Chapter 5

“What are you looking at? I was wrong to handle things that way. If you like cats, I’ll take you to buy another one.

“Let’s forget about Muffin. It nearly scratched Lily, so we shouldn’t keep it. She’s just a young girl. It would be awful if this left her traumatized.

“I heard Lily’s been afraid of cats since she was little. Can’t you try to understand?”

It took only a few minutes for him to realize he couldn’t hide the truth from me.

The person who’d nearly been scratched had changed from Julian to Lily.

But if Lily was so pitiful, wasn’t Muffin pitiful, too?

More than a dozen hours had passed since I was admitted to the hospital yesterday.

Muffin was a stray cat my mother brought home for me five years ago, shortly before she died. It was unusually timid.

It was the only thing I had left to remember her by.

Julian knew how much Muffin meant to me, yet he’d still done this.

I couldn’t bear to imagine where Muffin might be hiding now.

Or whether it was even still alive, waiting for me to come get it.

Julian didn’t know that while he was looking for my medicine, the comments had answered all my questions.

The TV cabinet wasn’t the only place.

The fridge. The bedroom.

The entire estate was full of traces of Lily.

The fridge Julian had once stocked just for me was now packed with food I didn’t like.

Even Lily’s underwear and sleepwear had made their way into my closet.

They sat right beside Julian’s pajamas.

The comments flooded the screen, celebrating that Lily would soon become the lady of the house.

But I’d bought this house.

It was the home I’d lived in and furnished for years.

Julian seemed to realize what I was thinking. He looked uncomfortable as he tried to explain.

“Lily had never had snacks before, so I bought a bunch for her to try. I knew you didn’t like them, so I didn’t tell you.

“But don’t worry. Whatever you want to eat, I can have someone bring it to you anytime, okay?”

I braced myself against the floor and pushed to my feet, then staggered toward the door.

Dust stained my pearl-white dress, and my hair, which I’d had done that morning, was now a mess.

I didn’t need Julian to tell me how wretched I looked.

He hurried over and stood beside me, confusion and bewilderment on his face.

“It’s just a cat. How much longer are you going to make a fuss over it?”

Rain began to fall outside, and a damp chill seeped in through the entryway.

The comments streamed by.

[Let the supporting female character ruin herself if she wants. Our darling Lily is waiting for the male lead to cuddle with her.]

[Rainy day, power outage, just the two of them—ooh, I can’t wait!]

Julian stayed where he was, but I stopped just before stepping outside.

I quickly grabbed the coat he’d left in the entryway and gave it a light shake.

A box of brand-new condoms dropped to the floor.

Thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed outside. A bolt lit Julian’s face, revealing his horrified expression.

He tried to explain, but his words sounded weak and unconvincing.

I let out a quiet laugh and asked, “How many times have you slept with her? Or were you just about to?”

“No, Stella! Please believe me. I haven’t done anything with her!”

Julian bit his lip so hard that blood welled at the corners of his mouth.

“Okay, I believe you. So, what’s this box of condoms for?”

I leaned casually against the door and watched him stammer through his excuses.

In the end, all he could say was,

“It must’ve been a prank by a friend. We’ve been together for years. Don’t you trust me?”

I said nothing. I stared straight at him, leaving him nowhere to hide.

Then I took out my phone and called the personal assistant my father assigned to me.

“Book me a flight for tomorrow, as early as possible. And tell my father I’m coming back.”