Lily approached, wiping her hands before crouching to examine the swelling. Her expression stiffened momentarily before melting into perfect surprise. "Oh dear!" She touched the spot lightly, and Charlie whined again. "Probably last night while grooming him—the brush caught his fur when he jerked away. I must've accidentally scraped him." Her brow furrowed in self-reproach. "So sorry, Charlie. Mommy didn't mean to." She patted his head affectionately. Staring at the evident bruise, my heart sank: Could a brush cause such an injury? And why lock the door nightly? Why the secret purchases?
A Neighbor's Hint
Days later, I encountered our neighbor, Mrs. Harris, while walking Charlie. A gossipy widow who adored dogs, she greeted me cheerfully: "Hello there, young man!" She bent to pet Charlie. "Poor sweetheart. Has he been suffering lately?" My pulse quickened, but I feigned calm. "Suffering? Whatever do you mean? Charlie's fine." She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Well, I hear things at night. Around eight, your study wall faces mine. There's this 'thwacking' noise, sometimes Lily's voice sounding terribly stern! Like she's scolding something. Poor little Charlie..." She stroked his back sympathetically. My spirits plummeted: Thwacking sounds? Stern scolding? Could Lily really be harming him?
Mounting Anxiety
From that day, sleep deserted me. Each evening at eight, I braced myself, ears strained for every muffled groan, frantic scratch, and clipped command from the study. My mind amplified them into nightmarish scenes. Was her tender care a facade, maintained only for my sake? Or something darker I couldn't fathom? Were those treats rewards or punishments? What was the "handheld trainer"? The more I dwelled, the more unsettled I became, dark circles deepening beneath my eyes. Watching Lily's nonchalant daytime demeanor, I felt a tumult of emotions.
NEXT >> Related Articles
How to benefit from failed trades, this is a learning!
No one likes failure! However, traders on their trading journey are inevitably going to experience countless failures. I...
Dry goods! How not to be confused by the market and accurately judge the trend o
It is well known that the breakout of trend lines has significant analytical importance for the selection of buying and ...
What are the risks, opportunities, and strategies of short-term trading? All in
In real-world trading, those who engage in short-term trades often make profits, yet they lose money in a way that is in...
3 trading principles, trading genius Michael Marcus made a profit of more than 2
Almost all investors have experienced the pain of failure. Today, we introduce this trading master who has suffered cont...
A highly accurate intraday trading strategy
The trading market can have a million different methods, and you can also have a variety of different strategies. This a...
The process of establishing my trading system and the "pit" I stepped on!
Today, I write this article to summarize the past decade of trading. In my view, trading is divided into three stages. P...
The investment treasure of trading "weak"
Wahaha originated from grassroots sales, achieving a 370-fold increase in 9 years during the retail period, and was late...
Less trading, more earning?
Overtrading and overmanaging plague many traders, and this is even the main reason for the failure of some traders. Desp...
He lost 20,000 US dollars in 15 minutes and finally turned the tide to establish
In the financial industry, many people start to seek other spiritual paths after years of trading and entering a "moment...
The Japanese "trading master" points out the psychological pitfalls of trading,
If the trading decisions you make involve real money, you will understand how challenging it can be. Our brains are not ...
In-depth topic: What is the "capital preservation" in investment, and what kind
It's time for the weekly article again. I have been writing articles for 9 years, and if you count the previous company,...
Edward Thorp: From casinos to financial markets, a true investment god!
Edward Thorp is a renowned pioneer of market-neutral strategies in the United States and the first person to defeat casi...
Father of high-frequency trading Peterffy is worried about US inflation, which h
On Wednesday, Thomas Peterffy, the founder and CEO of Interactive Brokers, the largest online brokerage firm in the Unit...
No matter whether you are a novice or an expert, one of these 5 effective tradin
Every trader who achieves stable profits has a set of strategies that he or she follows. Never believe those who say the...
Great speculator Jesse's 7 investment principles, revealing the truth behind his
Both his followers and fiercest rivals have to admit that as the biggest myth on Wall Street in the 20th century, Jesse ...
The contest between "win rate" and "profit and loss ratio": How to choose in cur
For traders, to achieve profit targets, there are generally two directions of effort: continuously improving the trading...
Do these to become a "jungle hunter" in the trading market!
The "Adaptive Markets Hypothesis" posits that markets function much like an ecosystem, evolving gradually in a manner ak...
The "inner world" determines your trading achievements
For traders, the world can be divided into two: one is the objectively existing external world, which is the market envi...
Goddess Festival talks about the goddess: The seven most awesome goddess traders
The growth of online trading platforms has opened the door to gender equality and gradually eliminated the traditional s...
