Abandoned by Her Fiancé

I hobbled through the front door, only to be greeted by an agonizing yowl from a cat. My heart skipped a beat, and I stumbled into the living room. There, I saw Whiskers trapped in the jaws of a small dog. His tiny body convulsed violently.

"Get away!" I shouted, my eyes wide with horror.

I lunged forward, trying to rescue Whiskers, but ended up with several bites instead. In desperation, I grabbed a glass and hurled it at the dog's head. Startled, it dropped Whiskers and scampered away.

Quickly, I cradled Whiskers' limp body in my arms. His fur was soaked in bright red blood. He had stopped breathing, his eyes frozen in terror.

"Who let a dog in here?" I demanded, staring numbly at Whiskers' lifeless form. My right hand bore several deep punctures, yet I didn't feel the pain. Whiskers had been with us for ten years. Maxwell and I had found him one day while walking in the park. It was Maxwell who named him "Whiskers," saying he'd be part of the family. That if he ever wasn't around, Whiskers would keep me company. But now, Whiskers was gone.

“Hey! Lucky!” A panicked female voice echoed.

I looked up as Sariah hurriedly came down the stairs. The dog whined pitifully at her feet. She was in cozy slippers, her satin pajamas barely concealing the marks of affection.

"Is that your dog? Who allowed you to bring it in here? Don't you know Whiskers is terrified of dogs?" I raised my voice, my eyes fixed on Sariah as I demanded answers. Her eyes filled with tears.

And then Maxwell appeared, descending slowly from upstairs. "I told Sariah to bring Lucky," he said. His gaze fell upon Whiskers’ unblinking eyes and my bleeding wounds. Maxwell's brows knitted slightly. "I told them to lock Whiskers in a room."

My face went pale. Did he not know that Whiskers could open doors?

“I'm so sorry, Esperanza...” Sariah's voice made my head throb, and I couldn't help but shout.

"Sorry doesn't cut it! Can you bring Whiskers back to life?"

Sariah started to sob, tears pouring down her face as she clutched Maxwell's sleeve. "Maxwell, I never thought Lucky would... Esperanza, please don't be angry..."

Her pitiful face seemed to soften Maxwell. With a sigh, he wiped her tears away. "It's just a cat," he said. "Sariah didn't do it on purpose, and Lucky is just a dog. Don't blow this out of proportion."

The words caught in my throat. Just a cat. To Maxwell, I wasn’t as important as Sariah. And so, Whiskers' life was worth less than her dog's.