He Made Me Bark Like a Dog Before Choosing His Mistress

The moment I heard him say "She's probably as stiff as a corpse in bed anyway" to his laughing friends, my world collapsed.

Camden Perry—the one person I thought truly understood me—speaking about me like I was nothing.

I stood frozen, the gift bag slipping from my fingers. The silver bracelet I'd bought him rolled across the floor, stopping at his feet. He didn't even look down.

For years, Camden had been my protector. When others mocked me for being the daughter of a convicted murderer, he defended me fiercely. I'd struggled with emotional detachment since childhood, but for him, I worked through therapy to feel again. Today was supposed to be a celebration of my recovery.

Instead, I found him with Adriana Boyd—my former bully—wrapped around him like a snake.

When she "accidentally" spilled wine on me, Camden didn't intervene. Instead, his eyes hardened as he said, "Isla, didn't you hear your sister-in-law? Get on with it."

Someone kicked me from behind. I collapsed to my knees, wine soaking my clothes as Adriana's ring slashed my cheek. Through tears, I looked up at Camden pleadingly.

"How about we play 'bark like a dog'?" Adriana suggested, her voice dripping with malice.

The childhood trauma flooded back—neighborhood kids forcing me to bark after my father murdered my mother and took his own life.

Camden leaned down, his breath against my ear. "Come on, Isla. Don't make me repeat myself. Bark."

As tears streamed down my face, something inside me hardened. I slowly rose to my feet.

No one expected what I did next.

...

"A convict's daughter… really?"

The voice was unmistakable—low, slow, dripping with mockery.

I froze in place, my fingers tightening around the small gift bag in my hands.

"You guys can do whatever you want with her," Camden Perry continued, lazily swirling the whiskey in his glass. The dim bar lights cast sharp shadows over his handsome face, so familiar, yet so foreign.

Then, his lips curved into a cruel smile.

"She's probably as stiff as a corpse in bed anyway. Don't blame me if she's a disappointment."

Something inside me shattered.

A deafening silence filled my ears.

My fingers trembled, the gift bag slipping from my grip, crashing onto the floor with a muffled thud.

The silver bracelet inside—a symbol of the bond I thought we shared—rolled across the hardwood floor, stopping just inches from Camden's polished shoes.

He didn't even glance at it.

Laughter erupted around him.

My breath hitched.

This was not the Camden I knew.

I've struggled with emotional detachment since childhood.

I remained distant from everyone, with one notable exception—Camden Perry.

When I was mocked, he would go all out defending me; when I was bullied, he fiercely stood up for me.

Out of gratitude for his kindness, I worked hard to overcome my condition.

The day I was declared free from this affliction, I excitedly headed to the bar to share the good news with him immediately.

But the Camden who once cherished me seemed like a different person.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and my expressionless face was exposed to everyone.

Camden held Adriana Boyd, the woman who once bullied me, grinning provocatively at me.

He beckoned, "Isla, come here."

I instinctively took two steps forward when Adriana suddenly raised her hand, sending a glass of wine crashing near my feet, red liquid splattering everywhere.

The glass shards cut my leg, and blood began to trickle down.

Adriana chuckled, "Camden, do you think this fool can lick the floor clean and then crawl over to polish my shoes?"

The suffocating feeling of past bullying engulfed me, making it hard to breathe.

I heard Camden's nonchalant voice as he stared at me, "Isla, didn't you hear your sister-in-law? Get on with it."

I remained immobile, my gaze fixed intently on Camden.

He nodded to someone nearby, and suddenly, I felt a sharp kick from behind.

I fell to my knees with a thud, and then he yanked my hair, pushing my head hard against the floor.

"Idiot, if you can't understand Camden's words, we don't mind helping you."

My scalp was being tugged, and my face was covered in wine, the sharpness stinging my eyes shut.

I was dragged forward by my hair like an animal.

It wasn't until a cold laugh came from above that I was forced to look up.

The next moment, Adriana slapped me.

Her ring tore my face, and for a brief moment, my mind went blank, letting her do as she pleased.

"Camden, does she want to end up like her criminal father?" Adriana cooed in his arms.

Camden pulled out a napkin and carelessly wiped the liquid from my face.

His voice was like that of a demon, "Then what do you want to do?"

"How about we play a game of 'bark like a dog'?" Adriana seemed thrilled by the prospect.

My mind went blank.

Childhood memories surged, those times when my dad had just racked up gambling debt over a hundred grand, going mad from the debt collectors, stabbing my mom to death before jumping off a building himself.

I was playing outside, watching helplessly as my mom died with her eyes wide open.

The neighborhood kids loved nothing more than shoving my face in the dirt, forcing me to bark like a dog.

My body trembled, my eyes desperately searching Camden's for help.

He looked back at me as if he wanted to say something but didn't, "Isla, do you have anything to say?"

The immense psychological pressure made me tremble, unable to speak.

Suddenly, Camden snapped, slamming my head onto the table, growling, "Isla Mills, speak up!"

Wine soaked my hair, sticky and uncomfortable.

"Not speaking? Then bark like a dog!"

"Bark already, are you mute?"

Tears fell on the table, and for the first time, I understood the suffocating pain of heartbreak.

If only, if only, I was still that creature unable to feel any emotion.

Then, I wouldn't have gone through all that therapy to become healthy after finding out Camden secretly liked me.

The room spun.

My body shook.

And then—

Camden crouched down, his breath fanning against my ear, voice softer, yet infinitely more cruel.

"Come on, Isla."

"Don't make me repeat myself."

"Bark."