Chapter 4

Clara gathered herself and let two quiet tears slip down her cheeks. "I just need a couple of days to be alone. I've been thinking about my parents a lot lately."

Derek tried to step closer, but Shadow suddenly stood up, baring his teeth and positioning himself firmly between them.

Derek stumbled back. "Clara, when did you get a dog this big?"

Clara inwardly gave Shadow a mental high five. Good boy. He could tell she wasn't exactly thrilled to see Derek.

"I-If you're really uncomfortable living alone, you could come stay with me," Derek said.

The words practically made Clara want to spit in disgust.

What a joke.

In her past life, Derek had appeared right when the apocalypse struck, bringing Clara a stash of supplies and claiming he wanted to survive the disaster together with her.

But that very night, his true colors showed. He had only come for one thing, and that was to sleep with her.

Though a bit naive at times, Clara hadn't agreed so quickly. She wanted to take things slowly and let their relationship develop naturally.

Derek hadn't liked that at all. That night, he even tried to force himself on her. In panic, Clara had grabbed something nearby and smashed it over his head.

He lost it, cursing her like she was some worthless woman no one wanted. "You're off-limits to me now, but that doesn't mean some random nobody won't get you later."

Clara had been furious and tried to kick him out. In turn, Derek shoved her to the ground, fully lost his temper, and left with all the supplies he'd brought. He even took the ring, all because Ruth had once said she liked antique pieces.

Before Clara died, Derek had leaned close and whispered that Ruth was a hundred times better than her.

Clara clenched her fists and bit her lip so hard she didn't punch him right then.

"This is my parents' house. I feel at peace living here," she said firmly.

Derek opened his mouth, but Clara raised her voice and cut him off. "Derek, we're supposed to be getting engaged, right? Can you return the shares and funds my parents left me? Lately, I keep dreaming that they're blaming me... that's why I've been upset and why I deleted your number. I don't want to see you for a while."

As soon as she said that, Derek's expression changed instantly.

"Clara, don't overthink it. Your parents would be thrilled to know we're getting engaged. As for the shares and funds, they'll be ours together once we're married. I will never betray you. Uh... I should get going. Got some things to take care of. Unblock me, okay? After all, we'll be engaged in a few months."

Clara scoffed inwardly. That engagement was not happening.

Derek walked away without another word.

She watched him fade into the distance and let out a cold, quiet laugh.

Scum. Just wait and see!

After settling Shadow, Clara glanced at the clock. It was already two in the afternoon, and her stomach rumbled.

She grabbed her phone, ready for a serious feast.

She ordered barbeque ribs, potstickers, buffalo chicken wings, beef stew, roasted meat platter with potatoes, osso buco, and many more. She ordered five sets of everything she liked.

The rest of the afternoon was almost a constant stream of doorbells. Shadow stayed on high alert each time, ears perked, eyes sharp.

Clara stashed most of the food in her pocket dimension, leaving just one set of barbecue ribs with potatoes for herself.

Shadow sat perfectly still beside her, eyes fixed on the ribs.

With no other choice, Clara picked out the largest piece and held it in her palm. "Want it?"

Shadow tilted his head with a blank expression, almost like he was saying, "Is that even a question?"

One huge bite later, the rib was gone.

Clara couldn't help but notice just how much this dog could eat.

During a lull between deliveries, she turned on the air conditioning and pulled out a small notebook to map out her next plans.

According to the sequence of events, once the apocalypse struck, the first event was acid rain, followed by the floods.

After that, the temperature plunged, dropping all the way to minus seventy-six degrees Fahrenheit.

At that point, a huge number of people didn't survive.

Then, after the blizzards and freezing cold, came scorching heat, with temperatures climbing to over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit.

By then, the cities were essentially paralyzed. Power and water supplies became unreliable, and people struggled to survive in the sweltering heat.

Earthquakes struck intermittently, wearing down human morale.

Clara remembered the worst quake vividly. Entire skyscrapers collapsed, the ground split open, and many people fell straight into the fissures below.

These extreme temperature swings lasted about two years.

It felt like the Earth was punishing humanity for all the reckless logging and environmental destruction over the years. But the worst wasn't over.

Or perhaps, it was only just beginning.

After these natural disasters, many animals and insects began to mutate.

Some grew incredibly strong, some became enormous, and some developed terrifyingly high reproduction rates.

Swarms of insects multiplied, turning into a full-blown plague.

Human populations, already decimated by the disasters, struggled even more when faced with swarms of insects and attacks from mutated animals. Survival became grimmer by the day.

And these creatures could get anywhere, infiltrating every corner of human settlements.

It was then that the apocalypse revealed its true teeth.

Some animals even developed extraordinary intelligence. They became "kings", leading armies of mutated beasts and insects.

Thinking about all of this only strengthened Clara's resolve to live better in this second chance at life.

She remembered the seeds she had planted in the black soil of her pocket dimension last night and decided to check on them.

What she saw left her completely stunned.

Where she had sown the seeds yesterday, there was now a... plush pillow?

It looked like a flower.

Clara used her mind to lift it out of the pocket dimension. Holding it in her hands, she squeezed it gently. It was a plush pillow, soft and well-made.

But how had it ended up in the dimension?

She frowned in confusion, yet a spark of curiosity lit up in her mind. Could this black soil really grow all sorts of strange things?

With that thought in mind, Clara plucked a random weed from the flowerpot and tossed it into the soil.

-

Meanwhile, a furious Derek immediately called Ruth after leaving Clara's place.

"Derek, what's wrong?" Ruth asked gently, picking up on the irritation in his voice.

"Do you think that damn woman figured something out? She actually brought up the funds and stocks her parents left her today. She used to obey me in everything, but now she's even blocked me!"

Ruth had been putting on her makeup, getting ready to go out to dinner with Derek. Hearing this, she was so startled that she accidentally tilted her eyebrow pencil, ruining the perfectly drawn brow she'd been working on.

She frowned in frustration as she tried to fix it, but her voice remained soft and soothing. "Derek, you're overthinking. Clara has always been a bit scatterbrained. A few days ago, I asked her about who would manage the money after you two get married, and I even managed to convince her to say she'd let you handle the half of her funds and shares she owns."

To Ruth, Clara was nothing more than a clueless, foolish woman. All these years, Ruth had been having an affair with Derek, and Clara had never suspected a thing.

That wasn't all. Ruth had been subtly brainwashing Clara, making her believe that a man should always manage the family finances. She also said that as an orphan, being betrothed to the Lewis family was a rare stroke of luck in Clara's life.

Under this kind of manipulation, Clara had been utterly loyal to Derek. Even when she went out to work during the summer, she handed over her earnings to him. She gave him anything she had that seemed valuable.

Clara had always been so submissive and obedient to Derek.

What she didn't know was that all the attention and kindness from the Lewis family had been completely fake. If it weren't for the other half of the funds and shares in her possession, they would have kicked her out long ago.

In reality, the Lewis family, who seemed to be thriving and untouchable, was already dealing with mounting debts. They desperately needed Clara's shares and funds to bail themselves out. That was why they were so eager to arrange the engagement, hoping to get full control of her assets afterward.

They were certain that Clara had no idea any of this was happening.

"It makes sense. How could one person change so fast? I must be overthinking. How's your outfit looking? I'm heading to your place now. Don't even think of leaving my bed tonight." Derek chuckled.

"Derek, you're impossible!"