On Our Anniversary, My Boyfriend's Childhood Friend Ate My Dog

My mom was pleasantly surprised by my sudden change of heart.

She had often advised me that Charles wasn't a good man.

But I thought I had found true love and was determined to be with Charles no matter what.

I was even willing to sacrifice my dignity for him.

Now, I had finally come to my senses and stopped tormenting myself over Charles.

Just as I hung up the phone, a message came through.

It was Anna.

[Cora, even Tommy isn't that smart. Charles waved a knife, and it didn't even dodge!]

[Next time, don't raise such a dumb dog. Maybe get a smarter one... who knows, it might taste better!]

A surge of anger shot up within me!

Five years ago, I found Tommy at the corner of a street, barely alive.

He was filthy, locked in a truck bound for a meat market, looking dazed.

I couldn't bear it and was about to pay for him when Charles stepped in ahead of me.

He took Tommy to several pet hospitals, not minding how dirty he was at all.

I thought that anyone who could be so kind to an animal couldn't be a bad person.

Feeling a strange flutter in my heart, I asked Charles for his contact information.

After we became friends, I found out that Charles already had a girlfriend.

Looking at the photos of Charles with a genuine smile, it felt like my heart was being stabbed repeatedly by a dull knife.

Perhaps fate heard my wish because they soon broke up.

Anna left the country with a rich guy for the money.

Seeing photos of Charles drunk in his Facebook posts, I couldn't hold back my secret hopes anymore and went to the bar to find him.

Under the dim lights, the once proud young man broke down in tears before me.

As I gently patted Charles' trembling shoulders, I made a silent vow.

"I'll be good to you."

Under my persistence, we naturally ended up together, and we adopted Tommy, who had barely survived.

I knew Anna was still a thorn in Charles' heart, but I didn't mind.

I took Charles hiking. I watched sunsets with him, and went skiing, slowly helping him move past Anna's shadow.

When Charles emotionally hugged me and whispered that he loved me, I felt like the happiest person in the world.

When Anna reappeared by Charles' side, I couldn't lie and say I wasn't nervous.

But Charles assured me, saying Anna was in the past, and I was the only one in his heart.

He changed all his social media to couple avatars, and every photo was of us, silently declaring my place in his life.

I had a happy home, a loving partner, and a cute pet.

I thought we would keep walking hand in hand forever.

If only I hadn't found Charles' secret account.

On a platform I didn't know about, he had been meticulously documenting every little moment with Anna.

Even when I threw the evidence in his face, he just stared at me coldly.

"How many times do I have to explain? She's in the past!

"If you don't believe me, then just break up!"

He easily spoke the cruelest words to me.

To save the relationship, I swallowed my pride and lived like Charles' servant.

Even when mutual friends showed me evidence of him going out with Anna, I could only laugh awkwardly and cover for him.

I was covering up our miserable relationship.

Charles became more brazen. On my birthday, he even went to an amusement park with Anna.

The photo showed them embracing at the top of a Ferris wheel, captioned, "No matter where I go, it's always you!"

I thought getting married would make him change. I even came back early from a business trip to win his heart again.

But all my hopes turned into nothing but bubbles.

I cleaned Tommy's fur and laid him in his favorite little bed.

"Is this your way of reminding me, Tommy?

Reminding me that the person in front of me isn't worth trusting?"

I opened Charles' secret account again. After I found it, he didn't even try to hide anymore. Instead, he became more blatant.

Just ten minutes ago, he posted a picture of the vast ocean.

The caption read, "Never waste time on people who aren't worth it."

I laughed bitterly at myself.

So, all along, my one-sided feelings were nothing but a waste of time in Charles' eyes.

I reached out and liked that post.

Maybe I should never have tried to force things from the start.

I wiped away my tears, my calves numb from standing too long.

"Charles, if you can't let go of Anna, then I'll let you have her."