They All Voted for My Death Then I Came Back Reborn Chapter 03

They All Voted for My Death Then I Came Back Reborn Chapter 03

Nightmares chased me until morning.

When I woke, I reached toward the side of the bed out of habit, expecting to pull my cat into my arms.

My hand touched nothing.

My stomach dropped.

I threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. I checked underneath it, then searched the balcony, the closet, and behind the couch.

At last, beside the trash can near the front door, I found Marmalade’s little bell.

A few strands of orange fur clung to it.

I crouched to pick it up. When I stood again, the world tilted.

Laura came out of the kitchen holding a spatula.

“Stop looking. I gave the cat away.”

Her voice was calm.

“Claire is allergic to cats. She’ll be home soon. We can’t have cat hair everywhere.”

I clenched the bell so tightly that its edge dug into my palm.

When I opened my mouth, my voice shook so badly it barely sounded like mine.

“Marmalade has been with me for seven years… He scares easily. He’ll be terrified in a new place.”

The last sentence came out on the edge of a sob.

Laura frowned.

“Claire will be scared too. Why does everything always have to be about you?”

My breathing suddenly turned ragged. No matter how hard I tried, I could not pull in enough air.

I braced a hand against the wall and closed my eyes until the darkness in my vision slowly cleared.

Then I ran for the door.

“Anna!” Mom shouted behind me.

I did not turn around.

I asked the security guard and the neighbors if they had seen him. I checked the neighborhood group chat and asked the HOA office for the security footage.

A gate attendant said he had seen someone carry an orange tabby out through the rear gate that morning.

By the time I reached it, my legs were trembling.

Sweat soaked the back of my shirt.

I searched every trash can and every bush, but I could not find him.

That evening, someone posted in the neighborhood group chat: [Does anyone know who owns the orange tabby under the awning by the rear gate?]

I started trembling the moment I saw the photograph.

It was Marmalade.

He was curled beside a cardboard box, his fur soaked on one side, his eyes fixed on the community entrance.

I grabbed my coat and ran for the door.

Laura blocked my way.

“You’re planning to bring him back?”

My dad rushed out of the home office.

“Anna, how can you be this vicious? Your sister isn’t even home yet, and you’re already trying to put her at risk.”

He raised his hand.

I stood perfectly still.

For one brief moment, I almost wanted him to hit me.

A slap might have been easier to bear than the pressure crushing my chest.

But Laura threw herself between us.

“Don’t!” she cried.”What if you leave a mark on her face before Claire comes back?”

Richard’s hand stopped in midair.

I watched my mom gripping his wrist, and the taste of iron filled my mouth.

Even my face no longer belonged to me.

They shoved me into my bedroom while I fought with everything I had.

Richard pried my fingers off the doorframe one by one, and Laura planted herself in the doorway.

The door slammed in my face.

I grabbed the knob and twisted until my wrist hurt, but it would not budge.

Late that night, the neighborhood group chat chimed again.

Someone had posted another photograph.

Marmalade lay beside the road near the rear gate.

Rainwater spread beneath him in a dark stain.

[He was hit by a car. He was already gone when we found him. He kept staring toward the entrance. No matter how many times people tried to shoo him away, he wouldn’t leave. It looked like he was waiting for someone.]

I stared at the photograph and tried to scream his name.

But it felt as if someone had torn a hole through my chest and trapped every sound inside it.

My mouth opened.

The tears came first.

Only a broken whimper escaped my throat.

I clenched my fist until my nails dug into my skin, but I felt no pain.

Warm liquid finally ran down my fingers. Only then did I realize the edge of the bell had worn the skin of my palm open.

I curled up on the floor, sobbing so hard my whole body shook.

Seven years.

Marmalade had been with me for seven years.

While everyone else ran toward Claire, he had always been the one waiting by the door for me to come home.

Now they had thrown him away too.

He had waited for me until the very end.

The little bell gave a faint chime in my palm.

My phone suddenly lit up: [Use your final chance to cancel the exchange?]

I looked at Marmalade’s rain-soaked fur in the photograph.

After a long time, I selected NO.

[Exchange proceeding.]