“Sophia, you’re not seriously saying you and Lucas…”
Before my mother, Martha Parker, could finish her sentence, Sophia nodded calmly, as if admitting it without hesitation.
“That’s right.”
“Before I dated Ethan, I did have a brief relationship with Lucas.”
“What?”
“That’s it?” My mother looked startled.
Sophia gave a sorrowful smile. “Yes, that’s it.”
“But Lucas and I only dated for three days before realizing we weren’t right for each other. We never went beyond holding hands.”
“So when we broke up, there was no awkwardness. We remained close friends.”
“I told Ethan about all of this. I thought he didn’t care, but I was wrong…”
“It turns out that this was like a thorn, buried deep in his heart all along.”
The more she spoke, the more emotional she became.
Finally, she clutched the blood-stained gauze over her chest and cried out with a trembling voice:
“Honey, after I risked my life to take that knife for you, was that still not enough to prove my devotion?”
“Not enough to remove that thorn from your heart?”
“Do you think you’re being fair to me?!”
I stared at her in surprise.
There was no guilt, no shame in my heart—only a cold smile.
Her performance… was quite something.
“Phew…”
Lucas let out a discreet sigh of relief, his eyes darting before he suddenly slapped himself hard across the face.
“Sophia, I’m sorry.”
“I truly didn’t realize my presence could cause such a rift between you two.”
“I’ve decided—starting now, you and I will cut off all contact and never see each other again.”
“Ethan Parker, that should be enough for you, right?”
He turned to leave, but had barely taken a step when my father, Richard Parker, stopped him.
“Uncle?”
Lucas looked at my father in confusion, but my father’s face was ice-cold, his eyes wide with fury, the veins at his temples bulging.
That was always the prelude to his outbursts.
Sure enough, the next second he roared:
“You little bastard—kneel!”
“Apologize to Sophia and to Lucas!”
My fists clenched so tightly my knuckles went white.
Seeing this, a flicker of satisfaction crossed Lucas’s face, though he quickly put on a humble expression, waving his hands at my father.
“Uncle, I don’t mind. As long as he sincerely apologizes to Sophia and the two of them can live well together, that’s enough.”
The onlookers, hearing this, nodded in admiration while quietly feeling indignant on his behalf.
“What a good guy—clearly wronged, yet still so magnanimous.”
“Exactly. Even after such a misunderstanding, he’s showing more grace than Mr. Parker could ever hope to match.”
“Remind me again, why did our boss’s wife leave Mr. Bennett for Mr. Parker in the first place?”
“If I were her, I’d have stayed with Mr. Bennett—such a fine man.”
“Shh! We’re supposed to put out the fire here, not fan the flames!”
Listening to my employees gossiping, my father’s face darkened even further.
He patted Lucas on the shoulder and said, “Lucas, I can tell you and Sophia are completely innocent.”
“What Ethan did today damaged both your reputations. He owes you both an apology!”
Then he shot me a fierce glare.
“What are you still standing there for?”
“Sophia is a girl who’s terrified of pain, yet she risked her life to shield you from that knife.”
“And you’re still holding a petty grudge over something so trivial? For the record, your mother wasn’t my first love either!”
“You’ve disgraced me enough—apologize to her right now!”
