Chapter 3

Sophia bolted from the auction.

She drove recklessly through the streets, scenes from the past flashing through her mind. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand—even breathing hurt.

She didn't know where to go, but she found herself heading toward the wedding house that had held all her dreams of love for the past three years.

The car screeched to a halt outside.

Sophia rushed inside and found traces of last night's chaos still lingering.

Clothes scattered across the floor, water stains on the sofa, handprints—one large, one small—on the floor-to-ceiling window...

Sophia screamed. She grabbed a chair and hurled it at the window.

With a shattering crash, she picked up a baseball bat from the corner and started smashing everything in sight.

The vase she'd carefully chosen, the decorations she'd made by hand, the souvenirs from trips they'd taken together—Sophia wanted none of it anymore!

By the time Edward arrived, the villa was nothing but wreckage.

He glanced around casually and said with a smile, "Well, if you smashed it, you smashed it. We can use this chance to replace everything we weren't happy with anyway. I'll call the designer tomorrow."

Edward handed her a blue velvet gift box. "This is the finale piece from today's auction. I bought it to apologize. See if you like it. Oh, and we need to go back to the FitzRoy Manor tomorrow."

Sophia's ears buzzed. Every cell in her body screamed for destruction.

But in that instant, she suddenly went cold.

She looked down at the box, her smile mocking. "No need. Don't bother redecorating the house. The wedding doesn't need to continue either. And as for the FitzRoy Manor, I won't be going with you."

"Edward, let's end this."

Edward grabbed her wrist sharply, his expression darkening. "What did you say?"

Sophia looked up and repeated, "I said, we're breaking up."

The temperature in the room plummeted.

Edward looked at her, his smile icy. "Soph, your mother's lying in a hospital bed right now waiting for surgery to save her life. Total aortic arch replacement with elephant trunk procedure—there are only a handful of surgeons worldwide who can do it with a success rate above ninety percent."

"Every day she waits, the danger increases. Are you sure you want to throw a tantrum right now?"

Edward's question seized Sophia's heart.

She knew what he said was true.

She couldn't gamble. She didn't dare.

Sophia took a deep breath, looked up at the man before her with his smug certainty, and slowly nodded. "Fine. I'll go with you."

The sharpness in Edward's eyes faded. He returned to his usual gentleness. "I'm sorry. Today was my fault. I'll handle it as soon as possible. You don't need to think about anything. Just go back to your room and rest."

He placed the gift box in Sophia's hands.

Sophia walked stiffly back to her room. She opened it. Inside was a diamond bracelet.

Before she could react, her phone buzzed with a message.

[Sophia, isn't it beautiful? Edward bought this for me today at the auction. He said I'd been wronged.]

[You used to say he loved you, that his heart only had room for you. Doesn't look like that's necessarily true anymore. Sincerity is cheap. Favoritism is what's rare.]

[Oh, and make sure you take good care of that bracelet you got tonight. It was just a freebie that came with my necklace, but it's still worth something.]

A photo popped up next.

It showed a necklace set with a roughly five-carat pink diamond, dazzling under the lights.

Sophia looked down at the bracelet in the box. The mockery was unbearable.

She gave a self-deprecating smile and typed back. [No matter how expensive the jewelry, it can't hide your shameful status. His so-called favoritism toward you is just secret compensation behind closed doors.]

[And you can only come out at night like a rat to flaunt it. You two really are a perfect match.]

She finished and blocked Dahlia immediately.

With that done, the strength Sophia had been forcing herself to maintain seemed to drain away all at once. She slid weakly to the floor.

She didn't sleep all night.

The next morning, Sophia looked at the dark circles under her eyes in the mirror. She applied light makeup to cover them, then put on a pink silk blouse with white straight-leg pants.

When she came downstairs, Edward was already waiting. He spoke first. "Soph, you look beautiful today."

Sophia walked right past him and out the door.

Edward's expression shifted slightly, but he said nothing more.

The ride was silent.

When the car stopped in front of the FitzRoy Manor, Edward suggested, "When we go back today, let's meet with the designer and finalize the layout for the wedding house."

"And the wedding—we need to confirm the guest list as soon as possible..."

"Shouldn't you be discussing all this with Dahlia?" Sophia cut him off, her voice calm and cold.

Edward seemed to be suppressing his anger. "Soph, I'm trying to talk to you properly."

Sophia said coldly, "So am I."

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Edward and Dahlia in the wedding house, in the storage room—those sordid images stabbing at her heart like knives.

She took a deep breath, her voice trembling. "Edward, let's just let each other go."

"Never!" Edward suddenly closed in on her, pinning her against the seat. "Soph, you can only marry me in this lifetime."

Up close, Edward could easily catch Sophia's faint fragrance. His breathing grew heavy. An impulse surged within him, and he leaned in closer.

"What are you doing?" Sophia realized his intent and started struggling, her eyes full of disgust. "Don't touch me. You're disgusting!"

A flash of hurt crossed Edward's eyes. He forced himself to ignore the emotion in Sophia's gaze and lowered his head to kiss her.

"Let go! Let me go!" Sophia's pupils contracted as she cried out.

But she couldn't break free from Edward's grip. Just as despair set in, the window was suddenly knocked on. A cold, authoritative voice came through the glass.

"Edward, Grandfather's waiting for you inside."

It was Lancelot.

Edward snapped out of his loss of control. He glanced at the man outside the window, then at Sophia, and quickly straightened his clothes. "I'll be right there."

He pushed the door open and hurried toward the study.

Freed at last, Sophia let out a long breath. She quickly straightened her own clothes and got out of the car.

She stood beside it, glancing at the composed man, and hesitantly spoke. "Lancelot..."

Lancelot's gaze swept over her disheveled collar before he turned and walked inside.

Sophia steeled herself and followed him. Her mind uncontrollably flashed back to the chaotic scenes from that night. She felt both embarrassed and anxious. Alcohol really was a terrible thing.

After a moment's hesitation, she carefully ventured, "Lancelot... that night I drank too much, so I lost control and offended you. Could we... just pretend nothing happened? I promise I won't say anything to anyone."

Lancelot was someone everyone in Silverlight City looked up to.

Even with ten times the courage, Sophia wouldn't dare try to use that against him.

She just hoped he wouldn't hold it against her.

Sophia's mind raced with anxious thoughts. Suddenly, she felt a chill around her. She looked up to see the man walking ahead had turned, his expression dark and forbidding.

As if he'd heard something that disgusted him.

Sophia's heart sank. Could it be that Lancelot felt violated that night and was angry about it?