: Apologize to a Dog

After I hung up, just as I was about to drag my numb legs away, my phone suddenly buzzed.

It was a text from Clara Sterling.

"Ms. Lennox, you've pulled the mannequin out of the water, haven't you? Why don't you open the bag and take a look? There's a little surprise inside."

I couldn't help but look toward the burlap sack with the mannequin inside, not far away. My body suddenly went rigid as a chilling suspicion flooded my mind.

I was so horrified I began to tremble, my feet feeling as if they were filled with lead. I couldn't even take a step.

Suddenly, the burlap sack twitched. It sounded like someone was crying out in pain from inside.

I couldn't take it anymore and scrambled toward it, stumbling as I went.

With my hands shaking violently, I struggled to open the sack with all my might...

Clara Sterling's second text arrived a moment later.

"I had someone swap your mom with the mannequin, Ms. Lennox. This is the price for provoking me. I hope you can afford to pay it."

My mother lay inside, her face ashen and streaked with blood. Her hands and feet were bound, and she was soaked through.

At the sight, I nearly fainted.

By the time I used the last of my strength to get her to the hospital, I was told that all available medical resources had been diverted to save a dog that had swallowed some water.

The Nurse pursed her lips and said in resignation, "It's just a dog, yet it's treated as more precious than a person! My life is worse than a dog's!"

"Exactly! If there's a problem with the dog, they should just take it to a Veterinarian. Why mobilize everyone and waste medical resources! Besides, that dog looked perfectly fine to me, running all over the place. It didn't look sick in the slightest. Such an overreaction!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down! That dog belongs to Kael Volkov's sweetheart! You're gossiping about Boss Volkov's woman—do you have a death wish?"

My mother was hanging on by a thread. Any more delays and it would be too late.

With no time to think, I had no choice but to find Kael Volkov.

He was in the VIP Ward upstairs. The moment I walked in, I saw Clara Sterling sitting on his lap. They were in an intimate embrace, kissing passionately.

Ordinarily, seeing such a scene would have made me painfully jealous, but right now, I didn't even have the strength for it.

I rushed over and grabbed Kael Volkov's hand.

"Something happened to my mom. She's in critical condition. Please, can you save her?"

Kael Volkov irritably shook my hand away, looking annoyed at the interruption.

"The thing I threw into the sea was a mannequin, not her. What could possibly have happened in such a short time? Stop making a scene, Vivian Lennox. I have no time to play your games."

As the seconds ticked by, I began to cry helplessly.

"I'm not lying... My mom is really in trouble. It was Clara Sterling—she swapped her with the mannequin! She hit her head on a rock when she was thrown in, and she's barely hanging on. She's right here in the hospital. Please, just get a Doctor to see her!"

Hearing this, a flicker of uncertainty crossed Kael Volkov's eyes.

"Ms. Lennox, what are you trying to say? How could I possibly harm your mother? I've already decided to overlook the fact that you tried to drown my dog. Why are you coming here to falsely accuse me now?"

Clara Sterling began to cry as she spoke.

At this, Kael Volkov's expression predictably darkened. He stared at me coldly.

"Apologize."

My mother was hovering on the brink of death. For her sake, I could only choose to endure this.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Sterling. I was wrong. Please, I'm begging you, my mother is an old woman—save her!"

A flicker of triumph showed in Clara Sterling's eyes, but before she could speak, Kael Volkov continued, "Very good. Now, it's the dog's turn."

Kael Volkov pointed at the dog behind me and said with a sneer, "You nearly drowned it. Is it too much to ask for you to apologize?"

Even after all the humiliation I'd already endured, I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

'Kael Volkov was actually making me apologize to a dog.'

The color drained from my face. I stared at him in utter disbelief.

"You want me to apologize to a dog?"

Kael Volkov laughed. "What? Feeling aggrieved? Didn't you want me to send someone to save your mother? Apologize to the dog, and I'll agree."

I looked him in the eye, gritting my teeth so hard the humiliation made me wish I could just die.

But when I thought of my mother's ashen face, I realized I didn't even have the luxury of dying.

I stared at Kael Volkov in silence. After a long moment, I finally relented.

I walked over to Clara Sterling's dog, tossed my dignity to the floor, and closed my eyes in despair.

"I'm sorry."

: Separation

Clara Sterling burst out laughing at my action, and Kael Volkov raised an eyebrow, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

My mother received prompt medical attention. She spent a week in the Intensive Care Unit and barely managed to pull through.

Hearing the news that she was out of danger was a huge relief. The nerves that had been stretched taut for days could finally relax.

But as soon as I let my guard down, I collapsed.

Sickness can strike you down in an instant.

When I opened my eyes again, Kael Volkov was sitting by my hospital bed.

There seemed to be a hint of worry in his brow, but I dismissed it as my imagination.

At this point, I no longer cared what his attitude toward me was.

Sensing my indifference, Kael Volkov frowned in annoyance.

"What's with that look? Are you blaming me?"

If you listened closely, there was even a trace of grievance in his tone.

I continued to ignore him.

"I wouldn't dare."

Kael Volkov suddenly took a step forward, his eyes bloodshot as he grabbed my wrist.

"Vivian Lennox, this is nothing! Compared to what I've given up for you, what does this little bit of suffering even count for? What? Didn't you say you loved me? Is your so-called love this fragile?"

His words left me reeling, and a suspicion began to form in my mind.

Ever since my rebirth, Kael Volkov's attitude toward me had been completely abnormal. I had originally chalked it up to the cause and effect of two lifetimes, assuming the gears of fate couldn't possibly turn in the exact same way twice. I figured he was treating me differently simply because the events of this life weren't identical to the last.

But now, it seemed that wasn't the case.

Thinking of this, the words tumbled out of my mouth, "Kael Volkov, were you reborn too?"

Kael Volkov froze, a look of stunned disbelief in his eyes. He coldly flung my hand away.

"What nonsense are you spouting? I think you've lost your mind!"

With that, he turned and left without a backward glance.

I watched his retreating back, lost in thought.

'Forget it.'

'Whether he was or not...'

'...it doesn't matter anymore.'

'In three days, our paths will no longer cross.'

A Nurse took me for a full-body check-up, saying Kael Volkov had ordered it.

I didn't refuse.

Unexpectedly, the next morning, the Nurse rushed into my room, looking at me excitedly.

"Ms. Lennox, your medical report is back! Congratulations, you're going to be a mother!"

I froze, not comprehending her words for a moment.

Seeing my confusion, the Nurse explained, "Ms. Lennox, I've already confirmed with the Doctor. You really are pregnant, almost two months along! Haven't you always wanted a child? Congratulations, your wish has come true!"

I was still in a daze.

"But didn't the Doctor say I wouldn't be able to have children anymore?"

That night of the storm, Kael Volkov had abandoned me in the suburbs for Clara Sterling. I walked for over ten hours in the pouring rain. The road was cold and slippery, and I lost my footing and fell into a lake. I lost the baby, and the Doctor's diagnosis was that the damage was so severe I would probably never be able to conceive again.

The truth was cruel, but I had no choice but to accept it.

I never thought that at a critical juncture like this, I would actually be pregnant with Kael Volkov's child.

Fate really does have a twisted sense of humor!

"Well, there are always exceptions! Perhaps this child is a gift from heaven. Ms. Lennox, you must be extra careful this time!"

I sat in a stupor the entire day, my mind a battlefield.

That evening, I finally made a decision.

I would have this child.

No matter what had happened between Kael Volkov and me, the child was innocent.

But I never could have imagined that shortly after making this decision, I would be injected with an anesthetic and dragged into an Operating Room.

I couldn't move a muscle, but my mind was terrifyingly clear.

Someone was whispering beside my ear.

"It seems Mr. Volkov still cares about Ms. Sterling the most. His wife and Ms. Sterling were both found to be pregnant, yet to keep Ms. Sterling from being upset, he ordered us to perform an abortion procedure on his wife without even batting an eye!"

"I know, right? It looks like in Mr. Volkov's heart, the official wife isn't worth a single strand of Ms. Sterling's hair. How humiliating to be the official wife in a situation like this!"

I kept my eyes closed, but tears streamed down my face nonstop.

A chilling despair filled my heart. My inner turmoil and helplessness from just a few hours ago now seemed like a complete joke.

As I let the cold instruments churn inside my body, the heart that had once beat for Kael Volkov was finally riddled with a thousand holes, shattered beyond repair.

I regretted it.

I regretted ever falling in love with Kael Volkov.

The slow torture inflicted upon me finally ended. I was wheeled out of the Operating Room as the anesthetic slowly wore off.

Just as I was on the verge of full consciousness, I sensed someone standing beside me, watching me.

It was Kael Volkov.

I kept my eyes shut, not knowing what he intended to do.

Suddenly, something soft pressed against my forehead.

He kissed me.

Kael Volkov caressed my face and seemed to let out a sigh.

"Vivian, this is the last time. This is the last time I will hurt you. As long as you pass this test, I promise I will love you properly from now on."