ANGELICA'S POV

I looked at Nathan curiously, and he cocks his head on the other side, copying me.

"What did you just say?" I asked him.

"I wasn't saying anything," he replied.

"You said you wanted to visit Nick?"

"I told you, I wasn't saying anything."

"Then what did I just hear?"

"Maybe you're thinking out loud."

"Okay..." I continued cooking and placed his food in his bowl. As I went back to my room, something hit me. Why would I suddenly think of Nicholas? I sat down for a second and remembered the issue in Hawaii.

"Why did a fight suddenly happen there as soon as he went to Hawaii?" I busied myself with finding something, as I searched for something in my bag, it hit me. The bracelet! When I was buying David and Nathan's meal, I happened to pass by a shop and saw a collar perfect for Nathan's size.

Last night...

"Good evening! You're the last customer of the night before we close. Is there anything you'd like to buy?" The shopkeeper asked me, I pointed at the pet section, and the shopkeeper went there.

"I'd like one collar engraved, please." The shopkeeper nodded and went for the collar with three bells on it

"What is the pet's name, ma'am?" The shopkeeper asked as they looked for materials to engrave Nathan's name.

"Oh, Nathan, he's half Siberian Husky... and half Alaskan Malamute," I mumbled at the shopkeeper.

"Thank you for noting that on me, ma'am, because I think I needed a bigger one." They went to get an oversized collar before engraving Nathan's name on it.

"Oh, keep the small one; I have one pet as well."

Present time...

I walked out of my room and went to where Nathan was. As he was eating, I carefully put on the collar I bought. Nathan stopped eating as if he felt it immediately and looked at me.

"What's this?" he asked.

"A collar. I have one for David too. I wanted to give that as a token of appreciation because you guys are the longest to stay here." I smiled at Nathan and brushed his fur on my hands, his head lowered, and put it on my chest.

"Thank you for letting me stay," he said, and I hugged Nathan.

"But I have to go back to where I was from," he says; it breaks my heart to hear that.

"I know, just let me hug you for a while. I never hugged someone this long." I hugged Nathan a little tighter and let go after. He looked at me with those sparkling brown eyes again as my tears fell.

"I just made your bracelet a little bit bigger and added a bell so that when you come back, I could hear it and open the door for you." I sadly smiled at him as I put my head at him and whimpered quietly. He left the house, and I just felt like a man had left me all alone. Morning came, and someone was waking me up.

"It's still early. Wake me later." I groaned and faced away

"No, it's almost afternoon."

"No." Then someone jumps at my stomach, making me scream and clutch my shirt.

"Ow, why do you guys have to do that?" I asked them angrily and heard that Nathan was laughing at me.

"Nathan, it's not funny."

"Huh? Nathan's not here, " David said, and I opened my eyes to see that he wasn't there and was just my hallucination.

"Oh, you're right." I sit up straight and look at my surroundings, and it feels like I am longing for him.

"Where's Nathan, by the way?" David asked.

"He left; he'll be back. And..."

"And what?"

"I have to give you to your owner today." I pat him gently on his head as another tear falls and do my life usually, I cook him food and bring him in my car. I later parked on the basement floor and went to the V.P.'s office. He was sitting and saw us.

"Here you go," I said but reluctantly gave David away. I know I'm not the owner, yet we felt closer and always had fun.

"Thank you for taking care of him. Now, let's go. I have many things to teach you."

"I'll be going now, be good, David." I plastered a smile as hints of tears filled up my eyes. I faced away and walked out. As my whimpers say goodbye and continue to work, a month has passed, and the house feels empty. No noise, just a casual day, eating alone and going to work without worrying.

"Hey," one of my coworkers tapped my shoulder, I looked at her, and she pointed at my back. Many people are standing in line for them to sign in.

"Oh, sorry." I stepped away and continued walking and went to the kitchen, and it was worse than I thought. I couldn't focus on my work and kept making mistakes. I stopped and went out to take a breath.

"He's here!" One of the sales ladies ran, and the others formed a line.

"Pfft, it's just Nick, what are they—" I stopped talking and heard a faint chime; I suddenly looked at it and listened to the chime getting louder and louder. Reminiscing the exact sound of the bells as Nathan's bracelet as soon as he left that night.

"Welcome back, Mr. Young." My mouth hangs ajar, and I saw Jonathan and the exact design of the bracelet he was wearing. I ran without thinking and tried to grab his hands. His bodyguard stopped me, he looked at me slowly, and the same spark of the color of his eyes allured me and faded as soon as he entered the building.

"Were Mr. Nathan, your acquaintance?" One of his bodyguards asked me.

"Sorry, he kind of reminds me of someone," I replied and just took a step back and went inside the restaurant. Even when I try to cook, I'm spacing out and I spill some, which frustrates me. I went outside and saw a lady running. I thought she was chasing a snatcher, but then I heard another scream coming out from the mall's west side. More people started running, and it seemed like they were running away from someone. I went there and saw blood everywhere.

"Oh gosh, what happened here. Hello? Is anybody here?" As I was wandering around, I saw a man lying down on the floor. I immediately approached him and saw that the man was the one who was bleeding.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm going to help you—" I grabbed the man's shoulders slowly, but someone tackled us, my body plopped hard on the floor, and I accidentally lost my grip. I winced at the pain but still managed to sit and saw a stray dog chewing off the man's leg. My eyes widened in fear as soon as I saw the blood spurt. I slowly moved backward, and my shoes suddenly squeaked, making the dog stop and look at me slowly. It's not a dog, but the same creature as what I saw weeks ago. A wolf, his eyes are black, and it doesn't resemble Nathan.

"Get up!" A voice booms in the east hallway as the wolf runs towards me, and I hear the wolf cry when metal hits him. I flinched as I listened to a body hitting hard, making some of the bones crack.

"Are you okay?" He asked me. I snapped my head at him and saw that it was Nicholas.

"Yeah... by the way, why was there a loose wolf here?" I asked him furiously.

"It's not just a wolf— they're rabid."

"What?" Nick didn't answer, but he called someone, later a doctor came running, and her face looked familiar to me.

"Angelique? Wait, you knew each other?"

"There's not much time, and the wolf is losing its breath. I have to treat it."

"But where? The hospital's too far and all of the shops here, even the clinic here closed suddenly"

"We have to do it here because we're starting to lose him." She puts her bag down and opens it.

"No, do it in my room. I'll talk to my brother about this"

"Okay." I carried her bag as she carried the wolf and went to his office. She put the wolf down and operated it. The surgery was a success, and she injected him with anti-rabies and put him to sleep.

"So, are you gonna ask me how you and Nicholas know each other?" I asked Angelique.

"He's a regular customer there because he periodically does some checkups on his pet, and we exchange some words."

"Oh, so does that mean that you're starting to like him?"

"No! I have to trust him first before I start to like him, you know, remember when I was about to get married when my ex-fiancé canceled the marriage," remembering that day, it was such a tragic day for her. She was devastated and had never loved a man for almost two years now.

"It's hard, I know, but maybe this is your chance."

"We never know," she replied. The door suddenly opens, and the faint chime of bells rings, and my smile fades. I slowly looked at it and saw that the bracelet was the same as the one I designed myself before buying it. And at that moment, I became curious. Is Jonathan Nathan? Or is it just my imagination?