Chapter 3

Jocelyn froze for a moment, still holding the torn page. She was about to ask what I meant when Marvin staggered into the master bedroom, a hazy, drunken smile on his face.

"What’s wrong with a cat sleeping in its owner's bedroom?

"Bobby, don't you sleep in the study all the time anyway?"

Jocelyn sighed helplessly.

I stood in the doorway, waiting for her to make him get up.

Instead, she simply made excuses for him. "He’s drunk. Let him lie down for now. It isn't like you have to go to bed right this second."

I said nothing. I just bent down, picked up the kitten huddled in the corner, and headed out.

Jocelyn followed me for a couple of steps.

"Are you seriously going to keep throwing a tantrum?"

Then Marvin's slurred voice drifted from the master bedroom.

"Jocelyn, I don't feel good."

She stopped in her tracks and instinctively turned back toward him.

I did not wait any longer. Just before I closed the door, I heard Marvin chuckle drunkenly from the head of the bed.

"The little dog will come back."

I held the kitten tighter and stepped into the elevator.

This time, he was wrong.

I had booked a hotel nearby for six nights, including the night before the wedding.

Originally, I had planned to stay there until the day I left, then head straight to the airport with my luggage.

I was done with our marital home, its master bedroom, and its so-called owner. I wanted none of it anymore.

...

When I woke up the next morning, Marshmallow was curled up beside my pillow. I reached out to pet her, and she gently rubbed her head against my palm.

The night before, I messaged Jocelyn to tell her I was staying at a nearby pet-friendly hotel and asked her not to call me again.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

When I opened it, Jocelyn stood outside, with Marvin trailing behind her, looking thoroughly displeased.

Jocelyn stepped aside and said coldly, "Apologize."

Marvin pursed his lips.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have joked about treating you like a dog.

"I shouldn't have taken over your master bedroom or deliberately teased the cat until it ruined your wedding plans.

"Happy now?"

Jocelyn did not answer. She simply looked at me.

I was about to close the door when she reached out and braced her hand against it. The heavy door caught her fingers, but she did not even furrow her brow.

"We have something important to do today. Stop making a fuss." She raised her other hand, which was holding a bouquet of flowers and a memorial card. "Today is your mother’s death anniversary."

I lowered my eyes.

In six days, I would be gone. Before leaving, I had planned to visit my mother's grave one last time anyway.

In the end, I changed my clothes and went out with her.

When we stopped at the foot of the hill, Marvin had already returned to his usual carefree self. He kicked pebbles along the path, then used a twig to tease a stray cat perched on the stone steps.

When we reached my mother's grave, Jocelyn personally wiped the dust off the headstone. I took an empty bottle to a nearby water spigot to fill it, intending to replace the stale water in the vase beside my mother's headstone.

By the time I returned, Marvin was standing in front of the headstone.

The silver dog tag I had left in the entryway of our marital home the night before now hung beside my mother's portrait.

The wind blew, making the tag repeatedly clink against the cold stone.

The bottle slipped from my hand and hit the ground.

"Take it off."

Marvin turned around with an innocent smile.

"Don't get mad. I was just giving your mom a little update."

He even reached out and tapped my mother's photograph.

"Don't worry about Bobby, ma'am.

"He has an owner now.

"He’s very obedient in the Porter family. All Jocelyn has to do is wave, and he comes running right back."

I rushed forward, ripped the tag down, and slapped him across the face. The sharp crack echoed through the cemetery, startling the people nearby.

Marvin clutched his cheek and stared at me in disbelief.

"You hit me?"

"Touch my mother again, and I will hit you again."

Nearby, a middle-aged man who had been placing flowers on his mother's grave overheard our argument. His expression darkened immediately.

He pointed at Marvin and snapped, "This is a cemetery!

"Making fun of the living is bad enough. How dare you stand in front of the dead and say something like that!

"Apologize to his mother right now!"

Marvin had already been slapped. Now that a stranger was scolding him, too, he could barely contain his humiliation.

I clutched the dog tag and turned to call the cemetery staff.

Marvin suddenly rushed forward and shoved me hard in the back with both hands.

"What happened? Cat got your tongue? You were so good at protecting your owner a minute ago. Come on, little puppy. Bark for everyone!"

Caught completely off guard, I stumbled forward and crashed into the middle-aged man. He reached out to catch me, managing only to grab my sleeve.

The fabric tore, and he could not hold on to me.

The cemetery was built along the mountainside, with steep stone steps descending in tiers between the headstones. I stumbled twice, then toppled over the edge of the platform.

Just before I blacked out, I heard Jocelyn scream my name in panic. She dropped everything in her hands and ran toward me like a woman possessed.

Then, everything went dark.