Chapter 7

As Mr. Jenkins led me through the garden.

A huge black shadow suddenly darted out from the side, knocking me down directly, then licking my face like crazy.

I finally recognized what was in my arms.

"Buddy... Buddy?"

When I found Buddy all those years ago.

He was just a palm-sized puppy.

Liam didn't like cats or dogs. When I secretly snuck Buddy home, tucked inside my jacket, Liam caught me red-handed.

His leg had healed a bit by then, and he could walk with a crutch.

Seeing Buddy in my arms, his brows furrowed so deeply they looked like they could trap a mosquito.

"Can we raise him together?" I pestered him, constantly whispering in his ear, "Look how cute he is!"

"Having a dog is great! Who knows, maybe one day when I'm gone, he'll still be there to keep you company."

He suddenly exploded in anger. "How long do dogs even live? Chloe Harper, what on earth are you talking about?"

"Don't you know better than to tempt fate?"

My mood hadn't been great during that period.

My parents were pressuring me to break up with Liam, even setting me up with other guys.

The previous week, when I went home, Mom pulled me aside. "Chloe, Liam is a solid guy, but his circumstances are just too difficult. He's an illegitimate son, his family disowned him, his mother passed away young, and now his leg is broken. Are you really going to play the savior? Haven't we heard enough stories about ungrateful men?"

I just told them: Liam wasn't like that.

His childhood had actually been quite good; it was just a reversal of fortune.

And he would absolutely never be someone ungrateful or heartless.

Not everyone is born into privilege. People who come from humble backgrounds but are ambitious—

They need time to grow.

So, when Liam yelled at me, my tears immediately started falling.

I ran out of the rental apartment, still clutching Buddy.

I shamelessly squatted in the small garden downstairs, crying my heart out.

Half an hour later, I was still fuming that Liam hadn't come to find me. I stood up, craning my neck to look towards the building's entrance.

A tall shadow appeared behind me.

Liam's pants were covered in mud, his arm was scraped, clearly from a fall.

His dark, deep-set eyes were fixed on me. Finally, he reached out, embraced me, and then ruffled my hair. "Shh, don't be angry anymore."

"I spoke too loudly."

"I was wrong."

"You can have any pet you want, I don't care."

It turned out he had come after me the moment I ran out.

I ran fast, and he was on crutches, so he chased me all the way outside the complex in a desperate hurry.

He even fell down outside.

From that day on, Buddy officially became a member of our family.

Only, after so long apart.

Buddy had become an old dog.