He Chose Her Dog Over Our Son. Julian’s childhood friend was taken. It was all because of her reckless compassion. To save a tiny dog, she tricked someone’s kid into opening the door, and he was bitten to death by zombies. To save her, Julian planned to throw our four-year-old son into the zombie horde, just to appease them. I ran to the edge of the zombie pit, kneeling and begging. “They just want to vent their rage! You can send me down there instead! They can hit me, curse me, tear me to shreds by the zombies—I’ll take it all, just please, I beg you, let the child go!” Julian yanked me onto the ground, his face twisted in utter disgust. “You go? If you die, who protects the Pei family? Don’t forget, you were bound to the Pei family by Grandpa Arthur, meant to serve until your dying breath.” “Besides, I’m just filming a video. I’m not actually going to kill him.” He rushed off to retrieve his childhood friend, leaving our son dangling in the air, transforming into a zombie right before my eyes. That night, I hardened my heart and ended my son’s life myself. Meanwhile, Julian spent the entire night comforting his friend, bringing her three fluffy puppies. I knelt before Grandpa Arthur, clutching Leo’s body, half of it already a chilling purple-black. “You laid my entire family to rest back then, and I saved your son’s life, even bore him a child. Now, my debt is fully repaid. There’s no reason for me to stay in the Pei family any longer.”
Leo’s eyes, wide and pale, were fixed on me. My heart grew heavier and heavier. All I could do was numbly raise the pistol. To end his suffering quickly. Only when Grandpa Arthur arrived could I cross the electric fence and reach my son. The rope binding Leo had two distinct marks. I gripped it tightly, replaying the footage on the camera. Originally, he was still far from the zombie horde. But hearing the sobs from the other end of the phone, Julian immediately loosened the rope, letting it drop significantly, afraid that Serena would think his apology wasn’t sincere. My heart churned with unbearable turmoil. He would hurt his own son for a woman who caused a death! Grandpa Arthur coughed, sputtering with rage. He had someone call Julian while he continued to curse. “He’s an animal!” As Grandpa Arthur ranted on, Julian’s bodyguard delivered a box of tranquilizers. The expiration date was a year old. That lit a fuse in him. “This scoundrel! Is the Pei family short on medicine or money, that he’d use expired tranquilizers?!” “Is that little tramp so important that she’s made him abandon his wife and son completely?!” He coughed, choking on his anger, and seeing the pistol in my hand, he nearly exploded with rage. “You’re just as foolish and cold-blooded! A good child, and you just had to kill him? Was there absolutely no way to save him?” “You’re a mother!” His own son didn’t want his wife and child, yet he called me cold-blooded? I stared at Grandpa Arthur, a chilling emptiness in my eyes. If there was a bullet left, I would have put it through my own head, just to be with Leo. Julian suddenly called, his voice furious the moment I answered. “Ava, can you stop exaggerating everything? I just wanted Leo to film a video, and you act like you’re suffering? Grandpa Arthur is so old, why are you making him worry? You have no shame!” “It was just for a video. You act like I was trying to kill our son. Besides, aren’t you some elite combatant? If Leo was in danger, you should have saved him! A few zombies are nothing for you, right?” “Oh, I forgot. You’re a liar, a manipulative bitch who only steals others’ credit and plays the victim.” “And didn’t I send the tranquilizers over? If Leo’s scared, give him a shot. Serena is too shaken up to be left alone. If you bother Grandpa Arthur again, I swear, I’ll make your life hell!” The call was on speaker. Hearing his son’s utter lack of remorse, his insufferable arrogance, Grandpa Arthur slammed the tranquilizer box onto the ground. The coffee powder spilled everywhere, mixed with some unidentifiable yellowish-green specks. Grandpa Arthur was too furious to speak. The moment I smelled the coffee powder, my skin began to itch. He sent a fake product, but beyond that, as a husband and a father, he didn’t even know I was allergic to coffee, and Leo couldn’t even be near the scent. I laughed, tears streaming down my face. My son was pulled up, wrapped in a suit jacket. Grandpa Arthur saw the abnormal purple-black on his body and his swollen arm. He was speechless for a long time. After a long silence, he knelt on the ground, slapping himself repeatedly. “I was so foolish! How could I raise such a scoundrel who disowns his own wife and son?!” “Now, all I can do is use this old face of mine to beg you. Just give Julian a chance to atone, and I, this old man, will give you my life!” I threw the suit jacket to the ground and held the cold Leo tightly. Ten years ago, he had knelt like this, just as pitifully, begging me to save Julian. During the harshest times of the apocalypse, Grandpa Arthur had laid my entire family to rest, giving them a final resting place. To repay that kindness, I had agreed. How pitiful that I, disregarding my own life, expanded the Pei family’s territory, helping them gain a foothold in this apocalypse, only to receive this outcome. He was old; I couldn’t bear his plea. I knelt down with Leo, showing no mercy. “Back then, the resting place for my family was given by you, Grandpa Arthur. But for ten years, what I’ve done for the Pei family is far more than just marrying and bearing a child.” “Grandpa Arthur, my debt is repaid. The Pei family cannot stop me.”
The next morning, Grandpa Arthur was waiting for me. He saw me, covered in mud and bloodstains, and his eyes glazed over slightly, still holding onto a flicker of hope. “The funeral… won’t it be held at the Pei family estate?” I had spent the entire night killing one thousand two hundred and sixty zombies. That was how many days Leo had lived in this world. “I’ve chosen a good place for Leo. He will leave with me.” Grandpa Arthur reluctantly handed me the urn. He tried to make me stay, but I refused. That place had mountains and water, where one could see the sun and moon exchange places. It was better than this cutthroat, unforgiving place called the Pei family estate. I didn’t want Julian and Leo to have any more connection. But I knew Grandpa Arthur truly loved his grandson, so I left Leo’s favorite rattle with him. Heading home to pack my tools, I stumbled upon Julian and Serena lying naked in bed. Serena wriggled her hips, scratching his face with a lecherous grin. Her voice was sickly sweet as she traced circles on his chest. “Oh, Julian, they’re just so mean. I just wanted to save that poor little dog, and that child just had to come over. Now he’s dead, and they blame me.” Julian listened, his heart aching for her. He hugged her tighter, his hand sliding stickily along her waist. “I know you’re kind, honey. Look, I specially brought you three puppies. Do you like them?” Serena playfully pushed him. “Oh, you’re so naughty, Julian…” “Naughty? Here?” Their flirting only brought back the image of Leo’s face, contorted in agony, right before he died. I kicked the door open. They were even more brazen now. Julian scoffed, seeing my weapons neatly packed in my hand. “What, going off to some place to stay for a couple of days to put on a show for Grandpa Arthur again?” “Can’t you be more genuine, woman? You’re neither hot nor cold, full of lies, utterly detestable! Your knack for fooling Grandpa Arthur won’t work on me.” “If you’re leaving, just leave for good and don’t come back. It’ll be perfect; I can just let Serena be Leo’s mom.” His arrogant, unreasonable face ignited a raging fire within me. Leo’s dying agony kept replaying in my mind. Even though his face was convulsing with pain, his consciousness fading, he had still managed a weak smile and asked me: “Mommy, is Daddy hanging me here to train me? Look how strong I am, I’m not crying at all.” “Daddy, Leo is useful, Leo is brave. Daddy, don’t be angry, don’t hate Mommy.” A four-year-old child, whose only thought was how to make his father happy. But thinking of everything Julian had done to him, my heart ached until I felt utterly drained. Seeing my lack of reaction, Julian told Serena to take the puppies out. He grabbed me, pinning me tightly against the bed, and cursed: “You lying woman, do you even deserve to be called a mother? Let me tell you, my wife, the future mistress of the Pei family, can only be Serena!” “If you hadn’t played your tricks and ruined Serena’s chances of having children, why would I have ever married you? Leo should have been Serena’s son! You, you fraud, you stole him!” I stared at him, my face blank and cold, which only seemed to excite him more. “You’ve got guts, daring to get angry with me?” He pressed me into the bedding, tearing open my collar, letting out a guttural roar. “Didn’t realize you liked kids so much, huh? I’ll just give you another one then!” “Ava, Leo is what you owe Serena. You’d better bring him to Serena today, return him to her. Maybe if I’m in a good mood, I’ll even let you see him again.” The bedding reeked of their recent pleasure, making me gag. Julian’s shamelessness completely severed the last thread of affection I had for him. I slapped him hard, yelling, my voice raw: “Leo is dead!” “If you want to find him, if you want Serena to be his mother, then go to hell!”
Julian knelt over me, adjusting his clothes. He laughed loudly, as if trying to see through me, and gripped my chin tightly. “I truly underestimated you. To be the young mistress of the Pei family, you’d even curse your own son. You don’t love him as much as Grandpa Arthur said, do you?” “How could heaven let such a vain woman be a mother? Leo had terrible luck with you as his mother!” With that, he disgustedly flung my chin away. He looked at me as if I were something filthy, then stood up and left. I slowly sat up, a cold smile on my face. “Julian, in your eyes, I’m just a worthless, vain woman?” “If it weren’t for you, who used tricks to deceive Grandpa Arthur, adding Serena’s credit to your own, and harming her so she couldn’t have children in this life, you would never have touched the threshold of the Pei family!” “Serena is genuine and kind, while you are full of vanity, without a single truthful word! Your schemes won’t work on me. Everything that belongs to her, I will help her take back, one by one.” Julian slammed the door as he left. I recalled the third year of the apocalypse. The Pei family was gradually declining. Julian was infected by the smog and fell into a coma. Grandpa Arthur said there was the largest hospital in the southwest, the only one with intact equipment, that could save Julian. To repay my debt, I ignored my teammates’ warnings. Alone, with a gun and a hammer, I fought my way through floor by floor to occupy the hospital, ensuring Julian received timely treatment. We then used it as the Pei family’s territory, expanding outwards. When he finally woke up, I collapsed, covered in injuries and exhaustion. Julian held me, slipping a wedding ring onto my finger. He said he would only acknowledge me in this life. Drifting through the apocalypse for so long, it was the first time I felt loved, and I dared to fantasize about happiness. It wasn’t until I was pregnant, close to giving birth, that Julian brought back a woman covered in blood. From then on, his resentment and hatred towards me grew deeper and deeper. After I gave birth to Leo, Serena stood in the doorway, looking at Leo with envy. I didn’t know then that it was the beginning of my happiness slipping away. Julian frantically sought my affections, but then, upon learning of my pregnancy, forced me to take medication to abort. The first time, he was still willing to explain. The second, the third time, he grew increasingly annoyed, revealing his true colors. “Ava, this is your retribution for what you did to Serena.” “All the pain she suffered because of you, I will make you endure, little by little!” I hugged Leo’s urn and my packed weapons, then opened the door to leave. But bodyguards were already waiting outside, striking me with electrified riot batons. “Apologies, Ms. Ava, but Ms. Serena has caught a cold. Young Master Julian wants you to take care of her puppies.” “The Young Master said the puppies are fragile, and their feeding and care must be quick. If Ms. Ava is even a little slow, you’ll be punished and warned.” Before I could even question it, another baton struck my back. The searing pain of the electric shock always reminded me of Leo’s death, when I was held back by the electric fence, crying out powerlessly. By the time I reached Serena’s room, my body was numb from the beating, every step trembling. Julian, however, thought I was faking it, his face impatient as he urged me. “Hurry up and feed the puppies! If they get hungry and make Serena upset, you won’t eat tonight.” I gritted my teeth, enduring the pain, and picked up the bottle to feed them. But the puppy in my arms kept whimpering uncomfortably. Serena heard it and walked over, letting out a sharp cry. “Sister Ava, it’s still so small, why would you kill it?” Tears welled in her eyes. She reached out to grab me, then weakly collapsed to the ground, only looking at me and demanding: “Sister, I can’t have children anymore. I just wanted to raise a few dogs with Julian. Is even that not allowed?” Julian’s heart ached. He slapped me hard across the face. My already numb body couldn’t support me. I hit the corner of a table, dazed and unable to open my eyes. But he cursed me for faking it, picked up Serena, and frantically called a doctor. I lay on the ground, regaining my senses only after a long while. Picking up the dead puppy from the floor, I saw blood at its mouth. It had been poisoned. I rummaged through my belongings, put the puppy in a small metal basin Leo used to play with, and added two toys so he wouldn’t be alone. Before leaving, I lit a match and took the basin outside to set it ablaze. Having taken care of everything, I felt a sense of peace and left. Just as the city gates registered my face for exit, a bullet pierced my knee, the pain making me pass out. When I woke again, Julian was dragging me, throwing me at the entrance of Serena’s room. Three half-burned puppies, charred all over, lay there. He furiously kicked me in the chest, cursing. “You bitch, how dare you hurt Serena’s puppies?! What right do you have to get revenge on her?!” He dragged me out, pulling me before a sobbing, breathless Serena, forcing me to my knees. Serena gasped through her tears.
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