After a long silence, Sebastian finally said to Abigail, “Orange is dead.”

Abigail heard the tremble in his voice. She wanted to say something but found herself at a complete loss for words.

“Do you suspect it was the Gibson family?” he asked Abigail.

Abigail let go of him, looked into his eyes, and nodded. “Because before I came, you and Orange were doing fine. But after I arrived, Orange had an accident.”

Sebastian started to say, "There were no..."

“James said you wanted to go after the Gibson family?” Sebastian said coldly.

It was the first time Abigail had seen him like this. She said, “My matters can wait. Right now, what matters most is finding out who killed Orange–”

“Orange is already gone.” Sebastian’s voice was utterly calm.

Abigail bit her lip and nodded.

Sebastian noticed how red her eyes were. He gently touched her eyelid and asked, “Have you been crying?”

“No, I–” Abigail instinctively tried to lie.

“Your eyes are swollen.” Sebastian lightly rubbed her eyelids with his fingertips.

“I just couldn’t sleep. I really didn’t cry,” Abigail replied, biting her lip.

“You cried in Chesterwick. Orange was with you for several days–of course you couldn’t hold it in,” Sebastian said.

Abigail looked at him with heartbreak. “I really couldn’t hold it in last night. He was such a good boy. I just don’t understand how people can take a life so easily.”

Orange didn’t even understand the conflicts between people.

Sebastian stroked her cheek gently and said, “To many people, cats and dogs are just animals–on the same level as chickens, ducks, cows, and sheep. When Orange was still okay, I just hoped he wouldn’t suffer too much when it was his time to go.”

As soon as he said that, Abigail couldn’t hold back her pain.

“Alright, don’t cry anymore. Don’t blame yourself. A cat’s life and a human’s life are both full of uncertainty. This wasn’t your fault. Orange knew you loved him so much–he’d be happy,” Sebastian comforted her.

Abigail nodded, though she still couldn’t help but weep. She took out her tablet and handed it to Sebastian. “I drew this for him. Maybe we can print it out and hang it at home?”

Abigail didn’t know what else to do—she just wanted to do something to ease Sebastian’s pain.

Sebastian took the tablet and looked at her drawing of Orange. He was a little surprised. He didn’t spend much time at home and never had the habit of photographing his cats. But Abigail seemed to enjoy capturing moments of them.

She had drawn many pictures of the cats out of love for them.

Sebastian flipped to the last image–it was the first one Abigail had drawn. It showed him napping with the cats, and his eyes opened slightly in the picture.

All the little cats were curled up next to him in the drawing. Orange was nestled in the crook of his arm. He remembered that day clearly–he’d covered his face with a book.

But Abigail had drawn two versions–one where his face was covered, and one where it wasn’t.

“Why is there one where my face isn’t covered?” Sebastian pointed at the drawing.

Sebastian couldn’t help but laugh softly. He reached out and gently touched Orange in the painting.

“I think your face looks good,” Abigail said.

After a long pause, he said in a low voice, “Orange will always stay in my life like this. He won’t vanish like my mom. We didn’t even have a photo together. I didn’t even get to see her one last time.”

Hearing that, Abigail’s eyes welled with tears again. She said, “I never expected this to happen. Maybe I shouldn’t have drawn it in the first place.”

The moment Orange was drawn, it was as if his life had been frozen in that frame forever.

“No, don’t think like that,” Sebastian said, eyes fixed on Orange. He was speaking without realizing it. His gaze was full of quiet devotion.