To this day, Scarlett still had photos of the kitten on her phone.

And she had been deceived by Xavier’s pretense, misunderstanding Julian’s silence time and time again.

Her hands wouldn't stop shaking, her heart filled with remorse and rage.

The gentleness and thoughtfulness she had always believed in was nothing more than a carefully crafted persona.

All the accusations she had hurled at Julian now pierced her heart like sharp blades.

At that moment, Xavier returned with the gauze.

Seeing Scarlett’s grim face and the phone in her hand, his face went deathly pale.

"What are you doing with my phone?"

He instinctively reached for it, but she pulled it away.

"Is there nothing you want to tell me?"

Scarlett placed the chat history directly in front of him.

Xavier saw the interface of his conversation with his friend on the screen. The malicious words seemed magnified a thousand times, stinging his eyes.

"Scarlett, let me explain..." Xavier spoke frantically.

"Explain what? Explain how you cruelly framed Julian? Explain your hypocrisy over the years?" Scarlett’s voice was as cold as frost, her eyes filled with disappointment and disgust.

Xavier slumped to the floor, knowing it was all over.

"It’s not like that. I just love you too much. I knew he liked you, so I..."

"So you used my trust to deceive me over and over again, is that it?"

She almost shrieked these words.

As for Xavier, she had always held a place for him in her heart. She had intended to clarify her feelings to him later, but she hadn't expected everything to be brought forward by Julian’s accident.

What she never anticipated was that the man she had loved for so long was merely pretending to be kind. This realization sent a sharp pang of pain through her heart.

"Take him away."

Scarlett spoke to the bodyguards and stood up to leave, not sparing him a single glance.

"No! Scarlett! I... I only did it because I love you too much!" He grabbed her wrist, his voice breaking into a sob. "It was possessiveness! I couldn't stand Julian always being around you..."

"Was it also possessiveness when the butler hid his whereabouts?"

Scarlett suddenly stepped close, her breath sweeping past his ear, but it was as cold as ice.

Xavier felt his back hit the cold wall. In his memory, her warm palms used to rest on his shoulders; now, they radiated only a piercing chill.

"Yes... I told him not to tell you because I couldn't wait for him to leave."

His voice grew smaller, and seeing the surging disappointment in Scarlett's eyes, he stopped hiding it altogether.

"He’s just someone you were entrusted to raise. What right does he have to live in your house forever? I am your boyfriend!"

Xavier’s eyes were bloodshot, and the hatred in them could no longer be contained.

Scarlett suddenly let out a light laugh, one filled with self-mockery.

She remembered the time she knew Julian was allergic to fish, yet she had forced him to eat it just to save Xavier’s face. And later, the kitten being thrown from the building—it was all enabled by her indulgence.

She had actually mistaken Julian’s kindness for calculated flattery.

"Scarlett, let me explain..." Xavier’s voice trembled, but he cut himself off when he met the glacial coldness in her eyes. Scarlett shoved the phone screen in front of his face; the malicious chat logs and bloody photos made his vision go dark.

"There is nothing to explain."

Scarlett’s voice was terrifyingly low. "I misjudged you."

Seeing the woman’s resolute expression, Xavier’s face turned as pale as paper. "It's because Julian was always acting pitiful in front of you!"

The disappointment in Scarlett’s eyes turned completely into rage. She said coldly, "Let's break up."

Her voice was frighteningly calm, as if she were discussing tomorrow’s weather.

Xavier was in total disbelief. He gripped Scarlett’s sleeve tightly, tears falling uncontrollably. "Scarlett! I was wrong! I truly know I was wrong! Give me one more chance..."

"At worst, I'll just buy him another cat, okay? I’ll apologize to him!"

"Please, don't break up with me!"

"Don't touch me."

Scarlett shook off his hand in disgust. As she stepped back, she knocked over a vase in the corner.

The sound of shattering porcelain echoed through the entire villa. None of the servants dared to come and check.

Xavier slumped into the mess on the floor, looking pathetic compared to his former self.

She said coldly, "Take him away."

"Wait!" Xavier suddenly screamed hysterically. "Is Julian leaving only my fault? If you hadn't indulged him time and again, where would he get the courage! I saw it long ago—your computer is full of his photos! Do you dare say you have no private feelings for him?"

These words were like a sharp blade that instantly incensed Scarlett.

She waved the bodyguards away, strode forward, and grabbed Xavier by the throat. "What did you say?"

Xavier’s face turned red from the grip, yet he still laughed maniacally. "I hit a nerve, didn't I? You think you're so innocent? Julian is just a foster son, why should he..."

With a dull thud, Xavier was kicked heavily to the floor.

Scarlett looked down at him, exuding a suffocating pressure. "You did all of those things?"

Xavier wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and suddenly sat up, his eyes full of frenzy. "It was me! All of it was me! Watching him kneeling in a pool of blood picking up cat fur nearly killed me with laughter! The more he suffered, the happier I was!"

"You lunatic!"

Scarlett’s palm landed heavily on Xavier’s face.

However, the slap did not make him back down; instead, it provoked even more frantic laughter.

"Yes! I am a lunatic!" Xavier laughed, a pathological light gleaming in his eyes.

"I just couldn't accept it. You clearly liked me..."

Scarlett could listen no longer and issued a sharp command. "Lock him in the basement. Do not let him out without my order!"

Xavier was still cursing hysterically as he was dragged away, his voice echoing through the empty hallway.

He looked like a demon crawling out of hell.

Scarlett stood there, looking at her slightly trembling hands. Images of Julian weeping while holding his dead kitten flashed repeatedly through her mind.

She had been misunderstanding him all along.

She punched the wall, blood dripping from between her knuckles.

She hated herself for never seeing through Xavier’s true face, and she hated herself for not trusting Julian enough.

Scarlett pulled out her phone and dialed Julian’s number again, only to receive the cold notification that the phone was turned off.

She leaned against the wall and slowly slid to the floor, feeling such helplessness and remorse for the first time.

If only she had discovered the truth sooner, if only she had trusted him a little more back then...

Unfortunately, there are no "if onlys" in this world.

At the end of the hallway, Xavier’s cursing gradually faded, leaving behind only a dead silence.

A loud thud suddenly echoed through the apartment hallway.

Julian pulled open the door and saw his new neighbor, Maya, slumped on the ground, clutching a small dog in her arms.

"Julian, what do I do... Pepper suddenly can't breathe!"

Maya’s voice was shaking with tears, her panic visible to the naked eye.

Julian knelt down and found the dog’s abdomen heaving violently, its front legs twitching uncontrollably.

He suddenly remembered the business card Vivienne had given him and quickly dialed the number on it.

The moment the call connected, a steady female voice came through: "Place the dog on a flat surface first. Use your index and middle fingers to press between the ribs on the left side of the chest."

Julian grabbed a bath towel and spread it on the floor, beginning the emergency aid according to the instructions.

Maya helped by holding the dog’s legs, her palms covered in cold sweat.

"Maintain ten compressions per minute. I’m coming over now."

Vivienne’s voice was accompanied by the sound of a car engine starting. "Remember, do not stop."

Julian didn't dare delay for a second. He kept pressing as she instructed, but his wrists began to ache, and the dog still showed no reaction.

Maya suddenly screamed, "He's stopped moving!"

Before she finished her sentence, the elevator doors banged open. Vivienne rushed out with an emergency kit. She quickly pried open the dog’s mouth to check the airway and pulled a syringe from the kit.

The moment the needle went in, the dog let out a whimper.

Vivienne immediately placed a portable oxygen mask over its nose and mouth. The heart rate curve on the monitor began to fluctuate.

"The condition is stable for now, but we still need to go back to the clinic for further examination."

As she picked up the dog, her gaze flickered over Julian’s reddened wrists. "Thanks to you. You acted just in time."