Chapter 2

When I woke up, a familiar face appeared before me.

It was her!

It was Sophia.

The one I couldn't escape from in my dreams and thoughts.

She was still as beautiful as ever, even more so than before. Her wavy hair, enchanting eyes, and that beauty mark under her eye that I once loved so desperately.

But I was so frightened that I immediately shrank to the edge of the bed.

I tightly closed my eyes, not daring to look at her.

This face that I once loved more than life itself now terrified me to the core.

"Hmph, what's wrong? Not happy to see me?" Her voice was hoarse and alluring, with a hint of contempt.

Of course.

In the past, when I missed her, I would climb over the school wall just to find her.

I would walk ten miles in the middle of the night just to see her face.

I wasn't afraid of pouring rain.

As soon as she opened the door, I would hold her tightly.

"I miss you so much."

"I just wanted to see you right away."

I used to love her to the point of madness.

So now she thought I had come out just to see her.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Why did you escape?"

I lowered my head and said cautiously, "I missed..."

My voice was harsh from not speaking for so long.

"You missed me, right?"

"Three years, and you still haven't learned anything."

Her tone was still as mocking as ever.

I knew without looking that her brows were furrowed.

I quickly shook my head.

"No, no, I missed my parents and brother too much."

I looked up, my face covered in tears.

"Can you tell me where they are?"

Sophia was stunned.

Her expression became a bit unnatural.

"You should rest for now. After you've rested, I'll send you back."

Back?

To that hellish place.

Where there were many men who would sneak onto my bed every night to molest and violate me.

A mental patient who would throw hot soup in my face and call me a scumbag at the drop of a hat.

And a group of people who would drag me in and beat me up from time to time.

Too many to count.

The horrifying memories from my mind suddenly overwhelmed me.

I screamed, "No, I don't want to go back, I don't want to!"

As I spoke, I retreated to the window.

I looked at Sophia with pleading eyes.

"Please, don't send me back there, I'm begging you."

Sophia looked at me with some disgust.

"Look at you now, not a bit of the obedient and sensible person you used to be."

Obedient and sensible?

I used to be obedient too.

But what did I get in return?

When she told me to go west, I never went east.

When she went to take care of her first love, Garrett, in the middle of the night, I didn't say a word.

But I endured it all, thinking I could finally get engaged to her.

In the end, Garrett committed suicide.

And I was the one who got hurt.

I fell to my knees in front of her with a thud.

"Please, Sophia, don't send me back."

"I swear, I'll never appear in your and Garrett's world again to bother you."

She raised an eyebrow and looked at me, seeming to consider the sincerity of my words.

But I had no reason to lie.

Now, I truly didn't love her anymore.

What I had was fear, resentment, but never love again.

0