Rachel froze. “Dead? That’s impossible. I remember he was always in good health.”

Tyler let out a long sigh and said solemnly, “After you left, he probably died of a broken heart. Stopped eating altogether. Starved himself to death.”

Rachel felt numb. “Why didn’t you do anything about it?”

Tyler glanced at her. “Haven’t you heard? Emotional wounds are the hardest to heal. He flat-out refused to eat. What was I supposed to do?”

“You couldn’t just sit there and watch him starve to death!” Her voice rose without her meaning to.

She hadn’t been the biggest fan of dogs back then, mostly because she’d been scared by one as a kid, but Ray had been sweet and surprisingly perceptive.

Later, after moving abroad, she had even adopted a dog of her own. She had named it Waffle. It was a stray that had been abandoned by its previous owner.

She’d heard from others that Ray had also been abandoned by his original owner because of some old superstitious belief that his appearance would bring financial loss. That had been Ray’s second home already.

Rachel knew that feeling all too well. It was the pain of being loved and then discarded.

Some people were worse than animals.

But she had never bought into those ridiculous superstitions. She had insisted on adopting Waffle back then just to prove them wrong. Owning a dog didn’t bring bad luck, but abandoning one? That definitely would.

As Rachel stood there grieving for Ray, suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the apartment, and something darted out.

A blur launched itself onto the couch and barked at Tyler twice.

Startled, Tyler reflexively leaned back a little, then reached out to pat the dog’s head.

“Alright, alright. It was just a joke, okay? I didn’t mean you were actually dead!”

Ray clearly wasn’t happy with that and barked at him again in protest.

Tyler casually pointed toward the kitchen. “Look over there. See who’s here.”

Ray turned his head. The moment he saw Rachel, he bolted toward her. Thanks to her experience with dogs now, Rachel didn’t panic like she had the first time. She crouched down and opened her arms just in time to catch him.

Ray squirmed in her arms. He wagged his tail furiously and nuzzled into her chest like a ball of excitement. He circled her feet in joy before jumping up to lick her face.

Rachel nearly toppled backward under Ray’s enthusiasm. Holding his face in her hands, she struggled to contain his excitement.

“Okay, okay. Calm down!”

Tyler cleared his throat twice and called out to Ray. “Ray, if you keep that up, you’re gonna scare her off. Then she won’t come visit you anymore.”

Ray seemed to understand and immediately stopped leaping on Rachel. He sat obediently at her feet.

Rachel scratched his head. “Sorry, I didn’t bring you any treats this time. I’ll get you some next time, promise.”

Ray grinned with his tongue out.

Rachel felt her heart melt. Ever since adopting a dog of her own, she had zero defense against dogs with such deep affection.

She patted his head. “At least you’re sweet, unlike your owner. He's full of lies. Lying is shameful, you know.” She fully expected Tyler to snap back at her, but surprisingly, he actually agreed.

“You’re absolutely right, Rachel. I couldn’t agree more. Lying is shameful.” He dragged out the last few words with special emphasis, as if to deliberately remind her of something.

Rachel’s heart skipped a beat. Her thoughts flew to the contract she had signed with him five years ago. Her expression flickered with a trace of guilt.

She’d just walked straight into his trap.

Dealing with Tyler meant staying on constant high alert.