Chapter 2
As soon as he finished, the air froze and the room fell into a heavy silence.
He knew exactly how much what my stepbrother did to me haunted me for the rest of my life.
On the night I turned eighteen, my stepbrother crept into my room after dark.
I fought him with everything I had, but in the end, I just couldn't fight him off.
When it was over, he spat on the floor and shoved his finger in my face, threatening me.
"If you dare tell anyone, I'll kill you," he hissed.
That night, I stayed in the bathtub for hours, until my skin turned pale and wrinkled, but I still couldn't bring myself to get out.
Richard was so worried about me that he stood outside the bathroom door, talking to me for three hours, trying to coax me out.
When I finally came out, he pulled me into his arms and cried even harder than I did.
"Baby, it's not your fault. You're still pure," he whispered.
But now, he called me dirty.
So all that talk about being Platonic was just an excuse—he just couldn't stand to touch me.
Richard realized he'd said the wrong thing and tried to step forward to explain.
But just then, the ambulance arrived.
He watched Emily being carried out on the stretcher, looked back at me, and in the end, he went after her.
Once again, I found myself all alone in that cramped basement.
I let out a deep sigh and lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to get any sleep.
It was almost four in the morning when Richard suddenly burst in, his face full of panic as he dragged me out of the room.
I stumbled, banging my leg against the floor.
I shouted, "Richard, what are you doing?"
He dragged me over to a luxury sports car—a model I'd never even seen before.
For Emily, he finally dropped the act of being broke after nine years.
"Sophia, Emily's life is in your hands now," Richard said, his voice tight with worry.
"You both have type A blood. She's lost so much blood trying to help you," he added.
I dodged his question.
"Nice car. Bet it cost a fortune, huh?" I said, my tone flat.
He paused.
"Are you seriously worried about money right now? Is that all you care about?" Richard snapped.
I let out a bitter laugh.
"So I heard you give Emily three hundred thousand dollars every month," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
Richard's face twisted with impatience.
"Sophia, are you seriously not done yet? It's just some money—so what if I gave it to her? I never realized you were such a gold digger," he snapped.
"Now I'm asking you to save your so-called best friend, and you're really gonna haggle with me?" he shot back.
"Just say it—how much is it gonna take to get you to give blood?" he demanded.
My throat tightened.
"Is that all I am to you—a gold digger?" I asked, my voice trembling.
He scoffed.
"If you weren't, you wouldn't be making this about money right now," he shot back.
A dull ache spread through my chest, and I didn't bother arguing with him anymore.
After all, he had no idea that just to save a few dollars, I'd ended up acting like a penny-pinching hag.
I'd even get into shouting matches at the market over a few cents.
But I used to be the little princess everyone spoiled.
If it weren't for Richard, I would've gone back to Southgate ages ago.
His voice softened a little when he saw I wasn't saying anything.
"Okay, Sophia, if you agree to give blood, I'll transfer ten thousand dollars to you right now. Will that finally make you happy?" he said.
I stayed silent, turning my head to look out the window.
The glass caught his profile as he drove, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't see him as the same guy who confessed to me nine years ago.
When I said yes to his confession, he was so overwhelmed he nearly cried.
"Sophia, I finally won you over! Don't worry, from now on, my money is all yours," he promised, his voice trembling with emotion.
So it turns out he'd been lying to me from the very start.
He'd always been rich.
Emily was crying, too.
"You little rascal, you finally managed to steal my precious girl! You better treat her right!" Emily said, her voice choked with emotion.
Back then, I thought Emily's tears were for my happiness.
But now, I realize she was probably crying because she couldn't get the love she wanted.