Winston's POV

After I finished the discharge paperwork, I returned to what used to be my home. I pushed open the door, but the lively little figure that usually greeted me was nowhere to be seen.

Had even Coco stopped loving me?

Sadness hit me hard as I headed toward the bedroom. Passing through the living room, I heard a muffled whimpering sound.

"Coco?" I called out tentatively and moved toward the noise.

What I found made my blood run cold. Coco was tied to the table leg with coarse rope around her neck.

The rope was pulled so tight that her eyes bulged. Her white fur had been shaved in uneven patches, and her hind legs sprawled uselessly on the floor. Burns, cuts, and several gaping wounds covered her body, blood still seeping from them.

Every drop of blood in my body seemed to freeze. I screamed and rushed over. "Coco!"

My hands trembled so violently from shock that I could barely work the knots loose.

A voice sounded behind me. "Winston, what are you doing here?"

I turned around. Rebecca stood there holding Theo's hand, carrying several bags of baby supplies in her other hand.

I froze. My eyes dropped instinctively to Rebecca's stomach.

Rebecca frowned. "Winston, you should be in the hospital receiving treatment. What are you doing back here?"

I let out a bitter laugh, though my chest ached even more. "If I hadn't come back now, you'd have given birth already, wouldn't you?"

I looked pointedly at Theo. Rebecca's expression stiffened, guilt flickering in her eyes.

"Winston, let me explain. That night—"

"Enough!" I cut her off sharply.

There was nothing to hear. It would just be the usual excuse about drinking too much and losing control.

No wonder Rebecca kept finding reasons to postpone the transplant surgery. They already had a child on the way. But none of that mattered to me anymore.

I looked at her. "I just want to know why Coco ended up like this. You promised me she'd be the happiest dog in the world."

Rebecca glanced at Coco, a trace of guilt crossing her face.

"It's actually my fault." Theo suddenly spoke up. "Coco nearly bit me the other day, so Rebecca had to punish her."

His words were apologetic, but his eyes gleamed with satisfaction. I could no longer contain my fury. My hand flew out and slapped him across the face.

"Winston, have you lost your mind? You hit Theo over a dog?" Rebecca shouted.

I let out a cold laugh. "He could never compare to Coco."

Coco was a gift from my father on my 20th birthday. She was all I had left of him. She mattered more than anyone or anything else.

Sensing the hostility radiating from Theo, Coco bared her teeth and let out two weak barks at him from my arms. Theo immediately clutched his head and crouched down on the floor.

"Rebecca, my head hurts so much."

Rebecca panicked instantly. "I'll take you to the hospital."

But Theo shook his head, his expression pitiful. "Maybe I should just leave this house. Winston doesn't like me, and I'm a little scared of that dog."

"Don't be afraid, sweetheart."

Rebecca gently stroked Theo's head and continued, "I'll get rid of that little beast right now."

With that, Rebecca wrenched Coco from my arms. "Rebecca, you can't do this. You know how much Coco means to me!"

My voice trembled, my eyes pleading.

"Theo matters more!"

Rebecca lifted Coco above her head. My heart leapt into my throat. I watched in horror as Rebecca prepared to slam Coco into the floor.

Pride and dignity meant nothing anymore. I dropped to my knees at Theo's feet.

"Please, tell Rebecca to spare Coco. I'll give you anything. Please."

I bowed my head to the floor again and again.

But Theo only said, "Rebecca, hurry up!"

His tone was gleeful, and it made my entire body tremble.

The next second, Rebecca hurled Coco down with all her strength. Warm blood splattered across my face, and I went deathly pale.

Winston's POV

"Coco!"

I scrambled across the floor toward her still form. Blood pooled across the floorboards, but Coco made no sound. I completely broke down, clutching her body as sobs tore from my throat.

Why were they so cruel to me?

I looked at Rebecca and Theo, hatred burning in my eyes, and lunged at them both. But before I could even reach them, Theo kicked me away.

I slammed into the wall, blood pouring from my mouth. The pain was excruciating, like every bone in my body had shattered.

"I hate you, Rebecca!"

At my words, Rebecca froze in place.

"How can you hurt Rebecca like this over a dog?" Theo said with displeasure.

I ignored him completely. I forced myself to stand, cradling Coco's body as I headed for the door.

"Winston, where are you going?" Rebecca shouted after me.

She tried to follow me, but Theo stopped her. "Rebecca, he's probably going back to the hospital. Don't worry about him."

I buried Coco in the back garden of her favorite dog park, hoping she was finally at peace. Afterward, I made my way to the cemetery where Dad was buried. Before I left this world, I wanted to see him one more time.

But when I arrived, Dad's headstone was gone. Staring at the unfamiliar name in its place, my eyes widened in shock.

Gordon Bardot? Who was that?

Panic and confusion flooded through me. I found the cemetery manager, who told me, "Mr. Shaw Senior's grave was relocated a while ago."

"Who gave you permission to do that?" I shouted furiously.

The manager looked unconcerned. "Don't yell at me. Mr. Shaw Senior's daughter-in-law handled everything personally."

Rebecca had done this?

I stood frozen, staring at the photo on Gordon Bardot's headstone. His features seemed vaguely familiar.

A terrible feeling settled in my gut. I raced back to the house as fast as I could. "Rebecca! You monster! Where did you put my father's ashes?"

I shouted for a long time before Theo finally emerged, holding a battered box.

"Where's Rebecca?" I demanded coldly.

"She's out getting my lunch order. You know how particular I am about—"

I turned and headed for the door.

"Don't you want your father's ashes?"

I stopped in my tracks and turned back to Theo. "Where is it?"

Theo didn't answer. Instead, he opened the box in his hands and dumped the powdery contents into a nearby trash can.

My breath caught in my throat. "What was that?"

"Your dad, of course." Theo's smile was gleeful and malicious.

"Rebecca said your dad's plot was the best location in the entire cemetery. Prime real estate like that should go to my family. I only mentioned it once, and the very next day Rebecca had your father's grave dug up."

His words faded into background noise. I rushed to the trash can and fell to my knees, plunging my hands inside. The trash can was full of banana peels, used tea leaves, even a used condom, all mixed with Dad's ashes.

No matter what I tried, I couldn't separate them. I felt utterly helpless.

Rebecca's voice sounded behind me. "Why are you back again?"

I turned to face her, my eyes bloodshot. "You animal! How dare you touch my father's grave?"

I roared at her, my hands lashing out wildly. In seconds, bloody scratches appeared across her face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Rebecca exploded in fury.

Theo put on a pitiful expression. "Rebecca, you have to help me. Winston's trying to make me eat all that garbage off the floor."

At his words, Rebecca's face twisted with anger. "You're disgusting! Since this was your idea, you can deal with the consequences yourself."

Rebecca shoved me to the ground. My body, ravaged by months of cancer, gave out immediately. She pressed her weight on me, and in my weakened state, I couldn't throw her off no matter how hard I tried.

She forced the garbage mixed with Dad's ashes down my throat. After shoving the last condom into my mouth, Rebecca finally let go.

I immediately stuck my fingers down my throat, trying to vomit, but nothing came up. I was consumed with hatred. I was going to kill these two monsters.

I grabbed a fruit knife from nearby and drove it into Rebecca's body without hesitation.

Winston's POV

"You... you actually want me dead?"

Rebecca's voice trembled, disbelief filling her eyes. She tried to say something more, but collapsed backward instead.

Theo immediately panicked. He ran to Rebecca's side, his face stricken with terror as tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Rebecca, don't scare me like this. Wake up, please. Don't leave me alone!"

Theo shouted in a frenzy.

I laughed. I looked down at the blood on my hands, feeling nothing but satisfaction.

"You monster! Rebecca was so good to you! How could you hurt her like this?"

Theo glared at me, his eyes filled with hatred as he screamed. I stood there frozen, as if I hadn't heard him at all, unmoving.

It wasn't until the police burst in and slammed me to the ground that I snapped back to reality. Blood filled my mouth before everything went black.

When I woke again, I was locked in a holding cell at the police station. I looked around. The cell was empty except for padded walls.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips. Now I couldn't even manage to die if I tried.

Just then, the door swung open. A man in a police uniform stepped inside.

"Winston Shaw, time for your statement."

I was taken to the interrogation room. The harsh fluorescent lights stung my eyes. I instinctively tried to raise my hand to shield them, but my wrists were cuffed tightly to the chair. I couldn't move.

"Start talking. What happened?" one of the officers said.

I lowered my head instead.

The officer's tone sharpened with frustration. "Do you have any idea that your wife is still in surgery fighting for her life?"

I froze for a moment.

"She's not dead?" I said, my voice hollow with disappointment.

I should have stabbed deeper.

The police interrogated me for ten straight hours. I said nothing. Eventually, they threw me back into the holding cell.

Darkness and isolation swallowed me whole, but I felt nothing. After all, ever since I got sick, this had become the norm for me. I went through IV drips, chemotherapy, and even multiple emergency resuscitation attempts—all of it alone.

I had broken down emotionally so many times. But whenever I fell apart, Rebecca would just look at me with irritation. "I'm exhausted. I don't have time to babysit you."

Of course she was exhausted. Jetting around the world with Theo was such hard work.

I let out a bitter laugh.

Just then, the door to the holding cell opened again. "Winston Shaw, someone posted your bail."

Confusion flickered in my eyes. I followed the officer out of the cell. When I saw who was waiting, I froze.

"What are you doing here?" Shock crossed my face.

The woman in front of me smiled gently. "It's been a long time, Winston."

I followed her out through the station doors.

"Where do you want to go now?" Lenora Lennox asked, looking at me.

"I don't know." I gave her a rueful smile.

Sympathy flooded Lenora's eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, Winston."

Seeing the redness around her eyes, something tightened in my chest. Lenora and I had known each other since we were three years old. She'd been part of every important moment in my life, and I'd been part of hers.

But everything changed the moment I fell for Rebecca.

I distanced myself from Lenora so that Rebecca wouldn't get the wrong idea. I didn't even invite her to my wedding. And yet here she was, right when I needed someone the most.

But how did she even know?

I looked at Lenora, confusion in my eyes. "Who told you I was at the police station?"

"See for yourself."

Lenora's expression turned serious as she handed me her phone. I looked at the screen, and my face went pale.