Chapter 4

I ran like crazy, desperate to escape this suffocating situation.

Behind me, besides Liam's footsteps,

Victoria also chased after us.

"Sophia, please don't be angry, okay?"

"Liam didn't intentionally neglect you; it's just that I just got back to the country, and he had to take care of me out of politeness."

"Be a bit more understanding; don't fight with him."

Every word seemed to be comforting, but in reality, she was subtly implying I was making a big deal out of nothing and being immature.

I couldn't be bothered with her and didn't stop running for a second.

After only a few steps, a delicate cry suddenly came from behind.

Victoria sharply twisted her ankle, falling to the ground and clutching her ankle tightly.

The next second, Liam, who had been vaguely chasing me, instantly changed direction.

He rushed over, carefully protecting her.

The worry in his eyes was undeniable.

It was the same concern he had shown for years.

The churning pain in my chest completely crushed all my rationality.

I lost myself, forgetting I was still standing in the middle of a busy street.

A blinding headlight suddenly hit me, too fast to react.

A violent impact instantly swept through my body, and I was thrown hard to the ground.

In the last moment of my fading consciousness, I looked up at them.

Liam never looked back.

His eyes were only on Victoria's sprained ankle. He bent down, picked her up, and walked straight away.

He didn't care about me at all.

When I opened my eyes again, I was already in a VIP hospital room.

The driver who had hit me was standing beside the bed.

He busied himself with paying my bills and completing all the paperwork.

He handled all the tedious procedures perfectly.

He looked at me with a heart full of distress.

"Miss Sophia, please come home with me."

"Mr. Richard has seen how much you've suffered, and he's heartbroken."

I didn't speak, just wanted to get out of bed and walk on my own.

As I reached the door, the conversation from the next room came through clearly.

It was Liam and his friends.

Someone spoke first, with a hint of mockery.

"You couldn't have missed the car hitting her on the road just now, could you?"

Liam's voice was flat, without a ripple of emotion.

"Victoria sprained her ankle; I couldn't just leave her."

"I glimpsed her out of the corner of my eye; Sophia was fine, she could stand."

His friend pressed on: "So how do you plan to explain it to her?"

Liam chuckled, full of indifference.

"Just say my hearing aid ran out of battery, and I didn't hear or notice."

Someone next to him scoffed.

"Your fake hearing loss is truly a universal excuse."

"Normally, you use it to avoid her nagging; in critical moments, you can even openly favor Victoria."

I froze at the door.

So, all those years I leaned beside him, pouring out my grievances and hardships day and night,

He heard every single word.

It wasn't that he couldn't hear; he simply didn't care to listen.

Someone else asked: "All things considered, do you even like Sophia?"

Liam was silent for two seconds.

"After all this time, saying I don't like her would be a lie."

"But she's like a roadside stall—tasty, satisfying, easy to win over."

"Still, a roadside stall can never be presentable."

"Victoria is different; even if I stopped liking her, she's still a luxury item, an antique."

"Someone I can take out to impress, someone who matches my status."

His friend teased: "You wouldn't want both, would you?"

Liam hesitated, then scoffed: "I'd definitely choose Victoria."

"I only started dating Sophia to spite Victoria in the first place."

Every word pierced deeply into my heart.

Mike, the driver, stepped forward to persuade me again.

"Miss, don't try to be strong. Mr. Richard will be here any minute. Please come back with me."

I looked down, self-deprecating.

"I'm just an illegitimate child, a love child who isn't supposed to exist."

"How could he care about me? Why would he come to pick me up?"

As soon as my words fell, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded.

I looked up and saw my father, Richard, standing breathlessly in front of me.

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