Chapter 230

Chapter 230

"Everything I have now, I've fought for with my own abilities. If I had let myself go back then, I would have ended up with nothing."

Parents, relatives, company, status, position, respect.

All would have been gone.

Even at such a young age, Michael knew he had to work desperately hard, because, without effort, everyone would abandon him.

If you want anything, you have to fight for it yourself.

"Do you know how I felt when I saw those illegitimate children? Those people actually dared to challenge me. In their eyes, I was already done for, and once they were brought back, they could potentially inherit everything."

"Guess how I made them back off? I showed them my real strength. I had to tell everyone that I'm one of a kind in this world, and I would be very, very strong, easily defeating everyone."

After realizing he wasn't important, Michael went back to class and put in one hundred percent effort. He was top of his class every year, got full scholarships, and stood out in every competition he entered.

Later, it was through his excellence that he negotiated with his family, and those people were sent away.

It's hard to imagine what would have happened if he had kept falling back then.

"You know what? Back then, my mom's IVF procedure was already being researched, and they were even arranging the surgery. I forced them to give it up."

"Do you think what I did was cruel?"

Sophia shook her head hard, tears in her eyes. "Of course not. In my eyes, you're the kindest, the most gentle. Don't worry, no matter what happens, I'll always be on your side."

If one day Michael gave up on her, their connection would become a thing of the past.

But in this moment, she had quietly made up her mind - as long as he didn't give up on her, she would stick it out to the end no matter what.

The two embraced tightly by the floor-to-ceiling window. Sophia, tears streaming down her face, stood on her tiptoes and kissed Michael's lips, then turned to lean against the window, looking down at the two people below.

It was already autumn, and the evening breeze was cool. The two below seemed a bit cold, huddling together in a corner.

You could tell they were in a good mood.

Their mouths kept moving, saying something. Looking at their animated expressions, you could tell they were scheming something.

Maybe Michael was right - not every parent in this world cares for or loves their children.

And some people are destined not to be loved, and she was one of them.

In that instant, years of obsession just dissolved. Sophia raised her head, forcing back her tears. "Lend me some money. I can write you an IOU. After this is over, I'll leave this city completely. I don't want anything to do with them anymore."

Actually, if she wanted to leave, it wasn't that hard - she just needed a job to make money.

Michael nodded. "Of course, no problem. Leave these matters to me. I promise you'll be satisfied."

Some things aren't worth hesitating over. Once you've made a decision, just move forward with determination.

Exhaustion washed over Sophia. She lay on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Mia received a call in the middle of the night and was so angry her chest heaved violently.

"Are you all useless? Can't even handle this little thing. Didn't I tell you? It had to be foolproof. And I bought so many expensive drugs. With all those drugs, you still let someone escape. Are you all a bunch of useless idiots?"

Mia fell into a frenzy, unable to understand why things turned out this way when everything was arranged.

And from start to finish, setting up this trap cost quite a bit of money. The whole family was involved. Wesley made it crystal clear - if she couldn't successfully marry Michael, their family would be kicked out of the line of succession.

Living in a wealthy family, Mia naturally understood that if one day they lost everything, they would become worthless, and would be stepped on wherever they went.

Those friends who once flattered them would also turn against them directly.

No way, she absolutely wouldn't allow losing everything.

Mia gritted her teeth. "Can't even handle this simple thing. Listen carefully - you must make that bitch Sophia get together with that Griffin. Besides, didn't they already get a marriage certificate? Remember, I want everyone to know Sophia is someone who despises the poor and loves the rich, and that she's a marriage fraud."

Griffin's money had already been transferred to Ella and Preston's names.

Even if Sophia didn't want to acknowledge this marriage certificate, so what? The marriage certificate was real.

So she had no other choice now but to comply.

Thus, late at night, a trending topic quietly climbed up the internet.

#Everyone beware of a new type of scam#

#Got marriage certificate one day, left with lover the next - moral decay or twisted humanity#

Those shocking headlines instantly hit the trending searches.

Internet users who hadn't gone to sleep late at night began their new round of attacks.

"Oh my god, what's going on? A woman could actually do something like this. Really admirable. Took the money, got the marriage certificate, and became a rich man's mistress. What an amazing life."

"Write a book, let us learn how to live a wealthy life too."

"What should we do? We want to live this kind of life too. So cool, just taking money without doing the work, and not losing anything, even threw the rich husband into jail."

"Respect, respect. We're all waiting for the follow-up twist."

That night.

Ella and Preston couldn't sleep no matter what, so they helplessly started scrolling through their phones.

Because they had searched for Michael's name before, they quickly saw the trending topic about Sophia.

The two looked at each other, bewildered.

"Oh my god, what's going on now? Since someone put this online, can we still make money? We were originally hoping to take this opportunity to get more benefits. Can we still get them now?"

"Could this be someone jealous of Sophia being Michael's mistress? No way, we can't let this fail like this. We need to think of something. We can make a deal with Sophia. As long as Sophia is willing to give us money and let us live a wealthy life, we'll come forward."

Although Ella and Preston were ignorant, they knew how to get more benefits.

So they quickly sent a message informing Sophia of their plan.

The sleeping Michael's phone buzzed. Looking at the message, his expression unchanged, he rapidly typed on the keyboard, handling the trending topic issue.