Chapter 5

When we were kids, whenever Sophie got upset, she'd call for Mom. Me? I could only turn to Grandma.

If only what they said was true—at least Charlie wouldn't have to go through all this with me.

But in the end, I was the one they always ignored, the one whose voice was always shut down.

No one expected Sophie to get in touch with Andrew right then.

She told him to bring our parents, and made it clear no one else was allowed to come.

I went to the address Sophie sent, keeping out of sight so they wouldn't spot me.

Sophie spotted me and gave me a smug grin, then turned to Andrew and called out loudly for everyone to hear.

"Hey, remember this place?"

"This is where you proposed to me. Back then, you said you'd rather die than not marry me. But look at you now—you ended up marrying Grace," she said.

"Funny how life works, huh? I walked down that road every single day and never once ran into William, but Grace just passed by once and ended up saving him," Sophie said.

"If I could do it all over again, I'd never let Grace have that chance," she added.

Andrew looked anxious.

"She's so manipulative!" he blurted out.

"Sophie, come down! Charlie's here too. Didn't you want to take him in? If you have Charlie, you can control Grace—she won't dare scheme against us again!" Andrew said.

"Don't do something you'll regret!" Andrew shouted.

My parents were wailing beside him. "We were wrong! We should've drowned Grace the moment she was born!"

Sophie's eyes glistened with unshed tears as she rested her hand on her stomach.

"I'm pregnant. It's your baby," she whispered, her voice trembling.

Andrew's brows drew together. "Sophie, don't make a scene."

Sophie bit her lip, tears shimmering in her eyes.

"I know you don't remember what happened two months ago," she said softly.

"Even if you want this, I don't want to bring a child into the world just to make them compete for their parents' affection," Sophie said, her voice trembling.

"I've been through enough pain already. Next time, I'll make sure my child is born into a family that's actually whole—a place where they won't have to fight for love," she added.

Before Andrew could say a word, my parents rushed to speak up for him.

"They're already divorced! Don't do anything crazy!" my mom shouted.

Andrew wanted to say it was all just pretend.

But seeing the quiet delight on Sophie's face, he just couldn't bring himself to be that harsh.

He hesitated, then gave a slow nod.

Sophie turned to our parents.

"I want you to write a letter disowning Grace—cut her off for good!" Sophie demanded.

"You've always been our only daughter. Grace was just born to be your playmate. She's been hogging your spot for years—she should've been gone a long time ago!" my mom snapped.

My parents wasted no time posting the letter online, officially cutting me off for everyone to see.

Sophie's face lit up with a triumphant smile.

"Princess, don't move!" my parents cried out, their voices trembling with panic as Sophie started to walk over.

They rushed to stop her, terrified she might do something dangerous.

Sophie was standing right at the edge of the bridge, the ocean churning just below her feet—one wrong step and she could fall in.

"Don't move! I'm coming to get you!" Andrew called out, his voice tight with worry.

Andrew broke into a sprint.

With everyone's eyes glued to Sophie, I quietly edged closer, hoping to slip Charlie away without anyone noticing.

"I want Charlie to come over and apologize to me!" Sophie demanded.

Andrew didn't hesitate—he scooped Charlie up in his arms. "Alright."

I couldn't stop it in time. I watched helplessly as Charlie got dragged off. I didn't even need to guess—Sophie was definitely scheming something.

Sophie raised her eyebrow at me on purpose, giving me a smug, taunting look.

The next second, she slipped and pulled Charlie into the sea with her.

Andrew dove straight into the sea, swimming toward Charlie.

Charlie was screaming for help.

"Dad, please help me" Charlie cried desperately.

"It hurts, Dad, my stomach hurts!" Charlie sobbed.

My dad shouted from the bridge, "Go save Sophie! I'll get Charlie. Don't forget what you put her through! You go save Sophie, I'll get Charlie."

Andrew hesitated for a second, then gritted his teeth and changed direction.

He carried Sophie out of the water, his eyes were blazing, he rushed forward, didn't look back once.

"Sophie, hold on!" Andrew shouted.

"Think about it—we haven't even tied the knot yet, and you haven't seen what our kid's gonna look like" Andrew said.

Andrew didn't even notice that my dad never went into the water. He and my mom exchanged a look before sneaking off.i

Dad and my mom shared a look, then snuck off without anyone noticing.

I jumped into the sea with a splash, swimming straight toward Charlie.

Charlie had choked on seawater. He wrapped his arms around my neck, snuggling up to me, whimpering like a lost puppy.

"Mom, you're finally here," Charlie said.

My eyes burned with tears. "Mom will never leave you behind."

As we were almost at the shore, I let out a long sigh of relief.

But the next second, my leg cramped up, and I thought, 'Damn, not now!'

I hoisted Charlie up, desperate to keep him above water.

As Charlie made it to shore, I slipped beneath the waves.