Hayden eyes widened in surprise at my words and his expression seemed to soften. It was like the sun started to shine through the dark stormy clouds and then the dark grey clouds started to disperse. His eyes nced over at the puppy on myp once more before he grinned while I prayed that the puppy’s life would be spared.


    "If you say so…" Hayden muttered.


    I breathed a sigh of relief. The puppy was a surprising gift for sure, but it wasn’t like I disliked it. I’ve been feeling quite lonely being in the mansion all alone during the day so having this little guy with me might not be a bad thing after all. Now that I think about it, I’ve been assuming that it’s a male. Is it even a male?


    The fastest way to find out is just to check. I lifted the puppy up in front of my face to check out its gender. It’s still so young and so small so it wasn’t hard to lift up. I wondered how big it’ll get. I should spend some time tonight doing some research on the breed. Did Hayden buy any dog food or toys for it?


    "What are you doing?" Hayden asked and I could feel that he was watching me.


    "Seeing if it’s a girl or a boy," I replied.


    "It’s a boy. I wanted to get you a girl but he’s the only one avable right now…" Hayden replied.


    "There’s nothing bad about having a male dog. I’m honestly neutral between the two sexes," I said before shing Hayden a smile.


    "I don’t know…" Hayden muttered, unconvinced.


    It seemed like he wasn’t thrilled with having a male puppy.


    "You don’t like male dogs?" I asked curiously.


    "I don’t know. It just feels…weird to have…never mind that," Hayden said before he turned away from me.


    I wondered what he was trying to say but I decided not to push him. It probably wasn’t anything important anyways. Plus, even if he doesn’t like the puppy now, I’m sure that Hayden will start to like this little guy soon enough. How can anyone not like him, he’s so fluffy, soft and cute!


    "You should give it a name," Hayden said matter-of-factly.


    "You’re right. Hmm…" I replied in agreement.


    I’ve never had a pet before. My parents just didn’t allow it although I’ve always wanted a pet of some kind. They thought that dogs and cats were too much bother for us to take care of and they were too convinced that I would be too irresponsible to take care of it. In the end, it was better that I didn’t have a pet.


    Thing were rough enough when I lost my parents without me having to take care of another life.


    This was apletely new experience for me, and I never thought thating up with a name for a pet would be so difficult. What should I name him? He’s such a cute little guy…


    I nced over at Hayden and an idea started to form in my head.


    "What about Little Hayden?" I suggested with a smile.


    "That’s…a very bad name," Hayden said as his eyes narrowed at me.


    It was clear that he didn’t like the name and he didn’t think that it was funny either.


    "Huh? Why? I think it’s so cute!" I said excitedly.


    Regardless of what he thought, I still thought that my idea wasn’t bad. The name was cute too.


    "I don’t like it. Pick something else," Hayden said irritated.


    "No, I’m going to name him Little Hayden," I stated firmly as I patted the puppy’s head fondly.


    His fur is so soft. It feels so wonderful that I could feel my soul melting into mush. This must be called puppy power.


    "Why did you have to include my name into its name?" Hayden asked with a scornful look.


    "Why not?" I asked cluelessly.


    I had no idea why he was so against it. Shouldn’t he like it that his name was included?


    "When you call me…he’lle running…" Hayden muttered darkly.


    Well, now that he mentioned it, I guess that might be true but is that a problem?


    "I’ll think of you when I look at him…" I said with a sweet smile.


    Hayden stared at me wordlessly as he seemed to consider my words.


    "So…why did you buy me a puppy?" I asked in wonder.


    "You told me that you were lonely during the day...so I asked Luka if he had any ideas. He told me that getting you a dog for apanion might be a good solution so that’s what I did…" Hayden replied stiffly.


    I guess I did tell him something like that. It wasn’t like I expected him to do anything about it and I didn’t think that he would take my word to heart like this. I looked down at the cheerful puppy on myp as I realized how much Hayden had been thinking about me.


    Probably because he couldn’t fulfill my ultimate wish of going back outside to live a normal life, he was finding ways to help make my life in this mansion more bearable and less boring.


    "I see. Thank you…for thinking of me," I thanked him.


    "It’s nothing. If you like him then it’s all good. If he gets too naughty or if you decide that you don’t want him anymore, just let me know…" Hayden said.


    I wondered for a split of a second what he meant by that but then I decided that I didn’t want to find out.


    "I’m sure that he’ll behave and be a good boy. So, let’s keep him here with us," I quickly insisted.


    Poor Little Hayden, why do I keep feeling that your life is in danger right now?


    "Oh, I almost forgot. I was so excited about Little Hayden that it slipped my mind. Have you had dinner? The food is probably all cold by now, but the maids can heat it up," I said in slight panic.


    "I’m not hungry. It’s ok…" Hayden murmured.


    "Really? I think you should eat properly. You always make sure that I eat my meals so you should do the same, don’t you think? Talking about food, has Little Hayden eaten? Did you buy dog food for him?" I asked rapidly.


    "Are you worried about me or the dog? I got him food, don’t worry…" Hayden replied followed by a long sigh of exhaustion.


    "Really? Great. Let’s feed him!" I cried out cheerfully.


    --To be continued…