Chapter 188 You Are My Love, And My Family
Lucas's words cut into Mary's heart like a sharp blade. She opened her mouth but couldn't find the words to respond.
The dining room fell into suffocating silence, broken only by the ticking of the wall clock.
Lucas seemed to realize he'd crossed a line. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and turned toward the stairs.
"Stop right there." Ray's voice came from the living room. He stood there, his expression thunderous—no one knew how long he'd been listening.
Lucas froze mid-step but didn't turn around.
"Call Sophia and apologize." Ray enunciated each word carefully. "Now. Immediately."
"Dad!" Lucas whirled around, his eyes brimming with grievance and resentment. "She was the one who—"
"Who what?" Ray climbed the steps to the dining area, each footfall heavy with anger. "The security footage shows crystal clear that Snowball ran out on his own. Sophia did absolutely nothing wrong, yet you treated her like garbage?"
Lucas bit his lip stubbornly, the sense of injustice churning inside him for what felt like ages. He muttered defensively, "She's the only one in this house who hates Snowball. Of course she's the prime suspect when he goes missing..."
His flippant words crashed down on Mary's heart like a thousand-pound weight. She swayed slightly, staring at his profile as though seeing a stranger.
"What's gotten into you?" Mary couldn't help asking. "You used to adore Sophia."
Lucas's fists clenched and unclenched. Finally, he said quietly, "I'm going to look for Snowball."
Without another word, he brushed past his parents and stormed out the front door.
Ray shook his head in exasperation.
Mary stared anxiously at the doorway. "Why is Lucas acting so strange all of a sudden?"
Just recently he'd been laughing and chatting with Sophia, even joking about being her bodyguard.
How had everything changed so abruptly?
Ray sighed. "Teenage rebellion, probably. We've been so caught up with work these past few years that we've neglected watching him grow up. This time, we need to have a serious talk with him."
Two hours passed with no sign of Lucas. Ray couldn't sit still any longer and went out to search for him himself.
Lucas had left in such a rush he'd forgotten his phone. It was past eleven now—who knew what could happen to him out there?
Mary waited at home, clutching her phone and watching the clock, anxiety gnawing at her.
After another half hour with no word, she hesitated, then posted an update about the situation in the family group chat.
On set, James had just finished shooting a night scene and was heading to change when he saw the message. His eyes flickered, and without hesitation, he called Sophia.
……
Meanwhile, at Golden Bay Beach, laughter and cheerful voices filled the air.
Amelia and Wayne had exhausted themselves and now lay on the sand gazing at the stars, whispering sweet nothings to each other.
Michael and Sophia sat side by side on a rocky outcrop, listening to the waves lap against the shore.
"So you've really decided to move out?" Michael asked softly.
Sophia nodded. The sea breeze lifted her long hair. "When I first came back to the Johnson family, I was planning to move out after high school graduation anyway. I'm just carrying out the plan I shelved five years ago."
Michael turned to look at her. "Sophia, can you really let all this go?"
Sophia gazed at the distant lighthouse and fell silent for a moment before speaking. "I learned a long time ago that some things can't be obtained no matter how hard you hold on. So I'm good to whoever treats me well, and when someone wants to leave, I don't hold them back."
In her world, aside from her own feelings, nothing else seemed particularly important. Everyone except herself was just passing through.
"Sophia..." Michael didn't know whether to feel relieved or heartbroken. He tightened his arm around her waist and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "They're the family you worked so hard to get back."
"But I have you." Sophia looked up at him, her bright eyes reflecting the stars above. "To me, you're my love and my family."
Just as she finished speaking, her phone rang.
The moment she saw the caller ID, Sophia's pupils trembled almost imperceptibly—a movement Michael's keen eyes caught immediately.
He glanced at the screen and understood.
Though Sophia could choose not to be a Smith or a Johnson, she still had feelings for those who genuinely treated her well.
Like her mentor. And like James—who from their first meeting five years ago had understood her, stayed by her side, and doted on her.
"Answer it," Michael gently prompted, bringing Sophia back to the present.
Sophia pressed the accept button and held the phone to her ear. James's warm, worried voice came through the speaker: "Sophia, are you okay?"
Sophia fell silent for half a second before responding. "Are you calling to defend Lucas?"
She could almost predict what would happen—given Lucas's stubborn attitude earlier, he definitely wouldn't apologize. James was probably calling to ask her to be forgiving.
She'd never encountered this exact situation before, but all those TV dramas Amelia watched always played out this way.
Silence fell on the other end of the line, as though her words had stunned him. After a long pause, James's voice came through again: "I'm not calling to defend him. He's not a child anymore. When you do something wrong, you have to take responsibility and apologize face-to-face to earn forgiveness. Mom told us everything. Are you... alright?"
James knew Sophia hated dogs. The fact that she'd agreed to let Lucas keep Snowball at all had been a huge concession on her part. Yet Lucas hadn't kept the dog under control, and worse, he'd lashed out at Sophia without even trying to understand what happened.
When Sophia came home exhausted from work to find her room in chaos, forcing herself not to get angry at Lucas, only to be falsely accused to her face—how heartbroken must she have been?
Hearing his words, Sophia's eyes trembled slightly. She lowered her gaze, and only after a long moment did she say quietly, "I'm fine. If he wants to keep a dog, let him keep it. Tomorrow... I'll move back to Applewood Estate."
Over these five years, everyone in the family had been busy with their careers and studies. They all had more convenient places to stay than the manor.
But only that place had ever been called "home."
James could hear it in her voice—Sophia didn't mean she was temporarily staying at Applewood Estate because of work. She was disappointed in this "home."
His fingers tightened slightly around the phone, though his voice remained gentle: "Sophia, I understand how you feel. But relationships between people are never smooth sailing—even between family members."
The sea breeze brushed against Sophia's face. She glanced at Michael beside her, then shifted her gaze to the two figures lying on the beach in the distance who had inexplicably started "wrestling" with each other.
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "James, relationships between people can be smooth sailing. It just depends on whether you understand and care about each other enough."