Chapter 1

Sophia was the most perfect girl I had ever met. She had long golden hair, porcelain skin, and when she smiled, her eyes curved like two crescent moons. She was an excellent cook, never checked my phone, and even when I played video games, she would simply sit quietly by my side, peeling apples.

Friends told me I had struck gold to find such an angelic girlfriend. Only I knew that behind this perfection lay a bizarre exception.

Sophia had an unshakable rule.

No matter what happened, I had to return to the apartment before 11:00 PM. Even if the sky was pouring rain, even if I was in the middle of signing a crucial business contract. The moment eleven struck, I had to be at our door.

When we first got together, I thought it was a manifestation of insecurity. After all, she was an orphan with a difficult past. I wanted to give her a home and felt the request wasn't excessive. I always strictly observed this rule.

Until six months ago, when my American Shorthair, "Misty," which I had raised for three years, went missing.

That day, when I arrived home, it was exactly 10:55 PM.

The moment I entered, I smelled a faint metallic tang. Sophia was sitting on the sofa with her back to me, her shoulders shrugging slightly. Hearing the door open, she snapped her head around. The look in her eyes at that instant turned my blood to ice. Hollow, indifferent, and holding a lingering trace of ferocity. But in just a blink, she reverted to her usual gentleness.

"Jack, you're back." She smiled, coming over to help me with my slippers.

I asked her what was wrong. She said she was preparing salmon for dinner and had accidentally cut her hand.

I glanced at her hand; there was indeed a Band-Aid. But that metallic smell didn't smell like fish at all.

It smelled more like blood.

Later, I searched the entire community but couldn't find Misty. Sophia searched with me, crying even harder than I did. I buried the incident in my heart, and life continued as usual.

Until last Friday.