Chapter 4
TRE
I stood at the door, listening to the laughter coming from inside the villa, and couldn’t help but frown.
The familiar, coquettish voice sounded exactly like the one I had heard coming from Byron’s computer that day.
With a scowl on my face, I pushed the villa’s door open.
Suddenly, something white and fluffy pounced at me, knocking me to the ground.
My back scraped against some small stones, and I winced in pain.
I looked up to see a dog.
Completely unsure of how to react, I froze.
“Where did this dog come from? Get it off me!” I shouted.
I had been terrified of dogs since childhood after being chased by a neighbor’s large dog.
Now, with a big dog pinning me down, I couldn’t stop shaking.
Just then, the dog was pulled off me.
Byron’s hand reached out in front of me, his face filled with confusion.
I ignored him, got up, and moved away to put some distance between myself and the dog.
I took a good look at the dog. Its fur was well–groomed, and it even had a cute little butterfly ornament on its ear.
When it saw me standing, it tried to pounce again.
I instinctively stepped back a couple of steps.
“Why are you here?” Byron said softly and squatted down to pet the dog.
“Didn’t you see…?”
“Byron, what happened? Where’s Peach?”
A high–pitched, girlish voice called out, and the figure of the girl I had seen in the photos appeared before me.
Seeing her face in person made my heart ache with bitterness, especially the way Byron looked at her–his gaze was full of warmth.
He quickly stepped in front of the girl, blocking her from my view, and his soft expression disappeared immediately.
“What’s wrong, Byron? Why are you standing in front of me? Did Peach have an accident?”
The girl slipped from behind him, and as soon as she saw me, her smile faltered.
She froze when she saw me standing there.
As she came closer, I couldn’t help but feel drawn to her vibrant energy.
11:25 AM
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“Who is she?” the girl asked, her voice filled with confusion as she looked up at Byron.
But when her gaze shifted to me, there was an unmistakable hint of challenge in her eyes.
She knew who I was, and after adding me on social media, she probably knew about me long before this.
“She is…”
“I’m his wife, legally his wife.” I interrupted Byron’s attempt to explain and smiled at the girl in front of me.
As I expected, her expression faltered for a moment before she tried to regain her composure.
Her little act only made me laugh.
She took a few steps back, looking uncomfortable, and struggled to pull the large dog back inside.
“Well, since your wife is here, you two can have a talk. I’ll go give Peach some water.”
Her fake, sad demeanor made even me feel a little sorry for her.
But Byron, of course, was completely captivated by her.
After she left, Byron glared at me with clear frustration.
“What are you even doing here?” he asked, his voice cold.
“Your family invited us for dinner, and you didn’t respond to any of my messages, so I came.”
I answered calmly, indifferent to his anger, as though I didn’t even feel it.
My response shut him down, leaving him speechless.
I ignored him completely and walked confidently inside the house.
I sat down on the sofa and looked at Byron as he followed me in.
“You have 20 minutes to get ready. We need to leave on time,” I said, my tone firm.
As soon as I finished speaking, the same large dog that had tackled me earlier charged toward me, as if triggered by something. It viciously bit at my clothes.
“Get off me!” I shouted, grabbing my handbag and swinging it at the dog.
It hit the dog on the head, leaving a small cut.
I called out for Byron, but by the time I was knocked down, he was already over by the girl, shielding her in his arms.
Seeing that, my heart sank completely.
