Chapter 99
"At least we're still together, aren't we?" James gently lifted my hand, looking at the diamond ring on my finger.
I pulled my hand back, expressionless. "You've done everything you wanted to do, right?"
James chuckled softly. "What if I said no?"
I looked up at him coldly. "Mr. Smith, you're not the only one whose time is valuable. My time is worth just as much."
"If you don't have anything particularly important, please stop wasting my time."
I was getting annoyed just looking at James.
I impatiently twisted the ring on my finger.
I had to find a way to get this ring off later.
James and I were getting divorced - what was the point of still wearing this ring?
"It's just about dinner time. Let me take you to dinner, then I'll drive you home."
I glanced at the sun. "The sun didn't rise in the west today, so why is Mr. Smith in such a good mood to invite me to dinner?"
You know, during those years, I could count on one hand the number of times James and I ate together.
James didn't answer my question. He said, "I've already booked a restaurant."
"Mr. Smith, you didn't even ask me - you just went ahead and booked a restaurant?" I smiled sarcastically. "Do you even know what I like to eat?"
"See, you're always like this, making decisions for me without considering what I want."
"When Amelia and I had conflicts, you always assumed I was the one in the wrong, making me apologize to her, even making me suffer for the sake of her feelings."
"James, how is what you're doing now any different from what you did back then?"
"I just booked a restaurant without asking you first." James frowned tightly, not understanding what he'd done wrong.
Right, he didn't understand.
This one small thing showed he didn't care about me.
If it were Amelia having dinner with him, would he book a restaurant without first asking what she wanted to eat?
Definitely not.
He was so considerate of Amelia, wanting to give her the best of everything - how could he possibly make her eat something she didn't like?
"Then what do you want to eat? You can tell me, and I'll have someone book it."
I stared into his unfathomable yet beautiful eyes and sighed softly.
"You still don't get it. What I want isn't for you to book a different restaurant, I..."
Forget it. Why was I even bothering to explain all this to him?
We were already at this point anyway - what difference would it make?
Did I really expect to keep compromising and stay with him?
That kind of life was just too painful. I didn't want to go through it again.
I shook my head at James, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
After a few steps, I hailed a taxi, got in, and gave the driver my address.
James didn't follow.
I went home.
After getting home, I watched TV for a while, then discussed some work matters with Andrew and the others.
Andrew asked me, "Didn't you say you were going to Celestial University to find someone? Did you find them? When are you coming back?"
"I have a lead, but I'm not sure yet. I need to test it out."
With so many annoying things lately, I'd almost forgotten about finding that person.
It was time to find an opportunity to test Sidney and see if he was the one.
"Okay, you handle it. If you need help, just let me know."
I agreed.
After hanging up, I tidied up and went to sleep.
I don't know how long I'd been asleep when I dreamed I was in darkness, walking in all directions but unable to escape.
Then I saw a bright light ahead. I ran toward it and found a giant diamond ring with a beam of light shining on it, like a ring displayed in a showcase.
The light I'd seen was reflecting off the diamond on the ring.
Seeing this ring made me uncomfortable, so I turned to run.
But the ring started moving - it flew toward me.
It slipped onto me and kept shrinking, tighter and tighter. I couldn't breathe.
I woke up instantly, gasping, covered in sweat.
I got out of bed and drank a glass of water, holding the empty glass and spacing out for a long time before coming back to myself.
I looked at the ring on my finger and made a firm decision.
I had to get this ring off, or I wouldn't even be able to sleep peacefully.
I had classes today, so after getting ready and eating breakfast, I went to school.
Liliana immediately spotted the diamond ring on my hand. "That ring is so sparkly!"
"Who gave it to you?" She winked suggestively.
I looked down and scoffed coldly. "Who else could it be?"
"You know what? Yesterday's incident is all over the campus forum."
I smiled.
How embarrassing!
Yasmin sat down on my other side. "What happened? I didn't know about this."
Liliana turned to look at her. "You haven't checked the forum?"
Yasmin scratched her head. "I don't really pay attention to the campus forum."
Liliana opened her phone. "See for yourself."
After reading it, Yasmin looked troubled. "This... seems like trouble."
Liliana was confused. "What trouble?"
She turned her phone around to look. "What are all these people talking about!"
"Sophia, you should look at this yourself."
I glanced at it - the forum had exploded.
Someone had photographed my hand wearing the diamond ring.
The post had an even more ridiculous title:
"Sophia's True Colors Exposed! Cheating During Marriage, Accepting a Big Diamond Ring from a CEO Husband While Stringing Along an Innocent Underclassman"
There were already hundreds of replies below.
[That diamond must be several carats, right? Is it fake?]
[I study gemology. Based on my eye, this ring is worth a fortune.]
[So the rumors about her being married are true? Her husband really is James?]
[Are you just getting internet access? This news came out before she even started classes.]
[And she's still so close to Sidney? If that's not cheating, what is?]
[She has the capital - she's beautiful, has a great body, and I heard her professional skills aren't bad either. Of course, she can do whatever she wants.]
[Shameless!]
I scrolled through my phone screen expressionlessly.
Liliana leaned over to look and almost threw the phone in anger.
"Are these people sick? How can they say such nasty things!" She grabbed the phone and closed the forum. "Stop reading it - it'll just ruin your mood."
"It's fine." I smiled reassuringly. "They can say whatever they want - it's their mouths."
Liliana was anxious. "No, if we don't do something, what if the rumors get out of control?"
"I have a way. Trust me."
I needed to handle this, but not now.
First, I had to figure out if this post was deliberately planted by someone with ulterior motives.
Yasmin wanted to persuade me, too, but I changed the subject. "Let's go eat."
After eating, I went home to rest. After finishing afternoon classes, a strange male student stopped me.