Chapter 2

I yanked her hand off my hands.

“Sophia, this is where we end things.

“From now on, let’s pretend we never met.”

She fixed her gaze on me, and her eyes shimmered as if they might tear up.

“I’ll make it up for you. Could you just try to view things from my side. I’ve known James for twenty years. I can’t just stand by and watch him die.”

As she spoke, she gradually stepped closer and wrapped her arms around me.

I used to crave such warmth more than anything else. But at this moment, it only made me feel sick.

“All you care about is James. You aborted our child and disregarded my mother’s life because of him.

“In that case, go and be with him.”

I pushed Sophia away and strode outside. The moment I closed the door, I heard her crying.

…

I first met Sophia one night eight years ago.

At that time, I was working as a cashier at a convenience store.

Several thugs had stolen goods from the convenience store on that particular night. So, I went looking for them on a street they were known to hang around.

It was there that I saw the thugs harass and insult Sophia.

I had to get the stolen goods back. Otherwise, my manager would dock my pay.

Hence, I charged at the thugs and fought them. By sheer coincidence, I ended up saving Sophia too.

That night, I lay with my head resting on her lap while she gently tended to my wounds.

When she said she wanted to repay me, I just laughed it off.

A week later, I saw her again at the convenience store where I worked.

She was the new manager.

Our relationship grew closer as we worked together.

We gradually became the kind of friends who could talk about anything. Almost every night after work, she would drag me to the small lake in town with a few bottles of alcohol. There, we would sit and talk.

Sophia told me her father did not love her. She also said her family forced her into things she did not want to do.

I just played the role of a good listener.

I liked watching her without doing anything.

She was very beautiful, more beautiful than anything I had ever seen in the twenty years of my uneventful life.

I knew I had fallen for her.

However, I kept those feelings buried in my heart and dared not confess to her.

A girl like her would never be short of admirers.

Her temporary companionship already made me feel like I had gained more than I deserved. How could I dare hope that such companionship would last long?

That was until one night when she called and said she wanted to meet me at a mansion in North City.

I rode my old bicycle to meet her. In that wealthy neighborhood, I stuck out like a sore thumb.

By the time I found her, she was already drunk.

She hugged me tightly and sobbed like a wounded fawn.

“Johnny, can you stay with me like this forever?”

I stared at her, and the air between us was thick with something unspoken.

That night, I finally let go of my insecurity and responded to her feelings.

That same night, I finally learned that she was the only daughter and sole heir to the largest private company in town, Shelby Group.

They did not hire her to work in the convenience store. She had bought it.

After that, we were inseparable, like two people who fit each other perfectly.

When we started talking about marriage, her family decided I was not good enough for them. They ordered Sophia to break up with me.