Chapter 8
The slingshot flew too fast–I couldn’t block it in time.
Onie let out a heart–wrenching yelp, blood–tears streaming from his eye.
Panicked, I scooped him into my arms, ready to rush him to the vet. But Jaylen’s bodyguards blocked my way, refusing to let me through.
At that moment, Archie ended his call and spoke urgently, “Martin, we found the person we’ve been looking for.“>
Tears welled in my eyes from the sheer relief, my arms trembled as I held Onie tighter.
I turned to Jaylen and roared, “Get out of my way!“}
“Onie is your real sister–don’t you dare delay her treatment!“}
The words silenced the crowd.
Jaylen stared at me in disbelief, like I’d gone mad.§
“What the hell are you talking about, Martin? Have you completely lost it? A dog–my sister? You need to open your damn eyes and look again!”
Mr. and Mrs. Garza’s faces darkened like thunderclouds. Their hands nearly trembled with rage.}
“Enough!” Uncle Simon shouted. “First, you refuse to marry our daughter. Now you dare humiliate her by calling her a dog? If you spout any more nonsense, don’t blame us for taking action!“}
Archie stepped forward, calm but firm. “Martin is not lying. That dog–Onie–is Casey. Her soul lives inside that body. If you won’t believe his words–then believe your eyes.“>
Before he could explain further, despite his injury, Onie limped over to Uncle Simon and Aunt Rosa.
Then, he crossed his front legs, spun around in a circle–and finally placed both paws gently on Aunt Rosa’s shoe.
It was just one simple action, but the blood drained from both of their faces.
“That… that was Casey’s favorite game when she was a little girl…” Aunt Rosa whispered in shock.
“B–but how does a dog… know that?” Uncle Simon stammered. “Could it really be true?“>
Their thoughts were interrupted by a weak, trembling voice.
“Mom… Dad… what’s going on?“}
Casey weakly raised her head from the wheelchair and looked at me with a bitter smile.
“Martin, you don’t want to marry me, that’s fine. But you’re saying that dog is me–just to force me to let go, right?”
“Well, you’ve won. I’ll stop bothering you. You’ve gotten what you wanted.”}]
“Take your dog and leave.”
www
Upon hearing her words, Aunt Rosa seemed to snap out of her senses and kicked Onie aside and rushed to her daughter’s side. I scoffed, laughing coldly at the scene. “You think this is about a breakup, Elodie?”
“You think if you stalked me long enough, swapped your soul into Casey’s body, and took her place, I’d fall for the bait?” “You think I’ve been dragging out this wedding for fun? I’ve been stalling–for this. So we could find your real body and swap.”
rse the soul
Just for a second, her eyes flashed with guilt, but she quickly forced a calm expression. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Martin, are you possessed or something? If you didn’t want to marry me, you could’ve just said so–why make up this fantasy?“}
“Enough!” my father exploded. “You’ve embarrassed the Ortega family enough already. Talking about soul–swapping in public? What a joke. Kill the dog, now! We’re going home!”
He stormed toward me, ready to drag me away.
I shoved him off and stepped even closer to the imposter.
“You say you’re Casey? Then tell me–when she was ten, what gift did she give Uncle Simon and Aunt Rosa?”
She opened her mouth, and her lips trembled but no words came out.”
“When I was thirteen, Casey gave me her most precious possession. What was it?” I pressed.
She still didn’t respond.\
“And at fifteen, after our high school entrance exams–what did she buy me as a celebration gift?“>
With each question, more sweat gathered on her brow. In the end, she couldn’t even answer one question.
The crowd, once skeptical, now watched in stunned silence.
On the other hand, the bizarre incident had already rocketed to the top of the trending list online–with users speculating whether the soul–swapping claim could be real.
Archie leaned close and whispered so only I could hear, We still haven’t reached Granny Emely. Everyone says she’s in seclusion. Are you sure she’ll know what’s going on now that things have escalated?“}
