Chapter 4
Hearing the noise, Soren stepped outside and took in the scene. His eyes instantly darkened. He rushed over and scooped Zoe into his arms.
When he saw the gruesome, bloody gash on her forehead, his heart clenched in pain. He raised his reddened eyes, his gaze locking onto Remy standing on the stairs. A fierce wave of anger surged in his chest.
Sylvie had heard the scream as well. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she forced herself up to see what was going on.
But the moment she appeared, Soren’s voice, rough with unrestrained fury, cut through the air. “Zoe just had surgery and is still weak. She’s terrified of dogs, so why did you let yours out to go after her?”
Sylvie had never expected things to turn out this way. The pain left her breathless, and she could only manage a faint, strained voice as she struggled to explain.
“S-She was the one who knocked over the vases first. Remy only chased her because he saw I was hurt. You know how well-behaved Remy usually is. He’s just scared of strangers, and he was only trying to protect me—”
“That’s enough! I don’t want to hear any more of your pathetic excuses! If you can’t control your dog, and he’s hurt Zoe this badly, then he needs to be put down before he hurts someone else!”
Soren didn’t even listen to her explanation. Instead, he immediately called his bodyguards and ordered them to take Remy away. When Remy saw several burly men approaching, he instantly went on high alert.
Meanwhile, Sylvie, who’d heard everything, felt a shiver run down her spine. Acting on instinct, she tried to pull Remy into her arms, sobbing and begging them to let him go.
But the bodyguards were ruthless. They shoved her hard against the wall and went straight for Remy. Remy grew aggressive at the sight and lunged at them.
One of the bodyguards swung a baton, striking him hard. Even as blood covered his body, Remy kept barking wildly, still trying to protect Sylvie.
Then, a bodyguard grabbed his leg and lifted him off the ground. Remy thrashed violently, struggling to break free, and the bodyguard suddenly lost his grip.
A second later, Remy fell from the second-floor hallway and slammed onto the marble floor below on the first floor.
“Remy!”
When Sylvie saw what had happened, she completely lost it. She rushed down the stairs and pulled Remy into her arms, but all she saw was the life fading from his eyes.
He nuzzled her hand one last time before his eyes closed forever.
At that moment, Sylvie felt like her heart had been torn apart, and the pain was unbearable. Cradling his lifeless body as it grew cold, she turned to Soren with a tear-streaked face, her voice filled with utter despair.
“You can hate me all you want. But why did you have to be so cruel? Why did you have to kill Remy? H-He didn’t do anything wrong.”
Yet, Soren’s mind was consumed by concern for Zoe, who’d passed out.
He shot Sylvie a cold glance. “He’s not to blame because you’re the one who’s at fault for everything! Did you really think you could get away with it just because he died instead of you? Listen, I won’t let Zoe’s suffering be in vain!”
After that, Soren motioned to his bodyguards and gave them brief instructions. The sound of an ambulance approaching grew louder. Without wasting another moment, he left with Zoe.
Remy’s broken leg hung limply in Sylvie’s grasp. Watching Soren walk away, she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. Her sobs grew louder, eventually turning into a scream of anguish.
“Remy saved you years ago when debt collectors pinned you down in that alley, Soren! Those men beat him so badly that he lost a leg. That’s why he’s terrified of strangers. He loved you more than anything.
“When you were at your lowest, he stayed by your side night after night and waited for you to come home every day. How could you… How could you be so heartless?”
Her words were full of pain as she insisted on an answer. But Soren didn’t even slow down.
The only response came from a bodyguard, his tone cold and detached. “Ms. Clarke, Mr. Parker has instructed us to lock you up in the walk-in freezer for letting your dog attack Ms. Lasky.”
Without another word, three men seized Sylvie and dragged her inside, leaving her trapped in the freezer.
Sylvie held onto Remy’s lifeless body, her bloodshot eyes staring blankly. A bitter cold swept over her, the damp, icy chill seeping deep into her bones.
Her body shook uncontrollably as frost formed on her skin, her face turning ghostly pale. Her heartbeat grew slower and weaker with each passing moment until everything went dark.
She had no idea how long she’d been unconscious before she woke up in a hospital bed.
A doctor adjusted her IV drip and spoke in a serious tone. “How did you end up locked in the freezer? If they’d found you just two minutes later, you would’ve frozen to death!”
When the phrase “frozen to death” reached Sylvie’s ears, that same bone-chilling cold rushed through her body as if it had never left.
She remembered her past life—how Soren had struck her with his car, crushing her organs, before abandoning her in the snow to die a slow, frozen death.
Now, even with a second chance at life, she’d almost died the same way.
Was this how it would always end? Would she be doomed if she ever loved Soren or even got too close to him? Would everyone she cared about meet the same tragic fate?
Sylvie thought back to Larry and Carolyn, who’d been forced to jump off a cliff to save her in their past lives. She also remembered Remy, who’d just fallen to his death right before her moments ago.
Her heart ached uncontrollably as her fingers dug so deeply into her palms that they drew blood. While she was lost in grief, Larry and Carolyn called her.
“Sylvie, your dad and I have already moved all our assets out of the country, and the immigration paperwork has been submitted. The approval will come through next week. Are you sure you want to leave? What about Soren? I thought you had feelings for him.”
Sylvie stared blankly at the white ceiling above her, her voice devoid of emotion. “I’ll never have feelings for Soren again. Never!”
Before the last word had left her lips, Soren pushed the door open and fixed her with a conflicted look.
