I placed Cheese in the carrier and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Alex blocked my path.

I ignored him and changed direction.

He grabbed my hand, his expression strained. "Alright, Serena, it was wrong of me to bring Cheese here without telling you. I won't do it again. If I do, you can beat me to death."

He took my hand and made it pound against his chest.

He used to say things like this back when we were good—back when I'd playfully raise my fist and pretend to hit him.

Now I just shook him off.

Alex frowned. "Lily and I both apologized. You should be satisfied now, right, princess? It's hard to get a car right now, and most drivers won't take pets. I'll drive you back."

I checked the ride-hailing app—orders were backed up for miles. In the end, I got in his car.

But just as Alex opened the front passenger door, Lily slid in ahead of me.

"Serena, I get carsick. You don't mind if I sit up front, right?"

Watching how natural she looked, I thought of yesterday—how the front seat had already been adjusted when I sat there.

Then I looked at the four words stuck to the dashboard: Wife's Exclusive Seat.

Back when I helped Alex buy this car, he'd put that sign there himself. Promised me no one else would ever sit in that seat.

He'd probably forgotten all about it.

"Serena, it's not convenient for you anyway," Lily added. "Sitting in back is perfect—you can look after Cheese."

I ignored her and spoke only to Alex. "Drop me and Cheese off first. She's stressed."

Alex grunted in acknowledgment, but halfway there, Lily suddenly asked him to pull over.

"Alex, the doctor said Salad's not doing well. Let me off—I need to go check on her. I won't be able to relax otherwise."

Alex sighed and eased the car to the curb.

Lily cried and fumbled with her seatbelt, flustered—yet made no move to actually get out.

Sure enough, Alex caved. "Serena, how about we take Lily back to the hospital first, then head home? She's a girl, and she's not in a good headspace right now. I can't let her go back alone."

I said nothing. I just opened the back door and stepped out.

Someone who actually wants to leave doesn't hesitate like that.

"No need to drive me. I'll get there myself." I slammed the door shut.

Alex sighed. "What are you making a fuss about now?"

Before I could respond, Lily cut in, voice trembling. "Serena seems upset. Go comfort her. You spoiled her."

Alex rolled up the window, hit the gas, and sped off in a cloud of dust.

I blinked back tears and opened the app again.

After adding a hundred-dollar tip, I finally got a ride to Cheese's regular vet. A familiar doctor ran a full panel of tests.

"She's anemic, and there are signs of mild recurring inflammation around her pancreas. Combined with the blood donation, her body's stress response is significant." The doctor pulled up the results. "It's not critical, but she'll need to stay for observation—two days, IV fluids, nutritional support."

I exhaled slowly.

By the time I got home, it was already late. Alex's room was dark—he probably wasn't back yet.

I didn't bother waiting and focused on packing my things.

Just as I was dragging my suitcase toward the door, Alex called.

"Serena, Cheese just donated blood. I bought a bunch of snacks it likes to help it recover."

"The delivery's at the door. Go grab it."

I glanced at the pile of snacks on the floor, then tossed them straight into the trash.

"Cheese hasn't been able to have goat milk since it was a kitten. With this many goat-milk snacks, are you sure it's Cheese who likes them—or Salad?"

Alex muttered, "That's weird. They're from the same litter—how come Salad's fine with goat milk, but Cheese…"

My heart skipped.

So when he bought me a cat, he'd bought Lily one too.

But none of that mattered anymore.

I glanced at my suitcase and was about to hang up when Lily's anxious voice came through the receiver.

"Alex, Salad's not doing well. We might need Cheese to donate blood again."

Because I was still on the line, Alex instinctively refused.

"Cheese already donated once. Can't you find another cat?"

Lily sniffled. "It's the middle of the night. It's really hard to find one."

Alex sighed. "Serena, just bring Cheese over one more time."

"Is Cheese Salad's personal blood bank?"

I couldn't help it. "The way you play favorites makes Lily seem more like your girlfriend than I am."

Alex's patience snapped.

"It's a cat's life. Why do you have to drag me and Lily into everything? Serena, can you stop making a scene?"

"Even though you raised Cheese, don't forget—I paid for it…"

"If we're really going to argue about who Cheese belongs to, I can pull up the purchase receipt. What can you show?"

I didn't respond.

He'd finally said it out loud.

And for me, it was time to end this.

Cheese was the birthday gift Alex gave me.

When he first brought Cheese home, the kitten probably weighed less than half a pound.

Its body was frail, riddled with health problems.

My first instinct was that Alex had been scammed, and I dragged him back to demand a refund.

But he stopped me. He said this kitten was the runt of the litter.

It could never fight for milk. Its siblings bullied it constantly.

The kitten's situation reminded him of himself as a child—overlooked by his parents. So he brought it home, hoping I'd raise it well and help it grow strong.

Hearing that, my heart softened. I promised him I'd take good care of it.

He got emotional, a complete mess, and even suggested naming it using the first letters of our names.

I agreed happily. That's how we named the kitten Cheese.

But Cheese's health was just too fragile. Not long after we brought it home, it died.

Alex happened to be away on a business trip.

I was afraid he'd be heartbroken, so I made the decision on my own—I bought another kitten of the same breed with a similar look.

When it arrived, I realized the two kittens were obviously different.

But I'd already bought it. I couldn't just abandon it.

I was still nervous, worried Alex would notice when he got back.

But he didn't. He even said Cheese seemed much healthier now.

Looking back, it's almost funny.

The two kittens looked nothing alike, and he couldn't tell the difference.

That can only mean one thing—he never really cared.

As for why the cat he gave me was so scrawny and weak—I'd figured it out. He gave the best kitten to Lily, and she picked the runt of the litter to pass off as my "gift."

How ridiculous.

I thought Cheese was a symbol of our love. But somewhere I didn't know about, he had another kitten with Lily.

Named Salad.

I hung up and blocked Alex on everything.

The next morning, I went to work as usual. Something felt off the moment I walked in.

Lynn, who always had the latest gossip, filled me in: the company was cracking down on office romances. Anyone caught could be transferred or pressured to resign. The news had everyone on edge.

Linda, who knew about me and Alex, whispered, "You two should keep a low profile for a while."

I nodded, stood up, and walked into his office.

He was clearly stressed about the same thing. The second he saw me, he yanked the blinds shut like a guilty man.

"Why would you just walk into my office like this? Haven't you heard they're investigating?"

He was treating this like a crisis.

I ignored him and asked where Lily was.

He cut me off.

"Because you didn't bring Cheese over last night, Lily's cat died."

"Her depression flared up. I stayed at her place the whole night."

I'd already moved out of our apartment by then. I hadn't even known he didn't come home.

Before, hearing that might've made me lose it.

Now? I felt nothing.

Seeing my lack of reaction, he rubbed his temples.

"If you came to ask why I didn't come home, you could've just texted. It's a sensitive time. We need to be careful." He emphasized it again.

I cut him off.

"You don't need to explain. That's not why I'm here."

"Last week, I assigned Lily a proposal. She still hasn't turned it in."

His expression soured. "Didn't I just tell you? Salad died. Her depression flared up. I gave her a few days off."

"Then have her send me the proposal when she has a moment. I need it."

"Can you stop being difficult? Lily told me you've been using your position to give her attitude. I didn't believe her—until now."

"She can't give you the proposal. You're her mentor. If it's that urgent, do it yourself."

I laughed coldly. "Haven't I done plenty of her proposals already? Not this time."

Alex went to college on a scholarship from Lily's dad. As his girlfriend, I'd always been grateful for that.

So when he used his position to hire Lily, I looked the other way.

To avoid suspicion, he assigned her to my team. I didn't refuse—I mentored her wholeheartedly.

And now, apparently, that was "targeting" her.

"If she can't turn it in, I'll mark her internship evaluation as 'unqualified.'"

I was going by the book.

Alex looked at me with utter disappointment.

"Serena, people aren't made of iron. Everyone gets sick."

"Remember when you first started working? You had a stomachache and were too scared to ask for time off."

"Or is it because you got rained on once, now you want to rip away Lily's umbrella too?"

I ignored him and walked out.

But he called after me.

"Serena—I have to say, management sometimes has pretty good taste."

"Between you and me…" Alex paused.

"Someone as clueless as you really isn't cut out to be a leader."

I stopped walking.

A while back, he and I had teamed up to land a major project. Rumors were flying around the company that one of us would get promoted.

"Serena, I know the truth hurts, but I have to tell you." He raised his eyebrows. "The promotion's already mine. Mr. Norris gave me a heads-up."

"Since you don't want to manage Lily, once I'm promoted, I'll take her under my wing. Make her full-time, too."