After He Left Me to Die, I Ruled Finance

Chapter 2

My beloved golden retriever, Sadie, lay there with blood pouring from her mouth, her chest completely still.

Her eyes remained open, wide and unblinking, as if she was looking straight at me, waiting for something I could not give.

She was the only family I had left... the one who stayed curled beside me through every quiet, lonely night after my parents passed away.

My legs turned weak and gave way, and I sank heavily to my knees.

I reached out with trembling hands, but I could not bring myself to touch her cold, motionless body.

Tears blurred my sight until everything around me swam. I could not make a sound. There was only a sharp, tearing ache in my chest, as if something deep inside me was being ripped apart.

Then the door to the master bedroom suddenly swung open.

Violet stepped out, wrapped loosely in Sylas's shirt.

The moment she caught the scent in the air, she hurried straight toward him and pressed herself tight against his chest, hiding her face there.

"Sylas," she said, her voice shaking, "What is in this room? It feels so frightening… and there's such a strong smell of blood."

Sylas rubbed her back gently in a soothing motion, then turned his face toward me. I saw a deep frown settle between his brows.

"Nothing important," he said. "Lily, take this away right now. Don't let it upset Violet."

I lifted my head sharply and looked at the man I had once loved more than anything.

When I spoke, my voice came out rough and broken, hardly sounding like my own.

"Upset her? Is she not the one who killed Sadie and left her here? Who exactly is the one causing pain and distress now?"

Violet suddenly began to sob loudly.

"I am so sorry, Lily," she said, her voice trembling as she lowered her head.

I saw tears well up and spill down her cheeks.

"She kept barking at me, and I got so scared… Besides, I cannot see very well."

I watched her fingers tighten around the handle of the knife she was still holding, and she added in a helpless tone, "She must have run right into the knife while I was holding it."

Sylas immediately stepped in front of her, putting his whole body between her and me as if shielding her from danger.

"Enough! It is just a dog. Is it really worth shouting and making such a scene? Violet has poor eyesight, she was frightened, and this was clearly an accident."

I gathered Sadie's cold body into my arms and held her close.

Looking at the man I had once planned to spend my whole life with, I felt my own heart grow colder than the lifeless form resting against me.

But he had forgotten.

I remembered how he used to drive all over the city, searching from one breeder to another until he found this puppy, an exact match to the dog my parents had loved so much.

I remembered him kneeling beside my parents' graves, holding Sadie in his arms, and speaking with such warmth and sincerity.

"Father, Mother, do not worry. I will make sure Lily is happy every single day."

Everything changed now.

I set Sadie down gently on the floor, then lifted my face and looked straight into his eyes.

My voice came out strangely calm, steady and sharp.

"Sylas, I want a divorce."

For a moment, everything in the hallway seemed to go still.

His hands stopped moving, and his posture froze, but he did not turn his face fully toward me.

In that heavy, suffocating silence, he simply raised one hand and stroked Violet's hair, his touch soft and tender.

"Violet, be good. Go back inside and wait for me."

The next second, he shoved me hard in the shoulder.

My wheelchair rolled backward violently, careening down the hallway and sliding several meters out of control.

Just as it was about to crash into the railing at the top of the stairs, I grabbed the metal bar with all my strength.

The sudden strain tore open the old wound along my spine completely.

Warm blood soaked quickly through my thin hospital gown and spread across the fabric.

The wheelchair swayed dangerously on the edge, one wheel was already hanging out over empty space.

Sylas stood in the doorway. I caught a flash of alarm crossing his face, but it faded almost instantly, leaving his expression calm and unreadable.

He walked toward me quickly, yet instead of steadying my chair or helping me, he began to speak in a scolding tone.

"Lily, can you stop making a fuss? Can't you try to understand me for once?'

I lifted my hand, stained red with fresh blood, and held it up so he could see it clearly as I looked him directly in the eye.

My lips curled into a sharp, bitter smile.

"Understand you? Should I understand you taking Violet out shopping all day while I was left alone out there? Or understand how you made me... a cripple, push myself across the city just to get back home?"

His gaze shifted away, and he looked past me toward the wall, speaking in vague, soothing words.

"Lily, once I get through this busy period," he said softly, "I will take you abroad for the most advanced rehabilitation treatment. I promise we will get you walking again. And next time, I will not bring Violet along. There will be no more problems, I swear."

He tried to make his tone gentler and reached out toward me, but the moment he saw my bloodied hand, he pulled his arm back as if he had touched something filthy.

He let out a long, heavy sigh.

"Please, do not be angry anymore."

Seeing how repulsed he was by my injury, how he would not even let his skin come into contact with mine, I felt my heart sink completely.

I bit my lip hard and let tears roll silently down my face.

For a split second, I saw a flicker of something that looked like regret cross his eyes.

He released his grip on the wheelchair's handle and stepped forward, opening his arms as if wanting to pull me into an embrace.

But at that exact moment, Violet's voice rang out from the bedroom, loud and panicked.

"Sylas, help! It is too dark in here. I am so scared!"

On instinct, Sylas pulled back and let go of my chair completely, turning immediately to run back toward the room.

The second, his hand left the frame, the wheelchair lost its balance and tipped sharply backward.

I fell, chair and all, tumbling down the flight of stairs.

The back of my head and my spine slammed against the hard, cold steps over and over again. The pain was so intense it stole my breath away.

In the last moment before darkness closed in, I thought I saw Sylas rushing toward me with a look of pure panic.

But when I forced my eyes to focus through the haze, I saw him standing still, with Violet leaning comfortably against his shoulder.

And there she was, looking right at me... no longer squinting, no longer hiding her gaze. On her face was a cold, clear, triumphant smirk.

She had not been blind at all.