Chapter 68
James snapped back to reality and nodded numbly.
"Yeah, you got hurt saving me today."
Sophia squeezed his hand gently.
"So, will you marry me?"
James blinked, almost falling for Sophia's trick.
"What’s wrong? You don’t want to? I saved you; you should repay me properly, especially since you're such a big deal in Emerald City. You gotta think about your image."
Sophia got excited at the mention of marriage and sat up, still holding onto James's hand.
"James, think about it. In all those TV shows and novels, after the hero saves the girl, she always repays him by marrying him. Even though I saved you today, I can make an exception and marry you."
James's expression darkened. Did Sophia really see marriage as a joke?
In her view, did couples not have genuine feelings for each other? Wasn't the purpose of a man and woman coming together to build a better family?
To Sophia, was marriage just a transaction?
"Are you so eager to marry into the Smith family just for your birth mother's inheritance?"
Sophia nodded emphatically.
"Of course, what else would it be for? If I said I wanted the Smith family’s fortune, would you believe me? A calculating guy like you, I can't even get a meal from you, let alone any other benefits."
James let out a long sigh. He wished Sophia wanted something from him.
If Sophia could actually gain some benefit from him, he wouldn't feel so dejected. But Sophia only saw him as a pawn.
Once they were married and she got her birth mother's inheritance, would she discard him?
"I can't agree to this."
James refused outright.
He felt Sophia's hand slowly slip away, and he felt a pang of disappointment.
"Why? James, I saved your life. Shouldn't you repay me?"
"James, honestly, I just want to get a marriage certificate. I won't interfere with your life, I won't move into the Smith Villa, and I won't use the marriage certificate to demand anything from you."
"I really just want the certificate. I promise that after we get it, I'll be insignificant in your life. You can be with any woman you want, and I'll just smile."
James trembled with anger at her words.
"What did you say? Are you pushing me towards other women? Are you so eager for me to be with someone else?"
As he spoke, he moved closer, his handsome features magnifying before Sophia.
Sophia tried to retreat, but James's large hand suddenly gripped her slender waist.
"Sophia, what do you mean by this? Are you implying I'm not good enough?"
James's breath was hot on her face, making Sophia tense.
"I didn't mean that. I just meant that if you marry me, I won't interfere in your personal life."
Sophia didn't get why James was so mad. She thought he didn't want anyone messing up his life, so she kept trying to reassure him.
But her words only seemed to make him angrier.
"I don't have a personal life. My personal life is you."
With that, James grabbed Sophia's chin and kissed her hard.
How could Sophia not care about him being with other women?
They hadn't met many times, but they'd shared a bed, and she was his first woman. How could she not care about his personal life?
James wished Sophia would be jealous of him.
But how could Sophia be so shameless? Did she truly feel nothing seeing him with other women?
James radiated coldness and suddenly bit Sophia's lower lip, causing blood to seep from the corner of her mouth.
"James, what are you doing? It hurts."
Hearing Sophia's cry, James felt a pang of guilt but kept his cold expression.
"You know pain? This is your punishment. Don't say thoughtless things."
Sophia frowned. What had she said?
"If you don't want to marry me, just say so. I'm not forcing you. Besides, someone as heartless as you wouldn't repay a favor. I've accepted that. Since you can't marry me, I'll have to target Chase."
Chase?
Sophia mentioning Chase made James even angrier.
"Do you see marriage as a joke? If you don't marry me, you'll marry Chase. Are you determined to entangle with the Smith family?"
Sophia could feel James's fury but found it inexplicable.
"James, I really don't understand why you're angry. If you can't accept me, why can't I go to Chase? My mother's will clearly states that I must marry into the Smith family to get the inheritance."
"If you won't marry me, and you get mad when I go to Chase, what should I do? Should I just give up my mother's hard-earned savings?"
"If my dad were decent, it would be fine. The money could be for his retirement. But my dad's a jerk, and my stepmother and Veda are awful. I'd rather donate the money than let them spend it."
James, still angry, suddenly felt a deep sympathy.
Sophia was the Smith family's daughter, but her treatment was completely different from Veda's. What was Hayden thinking?
Sophia was full of virtues, so talented. Couldn't he see that?
Letting Sophia suffer so much in the Brown family was heartless.
Veda was his biological child, but wasn't Sophia?
What was Hayden thinking? Had he abandoned his first wife's child for his new wife?
The more James thought about it, the angrier he got. He would find a way to teach Hayden a lesson, to make him pay for all the suffering Sophia endured in the Brown family.