Chapter 3

As I expected, Sophie came looking for me three days after the interview.

I had barely finished comforting my family when my assistant informed me that a woman named Sophie Lane refused to leave without seeing me. She introduced herself as a friend of my ex-fiancé.

I smiled coldly to myself. I knew she would come.

I messaged my senior to get the team ready and told my assistant to bring Sophie to my temporary residence.

I was staying in a high-rise downtown penthouse with wide open views that let me stay in full control of the situation.

The doorbell rang, and I peeked through the peephole to see Sophie.

Dressed in a pink knit sweater and white short skirt with long hair flowing over her shoulders, she put on the look of a pure and innocent girl.

She held a fruit basket in her hand and wore that familiar, falsely shy smile that I recognized perfectly.

I slowly pulled the door open and leaned against the frame, watching her calmly. "What do you need?"

She froze for a moment, caught off guard by my relaxed demeanor, and then slipped back into her frail, gentle act and held up the fruit basket in her hands. "I heard you got discharged from the hospital. I came to check on you."

"No need," I replied coldly. "Jonathan and I are over. I appreciate the thought, but you don't have to concern yourself with me."

"Don't be like this." Sophie stepped past me in her white sneakers and walked straight into the living room as if the space belonged to her. "I know you're hurting right now, but things are not what they seem."

The real show was finally starting.

I shut the door and followed behind her, fully prepared to watch her clumsy performance unfold.

She stopped in the middle of the living room and turned to face me. Her eyes welled up with tears like she was about to cry at any second. "I'm sorry. He was never going to marry you."

I lifted one eyebrow and stayed quiet, letting her continue.

My silence gave her confidence. She raised her voice slightly, sounding falsely aggrieved yet undeniably triumphant. "He pulled me out of that remote town years ago.

"He paid for my schooling, found me a job, and let me live in his apartment. You thought he was sponsoring me, but he was simply keeping me by his side."

"Keep you by his side?" I finally spoke, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "That's a creative way to put it."

She faltered for a second, but quickly regained her composure.

Tilting her chin up, she cut into me with sharp, biting words. "I was the one who begged him through tears to arrange that attack. I told him he could finally be with me openly once you were out of the picture.

"I knew how gentle you were and how deeply you loved him. I knew you would shield him no matter what."

She finished speaking in one rush and stared closely at my face, waiting for me to crumble into despair or lose control of my emotions.

But honestly, the entire scene felt ridiculous to me.

I saw the blatant pride and calculation hidden in her gaze, and the cruel, manipulative nature hiding behind her fake innocent appearance.

I suddenly broke into uncontrollable laughter. I laughed until tears pricked at my eyes.

Sophie was totally thrown off by my reaction, her smug look freezing on her face. "Why are you laughing? Did I say something wrong?"

I stopped laughing and wiped the fake tears from my eyes before staring at her with a frigid gaze. "Sophie, do you think you're clever?"

"I..." She tried to argue, but I didn't let her finish.

I spoke slowly and clearly, making every word sharp and deliberate. "Do you believe you could scheme against me, ruin my life, and step straight into my place as Jonathan's wife?"

My words exposed her true intentions. A flash of panic crossed her face, though the emotion quickly faded and gave way to harsh defiance.

She puffed out her chest with an unapologetic attitude, as if I could do nothing to change her mind. "Emily, please don't hate me. It's just HIV, and the condition won't end your life immediately. But going back to that backward town will ruin me for good."

Her excuse was incredibly self-serving.

She was willing to destroy another person's reputation, health and entire future simply to avoid going back to her old life.

She truly believed she held power over my misfortune and could pressure me into feeling sympathetic for her selfish choices.

She didn't know that I got treated in time and never caught the virus at all.

She also had no idea that multiple news cameras stood behind the half-open door behind me, streaming every single word she said live across every online platform.