Chapter 2
Because there was a dog in the living room, I spent the entire day holed up in my room, listening to Hugo and Carolina's laughter outside. I was eager to move out as soon as possible. However, Nicolas informed me that my job assignment hadn’t been finalized yet, and renting a place would require a reference letter. Right now, I had no choice but to stay put.
Suddenly, there was a knock at my door, and when I opened it, Hugo stood there with a food container.
"You haven't eaten all day. I brought you some food from the kitchen. You should eat while it's hot," he said.
"It's got pot roast beef. Carolina even said it tastes great."
Wasn’t Carolina supposed to be dealing with stomach issues and eating only bland foods lately? How was she having beef now? I didn't bother to challenge him on it, just glanced at the container and replied flatly, "Thanks, but I'm not hungry."
With that, I started to close the door.
Hugo seemed unable to accept my indifference and shouted angrily, "Emberlynn, do you realize how lucky you are? Things can’t go on like this forever! You’re only hurting yourself!"
I didn't want to hear more and shut the door firmly.
Early the next morning, I was startled awake by loud knocking. Carolina was outside my door, crying and yelling.
"Emmy, even if you don’t like me and Muffin, you can't just sneak out at night and get rid of him!"
"Muffin was Hugo’s gift for my eighteenth birthday. I've had him for two years now. You’re really too cruel!"
My mind went blank for a moment, and I couldn't immediately respond to Carolina’s accusation. But my silence seemed like guilt to Hugo. He angrily pointed at me and shouted, "Emberlynn, you’ve hurt Carolina before, and now you’ve gotten rid of her pet too. How can you be so heartless?"
"Carolina has been doing her best to make amends with you. She even tried keeping Muffin in her room so you wouldn’t have to see him."
"You need to go find Muffin now. If you don’t, don’t bother coming back!"
I rubbed my temples in exhaustion. "I’m allergic to dog hair—how could I sneak out in the middle of the night to get rid of him?"
Carolina looked tearfully at Hugo. "If you simply open the door, Muffin would naturally run outside!"
"Hugo, I found the front door open this morning. Someone clearly let Muffin out on purpose."
"And no one dislikes Muffin more than Emmy!"
I couldn’t help but retort, "If I really opened the door, why wouldn’t I have closed it properly afterward?"
Carolina continued to plead, "Maybe Emmy knew it was wrong and got flustered, forgetting to shut the door."
I wanted to say more, but Hugo cut me off in a sharp tone, "Enough! Stop trying to dodge responsibility! If you mess up, you have to face the consequences."
"Now go and find Muffin. As long as Muffin is safe, I'll let this go."
With that, he pushed me out the house.
Looking at the closed door, I felt empty inside. I understood why Carolina went to such lengths to frame me. She wanted to push me away from Hugo to take my place. Hugo was climbing the ranks quickly and might soon become a leader. If she could marry him, she'd be the envy of everyone as his wife.
But there was no need for all this—I wouldn't marry Hugo even if my only alternative was living on the streets.
I had no intention of actually looking for Muffin. Carolina could have hidden him away; no matter how hard I searched, I wouldn’t find him. Yet, fate seemed to mock me.
Just as I left the housing complex, I stumbled upon Muffin’s body in the shrubs by the road. It was covered in blood, clearly killed with a knife, cruelly, cut by cut. I had barely registered the shock when Carolina's wailing rose behind me.
"Muffin! Muffin!"
"Emberlynn, if you hate me, fine, but how could you be so heartless and kill Muffin?"
"Hugo, Muffin died a horrible death!"
She wailed before fainting into Hugo's arms. Hugo gathered her up, and as he passed me, his eyes were filled with pure loathing and fury.
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