As I spoke, I stepped into the private room first.
But Gabriel suddenly nudged me from behind. When I turned, his expression was icy. “Sophia, what did you mean by that?”
“Gabriel, we’ve known each other since we were kids. You’re not really jealous, are you?” Heather chimed in, her tone dripping with mock concern. “Actually, it’s not her fault. She’s not like us—born into wealthy families. She doesn’t understand how we interact. It’s the class divide, really.”
Gabriel’s friends smiled politely, but every word they spoke reeked of condescension, treating me as if I were beneath them. I ignored their barbs and looked at Gabriel. “It’s nothing. Like you said, this is how your circle interacts. I may not understand it, but I respect it.”
Gabriel frowned. “Sophia, we’re adults. Stop making trouble.”
A sigh rose in my chest, but I only said, “Alright, I won’t make trouble. My fault.”
It wasn’t that I was weak—it’s that Gabriel, in this mood, wouldn’t listen to reason. He hadn’t always been this way. But since Heather came back, he’d grown more unreasonable.
His expression softened, and he spoke as if granting me a favor. “Sophia, if I hadn’t brought you here, you might never have stepped into the Onyx Society.”
I sat on the sofa, feigning curiosity. “Is it expensive? I’ve made some money over the years.”
Heather rested her hand on his shoulder and sneered, “It’s expensive, but that’s not the point. The Onyx Society isn’t just about money. You need status. Not the ordinary kind—you need something like ours.”
“I see. I’ve learned something new,” I replied with a small nod.
Then Gabriel seemed to think of something. “Wait, how did you even get in?”
Before I could answer, Heather scoffed, “Isn’t it obvious? She came with you. You must’ve used your name to get her in.”
“Sophia is practically a role model in the Canary World,” someone added with a smirk.
It was true—most women in such arrangements might get a few small luxuries, but Gabriel could give me something more: status. Once, it might have been like a fairy tale—an impoverished but talented girl chosen by the Crown Prince. Which would make me the Crown Princess, wouldn’t it?
Laughter rippled through the room.
Gabriel looked down at me and said, “I’ve told you before, my circle isn’t one you can fit into. If you keep forcing your way in, you’re just asking for trouble.”
“You’re right,” I said with a faint smile.
In the past, I would have been furious, eager to prove myself—only to earn more ridicule from Gabriel and his friends. They carried an inborn arrogance, as if convinced they were descended from royalty.
But Gabriel hadn’t always been like this. Back in school, there was no trace of superiority in him.
Now, I couldn’t be bothered to prove anything.
Because, as he sat there, taunting me and letting Heather cling to him, I felt something inside me break—not with anger, but with exhaustion.
It was a weariness that seeped into both body and mind.
I knew I still loved him. But I no longer wanted to.
It was like a game I’d once been eager to play—one I’d fought hard to win—but now I was too tired to keep going.
So I simply put the controller down and walked away in my mind.
That’s how I felt in that moment.
