He Protected My Baby’s Killer So I Left Him Chapter 02
The day I was discharged, no one came to get me.
The driver opened the car door for me.
“Mr. Matteo said to take you to the apartment.”
“He’ll be back tonight for dinner.”
Matteo had bought the apartment last year.
During the renovation, he’d walked me through every room, hand in hand, telling me this would be our home.
But the second the door opened, the first thing I saw was a pair of Uggs that weren’t mine.
My slippers were gone from the shoe cabinet.
In their place were Isabella’s favorite fuzzy white ones.
There was a new set of toiletries in the bathroom.
Her coat was thrown over the couch.
The apartment was unnervingly quiet.
Normally, Toast would be at my feet the second I opened the door.
I called his name twice. No answer.
His cat bed was gone.
So were his food bowl, his water dish, and the cat tree on the balcony.
I called Matteo immediately.
“Where’s Toast?”
There was a pause.
Then, “Leo handled it. Ask him.”
I called Leo.
He picked up right away.
“The cat’s at a kennel.”
“Bella’s allergic. She started wheezing the second she walked in.”
“Besides, you’re still recovering. It’s best not to have him around for now.”
My fingers went cold.
“Send me the address.”
“Can’t you just get him later?”
“The address.”
Leo’s tone hardened.
“It’s just for a few days.”
“Isabella can’t even go back to her own house right now. Do you really have to pick a fight with her over a cat?”
“He’s my cat.”
“I’ve had him for seven years.”
I hung up and walked straight out the door.
I had to check three different boarding facilities before I found Toast.
He was crouched in the far back of a cage, trembling.
When he saw me, he tried to stand but only bumped his head on the metal door.
The employee told me he hadn’t eaten anything since he’d been brought in.
“The gentleman who dropped him off said the owner wasn’t in a position to care for him at the moment.”
“He only paid for three days and didn’t leave any contact information.”
“If no one comes for him by then, we have to send him to a shelter.”
I opened the cage.
The moment Toast caught my scent, he let out a small, desperate meow.
He buried his head in my arms, his claws hooking tightly into my sweater.
Seven years ago, Matteo had found him in the rain.
He’d shown up at my door with a drenched little kitten, telling me that from now on, the three of us were a family.
After I got pregnant, plenty of people suggested I give the cat away.
Only Matteo had held my hand and promised, “No matter who leaves, Toast stays.”
Now I was the one being pushed out.
I took Toast back to the apartment to pack.
I pressed my thumb to the fingerprint scanner, but the lock just beeped an error.
“Verification failed.”
The door opened from the inside.
Isabella stood there, wearing my slippers and the knit cardigan Matteo had bought for me.
When she saw the cat in my arms, she instinctively recoiled.
“Why did you bring him back?”
“Leo only sent him away because he was worried about me.”
I looked at the lock.
“What happened to my fingerprint?”
Something flickered across her face.
“Leo deleted it.”
“He said with the miscarriage… that your emotions might be unstable.”
“If you came back and tried to hurt me, he wouldn’t be able to get here in time.”
I just stood there.
She kept her hand on the doorframe, blocking my way.
Every plate in that kitchen, every lamp in that bedroom—I had picked them all out myself.
Now the woman who killed my baby was standing inside.
And I couldn’t even get through my own door.
I dropped my gaze to Toast, stroking his fur.
“Move.”
Isabella bit her lip, about to speak, when the elevator doors slid open behind her.
Leo strode out and pulled Isabella behind him.
The second he saw the cat in my arms, his face darkened.
“I told you. Just leave him at the kennel for a few days.”
“Do you really have to leave Bella with nowhere to go?”
I looked at him.
“She moved into my home.”
“You got rid of my cat.”
“You deleted my fingerprint.”
“So tell me, who’s the one with nowhere to go?”
Leo froze for a second.
But he didn’t move. He just stood there, blocking the door.
The answer was obvious.
I was the one with nowhere to go.