Sit, Stay, Roll Over ✓

(25) Last Will

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NEILSON BROUGHT US TO an office on the top floor which was completely empty like the rest of the building. No one else was at the pet shop, other than the animals of course, but besides Neilson and Christine, they were the only ones there.

     "Now let's talk about what you found out at the party," Neilson finally says as he sat on his desk, gesturing for me to take a seat on the chair in front of him. So I took a seat while Christine handed me a bottle of water. After thanking her and taking a sip of it, Neilson finally started answering my previous questions.

     "The thing that you saw on Kris, that was an eye camera. The association places cameras on every companion's eyes. During Hael's time, they were only contact lenses, and their purpose was to protect the companions from the masters, but after his death, the higher-ups decided to make it permanent, and it ended up becoming something that harmed the companions instead," Neilson explains. "The cameras are being foreseen by the 'dog watchers' who have to make sure that none of the companions say or do anything that is against the association's policies."

     "If they're eye cameras, how are they able to hear too?" I then ask.

     "It's through their collar," Christine then adds, surprising me.

     Was this the reason why Hunter didn't want to wear the collar that I received from the association? Well, I bought a new one for him and hid the old one in the storage room, but it's possible that they could have still heard us from there. I should have just thrown it away from the get-go.

     "I can't believe it. This is another level of disgust. I've done a lot of things with Hunter. The way the two of us would look at each other is special and sincere, but all this time someone else was seeing it too," I say, my heart aching. Rather than feeling embarrassed, I was just angry, especially for Hunter. The fact that he's forced to share special moments with those bastards is sickening.

     "I understand your frustration, but with Hunter, it's a bit different," Neilson suddenly tells me, making me look back at him with my brows furrowed.

     "What do you mean?"

     "With Jonathan's help, his cameras aren't always on," he reveals.

     "There has to be some kind of indication too, or maybe like a sign," Christine then adds. "For example, he could wear a white shirt every time he's being watched, or maybe he switches on this obedient persona every time it happens. Most of the time the companions could feel if their cameras are on, so chairman Hunter must have been doing something that would assure you that you two aren't being watched."

    Doing something?

     There are moments that Hunter acts strange and secretive, like the time he starts acting as if I'm really his master, but there are also times when he's sweet and loving. How would I know what his indications were? He wears different shirts every time, his mood changes rapidly, and he usually calls me—

     "W-Wait," I say, making Christine and Neilson look back at me.

     "Hunter...he...there are times he calls me Day, and there are times he calls me Dane," I say, realizing it now too. When I remembered some of the instances where he'd call me a particular name, I ended up laughing. But as I laughed, tears suddenly starts streaming down my eyes.

     "Thank god," I say. "Thank god. Hunter only calls me Dane whenever he says he loves me."

     Christine and Neilson looked at each other with a smile before looking back at me.