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."

The city blurred into streaks of neon and raindrops, the cold biting into my skin like tiny knives. I walked without purpose, my legs aching, my vision hazy from exhaustion and heartbreak. My hands still trembled from where they had been forced against the floor. Bark like a dog. Camden's voice echoed in my skull, a cruel reminder that the boy who once protected me had been the one to shatter me completely.

Camden didn't come home last night.

There was no explanation, not even a quick message, as if the person who had stayed by my bedside through the night when I was sick wasn't him at all.

When I woke up the next morning, my head ached slightly, and my forehead felt a bit warm.

Suddenly, the phone rang—it was Camden.

A flicker of hope rose within me. Yesterday must have been a misunderstanding; he couldn't possibly treat me that way.

"Isla," Camden's voice was soft, "bring the bracelet I gave you and meet me on the rooftop."

The bracelet.

It was a family heirloom passed down through generations to the daughters-in-law of his family. He must be apologizing for what happened yesterday.

I didn't even change my clothes. In my slippers, I rushed to the rooftop, completely forgetting my fear of heights.

Camden was there, smoking.

Hearing my footsteps, he turned and smiled, motioning for me to come closer. As I reached him, he gently touched my face and smiled softly, "Isla, don't blame me."

In the next moment, he gripped the back of my neck and pressed me against the railing at a dizzying height, making a wave of nausea rise within me.

Yet, he laughed.

He untied his tie and wrapped it around my hands, securing me to the railing. "Isla, I'll come back for you in ten minutes."

The rooftop door closed, and my pupils dilated.

"Isla, I'm sorry, if there's a next life, I'll make it up to you," echoed my father's words.

Memories of him bleeding before me replayed continuously in my mind. I struggled desperately, but the tie only tightened.

Something fell, landing bloodied on the ground below.

I retched but couldn't make a sound, only silent tears rolled down my cheeks.

With a loud crash, the rooftop door flew open.

Camden hurriedly untied the tie and pulled me into his arms, apologizing repeatedly.

Adriana snatched the bracelet from my wrist and slipped it on hers. "Only I can be the Perry family daughter-in-law. A fool like you thinks she can be the lady of the Perry family?"

Camden remained silent.

The earlier chaos gradually subsided. I pushed Camden away, my legs weak as I slowly turned and walked off, my body still shaking violently.

The moment I got home, a high fever set in, and I drifted into unconsciousness.

In my dreams, I saw scenes of my parents' deaths, Adriana's bullying, and Camden standing up for me.

But then, the scene shifted.

Now, Camden pressed my head against the railing, forcing me to bark like a dog.

Half-conscious, I fumbled for my phone and made an international call, my voice barely a whisper.

One call. One ticket. One escape.

"I need to leave the country," I whispered, barely hearing my own voice over the storm outside.

Suddenly—the door slammed open.

The stench of whiskey filled the air before I saw him.

Camden.

His eyes were red-rimmed, his grip brutal as he yanked the covers away. The room spun, the weight of his body pressing into me.

"What do you think you're doing, Isla?" His voice was low, dangerous. "Running away?"

My breath hitched. I was too late.

The next morning at dawn, Adriana's voice pulled me from my thoughts. She was lounging confidently in my chair, as if she owned the place.

When she noticed me, she smirked. "Hey, you little genius, I heard you make great pancakes. How about whipping up some for me?"

I shook my head and tried to leave.

Camden caught my wrist, barking, "Isla, you've been living under the Perry family's roof for two decades. It's one breakfast. Why act like a diva?"

I glanced at Camden, then turned and headed to the kitchen.

In just ten minutes, I had two pancakes ready and placed them carefully in front of Adriana, who was pretending to pour herself a cup of coffee.

Hot water splashed on the back of my hand, and the sting made me wince.

Camden, alarmed, quickly pulled me to the sink to run it under cold water and reached for ointment. He hesitated, though.

Adriana shrieked, "Camden, I'm hurt."

He rushed to her side, gently soothing her finger, though his eyes stayed on me.

"Camden, kiss it and make it better," Adriana cooed, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him possessively. I swallowed the bitter ache in my heart and left to catch a cab to the hospital.

The doctor said I was getting better and needed to meet new people.

I looked down, realizing how much I'd leaned on Camden for the past twenty years because of my illness.

But now...

I touched my chest as my phone buzzed.

Seeing the message, my heart skipped a beat. I gripped the phone tightly.

I rushed out of the hospital.

When I got home, it looked like a tornado had torn through. Family photos were shredded, and my mom's keepsakes were scattered everywhere.

Adriana still had my mother's ring on her finger.

Like a wild animal, I lunged to snatch it back.

Adriana sneered and shoved me hard.

She yanked my hair and slapped my face. "You think I could get into your room without Camden letting me?"

"Give it back..."

My voice was raspy from disuse, blood lingering in my mouth.

"What's all the noise?"

Camden's irritated voice cut through the tension. Instinctively, I looked to him, hoping he'd remember our shared past.

But he didn't intervene.

He just sat there, watching like it was a show. "Isla, apologize to Adriana, and let's end this."

Rage consumed me, and I lunged at Adriana's throat.

Marks appeared on her neck.

Camden dragged me back, his voice chilly, "Isla, apologize."

I took a deep breath, my eyes filled with hatred. "Give me back the ring."

Camden seemed taken aback.

Casually, he took the ring from Adriana, holding it just out of reach. "Isla Mills, kneel and beg."

I bit my lip hard enough to bleed.

Breathing heavily, I slowly knelt, tears streaming down as my forehead touched the floor.

Then Camden gripped my throat, throwing the ring out the window.

His eyes were bloodshot with rage. "Why, Isla Mills?"

"Why mourn something long gone? They were with you only for a few years."

I struggled to breathe, the world darkening.

Then he released me. "Get out!"

I stumbled, half-crawling down the stairs, sprinting toward the pond outside, where there was no sign of the ring.

Exhaustion overtook me, and without thinking, I dove in.

Desperate to retrieve the only thing that truly belonged to me.