I let out a panicked scream, only to realize I couldn’t make any noise except for barking.
It was like some twisted joke.
Then, when I was knocked out and thrown into a soup pot, the truth finally hit me. It was like a ton of bricks crashing down.
Regina wasn’t just my brother’s wife. She wasn’t just my fiancé’s only love.
No, she was both of theirs.
After drinking the pesticide, her soul had attached itself to that toy dog. Shane and Oliver orchestrated the whole thing, making me swap lives with the dog just to bring Regina back.
One was my biological brother, the other my fiancé.
How had I been so blind? How had I not seen this coming?
A rush of anger surged through me, but I pushed it down.
"If you like it so much, you can take care of it yourselves. I’m done with this," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
Shane didn’t push back. He simply nodded, but then added, "The dog has to stay at your place for a few more days until the engagement’s over. After that, we’ll send it to a new owner."
I rolled my eyes. 'Classic Shane.'
Even in this new life, he was still trying to make me the sacrificial pawn for Regina.
But in this life? I wouldn't play along.
His plan was bound to fail, and I’d make sure of it.
Even though I’d been reborn, I still didn’t have all the pieces to the puzzle.
'What was the key to the body swap? Was it Oliver’s family bracelet? The timing of the engagement? Or was it living and sleeping together that triggered it?'
Until I figured that out, I had to tread carefully. If I made the wrong move, they’d just find another way to trap me.
But this time, Regina, in the form of the toy dog, wasn’t exactly calming down. Despite my locking every door and window in the house, she somehow managed to sneak into my bedroom. She didn’t just make a mess like last time. No, this time she dug up my cherished old family photos and, without hesitation, urinated on them.
I could feel my blood boiling. Those photos were heirlooms from my grandmother.
I’d spent my whole life protecting them, and now this?
I knew exactly why Regina was doing it. She was throwing a tantrum over the villa my parents had given me as part of my dowry. The thing was, when Regina married into the Maxwell family, her dowry was worth several times more than mine. My parents even gave her a monthly allowance—six figures.
And yet, here she was, throwing a fit over a villa?
I didn’t get it.
But this time, I wasn’t going to scream or cower like I did in my past life. Instead, I smirked.
When Regina wasn’t paying attention, I grabbed her ear and yanked her up, holding her off the ground like a misbehaving child. She immediately barked in fear, her tiny body squirming in my grip. Just as I was about to give her a piece of my mind, Shane heard the noise and came rushing in.
Without hesitation, he snatched Regina from my hands and cradled her like she was the most fragile thing in the world.
His face hardened, and he shot me a cold glare. "Didn’t I tell you? I’ll send her away in a few days. You can’t even stand it for this long?"
Oliver, seeing Regina curled up in Shane’s arms and acting all pitiful, didn’t even ask what had happened.
Instead, he turned on me. "Clarisse, what’s wrong with you? How can you be so cruel and bully a small animal? What’s it ever done to you?"
Then, without missing a beat, he went over to Regina, his face full of sympathy. “Look at her. She’s trembling in fear!”
I could feel the frustration bubbling up inside me.
In my previous life, Shane and Oliver had always blindly protected Regina, even when she turned into a dog.
Same old, same old. Nothing ever changed with them.
Regina, hiding in Shane’s arms, was wearing that smug look again.
It practically screamed, 'I’ve won.'
I couldn’t take it anymore. Anger and frustration surged through me. I grabbed the ruined old photos and threw them right in front of them. Then, I pointed to the mess in the room.
“Which one of you saw me bullying it? It’s the one that ruined the heirlooms my grandmother gave me and is peeing all over my room!”
Shane’s face twisted in disbelief, but I wasn’t done yet. “It’s obviously in heat. If you’re so fond of it, why don’t you just send it to a doghouse to breed? Maybe that’ll calm it down.”
I knew they’d never let Regina go to the doghouse. That was just my way of getting under their skin.
And honestly? It felt pretty good to say it.
Sure enough, as soon as the words left my mouth, Regina visibly shivered in fear, and Shane looked at me like I’d completely lost it.
“Clarisse, where did you even hear that nonsense? You’ve let me down." Shane shook his head.
