Chapter 2

When I met Madison, Stella had already been with me for five years.

Madison used to call it cute. Sometimes, she'd even pat its head.

That changed when we started talking marriage and she spent her first night in my tiny apartment.

The next morning, she woke up sneezing, eyes red, and told me she had a severe cat allergy.

"Lugh, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but my condition..." She looked helpless. "You know if you love me, you'll think about my health, right?"

After weeks of stress and hesitation, I finally started looking for a new home for Stella.

Before I found one, Madison said she'd already handled it.

It was done.

No matter how much I hated it, I had no choice but to accept it.

But two weeks later, I found Stella's body in a reeking underground parking garage.

It had been tortured to death.

Its body was torn apart and scattered in a filthy corner.

I only recognized it by a small patch of orange-and-white fur.

That day, I held what was left and cried in that parking garage until I collapsed.

I called Madison and demanded the adopter's name.

She stayed quiet for a long time.

Then she said softly, "I'm sorry, Lugh.

"I found them online. I just wanted the problem gone fast.

"I was scared you wouldn't let go, so I lied."

It felt like lightning split me open.

That was the first time I questioned us.

In the end, I forgave her.

With enough sweet words and promises, I let myself believe her.

I told myself she loved me.

That she cared about our future.

I blamed Stella's death on my own stupidity.

My own weakness.

The guilt and grief stayed buried inside me like a poisoned thorn for ten years.

For ten years, I never touched another cat.

And now, with a single photo, Madison had shown me the truth.

My decade of self-punishment.

My guilt.

My pain.

Stella's horrific death.

None of it had mattered.

It had all been a joke.

Something flashed across Madison's face.

Like she finally remembered.

But she still refused to back down.

"That was years ago. Medicine's better now. There are allergy pills. If I take them, I'm fine."

"Allergy pills?" I laughed.

My eyes burned. "So you'd rather take medication every day than keep his cat out of your office.

"But my Stella wasn't allowed a single corner of our home?"

"That's different!" she shot back, her voice rising. "Stella was just a mixed-breed cat. It shed everywhere and wasn't clean. Ryan's cat is purebred. It's well-behaved, and—"

"And what?" I cut her off. "And he's Ryan, while I'm just Lugh. Isn't that it?"

She didn't answer.

The color drained from her face.

Ten years.

Because of her so-called allergy, I never once thought about getting another pet.

Our floors were spotless.

Not a single stray hair anywhere.

I lived like a machine, following every one of her rules for cleanliness and health.

And now she was telling me all of it could've been fixed with a tiny pill.

So it wasn't that the allergy couldn't be managed.

I just wasn't worth the effort.

When she realized I wasn't backing down, the irritation in her eyes slowly hardened into anger.

And embarrassment.

"Lugh, stop this. We've been married for ten years. Are we really getting divorced over a cat? What will people think?

"And Bella? Have you even thought about Bella? She's only five. How can she grow up without a father?"

Bella.

The name tasted bitter in my mouth.

"Madison, be honest with yourself.

"Does Bella even need me as her father anymore?"

The color drained from Madison's face.