Chapter 3
Charles clenched the photo, his face getting darker with every second.
"When was this written?" he asked.
"You're asking me?" I snapped.
He pressed his lips together, pulled out his phone, and dialed Sophia.
The ringtone had barely started when a phone buzzed outside the door.
The next second, the office door swung open.
Sophia stood in the doorway, her eyes landing on the photo in Charles's hand. Her face went pale in an instant.
"Sophia," Charles called out.
He stared at her.
"What does this mean?" he asked.
Sophia's lips parted, but no words came out.
"I..." she stammered.
"When did you put the photo in her suitcase?" Charles pressed.
"I don't know," she mumbled.
She blurted it out without thinking, then turned to look at me.
"Summer, maybe you got it wrong. I probably just scribbled that without thinking. It didn't mean anything," Sophia said, her voice shaky.
I gave a sarcastic laugh.
"So you just randomly wrote that you fell for my boyfriend on the back of our photo?" I shot back.
Her eyes welled up with tears.
"I was really hurting back then. I wasn't thinking straight," she said, her voice trembling.
"I just wrote down stuff I couldn't say to you. I never meant for you to see it," Sophia muttered.
"Oh, you never meant for me to see it, but you still put it in my suitcase?" I shot back.
Sophia stood there, speechless.
Charles's expression twisted even more.
"Answer her," Charles demanded.
Sophia looked at him, tears streaming down her face.
"It was before you left for your trip," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
The office went dead silent for a moment.
My suspicions were confirmed, but weirdly, I didn't really feel anything.
So she'd already set her sights on Charles before I even left.
And I still let her stay at my place, even asked Charles to look after her for me.
"Why?" Charles asked, his voice tight.
Sophia shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
"I don't know. Back then, I just felt like Summer had everything," Sophia said, her voice trembling.
"She had a career, she had you, and she had a home to come back to.
"But me? I had nothing."
"So you just took what was hers?" Charles shot back.
Sophia jerked her head up.
Sophia fired back. "You said yourself she never needed you!"
She finally lost it, her voice shooting up.
"You said she was always buried in work, that she never opened up to you, that you never felt like she needed you."
Charles froze.
Sophia was shaking all over, sobbing uncontrollably.
"You said the only place you ever felt like you mattered was with me," Sophia choked out.
People were already stopping outside the door.
Charles hurried over and shut the door.
He turned back to me, and for the first time, I saw real panic in his eyes.
"Summer, I was just venting. I never thought it would blow up like this," he said, his voice shaky.
"When you're an adult, you have to deal with the fallout from your words," I replied.
I took the photo back and slipped it into my bag.
Sophia suddenly tugged at my sleeve.
"Summer, I'm sorry," she said.
I looked at her hand gripping my sleeve.
"Let go," I told her.
She did not let go, and her grip on my sleeve only got tighter.
"Yeah, I admit it. I like him. But feelings aren't something you can turn off. You two were together for seven years, and if it was really that unbreakable, it wouldn't have fallen apart just because I showed up," Sophia said, her voice shaking.
Charles cut her off, his voice sharp.
"Enough," he snapped.
Sophia flinched, startled by his tone.
I slowly pulled my sleeve out of her grip.
"You're right," I said.
Both of them turned to look at me.
"If seven years together were really that strong, it wouldn't have fallen apart just because of someone like Sophia," I said.
Charles's eyes flickered with hope.
I kept going.
"Guess I finally see it wasn't as strong as I thought," I said.
His expression froze.
"Summer, I'll tell her to leave," Charles said.
I said, "Don't bother.
"I paid half the down payment on that place. I'll get the numbers together and send them over. As for the house, let your lawyer handle it with mine."
Charles frowned.
"We're both lawyers. Do you really have to cut things off like this?" he asked.
"That's exactly why we should know better. When things are over, we split what we own," I replied.
"I never said I wanted to break up," Charles said.
"But I did," I said.
I looked at him, my voice icy.
"Charles, we're done," I said.
Charles froze for a few seconds, then reached out and grabbed my wrist.
"I'm not letting you go," he said.
"Let go," I said.
He said, "Summer, seven years can't just be erased with a breakup.
"I know I messed up, but it was just that one time with her. If you're willing, we can start over."
I shook his hand off.
"You still think the only mistake was that one night?" I shot back.