Chapter 86
Liliana kept blinking her eyes, smiling as she said, "What's there to be embarrassed about? It's perfectly natural, I understand."
"No... I..." Before I could finish explaining, James got up and left.
"Why didn't you explain?" I asked him.
We hadn't done anything, yet when Liliana saw us like this, she thought we'd been doing something inappropriate in there.
This was so awkward.
How was I supposed to face Liliana in the future?
"We're husband and wife. What does it matter if people misunderstand?" he said as he walked.
He carried me out of the massage parlor step by step, his pace steady.
As passersby's eyes fell on us, I simply stopped caring and buried my face in his chest.
I wasn't the one losing face anyway. He could do whatever he wanted.
He took me back to The Smith Mansion. By the time we got back, it was quite late, and Indigo was already asleep.
James carried me back to the room. The moment I touched the bed, I rolled out of his arms, wrapped myself in the blanket, and moved to a spot farther away from him.
James chuckled softly, "Are you afraid I'll do something to you?"
"Who knows?" I didn't hide the wariness in my eyes at all as I asked him, "You're not sleeping with me tonight, are you?"
He answered without hesitation, "If we don't sleep together, Grandma will ask questions tomorrow."
"I don't believe you don't have a way to cover it up."
"But I don't want to lie to Grandma," James said to himself as he turned over and lay down, closing his eyes.
"Get some sleep. I have to get up early for work tomorrow."
His words blocked what I was about to say next. Looking at his closed eyes, I turned away.
When I woke up again, dawn was just breaking.
I sat up, rubbing my temples, my whole body aching. Looked like I needed to exercise more often, or else just a day of shopping would leave me falling apart.
Once my mind was fully clear, I remembered I'd slept at The Smith Mansion last night.
James's side of the bed was already cold. He must have left very early.
I threw off the covers and got out of bed. After washing up, I went downstairs. Just as I reached the living room, I saw Amelia sitting on the sofa.
She wore a clean white knit dress, her long hair flowing smoothly over her shoulders, her face bare of makeup. Her skin was fair, and her features carried just the right amount of vulnerability and innocence. She held a glass of warm water in her hands.
James wasn't even here, yet I had no idea who she was putting on this act for.
Hearing footsteps, she looked at me. Seeing that I was the only one coming downstairs, her eyes immediately showed disgust and mockery. "Weren't you making a fuss about getting divorced? What are you doing back here?"
I had no intention of talking to her. I walked straight toward the dining room, acting as if she didn't exist.
The next second, she switched to a different demeanor.
"Sophia, why did you suddenly come home last night?" Her voice was soft and gentle, tinged with caution, as if afraid of making me angry.
"But, what's that on your neck... Last night, James didn't seem to come home."
Her voice wasn't loud, but just loud enough for the passing servants to hear. The innocence and concern in her eyes were performed to perfection.
As if she were just asking casually, without any malice.
I stopped and turned to look at her, my eyes completely calm. "Where I go and what I do is none of your business, Amelia. Just mind your own business."
She immediately lowered her head, her eyes instantly reddening. Crystal tears hung on her long lashes as she bit her lower lip, looking utterly wronged.
"I'm just worried about you. After all, you and James haven't finalized the divorce yet. You're still James's wife. If people see you getting close to other men, I'm afraid they'll gossip, and it will embarrass James, too."
Her words implied I was improper, while painting herself as someone who always thought of James, gentle and considerate.
I remained calm, firing back clearly, "I'm James's wife. What happens between us is our private business as a married couple. It's not your place as an outsider to interfere."
Her tears immediately rolled down. She raised her hand to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes, her voice full of grievance and helplessness. "I just don't want to see misunderstandings between you two because of this. I don't want to see the Smith family being gossiped about by others."
"If you don't want to hear it, I just won't say anything."
While apologizing, she reached out as if to take my hand.
I could see the calculation in her eyes, clear as day. She wanted to set me up to push her, then accuse me of bullying her.
This routine of hers had no creativity whatsoever. I was sick of seeing it.
I stepped aside to avoid her touch, my tone turning cold. "Amelia, put away that pitiful act, and stop pretending to be kind-hearted. It makes me sick."
Her face went pale for a moment, and the vulnerability in her eyes finally couldn't hold up. A flash of viciousness showed through, but she quickly covered it up again. Her tears flowed even harder.
"Sophia, how can you say that about me? I'm just concerned about you..."
"Are you feeling guilty because I was right about you being with another man last night, so you're treating me like this?"
Looking at her fake act, I just felt extremely annoyed. "If you're really curious about who I was with last night, feel free to install a camera in my room and see for yourself, instead of making wild guesses and spreading rumors here."
Amelia's pupils contracted sharply, her face deathly pale. "I was just..."
"I don't want to hear your explanations. I can tell you loud and clear who I was with yesterday. I was with James. Did you hear that? Do you need me to repeat it?"
A strong surge of jealousy and disbelief flooded her eyes.
She never expected that James would be with me last night.
Her composure completely collapsed. She could no longer maintain that innocent facade. She raised her hand to slap my face, her voice sharp with hatred.
"Sophia, you bitch, you're lying! James would never touch you!"
I'd already anticipated she would strike. My eyes turned cold as I grabbed her wrist with great force. She grimaced in pain, her face turning pale.
Her nails were long and dug hard into the back of my hand, but I didn't loosen my grip at all. Instead, I raised my other hand and slapped her hard across the face.
A crisp sound echoed through the quiet living room, particularly jarring.
The slap made Amelia's head turn to the side. Five finger marks appeared on her cheek, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
She covered her face, looking at me in disbelief. Tears poured out as the hatred in her eyes seemed ready to devour me, but she quickly put on that vulnerable look again, crying her heart out.
"Sophia, why did you hit me?" she sobbed, her voice thick with grievance. "I was just concerned about you. How could you treat me like this..."
I shook off her hand, my tone ice-cold. "Amelia, I warned you not to play mind games in front of me."
"That slap was a lesson for you. If you dare talk nonsense again, it won't be as simple as just one slap."