Chapter 4 No Other Choice

Perhaps the blow had been too devastating, or perhaps Sophia had completely lost the only pillar of support she had left. A sticky, metallic sweetness surged up her throat. She spat out a mouthful of blood, her vision went black, and she collapsed onto the floor. When she woke again, an entire day had passed. The first thing she did was call the police. But not long after she hung up, the door to the room was pushed open. It was Ian. Seeing her lying there on the hospital bed, pale and exhausted, he paused slightly. A complicated emotion rose in his chest. He took a Letter of Understanding from Gabriel and placed it in front of her. "Evelyn didn't do it on purpose," he said. "As long as you sign this, I promise I'll find the best specialists in the world to treat Rosalie." Sophia stared at the letter, forcing a tight smile. Shock flickered across her eyes. She hadn't expected Ian to move this quickly. He hadn't even bothered to look at the surveillance footage, choosing instead to believe Evelyn without hesitation. Her bloodshot eyes fixed on him, filled with despair and hurt. "She didn't do it on purpose? So I'm just supposed to watch my only sister turn into a vegetable? If apologies solved everything, what would we need the law for? "Even with the best specialists, can you guarantee Rosalie will wake up? Can you guarantee she'll ever dance again? You know I only have one sister. She's all I have left!" She clenched her teeth, her voice breaking as she demanded answers. Ian remained silent. The hospital room fell into suffocating stillness, the air cold enough to freeze. After a long time, he broke the silence. "Sophia, in all of Hillridge, no one will take your case. No one dares to. It's a lawsuit that's doomed to fail, so why don't you behave and listen to me instead?" His voice was quiet, yet it felt like an invisible hand had wrapped itself around her heart, squeezing and tearing at it bit by bit. Sophia looked up in disbelief at the cold, merciless man before her. She'd never imagined that one day, Ian would threaten her for another woman. Seeing that she still refused to give in, Ian placed the Letter of Understanding on the table beside her and let out a quiet sigh. "Think it through, Sophia. You don't have a job, and Rosalie's medical bills won't be cheap." With that, he stood up and left. In the end, Sophia gave in, all for the sake of being able to leave with Rosalie in five days. She had no other choice. After ten years with Ian, she knew his methods better than anyone. In the study, Sophia signed her name, her hand trembling. "Why?" she finally asked. "Why did it have to be her?" The bitterness in her throat nearly stole her voice. She stood there, her slender figure fragile and broken. She didn't understand. In terms of background, looks, or age, what did she lack compared to Evelyn? Evelyn even came with a child. Ian set the documents aside and lowered his gaze slightly. The corners of his lips curved faintly. The iciness in his eyes melted and was replaced with overflowing joy. It was a version of Ian that Sophia had never seen before. "She's different from you. Only with her do I feel at home. "When you wanted strawberry cake in the middle of the night, I drove 300 kilometers despite my stomachache just to buy it for you. For your birthday party, I worked on it for half a year, but you still flew into a rage just because the balloons at the venue weren't the shade of pink you liked. "You liked all kinds of flowers, so I personally filled an entire mountain with blooms just for you. But because I missed a single variety of tulip, you gave me the cold shoulder for a full month. "Sophia, I love you. I loved you enough to spoil you without limits. But I'm still human. I'm not a tool for you to vent your emotions on. I get tired too."