Chapter 4

Chapter 4  

"What more do you want from me, Ryan? You and Lana already conspired to take everything from me," Sophia said as she dropped the bag to the floor in a fit of rage. "You made your decision already. You want me out, and I'll leave."  

"But Sophia, I don't want to leave you like this. Not like I care anyway, but you have nothing. I want you out of my life, but that doesn't mean I will be heartless about it," Ryan said to her.  

Lana stood closely behind, wondering why Ryan was suddenly indecisive about letting her go. Some part of her couldn't help but think Ryan still had a soft spot for Sophia, even despite all her efforts.  

She walked forward toward the arguing couple and decided to chime in, faking affection as usual.  

"I know things have gone bad, Sophia, but listen to Ryan. He is only looking out for you," Lana said to her.  

"Oh, don't you dare, Lana! Don't you start with the fake emotional nonsense, acting like you care!" Sophia snapped at Lana in a fit of rage. "You have gotten what you want! Congratulations, you won!"  

"Do not raise your voice at Lana," Ryan said to Sophia. "You keep on looking for someone to blame for everything. All that has happened is on you. How is it Lana's fault you chose to be unfaithful or carry a baby that is not mine in that belly of yours? You are lucky I'm still considering pitying you by offering you a place to stay here, and it's all because I am remembering the fact that we have been together for a long time."  

Sophia took a deep breath before speaking up. She hadn’t wanted to return here but had important things to pick up from this place. She had pleaded with Landon, who had yet to introduce himself properly or had time to speak on what was going on, to allow her to get her things. She was looking toward the next step in her life but felt it important to take care of her past.  

She had hoped Ryan would not be home, but here he was, trying to guilt-trip her into staying. It was not going to work this time around. She decided to say a few words to both of them.  

"Ryan!" she began. "You know I love you. I have loved you all these years without a doubt. I care deeply about you. I have been faithful in our marriage. Now, I don't know what is going on. There are hands behind this, trying to tear us apart, but congratulations to them, as they have succeeded."  

Sophia said this and cast a look at Lana, who immediately looked down at her feet, averting Sophia's gaze.  

"…And it's because you have allowed them to! Everything I have told you tonight is nothing but the truth. I never slept with any man besides you. The baby I carried in my belly, that you both murdered, is yours! You both didn’t even have the decency to let the ashes rest. I even—"  

"Enough of this nonsense!" Ryan shouted, interrupting her. "I won’t sit here and allow you to run your mouth, accusing us of such nonsense!"  

"Oh, but I should be the one to sit back and be accused, right?" A little tear dropped from Sophia's eye as she said this. "What am I even doing here? I have had enough of this—enough of the both of you tormenting me. I said what I said, and I am not going to repeat myself. I hope the both of you are happy together."  

   Sophia grabbed her bags and turned away from them. This time, Ryan fell awkwardly silent, and she was glad he did. She didn't want anything stopping her. She stepped out the doors, carrying the weight of countless memories from that house—both good and bad. After all these years, she was finally going to leave it for good.

She turned back briefly and saw Ryan standing at the door, watching her leave, with Lana propped up beside him. She hated Lana so much in that moment and wondered how low she could go just to hurt her.

Dragging her bags toward the black car parked right up front, Sophia’s only consolation was Landon—the man who claimed to be her brother—telling her she was a person she never thought she was. Sophia was hell-bent on finding out more about herself tonight.

The driver, fully adorned in a tailored suit, stepped out of the vehicle and helped her with her bag, placing it in the boot of the car.

"This really isn't necessary," she said to the chauffeur. "I can handle this myself."

"No, ma'am, I have specific orders to help you out with everything. Just relax a bit. I am just doing my job."

She obliged and let him carry the bag for her. She watched as he placed it in the boot, then opened the car door and ushered her in.

Ryan was still standing there, watching, wondering what vehicle Sophia had just entered.

"Have you seen that car before?" he asked Lana, who was still standing beside him.

"It's probably the car of the person she has been sleeping around with," Lana replied, seizing the opportunity to push her agenda further. "I told you she was good for nothing—leaves you this minute and doesn't waste a second running into her lover's arms

…. "Enough of this, Lana," Ryan snapped at her. He wasn't having it. "I am sure it's just a rideshare or something. Let us go back inside."

He opened the door, and they walked back in together.

Sophia sat in the back seat of the car, looking through the window, reminiscing about how dramatic the night had been. Tears dropped from her eyes as she thought about her baby, what Ryan had put her through, and how heartless he seemed about it. He was someone she had loved dearly, right from their university days when she was still chasing a degree. Her mind raced back to those days.

Sophia was only 18 years old when she was admitted into the University of Lerudia. She knew how hard she had worked to get in. She didn’t have much growing up, living in a small part of the slums of the city along with her granny and her cousin. She had vowed to herself to work hard and leave such a life behind. She never knew her parents—her grandmother had taken care of her all her life.

It wasn’t the best life, but she was comfortable with it. One day, her cousin came in with an envelope in hand. Sophia was busy tending to her granny, as things had been difficult for her ever since her grandmother got sick.

"Hey, Sofie, I found this in the mailbox," her cousin Justine called out as she walked into the apartment. "I think it’s for you—says something about a university."

Sophia immediately dropped what she was doing and jumped to her feet, dragging the envelope from Justine with both hands.

"Hey there, easy! I could tell it was important, but you don’t have to be so jumpy about it," Justine said with a smile.

"I’m sorry, just excited to see the contents," Sophia said as she smiled back.

"Hey, Granny," Justine said as she knelt down to greet their grandmother.

Unlike Sophia, Justine knew her parents. They were alive and well, but she had moved out of their house when she was 12. She felt they were too controlling and that she needed her space. She and Sophia had lived together ever since and had grown close to each other.

"So, what does it say?" Justine asked as she cast a look at Sophia. "Come on, rip it open and tell me!"

Sophia took a deep breath. "Do not rush me, please," she snapped at Justine.

"Alright then," Justine said, raising her hands in retreat.

Sophia ripped open the envelope and pulled out its contents. For a moment, she stared at the letter in silence. Then, a huge smile spread across her face.

"Oh, I know that smile!" Justine said as she jumped to her feet and hugged Sophia, lifting her slightly off the ground. "You got in, right?" she yelled out in delight.

     "Put me down, Justine!" Sophia giggled as she said this.

Justine set her down, and Sophia took a minute to catch her breath before beginning to read the contents of the letter aloud.

“Dear Sophia Sullivan,

We at the University of Lerudia are offering you a position at our institute to study the course of your choice. It is going to be a fully funded scholarship with all expenses covered by us at the institute.

We will be expecting you to attend a meeting with the Vice Chancellor of this great institute tomorrow so we can fully assess you, and you will be selecting the course of your choice. Please do well to be prompt—we will be expecting you, Sophia.

Signed,

 Secretary,

 Helena Cartz”

"That's it! I'm in, and it's a fully paid scholarship! I can't believe this!" Sophia yelled out in delight before going to squat beside her grandmother. "You hear that, Granny? I got into a prestigious school! Everything is covered and paid for. I'm going to get us a better life."

Her grandmother nodded faintly. She had been battling a long case of dementia, which had started two years ago after she fell down the staircase. Since then, the burden of caring for her had fallen to Justine and Sophia. They couldn’t afford to take her into a care home.

"Things are going to get better from here, Granny," Sophia continued. "I’ll try my best to get a good degree, land a good job, and then take care of you."

Sophia watched as tears began to fall from her grandmother's eyes. She couldn’t hold back her own tears either. This was the woman who had been there for them all their lives. Without thinking, Sophia leaned in and hugged her grandmother tightly.

Justine stood nearby, trying her best not to get emotional. She always claimed to have a stronger mind than both of them.

"Now, the both of you shouldn’t get emotional on me," Justine said, though she was fighting back tears herself. "Come on, it’s enough. Why are you crying when we should clearly be celebrating? Enough of this!"

Justine bent down and wiped the tears from Sophia's face before planting a kiss on their grandmother’s forehead.

"You’re right, Justine," Sophia said, sniffing back her tears. "We shouldn’t be crying. I’m sorry—I just got emotional in the moment."

"Well, speaking of celebrating," Justine said with a grin, "it’s a good thing I got just the ingredients to cook your favorite! I got carried away with all this—mails, fancy schools, and crying."

She stepped outside and came back in with her hand filled with groceries, ready to celebrate the good news.

"Oh my God," Sophia exclaimed. "I want to be excited over this, but I have a lot of questions. First, where did you get the money to buy all of this? Don’t tell me you worked for it, because there’s no way you can make all this money in a day."

Sophia walked over to the bag. "You even got Irish potatoes and a French wine? This definitely cost an arm and a leg. Please don’t tell me you stole this, Justine."

"Hey! That is very offensive," Justine snapped, seeming slightly offended by the accusation.

"I’m sorry," Sophia said with a laugh. She knew it was a common practice between them to joke around like this.

"You know, cousin, I’m a lot of things, but I am definitely not a thief," Justine said, stretching out her hand and pinching Sophia slightly.

"Ouch! That hurt a little. Well then, tell me where you got them so I won’t accuse you," Sophia responded.

"It’s kind of a long story. You know what? Why don’t you join me in the kitchen, and I’ll tell you all about it as we prepare the food? I definitely need a little food to talk, and I wouldn’t want to discuss this in front of the old lady," Justine whispered, pointing at their grandmother. She definitely won't like what she hears.

    “Fair enough then”, Sophia said as she picked up the groceries and followed her cou

sin closely behind. “start talking, I want to hear all of it “.sophia said to her