Chapter 3

Lionel stared at me, stunned. "June, you want a divorce? Just because of a dog?"

The pain shot through me in an instant, but I quickly forced it aside, my voice growing colder. "Lionel, Toto wasn't just a dog. She'd been part of my family for three years! She was also Hope's lifeline. But you ripped Toto out of Hope's life with your own hands!"

Lionel's anger was evident now. He scowled, his teeth grinding as he hissed, "Fine. Fine. You'd better not regret this."

I turned away, but before I could take another step, something flew through the air and sliced across my face.

I blinked in shock and looked down to see what it was. It was our wedding ring.

Lionel's voice echoed from behind me. "Take your ring and get lost! Don't bother coming back asking for my forgiveness!"

I didn't pick up the ring and kicked it down the stairs instead.

When I returned home, I sat next to Toto's lifeless body for the entire night, numb and lost.

By morning, the sting on my face was still sharp. I looked into the mirror, noting my swollen face—Lionel hadn't held back.

But I couldn't focus on that. There was no time for my wounds. I just slapped a bit of powder over the swelling to hide it, then rushed to pick up Toto's body and drive to the funeral home.

Toto was cremated alongside Hope.

Their ashes were buried together in a small plot, and I stayed with them until the sun went down.

When I came back home, Lionel was already sitting on the couch.

He watched me with cold eyes, then asked, "Where did you go?"

I didn't answer. I just walked into the bedroom and started packing my things.

He stormed in, grabbing my wrist with a tight grip. "Why didn't you answer my calls today?"

His eyes scanned the clothes piling in the suitcase, and his anger seemed to grow even stronger.

"Are you really leaving?"

I looked up at him, my voice detached. "We're getting a divorce. Why would I stay here?"

But he lowered his voice, trying to stop me. "June, you're serious about this? Do you really want a divorce? Don't forget that I've been the one helping Hope with her treatment all this time. She depends on me! What will happen to her if you go through with this divorce?"

I met his gaze, my anger reigniting with a fierce intensity.

I ripped my wrist from his grip and shouted, "Get out! You have no right to bring up Hope! Did you ever think about what would happen to her when you secretly took Toto away? Hope depended on you, yes, but did Toto not have the same role in her life? Lionel, do you have any idea how your indifference has destroyed my sister?"

My voice cracked, the words barely escaping through the lump in my throat. "Hope was the only family I had left in this world..."

Lionel stood frozen for a long moment, his face showing a flicker of panic when he saw the despair in mine.

But it was fleeting. He quickly furrowed his brow and spoke again.

"June, Hope is your sister. You can't use her as an excuse to throw tantrums. I know it was wrong to take Toto without telling you, but you shouldn't joke about Hope like this! Besides, losing a dog isn't enough to make Hope relapse, is it? Her symptoms have improved a lot; she's not just going to fall apart over something like this."

I scoffed bitterly. Since Maisie came back, she had found countless ways to make Lionel stay out late, leaving me and Hope behind.

He came home less and less.

He didn't have time to treat Hope anymore, and he didn't see how much worse she had gotten.

Hope's condition had been deteriorating for a long time.

She had tried to hurt herself more than once, but Toto and I always managed to stop her.

Lionel had no idea; he was too caught up in Maisie to notice.

Hope wasn't the strong person he thought she was anymore. She had become fragile, as delicate as broken glass.

I moved closer to Lionel, my voice soft but sharp. "Lionel, do you even remember the last time you treated Hope?"

"Three months ago."

"Three months... In all that time, had you even cared about how she'd been doing?"