Chapter 254
Don’t talk superficial nonsense now. Our Phoebe’s a regular girl. That circus animal rampage was because some cruel trainer was mistreating them. What’s that got to do with our Phoebe?”
“What scares me is that Phoebe was talking to that black bear!”
In my memory, Dad seemed to be in so much pain and fear. As if I were some sort of
monster.
I’d completely forgotten these memories, but only the good ones remained.
“Edward… do we really need to send our daughter to a mental institution?”
“If we don’t do it now, later on… it might lead to something much worse, What if she ends up killing someone…”
“Stop it, just stop!”
“And last month, when your bestie brought Dexter over, just because we complimented Dexter a bit and mentioned the childhood betrothal, she let Howler scare the daylights out of him. Dexter is just an eight–year–old kid, for heaven’s sake. He was so scared he ran a high fever for days, and now he’s developed a phobia of dogs!”
In that dimly lit room, the sound of my parents‘ quarreling voices grew clearer in my memory as I stood outside the door, watching their silhouettes.
Indeed, I was sent to a mental institution.
I must have been only five years old.
Back then, I hadn’t yet met Colin…
In my memory, my parents said I set Howler on Dexter out of jealousy over this betrothal thing. Was that really why he’s been afraid of dogs since he was little? All because of me?
“Foebe!”
“Foebe, are you okay?”
The sound of sirens, Robin’s panicked voice.
“Phoebe!” Stella’s crying.
I slumped to the ground, and as my consciousness returned, my white dress was covered in blood.
Coly lay dying on the ground, a large, yellow–brown wolfhound, so much like the Howler in
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my memory. My Howler was a handsome, black brown wolfhound as majest
Goly. My voice trembled, and I ran over, crying, to embrace the big wolfhound. Dit d please don’t die.
We need to get it to the hospital.” Robin grabbed the wolfhound from my arms, using his shirt to staunch the bleeding.
The paramedics rushed over to check on me, fearing I’d been stabbed. But to the nurse’s surprise, I was unharmed.
“She’s not injured.”
Only then did Robin realize, looking at the dying assailant on the ground, some had fled, others were wailing in pain.
“I’ve killed a man…” I was shaking all over, looking at the fallen assailant before me.
“It was self–defense. They were after your life,” Stella sobbed, holding me tight.
But I had no recollection of how I managed it.
“Colin…” I snapped back to reality, tugging anxiously at Robin’s arm. “Colin fell off the cliff; how is he… is he okay?”
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