Chapter 2

At dawn the next day, I was jolted awake by the sound of Biscuit convulsing.

The balcony tiles were cold.

Biscuit lay on the floor, his whole body wracked by violent spasms, a puddle of bloody foam spilling from his mouth.

His eyes had already started to glaze over. He couldn't even manage a whimper.

Terrified and shaking, I scrambled into the living room.

"Levi! Levi!"

No answer. The master bedroom was empty too.

The apartment was eerily silent.

With trembling hands, I pulled out my phone and opened my social media feed.

The first post was from Tessa, half an hour ago.

She'd tagged a luxury hot-spring resort outside the city.

In the photo, Tessa sat at the edge of a hot-spring pool in a swimsuit. A man's hand reached in from the side, drying her hair with a towel.

The caption read: "Weekends are made for soaking in the mountains! Somebody promised to make up for the scare I got last night."

My knuckles went white around the phone.

But I couldn't afford to be heartbroken right now.

I rushed to the entryway for my car keys, only to find the key tray on the shoe cabinet empty.

My car keys were gone.

Levi's car had gone in for service yesterday. He'd taken mine.

I called him right away.

Levi's voice was thick with impatience.

"Sienna, what game are you playing now? You only think to apologize after I've already left? Last night you were tough enough to sleep on the balcony all night. Too bad you didn't freeze to death."

My voice was shaking. "Levi, Biscuit's dying. He's throwing up blood. Bring the car back. His medicine's in the car..."

"Enough!"

He cut me off coldly, his tone dripping with scorn.

"Sienna, you really think this trick works, don't you?

"Every time Tessa's around, you play sick and pitiful. First it was stomachaches, then fevers. Now you're using the dog too?"

"Levi, I'm not lying! Biscuit's really dying!" I was practically screaming.

Tessa's voice came over the line. "Levi, the water's perfect. Hurry up and get in."

Levi paused, then said to me, "Sienna, listen carefully.

"If you don't fix your attitude today and apologize for that little stunt last night, I'm not coming home all weekend.

"If the dog dies, I'll just buy you a new one!"

He hung up.

When I called back, his phone was already off.

I sank to the floor, drained, and the phone clattered against the floorboards.

Buy a new one?

That was Biscuit, the dog we'd raised for seven years. The one Levi used to call his son every chance he got.

I wiped the tears from my face, ran back to the balcony, and wrapped Biscuit in an old blanket.

He weighed nearly eighty pounds. I don't know where the strength came from, but I hoisted him up.

Outside, the rain was pouring down. The autumn downpour pelted me, cold enough to cut to the bone.

Holding Biscuit, I ran out of our complex and stood at the muddy roadside, trying to flag down a ride.

But the rain was too heavy. I was soaked through, cradling a big dog who was barely hanging on.

One car, two, three... Empty cabs sped past, splashing me with muddy water. Not a single one would stop.

Biscuit twitched weakly in my arms, and warm, bloody water smeared across my cheek.

"Biscuit, don't be scared. Mommy's taking you to the vet. We're almost there..."

I knelt in the rain, sobbing in despair.

Finally, a beat-up taxi pulled over.

The driver was a middle-aged man. He took one look and quickly pushed open the passenger door.

"Hurry, get in! Don't let the dog freeze!"

I stumbled into the car with Biscuit, shaking all over.

The car sped through the storm. I held the dog tight and watched the blurred streets outside the window.

On that freezing morning, I finally saw it clearly.

The Levi who'd once carried me on his back three blocks to the ER was dead.