Chapter 80
James's perspective:
Why does Sophia always want to leave me?
I apologized to her and said I'd change, that I'd treat her well from now on, but she still won't stay with me.
Now she treats divorce like a catchphrase, bringing it up all the time.
She wants to divorce me. I'll never agree to it.
I didn't accept this marriage at first, but now that I've finally accepted it, she wants to walk away. It's not that easy.
Even if it means making Sophia hate me, I'll keep her by my side.
She questioned me: "James, are you crazy? Dragging this out doesn't do you any good."
I laughed: "I don't care whether it does me good or not. I only care whether you belong to me."
She looked at me with disappointment: "You've never treated me as your wife, just as an object."
"That's not..."
"James, we have nothing to talk about. Get out of my sight right now." She closed her eyes, looking like she didn't want to see me.
I didn't move.
Sophia gritted her teeth: "If you won't leave, then I will."
She turned to go. I stepped forward quickly, grabbed her, cupped her face, and kissed her forcefully.
Sophia bit me. It hurt, but I didn't let go. I bit her lip with the same force.
A taste of blood spread in my mouth. I stuck out my tongue and gently licked her lips, which I had bitten and broken.
Sophia's eyes went wide: "You are perverted!"
"Sophia, stop making me angry, or I'll tie you up and bite a thousand marks like this all over your body, so everyone who sees you will know you have a husband."
Sophia slapped me.
"James, you really have lost your mind!"
I grabbed her chin: "Sophia, you can only be mine. You can only stay by my side. Those fools who dare to covet you—I'll deal with all of them."
...
Sophia's perspective:
Hearing James's crazy talk, my mouth twitched. "Are you out of your mind!"
James tried to kiss me again. Just as I was about to dodge him.
His phone suddenly rang urgently in his pocket, breaking the tense, intimate atmosphere.
James's brows furrowed deeply. All the emotions churning in his eyes vanished completely the moment he saw the caller ID.
His fingertips rubbed against my wrist. Without looking at me, he lowered his head to answer the call, his voice softening a bit—completely different from his hysterical behavior toward me just moments ago.
"Hello."
I don't know what the person on the other end said, but I watched his expression gradually soften.
He responded: "I know, I'll be right there."
After hanging up, he glanced at me: "I have something to take care of, I need to go. You..."
I brushed off his hand: "You don't need to explain to me."
It's just Amelia finding another excuse to get him to come over. I've seen this trick more than once.
James looked at me deeply: "Sophia, I don't know exactly what you're thinking, but I can tell you for sure, it's not what you think. Just now it was my..."
I didn't want to hear his nonsense, so I covered my ears and ran.
I ran with my head down, too fast, too long. A taste of blood rose in my throat.
I stopped, pulled my coat tighter around me with freezing fingers, and slowly caught my breath.
After I recovered, I kicked at pebbles on the ground aimlessly.
When I got home, I closed my eyes. My head was a mess, and I couldn't sleep—which was rare for me.
The next day, I went to class with dark circles under my eyes.
Today, everyone was looking at me even more strangely. I touched my face—there was nothing dirty on it.
Yasmin waved at me: "Sophia, come sit here."
I walked over and sat next to her: "Why is everyone looking at me so strangely?"
Yasmin bit her lip, seeming hesitant to speak.
"Go ahead, I won't blame you."
Instead of answering directly, she asked me a question: "Sophia, was that man yesterday your husband?"
I haven't divorced James yet, so technically yes.
I nodded.
"They're saying you're unfaithful, that your behavior is improper, that you're not a good woman."
"Do you think I'm the kind of person they're talking about?"
Yasmin looked at me and shook her head, then asked: "But everyone at school is spreading this story. Don't you want to explain?"
I waved my hand: "Let them talk. When they get bored, it'll die down."
"But doesn't it hurt when people say things like that about you?"
"If I could be hurt by a few rumors, I'd probably be dead many times over by now."
Because of that incident before, everyone thought I drugged James and got into his bed. Plenty of people called me shameless, openly or behind my back.
At first, it bothered me, but eventually I became numb to it.
"If you need help with anything, just tell me. Don't be shy."
This was the second time someone had shown me kindness since I came here. I felt warm inside: "Thank you."
"No need to thank me. We're classmates—we should help each other."
"You two students down there, are you done with your whispered conversation? If not, come up here and share it with the whole class."
Yasmin and I quickly lowered our heads, avoiding the professor's gaze.
In the afternoon, the professor brought a girl over: "From now on, you're a student in this class. Remember your class name, don't forget it."
I was getting water in the hallway and happened to see this.
The girl's features looked vaguely familiar, but I was sure I'd never met her before.
The girl was chewing bubble gum. As if sensing my gaze, she looked at me: "You're Sophia."
Her statement was certain, not a question.
I frowned: "We haven't met before. How do you know who I am?"
"I have my ways of finding out about you."
"Why would you investigate me?"
"You don't need to know why. You just need to know that with me around, your days won't be peaceful."
I said calmly, "How boring."
"Do you often bully Amelia and her daughter at the Smith Mansion?"
"What's your relationship to Amelia?"
"My relationship with her is none of your business."
"I don't want to deal with your messy drama."
"Sophia, we have a long future ahead, and I will make you remember my name forever."
After saying this, she walked past me, chewing her gum, scanning me with an extremely contemptuous look.
What's worse, as she passed me, she deliberately bumped my shoulder.
She used quite a bit of force—I almost lost my balance.
Seeing her walk away, I immediately grabbed her arm: "Who sent you?"
I could feel her arm trembling slightly.