Bella picked the cat up in her arms and stared blankly into space until Dakota emerged from the kitchen.

"Bella? It's time to eat. Wash your hands, will ya?" she said while taking the cat away from Bella's arms.

The cat relented and accepted its new host. It even rubbed against Dakota's chest docilely, purring.

Bella's heart sank. The cat was not known for being friendly to strangers. She had to spend a lot of time convincing it to befriend her.

Now, though? The cat acted like it had known Dakota for way too long.

Bella watched her feed the cat with inexplicable dexterity, her gaze hardening.

"Did you know how aloof this lil' cutie was? I wouldn't have been able to play with it if it weren't for Damian teaching me the ropes!" Dakota said, her tone almost too smug. "And now we are buddies."

Bella clenched her fists. "That's my cat," she stated icily.

Dakota carried it in her arms and smiled innocently. "Oh, I didn't know! He didn't tell me. He just told me to take care of it from time to time."

She looked down and combed its fur with her fingers. "It really likes me, you know? It never throws a fuss when I'm around. That's why Damian gave me a spare key to his house! It makes feeding it easier, too."

Bella froze. The weight on her chest grew heavier as she asked, "A spare key? When did he pass you that?"

Dakota chuckled softly. "I've had it for a while. Didn't he tell you?"

She paused, then added with just enough sweet innocence, "You don't mind, do you? I'm only using it to cook for him. You know him—that man forgets his meal when he's busy! But really, I'm just a glorified helper."

Bella smirked. "Oh, a glorified helper?"

Damian came out of the kitchen just in time. He frowned. "What are you two talking about?"

Dakota put the cat down and blinked at him innocently. "Hey. I was… I don't know what I said, but Bella seemed upset. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the spare key."

Damian shot a quiet glare at Bella. "What now?"

"Nothing," she replied. "I've just decided I'll skip this meal."

"Hey, how about we stop this tantrum right now and just behave like adults? Everyone's waiting for you in the dining room already. Show some restraint," he grumbled quietly. He was clearly suppressing his ire.

"You're the last person to talk about restraint, Damian," Bella rebutted. "Was this party even for my sake?"

"Yes! Obviously!"

"Then who are those people? None of them are my friends! They are all members of Dakota's clique!"

Before Damian could answer her, Dakota interjected, "Hey now, it's not like that. Damian worked really hard to get this party in order, okay? Everyone was really excited to throw you this surprise!"

Damian's frown deepened with impatience. "What the hell are you on about again, Bella? Her friends are here to celebrate your recovery, period. Why are you kicking up a fuss now?"

Bella blinked. Her eyes were red, but she kept her tone cold. "Excuse me? Maybe you should ask yourself what the real purpose of this party is."

With that, she turned on her heels and left through the front door.

Damian's face turned stormy. Dakota stood next to him and remarked feebly, "I think I did something wrong, Damian. She's really upset…"

"It's not because of you," he snapped coldly and stormed out the door.

-

Bella had just made herself comfortable on her couch when someone rang her doorbell. She opened.

It was Damian. His glare belied the rage he was trying to hold back. "What the hell do you want, Bella?" He growled, his voice strained from his self-control. "Do you know how exhausted I am from work and everything else? Can you just be an adult and stop these overdramatic tantrums for my sake?!"

Bella leaned against the doorframe and met his eyes. "Me? Overdramatic?"

"Yes!" He snarled. He sounded tired. "You have no idea how much I have to put up with lately. But I still took some time out to plan this celebration for you! Would it hurt you to be just a little more grateful?!"

She was stunned. Then, quietly, she chuckled bitterly. "Say, do you remember how it was like when we first started being together?"

He furrowed his brows silently.

"I asked if you'd ever be annoyed by my mood swings. You said you would never." She looked at him calmly. "But it's only been a few years, and already I'm tiring you out."

Damian opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Bella smiled tiredly and closed the door slowly. "Go home, Damian. I don't wanna fight."

Silence returned. Damian remained outside the door with his frown, but he did not knock.

Bella had her back against the door as tears rolled down like gliding knives against her cheeks.

Nothing was eternal. Even the things she thought would never change.

The next morning, after Damian had gone to work, Bella showed up at his home.

The house was pretty empty, save for the ragdoll cat that had curled into itself on the couch. It happily ran toward Bella and rubbed against her feet in welcome.

She picked the cat up and ran her fingers through its soft, fluffy fur. "Come on. Time to get you a new home now that I've made up my mind."

She brought the cat back to her place and started browsing Amazon for some pet supplies and a house for the new owner. The cat rested on her lap, occasionally looking up at her, as though it suspected something.

After a while, Bella thought she should just buy those things from a pet store. She took the cat with her and drove to a nearby pet store.

A board was erected outside. Curious, Bella approached it to take a good look.

One of the pictures immediately grabbed her attention. It showed none other than Dakota and Damian standing close to each other, their smiles as natural and cheery as they could possibly be, with a cat nestling in her arm. It was the picture of a happy family.

Bella squeezed her arms a little. The cat cried out a little, sensing the change in her mood.

The shopkeeper noticed her standing outside and came to greet her. "Good morning, ma'am. Oh, fancy seeing you again, kitty-cat!"

Bella reeled. "Huh? I mean, when was this photo taken?"

"Hmm… Probably last summer. They were here to get something for Lil' Buddy over here. The man said this was their cat and the family's most precious little baby."

Bella's heart sank. She hung her head, deep in thought.

She was abroad last summer. The days were always so back-breakingly busy, and yet the nights stubbornly stayed sleepless for hours.

She had missed home. She had missed Damian.

She had asked if he could take a picture of himself with the cat. He replied, "For real?! I don't have the time for childish things like this, Bella! Please respect my time!"

He was impatient. "Would it kill you to be a little more mature, Bella? I really have no time for this juvenile request."

As it turned out, he did take that picture with the cat. He could not send it over because he took that picture with Dakota.

Bella felt a pang in her chest.

"Um, ma'am? Are you alright?"

The shopkeeper's voice snapped her out of her trance. Bella shook her head and forced a smile. "Sorry. I spaced out there. I'm fine."

She left the store and drove to visit a friend who had been clamoring to keep a cat as her pet. Seeing the ragdoll sent her over the moon. "Really, Bella?! I can keep it?! It's sooooo cute!"

Belal grinned and patted the cat's head. "Please take good care of it."

The cat burrowed itself into her chest. It did not want to leave Bella yet…

But this was it—Bella had made up her mind. She gave the cat one last, longing look before placing it on her friend's arms.

She left.

Bella buried herself on the couch as she cried wordlessly. Tears broke out of her closed eyes like water from broken dams.

It took her this long to realize that the sweet, cherished memories of two had always just been the dreams and delusions of one all along.

Bella packed up her things and went to her parents' home.

The place was as she remembered: a lavish villa boasting grandeur and elegance. The villa next door, meanwhile, belonged to the Fox family.

Damian and Bella were childhood sweethearts. Everyone who watched them grow up knew he treated her as royalty—the queen of his heart. Bella, for her part, was never seen apart from Damian.

Her mom had said that even as a toddler, Bella was laser-focused on Damian alone. She would hug him tightly and would not let go.

Damian, who was five when she first did that, simply reciprocated her hug. He did not even push her away.

The families had joked that this was the first time Damian looked so serious. He had always been a perpetual frowner even as a kid, but he had never looked so protective until that day. It was such a cherished memory that their families still mentioned it from time to time.

Her parents were pretty jealous of the bond between Bella and Damian, too. The first word Bella learned to say, incidentally, was not "Mama" or "Papa." It was "Damian."

The entire house was a memory capsule. Every little thing here reminded Bella of him.

Rodrigue and Stella Valdez were surprised to see Bella home, but pure joy at seeing their daughter supplanted it soon. Stella made a feast boasting all of Bella's favorite foods to commemorate her visit that evening, and it was a genuinely happy dinner.

However, Bella spoke precious little during the meal. She sat in sullen silence most of the time.

She visited Rodrigue's study after dinner. He leaned against his chair and affected a cheery tone, but his eyes showed curiosity. "What's wrong, darling? You look despondent."

Bella rummaged through her bag and presented a photo of Damian and Dakota together.

Rodrigue examined it carefully. His easy smile faltered.

He could read the subtext of the photo way too fine: Damian was giving his heart to a different woman. He also knew that Bella hated sharing her favorites with others.

He looked up at his daughter. "What are you planning to do?"

Bella cast her eyes to the floor. "Call off our engagement."

Bella and Damian had only gotten together after they finished high school. Then, on that very same day, Damian and his family came to propose their engagement. It was so abrupt that it didn’t sit well with Rodrigue.

Rodrigue nodded. "Got it. Once the Foxes are home, we'll bring this up with them."

Silence. Warm tears rolled out of Bella's downcast eyes and splashed onto the backs of her hands.

Pained, Rodrigue tried to pry open Bella's clenched fingers to comfort her.

He discovered her nails had dug so deeply into her palms that they'd broken the skin.

"Oh God!" he whispered. Carefully, he tended to the wounds.

Bella gritted her teeth in silence. When he finished, she finally looked up. "I'm fine, Dad."