I hobbled through the front door, only to be greeted by an agonizing yowl from a cat. My heart skipped a beat, and I stumbled into the living room. There, I saw Whiskers trapped in the jaws of a small dog. His tiny body convulsed violently.

"Get away!" I shouted, my eyes wide with horror.

I lunged forward, trying to rescue Whiskers, but ended up with several bites instead. In desperation, I grabbed a glass and hurled it at the dog's head. Startled, it dropped Whiskers and scampered away.

Quickly, I cradled Whiskers' limp body in my arms. His fur was soaked in bright red blood. He had stopped breathing, his eyes frozen in terror.

"Who let a dog in here?" I demanded, staring numbly at Whiskers' lifeless form. My right hand bore several deep punctures, yet I didn't feel the pain. Whiskers had been with us for ten years. Maxwell and I had found him one day while walking in the park. It was Maxwell who named him "Whiskers," saying he'd be part of the family. That if he ever wasn't around, Whiskers would keep me company. But now, Whiskers was gone.

“Hey! Lucky!” A panicked female voice echoed.

I looked up as Sariah hurriedly came down the stairs. The dog whined pitifully at her feet. She was in cozy slippers, her satin pajamas barely concealing the marks of affection.

"Is that your dog? Who allowed you to bring it in here? Don't you know Whiskers is terrified of dogs?" I raised my voice, my eyes fixed on Sariah as I demanded answers. Her eyes filled with tears.

And then Maxwell appeared, descending slowly from upstairs. "I told Sariah to bring Lucky," he said. His gaze fell upon Whiskers’ unblinking eyes and my bleeding wounds. Maxwell's brows knitted slightly. "I told them to lock Whiskers in a room."

My face went pale. Did he not know that Whiskers could open doors?

“I'm so sorry, Esperanza...” Sariah's voice made my head throb, and I couldn't help but shout.

"Sorry doesn't cut it! Can you bring Whiskers back to life?"

Sariah started to sob, tears pouring down her face as she clutched Maxwell's sleeve. "Maxwell, I never thought Lucky would... Esperanza, please don't be angry..."

Her pitiful face seemed to soften Maxwell. With a sigh, he wiped her tears away. "It's just a cat," he said. "Sariah didn't do it on purpose, and Lucky is just a dog. Don't blow this out of proportion."

The words caught in my throat. Just a cat. To Maxwell, I wasn’t as important as Sariah. And so, Whiskers' life was worth less than her dog's.

After leaving Whiskers in the care of Aiden Cook at the pet memorial service, I went to get my wounds treated. As the needle for the tetanus shot broke my skin, tears fell uncontrollably. I had always been terrified of needles, and it reminded me of how Maxwell would cover my eyes to distract me during those moments.

"Esperanza, are you okay?" The elevator was packed, so I took the quieter stairwell, only to be confronted by Sariah. She had changed clothes and was now smirking at my injury, as if savoring the drama. "Lucky's teeth are sharp. Bet that hurts, huh?"

I pressed my lips together, holding back the anger boiling inside. "What are you doing here?"

Sariah stepped closer, her eyes gleaming with a smug grin. "I said I had a headache, so Maxwell brought me to the hospital." She crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "It's a shame you lost so much blood, and Maxwell didn't even notice. But no surprise there. With all the guys you've been with, it's no wonder he finds you repulsive."

I stared at Sariah in disbelief. "What did you just say?"

Her lips curled into a smirk as she lightly tapped my cheek and whispered, "The men who kidnapped you." She paused, letting her words sink in. "I have videos, you know. Think Maxwell has seen them?"

A buzzing noise filled my head as I opened my eyes wide, biting my lip until it bled. As I reached to grab her collar, Sariah's foot slipped, and she tumbled down several steps.

"Esperanza!" Maxwell's voice echoed with cold fury. He rushed past me to help Sariah, who clung to him, tears in her eyes. "Esperanza, I'll get you another kitten, okay? Please, don't be angry..."

Sariah apologized through her sobs, hiding behind Maxwell. His expression turned harsh as he slapped me across the face. "Esperanza, you've already caused Heidi's death, and now you want to hurt Sariah too? It's just a cat. How could you be so heartless?"

The slap left me stunned, unable to move. Maxwell had struck me three times in my life. The first was when I confessed my feelings for him. The second was after I took care of him while he was drunk, inadvertently leading to a tragedy with his then-girlfriend, Heidi. And now, this was the third.

"Maxwell, don’t hit Esperanza!" Sariah played the savior, quickly grabbing Maxwell's hand, tears streaming down her face. "It's my fault Whiskers died. She has every right to be upset."

I fought back the urge to cry, trying to explain myself. But then I noticed the silver locket hanging around Sariah's neck—the very piece Maxwell had sworn he'd always wear for luck after surviving an accident at twenty, an amulet I had painstakingly acquired through prayer and reflection.

"Maxwell..." I began, but he cut me off, his eyes cold and unyielding. "Apologize to Sariah if you want the wedding to go smoothly."

In seven days, we were supposed to marry—a day I had long dreamed of. I looked at Maxwell's stern face, and under Sariah's triumphant gaze, I bowed my head and apologized. "I'm sorry."

I didn’t see it coming.

When I returned home, I was surprised to find that Teo and Miranda had come back too. After handing the family business over to Maxwell, they had chosen to enjoy a quiet retirement at their old country house by the lake. Maxwell had kept them unaware of my kidnapping ordeal.

The moment Teo saw Maxwell with Sariah, he frowned and asked her directly, "Are you Sariah?"

Miranda noticed the bandage on my forearm, her eyes instantly filling with concern as she pulled me close. "I just brought you some flower arrangements. I had no idea you were going through all of this. Esperanza, does it hurt?"

The Arnolds had once saved the Morales family from disaster, and Miranda had always treated me like her own daughter, genuinely caring for my well-being. She gave a cold look to the flustered Sariah and sternly reprimanded Maxwell.

"I’ve already sent that little rascal away," she said dismissively, referring to Sariah’s dog. "Maxwell, you need to sort out the chaos around you. You can’t just bring anyone into this house. One problem goes, and another one appears. Don’t treat the Morales family like some ladder to climb, unless you’re sure you can hold on."

Sariah's cheeks flushed red as she bit her lip, tears brimming in her eyes before she ran off. Maxwell quickly followed her.

Later that night, just as I drifted off to sleep, Maxwell abruptly pulled me out of bed, his eyes stormy with unspoken emotions. He dragged me to the dining room.

"Sariah tried to take her own life," he said icily, forcing me into a chair with a mocking smirk. "Do you even realize that if I'd been just a minute later, she wouldn’t be here anymore?"

I was stunned. "What does Sariah’s attempt have to do with me?"

"If you hadn’t involved mom and dad, Sariah wouldn’t have faced such humiliation," Maxwell retorted, opening a pot of steaming chowder. He handed me a spoon, his gaze distant. "Go ahead, eat."

I’m allergic to shellfish, something Maxwell knew since we were teenagers. I stared at him in disbelief. "Why would you do this?"

"Esperanza, you hurt Heidi and almost did the same to Sariah. Do you think you'll just walk away without feeling some of their pain?" Maxwell's eyes were devoid of any warmth as he gripped my cheeks and forced a spoonful of the chowder into my mouth. "You want the wedding to proceed on schedule, don’t you?"

His biting words brought tears to my eyes. "Maxwell, do you really despise me this much?"

His eyes darkened, but he remained silent. Within minutes, my skin broke out in itchy welts, and my breathing became labored. It was then that Maxwell pushed medicine into my mouth and sprayed something to ease my reaction. As the allergy subsided, I lost consciousness.

Maxwell carried me back to bed. Even in sleep, I reached out for comfort, clutching at the hem of his shirt and tearfully murmuring, "Brother, I didn’t—"

Maxwell stood by the bedside for a long moment, then turned and left.