finished.

I'd been knitting it for Felix. His stomach was weak, and his hands always went cold in winter.

I pulled the yarn apart, the wool spilling loop by loop around my feet, like all the lines I'd surrendered over and over across three years.

The pickup guy from the local recycling service came fast. He hefted the bags and asked, "You don't want any of this, miss?"

I nodded. "No. Please just clear it all out."

The apartment emptied out little by little, until all that was left was the ring of keys still hanging by the entryway.

The door rattled twice.

It was pushed open from outside a moment later, and Felix stood in the doorway, wheeling two pink suitcases.

Felix swept his eyes over the living room and frowned at me. "Why'd you strip the place bare like this?"

Kate peeked out from behind him, the cat still cradled in her arms, her voice timid. "Stacy, is this a bad time for me to come by?"

Felix rolled the suitcases in as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "A pipe burst in her rental. It's not safe for a single girl to stay at a hotel, so she'll stay here with us for a few days."

I asked, "Which room?"

Felix pushed the cases toward the master bedroom. "Kate's picky about beds. She'll take the master for now. You tidy up the spare room."

Kate hurriedly caught his sleeve. "Felix, don't be like that. Stacy will be upset. I can sleep on the couch, really."

Felix bent his head to soothe her. "You're not well. Don't put yourself through that."

He lifted his eyes to me, his voice cool. "You're going to be the lady of this house anyway. Can't you show a little grace?"

"This isn't my house."

Felix's brow relaxed. "Good, as long as you know it. I paid for the newlywed apartment. You arranged a few pieces of furniture. That doesn't mean you get to put on airs."

I reached over and lifted the keys off the entryway hook. The metal was cold against my palm.

Kate said softly, "Stacy, don't misunderstand. Felix just worries something will happen to me. In his heart he still cares about you most."

I looked at her. "That movie ticket you posted last night. Was it a good film?"

Something flickered in Kate's eyes. Felix stepped in front of her. "Are you done? What does Kate owe you?"

I said, "She doesn't owe me anything. You do."

Felix stared at me, a thin smile tugging at his mouth. "Here we go again. Stacy, every time you're unhappy you threaten me with a breakup. Is it fun for you?"

I pulled out the black suitcase I'd packed long before. The wheels ground across the floor with a faint sound.

The smile faded from Felix's face. "Where are you going?"

I changed my shoes at the entryway, my voice calm. "No need to tidy the spare room. The apartment is all yours now, take your time settling in. Felix, we're done."

Kate's eyes reddened at once. "Stacy, this is all my fault. I'll leave right now. Please don't joke about the wedding."

But Felix reached out to stop her, his gaze going cold. "Let her go."

He leaned against the doorframe, his voice pressed down over something hot. "The moment you walk out that door today, don't expect me to come coaxing you back. Come back and apologize within three days, and I can still pretend none of this happened."

I pulled the door open.

Felix spoke again. "Stacy Fox, I'm not going to smooth things over with your parents for you. When they ask, you can explain it yourself."

My steps stopped for half a second.

For three years, my mother had told everyone I'd married well, and my father had carried the cigarettes and liquor the Gilberts sent, his face flushed with pride as he laughed in front of the relatives.

Felix knew I was afraid of letting them down, so every time he could put his finger right on the tender spot.

Kate twisted the knife softly. "Stacy, Uncle and Auntie love Felix so much. Isn't it a little selfish of you, acting like this?"

I turned back and looked at Felix. "Changing the name on the invitation, bringing her to meet your family, letting her have the master bedroom—is that me being selfish too?"

Felix was silent for a moment, then quickly slid back into arrogance. "We'll deal with all that later. Don't put on a show in the doorway. Who's it for?"

I set the key on the shoe cabinet.

Felix finally noticed. His brow twitched, almost imperceptibly. "You're leaving this behind too?"

I said, "You just said the apartment was paid for with your money. And since even the master bedroom has someone new sleeping in it now, it wouldn't be right for me to keep this key."

His face darkened in an instant. "Stacy Fox, do you really have to make it this final?"

I didn't answer. I wheeled my suitcase into the elevator.

Just before the doors closed, Felix's voice chased after me. "Stacy Fox, once you're out that door, don't even think about asking me to give it back!"

The elevator went down, and I dropped the spare access card into the trash bin.

On my phone, a message came from the head of the rescue shelter. "Stacy, a National Geographic documentary team is coming tomorrow to shoot some charity footage. Before you leave, could you help out for one more day? They happen to be hiring a highlands medical consultant, and I think you'd be perfect for it."

I replied with an okay.

The screen had barely gone dark when Kate's feed refreshed.

She was standing at the master bedroom's floor-to-ceiling window, the caption reading, "After all the wandering, I've finally come home to the place that feels safest."

Early the next morning, I took my suitcase to the shelter.

I changed into scrubs, and the familiar smell of disinfectant washed over me.

I was bent over, dimming the heat lamp on the last post-op puppy, when a clamor suddenly rose from the yard.

The shelter head came into the treatment room wiping her hands, her face tight. "Stacy, the documentary team was supposed to be filming, but the people Kate brought cut right in."

My fingers stilled. "Who approved that?"

Rachel Bennett lowered her voice. "The sponsor gave us short notice, said she needs footage for her charitable image. Felix came too. The director of that documentary, Mr. Graves, has a face like thunder. He's got his crew standing off to the side, watching with this cold smile."

I walked out into the yard. Kate stood in front of the kennels in a white dress, the cameras circling around her.

She bent down to pick up a yellow puppy that had just been spayed, and I clamped my hand over the cage door at once. "It's been less than twenty-four hours since surgery. You can't hold it."

Kate looked up at me, her smile all innocence. "Stacy, I just want everyone to see how adorable it is. People will only donate if they fall in love with it."

Felix stood outside the frame, frowning. "Stacy Fox, don't make this ugly."

I stared into his eyes. "Its wound hasn't healed. If something happens, who takes responsibility?"

Kate dropped her gaze, wounded. "Felix, let it go. Stacy's probably still angry with me."

Someone on the livestream crew muttered under their breath, "This vet's so fierce. No wonder people online say this shelter has no standards."

Felix's hand closed around my wrist. Not hard, just enough to make my grip on the cage door slip. "Two minutes for a photo. Don't blow this out of proportion."

Kate seized the chance and dragged the puppy out. It thrashed in pain, its claws snagging the hem of her dress.

Disgust flickered in her eyes, and her fingers suddenly let go.

The puppy hit the marble floor hard. The stitches tore open, and blood welled up fast.

I threw myself down and pressed on the wound, shouting at Rachel. "Gauze, epinephrine, now!"

Kate shrieked and stumbled back, the camera lurching wildly. Before the stream cut out, the comments had already flooded with accusations.

Felix's face went white, but the first thing he did was steady Kate. "Did it scratch you?"

Rachel came running with the first-aid kit, but the faint heartbeat under my hands had already stopped.

I looked up at him, my hands covered in blood. "Felix. It's dead."

He glanced at the blood on the floor, avoided my eyes, and dropped his voice. "Deal with the PR first."

Half an hour later, Kate posted a long statement, implying the shelter had mishandled things and that she'd only been an innocent bystander trying to help.

The abuse poured in online. The shelter's phone rang off the hook.

I went to pull the security footage, but the computer showed the file was corrupted. The tech's face was grim. "Someone got into the backend remotely."

Felix called right after, his tone perfectly even. "Stacy, you posted the statement, right?"

I gripped the mouse. "What statement?"

He was quiet for a moment, like he was coaxing someone who didn't understand. "Kate's about to sign a major brand endorsement. She can't have anything negative attached to her. You take the blame on this one for now."

I opened the shelter's work account and saw an apology posted under my name.

It said I'd been careless, that my training methods were rough, and that I'd frightened the puppy into a fatal fall.

Felix went on. "Once this blows over, I'll buy you a big place downtown. The wedding goes ahead as planned, and I'll change the invitations back too."

I hit record on the call and asked him, "My account. You logged into it?"

He said, "You only use a handful of passwords. I posted it for you. Comes off more presentable than anything you'd write yourself."

I laughed once. "You really think of everything."

Felix thought I'd softened. His voice eased. "Just be good. Once this is over, the position of Mrs. Gilbert is still yours."

The backlash kept building. Someone left a funeral wreath outside the clinic, and a sign was stuck to the glass: "Dog-abusing vet, get out."

Rachel shielded me toward the back door, her eyes rimmed red with worry. "Stacy, lie low for now. I'll figure something out."

I pulled my suitcase behind me and left, tugging out my SIM card on the way, snapping it in half, and dropping it in the trash.

I'd bought the train ticket to Lhasa long ago anyway. It was as good a time as any to go see that highland wildlife rescue project Rachel had recommended.

The train swayed. My phone, connected to the car's public WiFi, suddenly buzzed.

In the dark, someone sent me a high-definition video from an account I didn't recognize.