One month before the wedding, my mom was hospitalized after being bitten by a dog. To my disbelief, the dog’s owner turned out to be Dyrroth Pittman’s junior schoolmate.

It was Dyrroth who brought her to the hospital. When I arrived, my eyes burned with fury, but he met my gaze with indifference and said coldly, “Enough already. It’s just a dog bite, no need to make a fuss.”

“And honestly, it’s her fault too. At her age, she shouldn’t be teasing dogs.”

I froze. My mother, lying injured on a hospital bed, had somehow become the one to blame in his eyes.

His schoolmate threw me a smug glance, as if my anger was laughable.

“Is everything settled now? I’m flying abroad to handle a project negotiation. Please keep an eye on your mom. Once she’s discharged, don’t let her provoke dogs again.”

I turned to Dyrroth, my voice calm but cold.

“When will you be back?”

“Don’t worry. It won’t delay our wedding. Any other questions?”

“No more.”

There were no more problems, just a cancelled wedding.

——

An hour after Dyrroth left with his friend, my mom's condition worsened suddenly. Just like that, she was gone.

I messaged Dyrroth right away, but got no reply. It was like throwing a stone into the sea, no response, no sign.

After that, I moved through the funeral like a puppet, numb, empty, and disconnected.

Just days ago, she was so happy, helping plan my wedding. Now, she’d never see it.

At the funeral, I forced myself not to cry while relatives and friends spoke badly of Dyrroth.

I was his fiancée. She was his future mother-in-law. He should’ve been there.

I sent him messages and called.

He didn’t reply. My calls wouldn’t go through.

I kept telling myself he was busy, caught up with his project, maybe he hadn’t seen them. Once, twice, but by the third time, even my lies didn’t help.

As night came and the guests left, I stayed kneeling by her grave, unmoving.

In that moment, I didn’t want anything, only to stay a little longer with her.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed. I looked down and saw a post from Dyrroth’s schoolmate.

In the video, Dyrroth was in swim trunks, smiling and playing with her on the beach.

In that moment, I felt like all the air was gone from my lungs; I couldn’t breathe.

So this was the “project abroad” he had talked about.

What a fool I had been.

I even made excuses for him.

I braced myself on the ground and pushed up. My legs trembled, weak and stiff from kneeling too long.

“Mom... It’s over with Dyrroth. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise to you.”

Before she passed, Mom had asked me to treat Dyrroth well.

But Dyrroth didn’t deserve it.

I met him on campus, heir to a billion-dollar empire, while I was just a village girl with nothing.

I always felt small next to him. Unworthy.

But he said he loved me anyway, promising he’d give up everything, his wealth, his future, to be with me.

So, we started dating secretly.

To avoid adding pressure between him and his parents, I chose to join his family’s company after graduation. I started from the bottom, working tirelessly without complaint.

Late nights became a routine. I even drank until I vomited blood, just to secure a project.

But I believed it was all worth it.

Because I wanted to prove that I had the strength to stand beside him with dignity, so no one would ever dare look down on him because of me.

And I did it.

In just three years, I climbed from a junior employee to vice president of the company.

Dyrroth had been genuinely proud of me.

At the company’s succession banquet, he held my hand on stage and announced our relationship to the world.

In that moment, there was light in his eyes.

But that light began to dim the moment Cleo Atkins joined the company after graduation.

Cleo had been the youngest of his college juniors, and the youngest was always the most indulged.

He treated Cleo so well, so well that I couldn’t help but feel jealous.

Whenever I showed the slightest hint of unhappiness, he would come over, teasing me with a grin, “Hehe, jealous? That’s adorable.”

Then he’d gently coax me, “Don’t be mad, okay? I only see Cleo as a little sister. Our professor specifically asked me to take care of her. How could I refuse?”

I could never tell if he truly meant it, or if it was just another excuse, because I’d heard the same line far too many times.

And every time after comforting me, he’d treat Cleo even better.

He started spending more time with her than with me. His social media was filled with pictures of the two of them, smiling, side by side.

He would get her messages in the middle of the night, then rush out without a word, only to return at dawn.

Though he always had some perfectly logical explanation afterward, the unease in my heart only grew deeper and darker. The only thing keeping me from falling apart was my love for him.

My mother’s death had opened my eyes and forced me to see the truth for what it was.

Just because he couldn’t bring himself to reject a professor’s request, he felt justified treating Cleo better than his own girlfriend, better than his fiancée?

What a pathetic excuse. What a cruel lie.

If his heart had already shifted, why was I still holding on?

I saw Dyrroth again half a month later.

He greeted me outside the company with a light smile. “Didn’t I tell you? The wedding wouldn’t be delayed. I wasn’t lying, was I?”

“Hmm,” I answered flatly, my eyes drifting to Cleo standing beside him and to the snarling dog she held on a leash.

Cleo shot me a smug, provocative look before crouching down to stroke the dog’s fur. The creature bared its teeth at me, snarling like it sensed the tension.

Dyrroth frowned and looked at me with a hint of blame. “You scared it.”

Then, without another glance in my direction, he squatted beside Cleo and began petting the dog with her.

That scene dimmed the light in my eyes.

“Oh, right!” Dyrroth suddenly stood up, his tone casual. “I’ve been thinking about what happened. Whether your mom was teasing the dog or not, the fact remains that she was bitten and ended up in the hospital. As the owner, Cleo owes her an apology.”

I looked at him calmly. “So you waited for me outside the company… just to ask me to take her to apologize to my mother?”

“Not just her. I’ll go too,” he added, as if that made it noble. “I admit, I said some harsh things that day at the hospital.”

My eyes dropped to the dog at my feet, still baring its teeth. “Is this beast coming along, too?”

At that, Cleo snapped without hesitation. “President, you’d better watch your mouth! Browny isn’t a beast, he’s my best friend.”

I nodded slowly, my voice cool. “You’re right. After all… dogs are a dog’s best friend.”

“You—!”

Cleo pointed at me, her face flushed deep red with anger.

“Carmela, you’re being unreasonable,” Dyrroth said coldly, his expression darkening. “After my persuasion, Cleo already acknowledged her mistake and genuinely wants to apologize to your mom. If you won’t accept it, fine, but do you have to be so aggressive?”

His words struck me like a slap.

Even if my mom had survived and was only lying in a hospital bed, wouldn’t I, as her daughter, be allowed to vent a little anger toward the one responsible?

Why was I the villain in his eyes?

Was Cleo so important to him that she couldn’t be held accountable, not even a little?

Cleo lowered her head, tears brimming. “Senior, since President Pittman won’t forgive me, let’s just forget the apology. I don’t want to cause you any more trouble.”

“I’m leaving.”

She turned, but Dyrroth reached out to stop her. Then he turned to me, his gaze sharp, utterly unfamiliar.

“Apologize to Cleo.”

“In your dreams.”

“Carmela Russo!”

He barked my name for the first time, his voice raised in fury. It was the first time he’d ever shouted at me, and the first time he used my full name with such coldness.

“Why have you become like this? If you’ve said something wrong, shouldn’t you apologize?”

“Then since a life was lost, shouldn’t it be paid with another life?”

Dyrroth froze, stunned. “What did you just say?”

“Nothing.”

I turned around and walked into the building, the resignation letter already tucked neatly in my pocket.

The process went smoothly. As the vice president of the group, I applied and signed off on it myself.

That night, I didn’t go home. I checked into a hotel instead.

Dyrroth’s messages came flooding in.

[Where did you go? Why aren’t you home?]

[Still angry? I only said those things out of frustration. Come back, I brought you something from abroad.]

[Alright, alright, I was wrong. Please come home. This house feels too empty without its hostess.]

Frustrated, I turned off my phone without a second thought.

The next day, I timed it perfectly, just when Dyrroth would be with the group. I checked out of the hotel and headed home to pack.

What I didn’t expect was to open the door and find Dyrroth sitting coldly on the sofa, with Cleo crying beside him.

“Why did you kill Browny?” Dyrroth demanded the moment he saw me.

I blinked, confused for a second, then remembered. Browny was Cleo’s vicious dog.

A laugh escaped my lips. “That beast’s dead? Whoever did it deserves a medal. They really did the world a favor.”

“Carmela!”

“You did it, and now you won’t even admit it. With that attitude, you….”

“Hold on.” I cut him off sharply. “You’re saying I killed that dog?”

“Who else could it be?” Cleo snapped, her red-rimmed eyes full of accusation. “Browny was always gentle. Except for biting your mom when she teased you, it never hurt anyone.”

“You did it,” she hissed, pointing straight at me. “Because it bit your mom, you killed it!”

I looked straight at Dyrroth. “Is that what you think, too?”

His expression was cold, his eyes stripped of all warmth. “Carmela, I didn’t expect you to be so heartless. Just because your mom was hurt and hospitalized over something minor, you killed Browny?”

I stood there, stunned.

So that was what he believed.

My mother, attacked and hospitalized, was just a “minor” matter. But the death of that vicious dog? That was the real tragedy.

In his eyes, dogs mattered more than people.

How laughable. How cruelly ironic.

My heart completely shattered at Dyrroth’s words. I couldn’t even summon the will to explain. My voice was calm, numb. “So what if I did?”

“You killed my Browny! I’ll fight you to the death!”

Cleo screamed and lunged at me from the sofa.

“Get lost!”

I shoved her to the ground without hesitation.

The very next second, a heavy slap struck my face. My vision blurred.

Dyrroth pointed to the door, his voice thunderous with rage. “Get out! Get out now!”

I stood frozen in place.

Dyrroth actually hit me.

Over Cleo. Over a dog.

He rushed over and helped her up gently. “Are you okay? Let’s get you to the hospital.”

Watching him support Cleo as they walked away, I stood still, my voice calm and even. “You’re the one who forced me out today. I hope you won’t regret it.”

Dyrroth paused and turned his head, his eyes sharp and unforgiving. “You have one day. Apologize to Cleo. Attend Browny’s funeral. Confess sincerely. If not… the wedding is off. Don’t even dream of marrying me.”

I smiled faintly and nodded. “Alright, then.”

After that, I packed immediately, hailed a taxi to the airport, and boarded the flight I had booked long ago.

As the plane lifted into the sky, far away in the hospital, Dyrroth felt a wave of unease wash over him. He pulled out his phone and typed hurriedly:

[What I said was out of anger. You don’t need to repent. Just apologize to Cleo.]

He hit send, only to be met with a glaring red exclamation mark.