Chapter 106

Sophie’s pov ; As soon as I stepped out of the taxi and saw my father waiting by the doorway, I felt my chest tighten. He rushed toward me, grabbing my arm roughly before I could even react. "Girl, you're finally back. Come with me to see your mother," he said, his grip firm as if afraid I’d run. I tried to pull away, but it was useless. He wasn’t letting me go. His hand was like a shackle, and his strength left me no room to resist. The stairs were as dingy and crumbling as I remembered, each step a reminder of the place I had tried so hard to leave behind. The smell hit me before I even stepped into the apartment—a putrid, sour stench that made my stomach churn. "Simon, Jack, your sister is back!" my father called as he shoved me inside. The sight of the small, cramped room made my heart sink. It hadn’t changed at all. The same peeling wallpaper, the same broken furniture. And there, lying on my old bed, was Mark. He wasn’t the same either—not the arrogant bully I once knew. He looke