"Isaac, didn't we break up?" I said on the other end of the phone.

After a few seconds of silence, Isaac's voice rose and he yelled at me. "Anna, you really think you're something?!"

"You think I really wanted to call you? If it weren't for Alma—"

I cut off, "Then don't call."

I already guessed what Isaac was going to say. He was going to say that even this call was because Alma persuaded him. 

He'd already given me a way out and I had to do as he asked. If I didn't take the bait, I'd be ungrateful.

But I didn't want to back down anymore.

I told Isaac, "I don't care what you and Alma do. I just want to tell you, Isaac, we've broken up."

That day, my stomach hurt so badly I curled up in bed, begging Isaac to take me to the hospital. I was trembling with pain, my face pale, clutching Isaac's hand, pleading with him to take me.

Isaac agreed.

He hurriedly found my medical insurance card, grabbed his coat and was about to carry me out when he suddenly received a call from Alma.

“Isaac, what do we do? Grandma’s gone again!”

“What if something happens to her? What if she dies, Isaac?”

“Isaac, I’m scared. Can you come stay with me?”

I remembered everything.

Remembering, I was so weak that I grabbed Isaac's hand, crying and begging him to choose me this time, crying and pleading for his scales to lean on me this time as well. 

But after struggling and hesitating, he told Alma, "I'm coming right away."

He pushed my hand away, a struggle flashing across his face.

“Anna, there are priorities. Alma’s grandma isn’t in her right mind right now. If something happens, it’s her life on the line. Just wait for me—”

"Isaac!" I cried until I broke down, telling him with all my might. "If you dare leave… If you leave now, we're breaking up!"

"Isaac, you dare to break up with me?" 

I completely lost control of my emotions, collapsing so violently that I grabbed something to smash at Isaac, but I saw a flash of disgust in his eyes. 

His hesitation vanished, replaced by a cold, contemptuous statement. "Anna, I hate being threatened the most."

Isaac left.

I was so weak that I crawled to the bedside to call the emergency services. I was taken to the hospital and had my own appendectomy. I never saw Isaac again until I was discharged.

It seemed like I really had to get through that phase, so that I would really stop being so attached to certain things.

Before, I always wanted to compete with Alma, to win Isaac's heart.

But then, I heard Isaac's shrill voice, "Anna, you'll regret this!"

"Even if you kneel down and beg me, I won't agree to be with you!"

I could hear Isaac's heavy breathing and imagine his face contorted with rage. Isaac was very proud, so when he was furious and determined to fight me...

Alma had already come in handy and told him, "Isaac."

"Don't hold it against Anna. In the end," Alma suddenly choked up, "it's all because of me."

"Anna still won't accept me."

I didn't want to listen to Alma's continued tirade, so I just told Isaac, "Once I'm done here, I'll go back and get my things. From now on, let's have nothing to do with each other."

I hung up the phone and let out a long sigh of relief.

On the way to the celebration party with my teachers and classmates, I saw Isaac's Instagram post. 

It was a picture of him and Alma raising their glasses in a romantic French restaurant with atmospheric lighting.

Isaac's caption, [Some people are destined to miss each other, some are destined to be together for a lifetime.]

Alma liked and commented on his post. [No matter when, I will always be there.]

The two of them, deeply in love.

They seemed like a perfect match.

I suddenly remembered that the year Isaac and I first got together, Alma wasn't even there.

That year, Isaac picked me up from work every single day without fail.

He told me everything—big company news, small office gossip, even how many times my coworkers snuck off to the restroom. 

He’d joke about how many times he yawned and whether he was thinking of me each time.

Every time, I would tease him for being silly.

He would always correct me seriously.

"Love is sharing and the prerequisite for sharing is liking," Isaac would tell me. "If one day we lose the desire to share, that means we don't love each other anymore!"

"But Anna, I won't allow you not to love me!"

So, Isaac told me that no matter what it was—fallen leaves, a puppy, street scenery, sunshine, rain, or snow—if I saw something I liked, I should share it with him so we could feel it together.

The emotion of the moment.

Back then, I only felt sweetness. Isaac and I always had endless topics to talk about, endless gossip.

Until, Alma appeared between us.

"Anna." The teacher patted my shoulder.

I turned around absentmindedly and saw the teacher pointing to a maple tree in the distance, asking me, "Since you're here, do you want to take pictures with them?"

I looked at my classmates standing together, smiled and nodded, taking pictures of autumn, witnessing autumn. 

I hesitated for a moment, this time I really did not want to post on Instagram. 

But then I saw that Alma had updated her Instagram a minute earlier. [I have a secret in my heart, that secret—]

The accompanying picture was a man's back view wearing matching pajamas.

It was none other than Isaac; I recognized him immediately.

Alma frequently updated her Instagram.

When Isaac cooked porridge for her, watched a boring movie with her, took her grass skiing, or made her brown coffee, she would post it with a sweet caption, [It seems that after half a lifetime, I finally know what I’ve been looking for.]

Alma's thoughts were laid bare.

Everyone understood, except for Isaac, who pretended not to know. 

I exited my Instagram and received a rare message from Isaac asking me, [When are you coming to pick up your things?]

I didn't reply.

Isaac then sent a photo.

In the photo, Alma, wearing my pajamas, sat on my vanity, fiddling with my things. 

My temper flared up from this perceived intrusion and before I could unleash a torrent of abuse, Isaac messaged again, [Anna, don't think you can make me back down with this trick.]

[Since you don't want to be together, I suppose there are some things you don't really care about.]

Isaac sent a video.

My heart tightened.

I instinctively clicked on it and there it was.

Alma had locked my puppy, whom I'd raised for three years, in a cage and poured boiling water over it.

The puppy yelped in agony.

Alma laughed and said, “Serves you right, you stinky dog. That’s your karma!”

The puppy's pitiful howls pierced my heart. 

Sitting in the car, I kept yelling at the driver to drive faster and telling Isaac, [If you dare hurt my dog, I will never let you get away with this!]

Isaac didn't respond.

I was frantic. When I arrived at the apartment complex, I saw a photo Alma posted on her Instagram—a scene of blood everywhere, with the caption, [Beasts should disappear forever.]

My blood seemed to freeze. After repeatedly entering the wrong password, I pounded on the door, shouting.

"Isaac, open the door!" I screamed, pounding on the door like a madman. "If you don't open the door, I'll call the police.”

“Isaac!" 

The door opened.

I saw Isaac, wearing the pajamas from the video, calmly facing me and asking, "Anna, do you know you're wrong?" 

The pungent smell of blood filled my nostrils.

My whole body trembled uncontrollably. 

Seeing Alma, who had reverted to her timid self behind Isaac, I completely lost it. 

I shoved Isaac aside, grabbed Alma by the hair, slammed her head against the wall and yelled, "Who gave you permission to touch my dog?!"

"Even when beating a dog, you have to consider its owner. Who do you think you are?!"

Alma, her eyes red and swollen, cried out, "That dog tried to bite me. Since it tried to bite me, I hit him to defend myself!"

Alma screamed, "Isaac, I'm so scared. Please save me!"

Hearing Alma's voice, I remembered how she would always feign pitifulness in front of Isaac and then send me taunting voice messages.

"Anna, see that? Between you and me, you'll always be the loser."

"Isaac only cares about me, not you."

Back then, I stubbornly insisted on winning against Alma. That time, seeing the smug look in Alma's eyes, I slapped her across the face.

"You slut!" I raised my foot to kick her, but someone forcefully grabbed my shoulder and threw me against the wall. 

A sharp pain shot through my back. 

I saw Isaac tightly hugging Alma, yelling at me, "Anna, what's wrong with you?!"

"Do you know that Alma fell a couple of days ago and got a concussion? If something really happens, can you take responsibility?!" 

Alma cried in his arms, her voice breaking.

“Isaac, what did I do wrong for Anna to hate me this much? The dog is just an animal… am I really worse than an animal?”

Isaac comforted her, "It's okay, don't be afraid."

His tone softened. "I'm here."

Then, he turned to me, his gaze turning cold and fierce, demanding, "Apologize to Alma now!”

"Anna, don't make me say it a second time, apologize now!" 

My blood was boiling, burning my nerves, the pain making it hard to even breathe. 

But when I caught a glimpse of the stiff corpse lying in the kitchen, I completely exploded.

"Isaac, I'll take your life!"