He stood right where he was, watching ire Chase walk into the pouring rain. He wanted to call out to her several times but knew her temper all too well. All he could do was watch her figure fade into the distance. Just as she was about to disappear from sight, Felix Quigley''s expression suddenly changed. He bolted into the rain, sprinting toward the person who had copsed on the ground.


    ire had a very long dream.


    In it, she saw her mom and dad, whom she hadn''t seen in a long time. She was just a little girl.


    Her dad pulled out a beautiful set of diamond jewelry he had carefully prepared and gave it to her mom. Her mom was thrilled.


    Young ire loved it too and reached out to grab it, but her dad gently picked her up. ''This is a gift from Daddy to Mommy,'' he told Young ire. ''Sweetheart, you can''t y with this. If you break it, Mommy will be mad.''


    ''Daddy, I want one too!'' Young ire loved shiny things.


    Her dad tapped her nose affectionately and coaxed, ''When our sweetheart gets married, Daddy will give you a set too, okay?''


    Young ire pouted. ''Then I want to get married right now! Daddy, go find me a husband.''


    The coupleughed at her. They finally appeased her with a piece of cake.


    Young ire happily walked out with her cake. When she reached the door, she turned around to say something to her mom, only to see her dad putting the ne around her mom''s neck.


    She quietly slipped out of the room, skipping all the way to the garden. She nned to enjoy her delicious cake on the garden swing.


    But someone had already taken the swing today—a pretty little boy.


    She stared at him for a moment and couldn''t help but ask, ''Will you be my husband?''


    Her dad had said that when she got married, she would get pretty jewelry.


    But when the boy saw her, he looked disgusted. ''Who wants to be your husband?''


    Rejected, Young ire rubbed her nose awkwardly. ''Fine, I''ll ask someone else then.''


    As soon as she turned around, she bumped into her cousin, Madeline Lynwood.


    Young ire didn''t really like her


    little cousin because every time she came over to y, she broke the


    dolls her dad had bought her. So, she instinctively tried to walkaround her


    But Madeline pouted and said, ''I want some cake too.''


    ''No, I only have this one piece. I can''t share it,'' Young ire refused immediately.


    Her mom didn''t let her eat too many sweets, saying it was bad for her teeth. She had worked hard to get this piece of cake, so why should she give it away?


    After being rejected, Madeline instantly burst into tears.


    Young ire had seen this trick before; she had used the same tactic to trick her out of a little dress her grandmother had made for her. So, she instinctively shielded her cake.


    But a secondter, the pretty little boy on the swing snatched the cake from her arms and handed it to Madeline. He even scolded her, ''Why are you so stingy? She''s your cousin!''


    Young ire wanted to argue, but to her horror, she watched the boy rapidly transform into a grown man. And Madeline grew up in an instant as well.


    ''Felix Quigley...'' Young ire gasped in shock.


    Madeline shoved the child-version of ire to the ground and smiled mockingly. ''I''m going to take everything that belongs to you. Including your man.''


    Felix wrapped his arms around he the two of them looking incredibly intimate He even looked down and coaxed Madeline in a gentle voice, ''I was always yours. No one can take me away.''


    ''You cheating scumbags!'' ire used every ounce of her strength to scream, slowly waking up from the nightmare.


    Before her vision could clear, she heard Old Mrs. Quigley''s voice by her ear. ''Sweetheart, did you have a nightmare?''