Chapter 3

After passing me off to the doctor, Julia rushed away to answer a call, not even bothering to look back at me.

The doctor said my leg was infected and I'd have to stay at the hospital for a few days.

On my first day in the hospital, Samuel strode into my ward with an insulated food container, flashing me a bright, almost smug smile.

"My dad heard you'd been admitted, so he asked the kitchen to make you some nourishing soup and told me to bring it to you," he said.

He cheerfully ladled the soup into a bowl and handed it to me with a flourish.

I reached out to take the bowl, but before I could even touch it, Samuel let it slip from his hand—scalding soup splattered right onto my injured leg.

I looked up at him, rage boiling inside me, only to meet the cutting intensity in his eyes.

"You think you get to drink this? You're not even worth it," he spat.

He clamped his hand tight around my throat, forcing me to meet his cold stare.

He snapped, "You actually think you made it to a senior executive at the Pierce Group because of your own skills?

"If you didn't have those eyes—the spitting image of my mom's—do you really think my dad would've ever paid attention to you?

"You're just a nobody from a poor place. There's no way you would've ever clawed your way to this kind of status by yourself."

His words hit me like a gut punch, stealing the air from my lungs.

He was tossing all my effort aside, acting like none of it even mattered.

To him, the only reason I'd made it to an executive seat at the Pierce Group was some cheap stroke of luck—like I'd tricked my way in.

Only I knew how much I had been through to claw my way up from nothing.

I turned my head, struggling to break free, about to argue back, but he suddenly lost it, snatching a handful of my hair and slamming my head hard against the wall.

His eyes burned crimson, face twisted in fury as he dug his fingers into my cheeks and snarled, "Listen here, Ethan. As long as I'm breathing, you'll never take my dad or Julia from me."

At the sound of footsteps in the hallway, Samuel instantly let go of me.

He wiped all aggression off his face, slipped into his usual harmless act, and then walked out like nothing had happened.

May, the nanny who had been looking after Julia, came in carrying a bag of my clean clothes. Her face immediately fell when she saw the sorry state I was in.

She'd just run into Samuel at the doorway.

It only took her a second to realize exactly what had gone down.

She sighed, "Word gets around, and I've heard all about what's been happening between you and Julia.

"Honestly, it's not on you. Julia was the one who messed things up—she just couldn't see things clearly."

I blinked at May, confused. "Did something happen between us that I completely missed?"

May dabbed her eyes, forcing a breezy smile. "No use bringing up old stuff, all right?

"Come on, let's see what I've whipped up for you—your favorite dishes, every single one."

The next few days were pretty uneventful, but I was still worried sick about my pets back home, who were probably starving and waiting for me.

As soon as I was feeling better, I signed myself out and went straight back home.

But the second I stepped into the backyard, my heart dropped—thick, black smoke was rising from where the pet room stood.

Everyone was scrambling, buckets in hand, all rushing in the same direction toward the chaos.

The pet room that had usually been sunny and bright was devoured by raging flames.

The glass doors were so choked with smoke that they'd turned pitch black.

Samuel emerged from the chaos, covered in soot, clutching an armful of dog food.

When he spotted me, a twisted grin spread across his face.

He explained, "Sorry, Ethan. It's freezing, so I lit a charcoal burner to keep warm. I must've dozed off, and when I woke up, the place was on fire."

As Julia came closer, Samuel bowed to me and then, with his trembling hands, held up the bag of dog food like he was desperately offering a precious treasure.

"I... I'm really sorry," he stammered. "I know you've cared for these pets for years. This was all I managed to save."

Everything had happened so fast. I just stood there in a daze, almost on autopilot, accepting the bag from him.

He could've just grabbed the dog bed that was sitting right by the door when he ran out.

Instead, he went out of his way to dig through the back room and snatch up my stash of dog food.

Julia hurried over, grabbing Samuel by the shoulders and anxiously looking him up and down.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?" she asked, her voice trembling with worry.

Samuel pressed his lips together and shook his head.

He muttered, "I'm alright. But none of the pets made it out.

"The cages were locked, and the fire was just too fierce. I tried, but I couldn't get to them."

Julia turned and gave my shoulder a quick pat, her voice low. "I'm really sorry, Ethan."

I kept silent and just quietly edged away from her.

Samuel quickly added in a choked voice, "Ethan, please don't be angry. I'll run back in and check if any of the dogs are still alive."

With that, he dashed headlong into the flames, not hesitating for a second.

Julia quickly stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

She turned to me, saying coldly, "It's just a couple of dogs. So what if they're dead?

"You seriously want Samuel to risk his neck for a bunch of dumb animals?"

She glared at me, her eyes burning with fury, almost as fierce as the inferno raging behind her.

When she saw that I wasn't budging, she waved for someone to escort Samuel out of there, her face finally softening a little.

"Let's just get out of here before something worse happens," she said.

The whole pet room was something Julia and I had built together with our own hands.

Every dog inside was a stray that Julia had rescued and brought home over the past ten years.

I treated them like my own family, nursing each one back from the edge all the way to full health.

They were always there for me—keeping me company through all those long, lonely nights.

And there was something else in the dog house...

I jolted upright—my parents' emerald pendant was still trapped inside.

I tried to push past Julia, frantic to get back inside and grab my emerald pendant.

It was the only thing my parents left me—the last reminder of them. No way was I letting it slip through my fingers.

But Julia had someone hold me down. Then she patted my back, trying to quiet me.

She said, "Ethan, calm down.

"I know you were trying to propose to me in the pet room.

"So what if it's burned down? We'll just build another one. And stop blaming Samuel.

"Come on, as long as we love each other, does it really matter where the proposal happens?"

Turned out she knew exactly what was really in my heart, all along.

She just acted clueless, faking ignorance the whole time.

And just to atone for Samuel, she'd offer herself up in marriage to me, like it was some kind of trade.

It felt like someone reached into my chest and tore my heart to shreds; everything around me faded to white, and my head was just empty.

I couldn't even tell where I was or recognize the faces in front of me.

Only one thought burned in my mind—find that emerald pendant.

Biting back the pain, I tore myself free from their grip and sprinted straight into the burning pet room.

But just as I spotted the pendant, the thick, suffocating smoke swallowed me up—my vision faded, and my mind started slipping away.

I tried desperately to call out for help, but no matter how hard I tried, my voice just wouldn't come out.

The noise outside drifted farther and farther away, and all my memories—every bit of my life—flashed by like an old film reel, blurring together and then finally fading into nothing.