After five years, her scent was still the same.
In the darkness, Sophia’s voice whispered.
“Ethan, I’m back. I finally came back to you.”
She placed something on my pillow.
“This is what I got for you five years ago at St. Mary’s Church in Alaska. My greatest wish was for you to be safe. I meant to give it to you back then, but I never imagined our separation would last this long…”
I couldn’t keep up the pretense of sleep. My voice cut through the air.
“Sophia Lane, do you think I’m that easy to fool?”
I flicked on the lamp. In its dim glow, I could barely read her expression. On my pillow lay a small charm of protection.
She didn’t answer me directly. She only followed my gaze to the charm and smiled faintly.
“Whether it was taking on that mission or bringing you this charm, my purpose was the same. Ethan, I want to stand at the top of the underground world. I want to be the woman worthy of you. I want us to live in peace.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“You did reach the top. But the one standing beside you now isn’t me.”
Finally, she looked straight at me. There was something in her eyes I couldn’t understand.
“It’s my fault. Ethan, you don’t have to forgive me. But Daniel did nothing wrong. These five years, he’s been with me. Without him, I’d have died in the cold of Alaska long ago. He isn’t like you. You have everything. He only has me. I can’t abandon him.”
I snatched up the charm and hurled it at her face.
“I told you I’d go with you! Sophia Lane, it was you who refused me!”
The words tore out of me in a roar, the ache in my chest so sharp I could hardly breathe.
Five years ago, when she insisted on going to Alaska, I had clutched her hand and told her with all the conviction I had—
If I couldn’t keep her here, then I’d follow her anywhere.
No matter how far, no matter life or death, I wanted to be by her side.
But at the time, Sophia only wrapped her arms gently around my waist.
“Ethan, I want to reach that place on my own. I want to be the one who can stand beside you.”
And now… she had left me—for another man’s companionship.
How laughable.
I had thrown the charm with all my strength, yet it landed silently on the thick carpet. Just as all my strength had never been enough to keep her from running into someone else’s arms.
Sophia picked it up and placed it back on my pillow.
“Ethan, let Daniel go. He’s innocent.”