The pet shop on the third floor was as big as two luxury brand stores, unlike other malls where they could only occupy a tiny corner of the building. The walls outside were filled with painted pet cartoons, and the interior was decorated cutely too.The moment Larissa went inside, she was attracted by the cat display section, which was large enough to occupy a huge amount of space."Those are the kitties that customers have left here to be pet-sat!" A young girl wearing a cat ear hairband as well as a kitty apron came over and reminded her gently. "If you'd like to buy a cat, please follow me here!" She indicated the door nearby.Larissa rejected her well-meaning gesture. "It's alright. I'm just looking around."The girl did not chase her away nor display any annoyance. "Sure! Go ahead!" She remained agreeable.It was probably because this pet shop was quite famous because there were a lot of cats being pet-sat here. Larissa looked over every cat before finally finding a Ragdoll k
"What did you say? Muffin is ill? Which Muffin?" she asked anxiously.The kitten in the cage had been brought out by Kevan, and it was currently lying on the sofa motionlessly, just as dead as Larissa when she was asleep. Even if her brain was muddled right now, Larissa could sense that something was wrong."When did it get sick?" she asked Kevan. She only got another sneer from Kevan. "You don't even know having been at home for the whole day, how would I know?"With that, he brought the kitten into his arms and headed anxiously to the entrance hall. Larissa followed him closely. When Kevan was changing his shoes, Larissa randomly pulled out a pair of winter boots from the shoe cabinet too, and put them on."What are you doing?" Kevan asked her."Aren't you going to send it to the vet? I'm going with you." Larissa gazed at the motionless kitty. Even if she sidelined the kitten, her heart was anxious over its current condition too."Didn't you hate it?" Kevan's hand dropped ont
Kevan's voice was so much more chilling than the piercing cold wind outside.Larissa's heart became colder, her expression smoothing out into calm."I went out with Mom today and only came back around 6 pm or so. When I did, I showered and went straight to bed. Then, you woke me up," she said. "I admit that I don't like this kitten and that I've never cared about it. But I swear that I have never thought of wishing that it would get ill or die."Kevan stared fixedly at her, trying to catch any hints of lies from her face, but there were none. He knew all too well that if she wanted to find an excuse to escape accountability, she did not need to drag his mother into it. Knowing that he had misunderstood her, Kevan felt a little guilty. But when he heard her admit that she did not like this kitten, he was still rather displeased with her."Is it because once you've decided on that cat, all other cats cannot hold a candle to it?" His eyes darkened, containing a kind of complicated emo
Larissa's answer caused Kevan's heart to sink into his stomach. He had dared to hold on to some hope, wishing that she would say a few words to convince him otherwise. But reality dealt a fatal blow to him anyway."Tomorrow, then." Kevan's voice was deliberately casual.It would be good to end this relationship faster because it meant that he would not have to dream about something so unattainable ever again.Watching his relieved expression, Larissa clenched her fists. "Sure." She forced a smile onto her face. "I won't need your money. It's not like our marriage was real anyway, so to take half of your money at this stage would not make any sense. But …" She licked her lips. "Could you please return my Muffin to me?"Her somewhat humble plea caused Kevan's heart to shudder. However, he did not wish to change the kitten back, regardless of whether or not it was because of the current situation or due to his own selfishness."No," he said flatly, his face dark.Although this refus
Kevan and Larissa both froze.If this was before, Kevan would have rejected Dylan's unreasonable request and had him take a cab to come over, but today …He looked down at Larissa and asked for her opinion with his eyes."Let's go to the airport then."The moment she said that, both of them breathed quiet sighs of relief. The elevator happened to arrive right at this moment too.Kevan asked Larissa, "You want to come along?" She nodded and said, "Sure." Ever since she came to Bartham, she rarely contacted her friends in Covenford.After the new year, Dylan's career seemed to take off. She frequently saw him posting on Instagram in the dead hours of the night, creating stories about how he was still up reviewing case files. Afraid that she would disturb him, Larissa never took the initiative to contact him.The truth was, she missed him quite a bit.Naturally, Dylan heard them talking. "Are you with Larissa?" he asked Kevan, who grunted in affirmation. "She's coming with me
Larissa smiled calmly. "Yeah."Kevan glanced at her through the rearview mirror and pressed his lips tightly together, not uttering a single word."Speaking of which, I haven't asked." Larissa changed the subject. "What are you doing in Bartham?""Huh? Kevan didn't tell you?" Dylan eyed said man in confusion before turning to look at Larissa again. "Kevan has a friend who wants to get a divorce. The lawyer hired previously suddenly quit and left, so I got called back."A "friend" of Kevan's who wanted to get a divorce … Larissa could only think of Ruby. If she could be considered his "friend" too, well, she was probably another one who wanted to get a divorce too."Oh." Larissa did not show any visible facial changes. "I heard about that."Hearing no changes in her voice, Kevan's grip tightened on the steering wheel."Then, where are you staying?" Larissa asked."My home, of course!" Dylan replied matter-of-factly.Larissa suddenly realized her question was a little dumb."My
Dylan noticed keenly that Kevan did not seem to be in a good mood. The moment he got into the car, he retrieved his sunglasses from the glove compartment and put them on, his aura screaming "stay away from me!""Hey!" Dylan poked his arm and asked, "No new developments with Larissa?"Kevan's lips were pressed even more tightly together, and his eyes narrowed with displeasure behind the sunglasses."She doesn't like me. What developments are there to be had?" His voice was cold, but Dylan could hear some bitterness in it."Didn't I tell you that she had feelings for you?" Dylan's frustration was palpable."Only that." It did not mean that she liked him. Otherwise, why would she constantly mention fulfilling him and Ruby Cole?"You need to work hard to turn 'having feelings for you' into 'liking you'!" Dylan knew without even needing to think that Kevan could not lower himself to woo Larissa, but waited for her to get close to him instead. Although his face could cause many women t
Kevan suddenly found himself being ridiculous again.He had already decided last night to end things decisively, but when things really got down to it, he withdrew once more.Dylan sneered back at him and said, "Don't underestimate me! Let me have a good chat with Larissa first during these two days. Don't do anything rash!""No need." Kevan refused his good intentions. "I was the one who spoke of divorce first. My two cousins … they're getting restless again." His half-narrowed eyes were gleaming coldly.Although Dylan was not completely privy to his family matters, he was aware of a good deal of it. Hearing him say that, Dylan's heart rose up into his throat. "They've made a move on Larissa?""Cody tried to pursue her, but failed," Kevan said."Holy fuck, dude—!" Dylan was really disgusted. "Can your cousins honestly change their tactics in fighting you? They just keep trying to steal your girl to give you some setbacks. It's fucking low, man!"Kevan smiled mockingly. "Conside