Roderick never expected that, after so many years, he would see that human child again while investigating the background of someone he liked.
That presence, which was nearly erased from his memory.
Catriona.
Could she be the grown-up Catriona?
The short, skinny, timid cub from his memory had grown into a bright, beautiful woman with a gentle demeanor and a warm smile.
She was Catriona.
She was really Catriona.
Roderick's deep eyes were full of shock as his emotions surged within him, and he pressed his lips tightly.
Below the photo.
There was a lengthy paragraph.
Catriona, female, from the Capital.
At the age of three, her parents died in a car accident, and she lived temporarily with her uncle's family.
[Image] At four, she moved to her another uncle's home.
[Image] At seven, she moved to her maternal uncle's home.
[Image] At eight, she moved to her eldest maternal uncle's home.
[Image] At ten, she was taken in and raised by Grandma, a distant relative.
In the photos, as the girl aged, her face gradually grew to resemble Catriona's.
She kept changing residences; such a small child, forced to keep moving from home to home.
At four, she moved to her another uncle's house.
Roderick's sharp gaze softened. So, at that time, she had been sent to another relative's home. She didn't sneak away, she wasn't hiding.
She was forced into it, too.
Roderick looked at the girl who never smiled in the photos, from middle school to high school, and then to college.
In her first year of college, Catriona wore a high ponytail, smiling slightly at the camera.
This was the first time she smiled in so many photos.
Roderick glanced at the words beside her: Capital University.
Capital University was the best in the country, and she had been admitted there with good academic performance.
Roderick's gaze softened a bit; the wandering child, the girl who never smiled in her photos, had finally smiled.
This indicated that she had had a relatively good life with this grandmother?
He felt happy for her.
He would visit and thank that kind-hearted elder.
Thinking this.
His gaze moved downwards, and his pupils suddenly contracted, his brows furrowing tightly.
In her second year, she took a leave of absence.
On September 10, her guardian passed away in her sleep at the age of seventy.
At that time, Catriona was out celebrating a friend's birthday, and didn't return all night.
Didn't return all night.
Didn't return all night.
The man's gaze lingered on these four words for a long time, his chest heaving deeply. He took a deep breath, swallowed hard, but still felt stifled.
Didn't return all night.
So...
It felt as if his chest were about to explode. He extended his hand, watching as it uncontrollably morphed, visible to the eye—slender, pale fingers transforming into a massive wolf's paw, covered in fur and bulging veins. He grasped at his shirt, pulling hard; the force caused buttons to scatter silently onto the carpet.
He felt like a suffocating patient, a heavy stone wedged firmly in his chest.
His shirt, once just clothing, now felt like a burden, trapping him.
He coughed once, then coughed again heavily.
When he clearly realized the truth, Roderick fell into a deep pit of self-loathing.
He had always thought he'd been used and abandoned by a "heartless woman."
He had always thought Catriona had wronged him.
He had projected all his biases against pure humans onto her, making her bear his resentment.
On the night that the respectable elder passed away, Catriona had been with him.
In the end, she hadn't been by that elder's side.
She didn't just run away after spending the night; she only went to find that elderly person.
She was simply stumbling along, carrying all her despair, heartbreak, and tears, to see that elderly person's body for the last time.
On September 16, after the funeral, the younger members of the family reclaimed the Grandma's house, leaving Catriona homeless.
Over the next month, Catriona visited Grandma's grave (fifty times), the upscale restaurant on Capital(twice), Capital amusement park (three times), Capital mall (shopping three times), Capital park (twice), and Capital riverside (thirteen times).
[Image] [Image] [Image]
In the three photos, the woman is merely a passerby, a background figure captured unintentionally by others.
Her eyes were lifeless and hollow, her face deathly pale, and the light had faded from her gaze.
On October 25, a kind man, saved Catriona from attempting to jump into the river.
On October 28, a kind woman, saved Catriona after she had already jumped into the river.
On November 6, a kind man, called the police, saving Catriona after she jumped into the river.
On November 15, a kind woman, found Catriona unconscious in front of Grandma's grave and sent her to the hospital, where it was discovered she was pregnant.
On November 17, Catriona was discharged from the hospital and rented an apartment.
On November 19, Catriona went to school to process her leave of absence.
On November 21, Catriona found a tutoring job, and she also began selling homemade desserts.
During her pregnancy, she worked various jobs: handing out flyers, doing housecleaning, selling goods at stalls, taking private orders from factories at home, making and selling desserts, selling fruit online, and marketing beverages online.
In September, she gave birth to a son at Hospital.
In the following two years, her jobs included online beverage marketing, being a customer service representative (from home), and selling homemade desserts through her social media.
Three years later, Flower Shop opened.
On December 3 next year, a branch of Flower Shop opened.
In the last photo, a beautiful woman holds a little boy's hand, standing in front of the flower shop and smiling at the camera.
There was now a glimmer of light in her eyes.
The vast study was extremely quiet.
It was so quiet that even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.
Behind the ornately carved European-style wooden desk sat an enormous pure-black wolf, incongruously dressed in a black shirt. His limbs had morphed into sharp claws, and his head was now a full wolf's face, with terrifyingly sharp fangs visible at the edges of his open mouth.
It was as if he had been struck by an unbearable truth, driving him into complete loss of control, transforming him into this fearsome and grotesque figure.
This was the werewolf's second form, capable of standing upright like a human, wearing clothes, but with a head and limbs no different from a full wolf's.
He sat in the carved wooden chair like a person, his shirt ripped and even stretched at the chest.
He sat there, exuding a defeated air, and his long, slanted wolf eyes no longer held their usual sharpness and aggression.
At this moment, a hint of self-mockery and self-loathing could be seen in those wolf eyes.
He had lived for so many years like a victim, wallowing in riches.
The other victim, the woman he thought was wicked, was living a life a hundred times more painful than his.
Catriona's turbulent childhood was not caused by him, nor could he prevent the Grandma's death.
But after that night, after she became pregnant, it became about him too.
As for him? He might as well have been dead.
He showed up too late.
She probably didn't need him anymore.
She was so remarkable, so strong, so smart.
Roderick suddenly felt ashamed to face Catriona.
What was he showing up for? Did he still dare to pursue her?
What could he offer Catriona? Did she need anything from him?
He had money, and he had his love for her, but so many people admired her—he was not special.
He had no right to pursue her.
Then...he would just stand guard over her for life, like a beast protecting a goddess.
After all, he had long been prepared for a life of solitude.
In the near future, whoever she chooses to love and whatever kind of life she wants to lead, he would do his utmost to help her.
Rather than pursue Catriona for his own happiness, Roderick chose to step aside, relinquishing his place—the place beside the one she loved.
In his heart, a pain like tearing continued to spread.
