Go Away, My Dear Ex-Husband

Her heart skipped a beat. She whipped around, eyes red as she locked onto Stephanie. "Where’s Skippy?"

Stephanie didn’t even blink. She pointed at the rosebush next to her with a smile. "That dog was such a pain. Do you know how annoying he was? He crushed a bunch of my roses. Do you realize how expensive they are? Lionel gave them to me, airlifted straight from Windvale."

She finished with a shy smile, cheeks tinged pink, like she had just done a favor. Kayla’s gaze was ice-cold. "Where’s my Skippy? What did you do to him?"

At the sound of Kayla’s voice rising, Stephanie’s tone softened. "I…"

Lionel looked up, his eyes briefly meeting hers. For a split second, she saw panic flash across his face before he quickly recovered, lifting his chin. "Kayla, come on. It’s just a dog. No need to yell at your sister. Stephanie’s just being nice. She gave your dog to someone else."

"Someone else?" Kayla’s teeth ground together. “That’s my dog! I raised him for five years, he’s family!”

Skippy was the last gift her mom had given her before she passed, her 20th birthday present. She still remembered her mom’s last words, "Skippy will stay with you, even if I leave."

During those five years in prison, she had worried about him constantly—whether he was eating, sleeping, or doing okay. Lionel knew how much she cared, yet he let Stephanie give him away like he was nothing.

Just like when the account books went missing—no matter how many times she told him she wasn’t responsible, he never believed her, just left her with cold words, "You go in and fix yourself. I’ll be there when you get out."

The thought hit her like ice. Kayla took a deep breath, forcing herself to speak with forced calm. "You knew that was Mom’s last gift to me. Why would you just give him away without even asking?"

A loud voice echoed from inside the mansion. "Enough already! Is this ever going to stop?"

Kayla turned to see her father, Ferris Sutton, standing in the doorway. He looked serious and over the past five years, he’d become a lot more polished.

His gray hair looked untouched and that same disgusted look never left his face. As soon as Stephanie saw him, she dashed over to his side.

"Dad! It’s all my fault! If I hadn’t gotten rid of Skippy, she wouldn’t be so mad at us," she said, practically clinging to him. They looked like the perfect father-daughter pair. It was almost comical to Kayla.

"It’s just a dog. If she wants another one, buy her one. You’re already yelling the moment you come back? How embarrassing! Can’t you learn something from your sister?" Ferris snapped.

Kayla didn’t respond. She just looked at him with a blank expression.

The truth was, even though she and Stephanie were sisters, they couldn’t have been more different. One was adored by everyone and the other was the illegitimate daughter.

Kayla had once been the CFO of her own company, while Stephanie was just a small-time clerk Ferris had put under her. Stephanie acted all innocent, but Kayla knew she’d always wanted her position.

But now, she knew it was too late.

Kayla never thought her own father would turn against her. The moment she found out the truth, she was done with this family.

But the house was her mother’s gift to her and those people were the ones who should leave.

Kayla walked past him without a word and headed upstairs. The room that used to be hers had been completely redecorated, now drenched in the pink she could never stand.