I secretly kept a cat in my dorm room. Since he was the only male living in a suite full of girls, my roommates jokingly started calling him "Hubby." Over time, the little guy actually started responding to it. It was funny and cute within our four walls. Until the day he sneaked out, and I found myself running across campus screaming "Hubby!" at the top of my lungs. Chapter 1 I came back from my afternoon lecture to find my three-month-old orange tabby missing. "Girls, Hubby is gone!" I shrieked. The whole suite mobilized, searching every corner of the dorm, but he was nowhere to be found. It was the dead of winter in Boston. All I could think about was my little kitten freezing out there, starving, or worse—getting flattened into a pancake by a shuttle bus. Shame was a luxury I couldn't afford. I ran around campus, checking every bush and corner, yelling "Hubby!" Students passing by gave me weird looks. I didn't have time to explain. Then, I looked up and saw a guy holding an orange cat. Tears streaming down my face, I sprinted toward him. "Hubby! I finally found you!" Chapter 2 The guy looked terrified. My roommate, who was trailing behind me, looked like she was watching a reality TV show. "Ethan, is this your... wife?" his friend asked, confused. The guy holding the cat dodged my lunge defensively. "Excuse me? Please calm down." I frantically waved my hands. "No, no! The cat! The cat is mine. His name is Hubby." Who names a cat Hubby? Me, apparently. "Look, I know it sounds crazy, but you have to believe me." To prove it, I looked at the cat and called out, "Hubby!" The orange tabby immediately meowed and leaped into my arms, purring. The misunderstanding was cleared up, but Ethan—that was his name—still gave me a stern lecture. "Pets aren't allowed in the dorms. You're violating policy, and honestly, it's irresponsible to the cat." I knew that. But I had rescued him from a storm and couldn't find a foster. My roommates fell in love with him, so we kept him. A gust of wind blew cat hair into my eye. My eyes watered instantly, turning red. Seeing my tears, Ethan's attitude softened. "Don't cry... just take your... Hubby back." Chapter 3 Back in the dorm, I recounted the rescue mission. "Do you think he'll report you to the RA?" asked Lily, my roommate who always assumed the worst. I thought about Ethan's handsome face. He looked like a stand-up guy. But then I remembered his cold lecture. Maybe he was a stickler for rules. My roommates suggested I buy him dinner—part thank-you, part bribe. That's when I realized I forgot to ask for his number. "But I remember his face. I can draw him." Thank you, Mom, for forcing me into art classes. I sketched a quick portrait and handed it to Jess, our suite's "networker." She knew everyone in Student Gov and the Greek system. "Ethan Wright. Computer Science grad student. Known as the 'Ice Prince' of the Engineering building." Jess told me half the posts on the campus confession page were about him. Apparently, getting his contact info was harder than getting into Harvard. Well, I didn't want his number for romance. I just wanted to keep my cat. Unfortunately, trouble came in pairs. I had to see Ethan again very soon. Chapter 4 In the Resident Director's office, the bald RD looked at me with disappointment. "Ivy, we just had a meeting about campus conduct. Public displays of drama are discouraged!" "You were running around screaming 'Hubby'? Do you think this is a soap opera?" I didn't dare admit Hubby was a cat, or I'd get evicted. So I took the blame for being a dramatic girlfriend. "Bring your boyfriend here. We need to have a talk." "What? No, no, no. That's not necessary. I'll tell him myself!" If I brought Ethan, the jig would be up. If the jig was up, my cat would be homeless. Homeless cat equals cat pancake. Seeing my hesitation, the RD got angrier. "Go get him! Now!" I stood outside Ethan's lab, pacing. Excuse me, Ethan, can you help me take the blame? Ethan, want to lie to administration with me? He'd have to be crazy to agree. But my mouth had a mind of its own. When he walked out, instead of my rehearsed speech, I blurted out: "Ethan, can you be my Hubby?" His eyes widened. "Are you serious?" I quickly explained the RD situation. "So, you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend and get yelled at by administration?" "Do I look stupid?" "No, no! I'm the stupid one! Please, help a stupid girl out?" I clasped my hands together in prayer. Ethan shook his head and walked away. I couldn't blame him. Who would do that for a stranger? Chapter 5 I had to keep lying to the RD. I said my boyfriend broke up with me over the incident and that I would be a model student from now on. To sell it, I cried my eyes out in the office before leaving. I thought it was over. I slept like a baby. Until Jess shook me awake the next morning. "Ivy! Your Hubby is here!" I shot up from bed. "What? The cat got out again?" "No, the human Hubby." Ethan was standing downstairs outside our dorm, looking like a solitary pine tree in the snow. Why was he here? Revenge? To turn me in? I went down trembling, telling my roommates to be ready to rescue me. Ethan looked cold, a hint of suppressed anger in his brow. "Ivy, did I offend you in a past life?"
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "388868", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel