“Chloe is sweet and innocent, she’d never do something like that. She’s not twisted and malicious like you!” Later, Chloe accidentally electrocuted herself while abusing another cat, becoming a high-level paraplegic. He clutched their wedding photo, looking like he’d aged decades overnight from grief, begging me for forgiveness. I just smiled. “Stop crying, Dean. Chloe’s bedpan is probably overflowing. Time to go play nursemaid.” 0 My cat went missing yesterday. I wasn’t home, but Dean, my boyfriend, insisted on coming over to drop off some fruit. He left without properly closing the door, and my cat, Spud, just wandered out. The security cameras didn’t catch anything, and our search turned up nothing. *Pop! Pop!* Mini fireworks suddenly burst in the dim room. Dean walked in, holding a bouquet, pulled out a ring, and knelt before me. “I was careless yesterday, and Spud went missing. But honestly, they say pets can cause problems when you’re trying to start a family, right?” “Now that Spud’s gone, isn’t it like fate made the decision for us?” “Rowan, let’s get married. Please, marry me. We’ll have a baby, and give all our love to this family.” A crowd of friends, holding cakes and gifts, rushed into my place, cheering and surrounding us, recording videos. And I, tears streaming down my face, looked as if I was deeply moved by this “devoted” man. “Say yes! Say yes!” Someone started the chant. Dean confidently smirked, took my hand, and slowly began to slide the ring on. But I stopped him. The next second, I grabbed the entire cream cake and smashed it right into his face! “Who the hell gave you the right? Go propose to your damn self!” The lively proposal ended in chaos. My friends, sensing the tension, wisely left. Only Chloe remained, standing outside the door, consoling Dean. “Rowan’s just throwing a little tantrum, you need to coax her more, hehe.” “But seriously, no matter how angry she is, all this fuss over *a cat*? She’s so disrespectful to you in public. Did her mom just never teach her any manners?” The old building had poor sound insulation. Chloe’s soft, sweet voice drifted in through the doorframe, fueling my rage. I poured a large glass of water and marched towards the door. Just then, Dean spoke up. “Rowan’s parents passed away years ago, so yeah, she kinda grew up without proper guidance.” “Chloe, I’m giving that cat to you. My parents won’t approve of my wife having a cat. I need to get rid of it before she can marry into my family, so I had to trick her like this.” “If Rowan wants to unleash her fury, she can direct it all at me. I’ll take it. I won’t let her hurt you.” Suddenly, his words caught in his throat. I flung the front door open, glaring menacingly at the two of them. Chloe had her back to the door. Just as she was about to turn, I raised my hand and splashed the entire glass of water in her face. “My parents didn’t raise me well? How about *your* parents? Wash your filthy mouth!” “Ah!” Chloe shrieked. I then backhanded her, throwing the glass directly at Dean’s head, where it shattered. “Are you insane? You gave away my cat, my companion for six years? What, is your family the monarchy? Why would I be desperate to marry into it?!” 2. Dean was stunned, his face flushed crimson with explosive anger. But he was a polished corporate professional after all; he didn’t curse or retaliate. He just instinctively pulled Chloe behind him. “Rowan, calm down. Chloe’s trying to help us!” Chloe was a classmate from college, now working as a psychology assistant lecturer at our alma mater. She was a slender, tall beauty, who spoke in a gentle voice, earning her the reputation of the campus goddess. She was also a charity influencer, specializing in rescuing stray animals, with her accounts constantly sharing posts about cats needing adoption. I couldn’t be bothered to argue with Dean. I just extended my hand, demanding my cat back from Chloe. “Rowan, you’re misunderstanding me.” Chloe calmly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her sweet voice carrying a hint of annoyance. “You really shouldn’t be so hostile towards all women. I love cats and dogs, but I would never accept attention or gifts from someone else’s boyfriend. I refused anything Dean sent, I left it all outside my door.” My mind went blank with a sudden rush of shock. Dean gave a bitter smile, whispering to Chloe. “You’re a woman of such integrity, not accepting it was the right thing to do. I’m sorry to have caused you trouble, Chloe.” But what about my cat? They were being so polite to each other, but where was Spud now? “What’s your address? Give me back my cat!” No sooner had the words left my mouth than all three of our phones buzzed with a trending news alert: **[Show-Quality Purebred Ragdoll Cat, Valued at $25,000, Countdown to Death: Uncovering the Online Cat Abuse Cult]** The moment I clicked the link, tears streamed uncontrollably from my eyes. I saw Spud, my beautiful Ragdoll, strung up with wire through its spine, hanging like cured meat in a dark room. Every time it tried to curl its body, the abuser would connect a power source, electrocuting it until its body stiffened, screaming in agonizing pain… This was [Killer], a notorious online platform that posts cat abuse videos. You had to pay to even like a video, and this one already had over a hundred thousand likes. Killer promised to upload the “execution” video as soon as the likes surpassed half a million. Countless deranged users flooded the comments, celebrating. In their twisted world, torturing and killing a hundred stray cats was nowhere near as satisfying as abusing a purebred show cat. It was an absolutely thrilling spectacle for them. With each agonizing cry from my cat, the color slowly drained from Dean’s face. Before I could even speak, he instinctively tried to defend Chloe. “…That cat might not even be your Spud. And even if it is, it must have gotten lost and *then* Killer caught it! Chloe is kind and innocent, she could never abuse a cat. She’s not manipulative and twisted like *some* women. Don’t accuse her!” 3. “She’s not like other women? So she’s a man? What the hell are you talking about?” My voice trembled with fury. I restrained the urge to slap Dean and instead reported the theft of property to the police. The police immediately found evidence that Dean had stolen my cat from my house. Last night, Dean had carried the cat to Chloe’s place, left half an hour later, and the cardboard box containing the cat was left outside Chloe’s door. In the early hours of the morning, a dark shadow ran out of the box. Dean vehemently insisted it was all his responsibility, that he was unilaterally trying to please Chloe with a gift, and he didn’t want her implicated. While Chloe ran a charity account and was a well-known “cat goddess” in the pet community, I couldn’t ethically blame her for not taking care of my cat. After the police left, Chloe blinked her soft eyes a few times, then pouted as she lectured me. “Honestly, this has nothing to do with me, right? Someone gave me something, I refused it, and it got lost. That’s not my fault, you know.” “Rowan, you really shouldn’t be so hostile towards every girl you meet. This is all your boyfriend’s fault, isn’t it?” As she finished speaking, the cat abuse video’s likes had already climbed to 150,000. Spud’s life was on countdown. What could I do? I frantically messaged the [Killer] account, and contacted the cat-finding team to review the footage again and again. We staked out the route Spud had disappeared on, hoping to catch Killer. But the chances were tiny. I was despairingly crouched outside Chloe’s house when Dean quietly approached, squatting down to grasp my wildly trembling hand. “This is all my fault. Let it end with me, okay? Please, don’t bother Chloe anymore.” He said softly, “I can’t get twenty-five thousand dollars in cash right now, but I’m selling my car. I’ll compensate you at full value, and I’ll take all the responsibility.” “But if I pay this, we might not have enough for our wedding… I hope you don’t mind these small things. After we get married and have a baby, I’ll help you get more cats.” The harsh sunlight glinted through Dean’s glasses, falling into his calm, dark eyes. I used to love those steady eyes. Back when my parents had just passed away, I drifted through college in a daze, sometimes crying for no reason even while eating. He silently wiped my tears, quietly stayed by my side, accepting all my anxiety and pain, always so steady and reliable. Only today did I understand: he wasn’t without emotion. It was just that his fervent, mad love belonged to another woman he couldn’t have. Every word he spoke was about Chloe. Just how desperately did he want to protect her? I spoke slowly. “You sound so self-pitying, as if I’m deliberately extorting twenty-five thousand dollars from you. And you’re still thinking about marriage and babies right now?” “My parents owned a cattery specializing in show-quality purebreds. They died in a fire, and Spud was the only cat rescued from that blaze.” “It’s the last thing they left me. You stole it, you lost it. Do you know what that means?” The words hung in the air, and for the first time, Dean’s composed, self-controlled face cracked. It was as if all the strength had drained from his body; his gaze, dull and ashen, was fixed blankly ahead. I shoved him hard to the ground, kicking his glasses away. “Keep that money for your parents’ retirement! I don’t want compensation. I want to see you rot in jail! Stealing property worth twenty-five thousand dollars, that’s a serious felony—you’re looking at a minimum of three years!”
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “306746”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic #重生Reborn #校园School
Leave a Reply